Meade, Sean
February 03, 1995
Centre Half Sean Meade
And the Galway dream team of '64-'66
Of the four provinces, Connacht is probably the one least likely to produce the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship of 1995. Connacht football is in the doldrums - but this hasn't always been the case. Far from in fact. Mayo and Galway captured six All-Ireland titles between them in the years 1950-66 and the Tribesmen with a total of seven All-Ireland rate behind only Kerry and Dublin in Senior Roll of Honour. Without doubt the greatest football team which Galway ever gave rise to was the one which contested four consecutive All-Ireland finals in the mid-sixties - the famous three-in-a-row side of 1964-66. Resident centre half back on that all-conquering outfit was Ballinasole club stalwart Sean Meade, a staunch gael who gave great service to the Maroon jersey in both codes, played Railway Cup hurling and football for Connacht, and even found time to pull on the Donegal shirt for the 1969 Ulster Championship! HOGAN STAND decided to take time out to pay tribute to magnificent career.
Sean Meade's gaelic football talents first came to prominence in 1952 when he won a Minor and Junior football double with his local Ballinasloe club. The medals continued to roll in thick and fast - two years later he collected a Minor football double, having broken into the club's Senior football ranks the previous year. Sean made his mark on the intercounty scene in 1958, helping Galway to a 4-5 to 3-1 victory over Lancashire in the All-Ireland Junior football decider. He was to go on to represent his county in the Senior finals of 1959, '63, '64, '65 and '66.
In 1960 and 1961 Sean was on both the Galway and Connacht (Railway Cup) hurling teams and he represented his province in the big ball game from 1960 up until 1965. In 1965 Sean Meade was at full back marking the legendary Sean O'Neill in one of the most famous Railway Cup finals of all time. That St Patrick's Day at Croke Park, Ulster scored a 0-11 for Ulster (0-2 from frees) while Cyril Dunne knocked over 0-10 (all from frees). 30,734 people saw an awesome display of place-kicking as neither man missed a shot from a free.
Sean Meade also lined out for Galway in three successive National Football League finals, the Tribesmen defeating New York in '65 before losing out to Longford and New York in 1966 and '67 respectively. The Ballinasole man also appeared against the Combined Universities for the Rest of Ireland in 1961 and 1963.
In 1967 Sean Meade finished playing with Galway and the following year moved to Donegal where he was soon lining out alongside Brian McEniff for the Bundoran - Ballyshannon amalgamation, St Josephs. Meade's intercounty career briefly resumed in 1969 when he appeared on the Donegal team which lost to Antrim in the first round of Ulster Championship. This was to Sean's last appearance on the untercounty stage, but the tradition is being carried on by his daughter Grace. Grace captained the Donegal team which finished second best to Meath in last year's All-Ireland Ladies Football final. Women's football is taking off in a big way in Donegal and there is every possibility that Grace will go on to emulate her Dad by winning an All-Ireland medal!
In 1965 Sean Meade and Galway succeeded where both Roscommon in 1945 and Mayo in 1952 had failed by becoming the first Connacht county (and the fourth county ever - Kerry, Dublin and Wexford(!) being the others) to win three Senior All-Ireland football titles on the trot. Sean reflects on the 1-10 to 0-7 victory over Meath at Croke Park on September 25th 1966 as the most meaningful of his illustrious career. "Making it three in a row just had to be the highlight. After hurling won the previous two, there was a lot of pressure on us to get the third and make history." Which they did!
It is generally agreed amongst GAA critics, historians and scribes alike that the Galway team of particular era was the finest ever to come from west of the Shannon. We asked Sean Meade to try to put his finger on what exactly it was that made the Galway class of 1964-66 the force they were. "I would put a lot of team's success down to the great understanding and comraderie that existed between the players. There was a sort of telepathy in the back line. The players could read each others game and anticipate the next move. That the was probably ahead of its time."
The Tribesmem hadn't taken another All-Ireland title since 1966. The six million dollar question - what has gone wrong? "I personally believe that losing to Dublin in 1983 when the Dubs were down to twelve men had a very bad effect on morale in Galway," Sean Meade opines. "People lost interest and the hurling came strong at the same time. The footballers are still there but its very hard to get back that pride in the jersey."
Ironically, Sean points out that hurling was his first love as a young lad. "The football was going so well for Galway however, that the County Board wouldn't allow many of us to hurl in case we got injured. I suppose there was more opportunity in football at the time as the county hurlers weren't going all that well," reflects the former county star who is wholly optimistic that Galway will one day re-established itself as a gaelic football force to be reckoned with. "In some of the League games before Christmas I could see that they now have a number of players with a lot of potential. The county Minors were very impressive last year, using a good direct style and only losing out in the final to what was a very good Kerry team."
Based in Ballyshannon for the past 26 years where he is employed by the ESB as a Mechanical Supervisor, Sean Meade fancies Galway to regain the Connacht Championship in 1995, and admits that if they should meet Donegal on All-Ireland semi-final day he'll be cheering for.Galway of course! Reflecting on the Grounds Tournament final of 1966 against Cork ("We had beaten them in the All-Ireland semi-final and there was great needle in that game as a result") as one of the best games he played in, Sean has golden memories of an era in which he rubbed shoulders with the likes of Down's James McCartan, Dublin's Mickey Whelan and Galway's Terrible Twins.
"I had the occasion of marking Sean Purcall when he was playing for Tuam Stars and he was a real handful - a tremendous player with incredible vision. The next best player I came across was the incredibly skillful Sean O'Neill of Down. Another high point was marking Wexford great Padge Kehoe in the Railway Cup hurling competition - his stickwork was unbelievable," recalled one of Galway's all time greats.
With Ballinasole, the Senior County Championship medal proved elusive. Sean Meade played in three county hurling finals and four football finals but lost all seven - a big regret.
These days he is very much involved in a different sport. Golf. He was captain of the Bundoran Golf Club in 1976 and President of that same body 187-89. Along with his brother Michael, former Galway star Pat Donnellan and Frank O'Gara, Sean is a Director of the Bearna Golf & Country Club which will open at the end of the year.
The mighty Meade reveals what was so magical about being an integral part of Galway's golden era - "The Galway team of the sixties was a friendly, family outfit, and still is on occasion that we meet up. We didn't realise until afterwards the happiness and delight that we were bringing to our supporters. We didn't realise at the time how special what we were doing was. That Galway team tends to stay in people's memories because of the recent lack of success. But I'd love to see Galway do it again!"
But will they ever do it in the same style as Sean Meade & Co did it in 1964, 1965 and 1966?
Taken from Hogan Stand magazine
3rd February, 1995
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