NAME: Enda McManus DATE OF BIRTH: 3/4/72 HEIGHT: 6' WEIGHT: 12st 8lbs CLUB: St. Peter's, Dunboyne COUNTY: Meath HONOURS: Captain of victorious Meath Minor All-Ireland football team; Under 18 Leinster Specials Hurling medal; Under 21 Special Hurling medal; Intermediate Club honours in hurling and football INTER COUNTY DEBUT: May 1991 versus Armagh PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: S Burke Bros. Hardware & Electrical Wholesalers TOUGHEST OPPONENT: Jason Wieboldt, Kerry full forward in 1990 FAVOURITE GROUNDS: Croke Park, Pairc Tailteann FAVOURITE POSITION: Left full back SPORTING AMBITION: To win All-Ireland medals in Minor, Under 21, Senior DO YOU PLAY ANY OTHER SPORTS? Hurling and tennis. I love playing hurling BOYHOOD HEROES: Eddie Keher (Kilkenny) in hurling, Joe Cassells in football FAVOURITE PLAYERS: In the club its Paul Finn, county is Martin O'Connell BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON CAREER: My dad (Sean), Willie Lyons, Paul Kenny, Sean Boylan WAYS OF IMPROVING THE GAME: Make refereeing better and bring it up to a consistent level BEST GAME SEEN: 1982 Final - Offaly v Kerry PLAYERS WITH A PROMISING FUTURE: Denis Gallagher (a class player), Graham Geraghty HOPES FOR 1993: Hope to win Leinster and anything after than is a bonus YOU COME FROM THE SAME CLUB AS MEATH SENIOR TEAM MANAGER, SEAN BOYLAN: Yes, we both come from St. Peter's Dunboyne. Sean lives just a mile outside the village. He played both hurling and football when I started as a juvenile. He helps out a lot in Dunboyne parish. I have only really met him two years ago when he came to help the club team in the intermediate championship. Since then I have become a member of the senior panel OBVIOUSLY, SEAN HAS HAD A BIG INFLUENCE ON YOUR CAREER: My football has really improved considerably since joining the senior squad. He helped me improve on most of the weaknesses in my game. The groundwork was done by Willie Lyons and Paul Kenny but Sean has given me a fresh perspective and something to work for TELL US ABOUT YOUR CLUB, DUNBOYNE: Dunboyne is a strong and well organised club. In the last five years we have come from junior to senior and from Division 4 to Division 1. Hurling was a strong code here but in latter years it has died away with noone fighting to keep the game alive. This is our first year at senior level and we should have a good run in the championship. We should win the championship hopefully in1994/1995 YOU ARE MORE THAN A USEFUL HURLER: Well, I started playing hurling long before football and some people thought I was born with a hurley in my hand. I have won countless medals and trophies for juvenile teams in Dunboyne. I played hurling with the county from Under 14 right up to senior before I had to quit to concentrate on my footballing career with the Meath senior team CAPTAIN OF THE VICTORIOUS MEATH MINOR TEAM IN 1990. IT MUST HAVE BEEN A DREAM COME TRUE GOING UP TO COLLECT THE CUP: To be honest, I didn't know what was going on. When the final whistle blew, two stewards came out on the pitch and brought me up the steps. All I could see was thousands of people cheering and clapping. My heart, I thought, was going to jump out of my throat, it was beating so quick. The problem now was that I couldn't speak a word of Irish. It was the most exhilarating moment of my life so far WITH THAT TEAM OF 1990, COUPLED WITH LAST SEPTEMBER'S MINOR TEAM, MEATH MUST HAVE A USEFUL UNDER 21 TEAM THIS SEASON: Yes, as most of the 1990 minor team are still involved, as are the best of the 1992 team, I feel that we will be very hard to beat QUITE A FEW OF THE PRESENT MEATH SENIOR PANEL ARE UNDER 21: Yes, there are five of us in there at the moment with a lot of other players coming and going. Graham Geraghty, Terry Connor and Cathal Sheridan are all playing very much in the same place where they play for the senior side. Ronan McGrath is just establishing himself as a very good wing back SEAN BOYLAN HAS MOVED YOU AROUND QUITE A BIT IN THE MEATH DEFENCE OVER THE PAST TWELVE MONTHS. IN FACT, WE THINK YOU PLAYED IN EVERY DEFENSIVE ROLE BAR GOALKEEPER. DID YOU FIND THE CENTRAL FULL BACK AND CENTRE HALF BACK ROLES A LITTLE BIT DEMANDING, YOU BEING SO YOUNG? I don't mind playing in the back line, anywhere will do as long as I get the chance. I feel that I am perhaps a little bit too small for the full back role and not strong enough for the centre half back role MEATH HAVE AN IMPORTANT NFL GAME WITH DOWN COMING UP. CAN YOU BEAT THE MOURNE MEN? All we can be is hopeful. It is a bonus for us to get this far and we certainly will put everything into it. The last two times we played, the games have ended in draws, so it will be very close SOME OF THE YOUNGER PLAYERS APPEAR TO HAVE BLENDED IN QUITE WELL DURING THE RECENT LEAGUE RUN: We have been training with the panel for a long time now and getting to understand each other more. We are training hard together so we are becoming more close SOME PEOPLE CLAIM YOU KICK WITH YOUR RIGHT FOOT, OTHERS YOUR LEFT. WHICH IS IT? More with the right but the left is used a good couple of times as well WHO ARE THE MEN IN CHARGE OF THE MEATH UNDER 21 TEAM? Paul Kenny, Tommy Mahon, Oliver Harding, John Joe Murray, John Sullivan BASICALLY THE SAME CREW HAD COMMAND OF THAT 1990 MINOR SQUAD: Everyone except Ultan Fitzpatrick. He will be missed, but the selectors and other members in charge are very experienced people COLM O'ROURKE WAS BACK IN THE MEATH PANEL FOR THE WESTMEATH GAME. HIS PRESENCE WILL BOOST THE ENTIRE MEATH SQUAD: Colm was invited back for the Westmeath match by Sean Boylan after Tommy Dowd's injury ANY SIGH OF MICK LYONS COMING BACK TO WEAR THE GREEN AND GOLD? No, I think Mick has hung up his boots at county level THAT LAOIS SET BACK LAST JUNE WAS MEATH'S WORST CHAMPIONSHIP DISPLAY FOR YEARS. CAN THE ROYALS RECOVER IN 1993 AND GO ON TO REGAIN THE LEINSTER CROWN? This year is a new year, and with it brings many new obstacles and sure we can look back on last year and learn an awful lot. This year, I think, it will be very different. The younger lads are a year older and wiser and stronger and should stand up to the test better Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 26th March 1993 Vol 3 No 12 Tweet

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