Martin Quinn Head of a mighty Meath G.A.A. clan During the sixties and seventies Martin Quinn was part of an astonishing football revolution in Meath. As one of the famous Quinn footballing family which includes Jack (famous for his high fielding), Gerry and Jimmy, 'Big Martin, as he was popularly christened by Meath supporters, helped to bring his native club Kilbride from the obscure backwaters of Junior fare to dominance in Meath Senior football. It was dramatic Roy of the Rovers stuff. Located on the Dublin Meath border Kilbride are a small outfit with limited playing resources. They could never hope to match the facilities or achievements of the bigger guns based in the towns and the larger centres of population on an ongoing basis. Yet, for just over a decade they produced a team packed with talent that proved a test for the best in the county and beyond. The fact the Quinn brothers played in the team that achieved so much was no coincidence. Strong, fearless and endowed with ample amount of skills the Quinns provided the backbone to the side, Martin, Jack and Gerry going on to play regularly for Meath with Jack wearing the number 3 jersey when the Royal County won their third All-Ireland title in 1967 and the Quinns created their own piece of sporting history when Jack replaced Martin as the Meath full back. Martin Quinn's great journey of success with Kilbride started in the early sixties when they won the Junior Championship followed soon after with a victory in the Intermediate grade. "We won the Junior title in 1960 with the four of us on the team and two years later we beat Walterstown in the Intermediate Championship final and by 1964 and had our first Senior title, it was incredible", he recall. As the older of the four brothers Martin was the first to create an impact in local footballing circles, making his debut for Kilbride as a 15 year old in the mid 50s at corner forward. Despite his youth Martin was well capable of 'surviving' at Junior level and it wasn't long until he started to give series impressive performances, especially when he moved to full back. Always an admirer of Meath's Paddy O'Brien and Mayo's Paddy Prendergast, Quinn the eldest had the height and skill to make the position his own, although, if needed he could fill in elsewhere. Encouraged by their father James, a keen supporter, Martin's talents brought him to the attention of the county selectors and he was chosen for the Meath Minors in 1955 and '56 before playing for the Juniors and finally graduating onto the Senior squad, making his debut in a tournament game against Kerry in 1958. Over the following four to five years, Quinn became Meath's regular full back while, at the same time, Kilbride's status was steadily rising. The year 1964 is remembered with bitter-sweet memories by Martin. The previous spring he had been joined on the Meath team by his brother Jack who lined out at midfield and in '64 the Royal County won their first Leinster title in ten years, defeating defending All-Ireland champions Dublin in the final with Martin, Jack and Gerry playing lead roles. Just before this Leinster showdown, their father died and a month later Galway defeated Meath in an All-Ireland semi final which ended in controversy when Jack had a goal disallowed and Meath also missing many scoring opportunities. Obviously there were bright spots from that year. For his performance in the Leinster semi final against Kildare, Martin won the "Sportsman of the Week" award and many of that summer's disappointments were neutralised when Kilbride annexed the Senior title to put the club firmly on the football map and bring about a fairy tale ending to a remarkable story. And it didn't stop there. Over the following ten years Kilbride picked up a further four county titles, winning three on the trot between 1969 and '71 as well as embarking on a tour to United States, becoming one of the first clubs from Meath to undertake such a voyage. While all the final victories gave Martin plenty of satisfaction, the first Senior county triumph was unsurpassed for the warm feeling of achievement it brought. "The 1964 final was a marvellous occasion, the build up to the game and the excitement afterwards was something special, it was unforgettable". The success of Kilbride, Quinn puts down to the arrival of a very talented bunch of players, emerging together at just the same time and an indomitable spirit among the team. "We used to say you could pick up all the Kilbride players within five minutes. They all lived very close together and this helped to create a very strong team spirit among us and we were also very strong in finishing games. If the teams were level going into the last ten minutes you could bet your house we would end up winning the game, we had a great will to win". Kilbride contested county semi finals in '72 and '73 but by then the team were beginning to feel the effects of the years and '71 was to be the club's last appearance in a Senior final. While defeat by Galway in the 1964 All-Ireland semi final still rankles, the events of 1966 were not far behind as Meath lost to Galway in the All-Ireland final, with Martin coming on as a sub and Jack moving to midfield. Quinn, due to a twelve month suspension imposed by the Meath County Board, took no part in the campaign right up to the final, his suspension was just up on the eve of the big match. In 1967, however, the Royal County recovered from their disappointment and won the Sam Maguire at the expense of Cork with a big contingent of Kilbride players on the panel including Jack, Martin, and Gerry Quinn, as well as Pat Rooney, Pat Bruton and Murty Sullivan with all six travelling to Australia the following year on Meath's pioneering trip "Down Under". These days Martin, who works as a farmer, remains a dedicated follower of Meath football, rarely missing a game and none cheered louder when Mick Lyons captained the Royals to victory in '87, to end a twenty year drought. Hope is strong that this year another All-Ireland title can be picked up. "The team to beat Meath will be good. I thought at first Derry or Cork might win the All-Ireland but Derry are gone and Cork appear to have some problems. Meath played very well against a tough Laois team, they came back well when the game seemed to be slipping from them and over the last year or so a few very good young players have come on to the team, so hopefully they can keep developing the way they have up to now". Kilbride over the past twenty years have moved steadily back down to the Junior ranks from where they started out. Martin Quinn still remains a member of the club and despite their decline back to relative obscurity he is hopeful Kilbride might one day regain some of the old glory. "Over the past few years there has been a lot of good underage players from the area and if we can keep them in the club then we can look to the future with some optimism". Married to Joan with five children Deirdre, Sinead, Kevin (who played under 17 rugby for Leinster), Orla and Maura, Martin has a long and distinguished career to look back on. The great players he played against, the big games that were played, the trips abroad. As a close observer of Gaelic football he has seen many changes. "Football has certainly changed, it is faster, more professional now, it is certainly more a spectator sport but some good things have gone out of the game. Very seldom now do you see a full back fielding a ball and clearing it downfield, with so many team using a short passing game, the high fielding has largely gone out of the game", is his parting shot. Written by the Hogan Stand Magazine 1st July '94 Tweet

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