The passing of Liam Creavin in December 2011 marked the end of an era in Meath GAA. Aged 91, the Navan O'Mahonys clubman was one of the most accomplished administrators ever produced by the county and served as secretary of Coiste na Mi for a remarkable 44 years. The following is an interview with Liam that appeared in the 2007 edition of Royal County Yearbook:
Loyalty that knows no bounds
The development of the GAA at all levels since its foundation 123 years ago has been dependent on the efforts of individuals who have worked to make it what it is today - vibrant, thriving and a glowing example of what dedicated voluntary input can achieve.
There are examples all over the country of people who have been key to the association's development during the best part of a century and a quarter, from those who have cared for that most important unit, the club, to those who have taken on the demands of positions on County Boards and all the challenges, headaches and rewards that accompany them.
Meath, without question, has had its share of such people who have helped shape the direction the GAA has taken, individuals who have been part of a team effort designed to keep the great organisation alive and very, very well in the county. Without this type of people the association couldn't function in the manner that it does.
One of them has been Liam Creavin whose record of loyalty to the Royal County and to the association in general is second to none. To say he has dedicated a huge chunk of his life to the promotion of Gaelic Games in Meath would be putting it very mildly; he has been a wonderful ambassador for the GAA in our county and the efficiency and proficiency with which he tackled the position of secretary over a long number of years unquestionably played a key role in the smooth running of the County Board.
He possessed outstanding organisational skills, the sort of attributes which are essential in the role of secretary, and has unquestionably been one of the most tireless workers for the promotion of the GAA in the Royal County in the long and proud history of the association.
Liam was born in Lucan in 1920 and moved to Bective with his family in 1932 when he was 12 years old. He attended the De la Salle School in Navan and, ironically, he was later to serve as principal of the school.
He held temporary teaching posts in Kilkenny, Carrick-on-Suir and Waterford and his first permanent teaching position was in Dublin. He commenced teaching in the De la Salle School, Navan, in 1953 and was principal there for nine years until his retirement in 1985.
His only GAA involvement in a playing capacity was as a footballer when he attended St. Enda's in Galway, but it soon became very apparent that he was destined to fill key administrative positions. That started in earnest in 1953 when he was elected the first assistant-secretary of Meath County Board and that set in motion a life of involvement with the board.
The secretary during his three-year stint as assistant was none other than Peter McDermott, a man who had already tasted All-Ireland SFC success with the Royal County in 1949 and who was to captain Meath to their second such triumph in 1954 when, astonishingly, he was County Board secretary. Just imagine a situation like that arising today - the secretary of the board playing in an All-Ireland SFC final! Not likely.
Liam succeeded the 'Man in the Cap' as secretary and treasurer in 1956 and remained in that role until he was succeeded by long serving assistant-secretary Barney Allen at the annual convention in January of 2001. There had been a sense of shock at a County Board meeting the previous November when Chairman Fintan Ginnity announced that there would be a vacancy for the position of secretary at the forthcoming convention. A recurrence of some health problems meant Liam wouldn't be seeking re-election.
He was well on the mend by the time the convention took place early in the New Year, but was unable to be present because of a bout of 'flu. A presentation night was held later in the year when tributes were paid and his tremendous work over a long number of years was recognised.
Liam also served as treasurer of the Navan O'Mahonys' club for a quarter of a century and had a term as chairman of the Brews Hill club.
He had honed his secretarial skills when secretary of the Meath Minor Football Board for a three-year spell in the early 1950s, so it was something of a natural progression when he became assistant-secretary of the County Board in '53 and secretary in '56.
That he remained in the position for the best part of a half century has to be one of the truly remarkable statistics in the proud history of the GAA in Meath and during that amazing spell of hard work, loyalty and dedication he worked with six different chairmen - Fr. Pat Tully, who was at the helm from 1949 to '68, Jack Fitzgerald (1969 and '70), Colum Cromwell (1971 to '75), Pat O'Neill (1976 to '78), Brian Smyth (1979 to '86) and Fintan Ginnity who was chairman from 1986 until succeeded by the current man at the helm, Brendan Dempsey.
He witnessed an enormous amount of change in Meath and in the GAA in general during his marathon spell as secretary. There were great times and not so great times on the playing field and vital developments within the county like improved club facilities and the wonderful work that made Pairc Tailteann in Navan what it is today - a home to be proud of.
Liam has happy memories of fabulous days in Croke Park while secretary, most notably the All-Ireland success of 1967 and the four Sam Maguire Cup annexations during the glorious Sean Boylan era - 1987, '88, '96 and '99. There were massive disappointments too on those sad days when a team travels to Croke Park full of hope and heads home dejected and empty-handed.
Days like 1991 when so many people thought Meath had their name already engraved on the most famous piece of silverware in Gaelic Football before they ever kicked a ball against Down in the final. After a most spectacular marathon journey to the All-Ireland final, including four matches against Dublin, Meath lost their 10th game of the campaign - the one that mattered most. It was shattering.
But as he looks back on his time as secretary, it's comforting that there were so many great times. Apart from the All-Irelands, there were National Football League successes in 1975, '88, '90 and '94, the Centenary Cup in '84, when Boylan was attempting to put together a championship-winning panel, and Leinster senior titles in '64, '66, '67, '70, '86, '87, '88, '90, '91, '96 and '99.
There was also the historic trip to Australia in 1968 and all the organising that went with such a massive undertaking. That tour Down Under is still talked about today with tremendous pride and joy by all who were fortunate to be part of such a pioneering adventure. It was a colossal undertaking and one that helped put Meath and the GAA in general on the map on the other side of the world.
It was one of the many major happenings that occurred during Liam's remarkable long tenure in the role of secretary. Those years necessitated a great deal of hard work and long hours, but you still know from talking to him that he loved every minute.
"I enjoyed every minute of it and I still love the GAA," he said. "They were all great days, thoroughly enjoyable days. There were some very busy times, like leading up to an All-Ireland final and the pressure with tickets. It was very time consuming, but I didn't look on it that way. I loved it."
Coming up to the annual convention was another very hectic time, with wife Ita recalling so much paper on the floor in the living room and the children helping to put things together.
"We were all involved," she said. "A family affair."
She also recalls the demand for tickets ahead of an All-Ireland final, describing the pressure as "fierce," and adding that there was "a stampede at the door of the house" when clubs were looking for their allocation. That situation eased when tickets were distributed at Pairc Tailteann after County Board meetings.
Indeed wife Ita, a sister of the great Frankie Byrne, could be described as the Meath assistant secretary long before the role was officially created, such was the amount of work she carried out. She was often Liam's public face, opening their front door to all types of GAA callers. The couple had four sons, Damien, Timmy, John and Freddie and one daughter Colette. Timmy, who died tragically at a young age was an outstanding defender and won numerous senior football championship medals with Navan O'Mahonys.
There were many great games and many great successes during Liam's time as secretary, but he singles out June and July of 1991 for special mention.
"The four games against Dublin in the 1991 Leinster Championship were something else," he said. "It was a truly remarkable saga and an incredible few weeks."
The Sam Maguire Cup made its way to the Royal County five times while Liam was secretary and he said that "winning All-Irelands brought so much joy. An All-Ireland is an All-Ireland. They are not easily won and each one is equally special. Each one during my time as secretary meant a great deal."
By comparison, losing an All-Ireland final represents a massive disappointment after getting to the last hurdle.
"Losing a final is a huge disappointment," he added. "Getting to a final isn't easily achieved and the defeat against Down in the 1991 final was a massive disappointment, especially after playing 10 matches in the championship."
There were many amazing aspects to Sean Boylan's incredibly long reign as Meath manager - the four-match marathon against Dublin and that year's mammoth championship campaign among them - and Liam is quick to praise the Dunboyne man for the manner in which he lifted Meath out of the dreadful state they were in to a team that was able to compete with the very best and win All-Ireland titles.
"Meath had experienced some very bad days before Sean's arrival as manager," he said. "He completely transformed things, turned it around. He was a brilliant organiser and a great motivator. They were truly wonderful years under Sean's management, great years that brought so much success to the county."
Liam's organisational skills were surely tested to the full during the planning of the tour to Australia back in 1968. It was an enormous undertaking, but like everything else he took it in his stride and the whole wonderful adventure Down Under proved to be an enormous success.
He recalls the huge amount of work that went into organising the great adventure, including "writing letters at 3.0 in the morning to people like Harry Beitzel" who was the central figure at the Australian end of things.
"It was very tiring," recalled Ita. "It involved a huge amount of work. I remember when Liam finally departed to Australia thinking 'thank God he's gone, I can have a rest now'. But they were really great times too and the bottom line is that you wouldn't do it if you didn't love it. It's as simple as that."
Liam saw a huge number of players don the Meath jersey during his incredible association with the County Board, including the men who brought the county its third All-Ireland senior crown in 1967 by defeating Cork in the final.
"The 1967 team was an exceptional bunch of players," he recalled with tremendous pride. "Pat Reynolds was a truly great footballer who always played his heart out. Peter Darby was a great leader. And there was the 'Red', Bertie Cunningham and Jack Quinn. I could go on and on. They were all superb footballers."
He says the same of the 1987 and '88 team that brought Sean Boylan his first two All-Irelands, ending a two decade famine without an All-Ireland title that stretched back to that triumph in 1967.
That team was packed full of quality players who brought so much joy to Royal County supporters who had experienced a lot of disappointment over a long period of time, but Liam singles out the great Colm O'Rourke for particular praise.
"Colm was a really exceptional footballer, an immense talent," he said. "The determination he showed to come back from his serious knee injury was amazing. That took some effort, some dedication. He was one of so many fabulous footballers on that team. It too was an exceptional side, full of outstanding footballers."
Liam is quick to pay tribute to the County Board chairmen he worked so closely with while secretary, saying that "they were all great men, with prime interest in the GAA and the job of Meath chairman."
Among them was that tremendous worker and visionary Fintan Ginnity who was chairman of the board for approximately 20 years, during which time Meath enjoyed its greatest period of success on the football playing fields and tremendous work was carried out to improve facilities in the county.
Pairc Tailteann is a venue the county can be proud to call home, while the developments at the County Board's Centre of Excellence at Dunganny, between Navan and Trim, is a superb addition and will play a hugely important role in the preparation of various Meath teams in the years to come.
"They are fantastic facilities and Fintan did tremendous work in that regard," he said. "He is such a brilliant worker and possesses tremendous foresight. That was vital."
While on the subject of facilities, Liam has marvelled at the transformation of Croke Park into the stunning venue it now is and spoke with great pride and satisfaction about the way an amateur organisation like the GAA could develop a ground into something so fabulous.
"Croke Park is a place to be truly proud of," he added. "It was built on voluntary effort. Every club in the country was levied for it. Opening it up to other sports means we can show it off to the world."
Liam Creavin's lifetime of devotion to the association he loves would provide sufficient subject matter for an enormous book - not just a single article. He has seen it all and through it all his work for the GAA in Meath has been exceptional.
People like Liam have helped make the GAA what it is today.