There's been plenty of highs and lows for Seamus Kenny since he first got involved with the Meath Senior Squad in the Winter of 2000, injuries have taken their toll and the Simonstown Gaels clubman has pondered retirement from the Royal County, but that hunger and drive for more success has kept him going.

The early years were like a whirlwind for Seamus, heady days for Meath football, and hot on the heels of All-Ireland Senior success in 1999, came another All-Ireland final appearance inside 12 months of Kenny's initial involvement with the Meath Senior camp.

But successes since then have been rare, with just one Leinster title to show for it, and Kenny is hoping that the Royals can once again turn the corner when they face Dublin this weekend at Croke Park.

Kenny's story over the past year or so hasn't been a straightforward one to get to this point. He turned 33 last January, and has battled hard since then to work himself into contention, after a rollercoaster period which saw him go from being Meath captain to a prolonged spell on the sidelines through injury.

"It's been a very tough 13 months. It's been a very frustrating 13 months. There were a lot of days, and a lot of nights spent on your own in the gym. Any person that's coming back from an injury can understand what I am saying," he told Hoganstand.com.

"Coming back from a left cruciate knee injury everything was going perfect and I felt really, really good. Things were starting to come right and then on New Years Eve we trained together, we were out on the all-weather pitch. I had hoped to play a bit with the club the following day and went over on my right knee and it set me back another three or four months.

"At that stage I wouldn't say I was ready to pack the whole thing in, but I was fairly close to it. It was just so demoralising. Everything you done to try and get the left knee right and then the right one packs it in on you. It was a massive level of frustration. I suppose it makes it all the sweeter now that I'm back and looking forward to a Leinster final, that I missed out on last year."

Meath's injury-list grew game on game, in Mick O'Dowd's initial few months in charge, but Kenny says there were some positives to take from this, with new players getting their chance and making their mark.

"Unfortunately we picked up a couple of injuries. Kevin (Reilly) was out with the achilles for six to eight months; Shane McAnarney had a double-hip operation. Shane O'Rourke the same - a double hip operation. We just seemed to haemorrhage players at the wrong time and unfortunately it caught up on us.

"When Micko took over I suppose he inherited a team that was probably carrying a lot of injuries and required a lot of rehabilitation and recovery. I think as a result we probably struggled in the early rounds of the league. We probably were missing a core group of experienced players.

"In fairness to Micko and the lads they blooded a lot of new players, but they were probably just missing the bit of experience there. The last couple of months things have come together well and I think we are going in the right direction."

Kenny says during those bleak days where he was battling with injury he got great support from all of those around him.

"Family and friends were a massive bonus. The players as well, a lot of them - we are a fairly close bunch and a lot of lads have gone through a lot. They are always there if you are every feeling depressed or feeling down or anything like that about the injury.

"There is always someone who has gone through it. In fairness they will always put the hand around the shoulder and say 'look C'mon we'll get through this!'."

Kenny worked hard, and found himself back in action as Meath faced Monaghan in a Division 3 league decider at Croke Park. While victory wasn't the Royals lot, after an impressive display by the Farney County, Kenny was just glad to get back on the pitch in a Meath jersey.

"The Monaghan game in the league final was my first back," he said.

"I kind of got back and I played a league game with my club. Micko asked me would I travel with the team to Antrim and I was absolutely delighted. It was kind of my first time back with the squad - I didn't play any part and in fairness I wouldn't have been ready to play any part in it.

"The Monaghan league final was my first real bit of action and it was great. I suppose the result didn't go well and the performance, but from a personal point of view just to get back and get involved with the squad and get a run out in Croke Park was a major bonus."

Kenny says there's plenty of unfinished business for him and that drives him on for more.

"Absolutely. I suppose I was called into the panel at the end of 2000. It's been a long few years. I was very lucky in my first year to be part of a panel that got to an All-Ireland final. It's easy to kind of think that every year was going to be like that afterwards. The barren years - when you get the chances to play in a Leinster Final it does drive you on a bit and gives you that extra motivation.

"When I came in, in 2000 I was surrounded by lads that had two All-Ireland medals, lads that had numerous All-Stars and lads that had 'Player of the Year' Awards. It was daunting enough, but a great experience. I kind of naively thought 'jeez this is great, it will be like this every year'. Meath have always produced talented players. I just don't think we have fulfilled our potential in the in-between years too be honest.

"Over 13 years I have had an awful lot of ups and downs. 2001 was such an experience, you were going to Croke Park nearly every second week. It was surreal to be a part of. It was a wonderful experience. Then in between you were up and down and injuries and stuff like that. I don't know if I have any particular year that stands out more than any other. I suppose 2001 and 2010 winning Leinsters obviously do stick out in the mind, but every time you get to play with Meath in a Championship game is fairly special."

Training and every aspect of team preparations has reached astronomical levels since Kenny first pulled on the Meath jersey.

"To be quite honest with you there is no comparison. That's not to say that fitness levels weren't as high, but just in terms of preparation - nutrition, strength and conditioning, mental focus - there's just so many differences. In fairness when I came in Sean (Boylan) was miles ahead of his time in terms of preparation of teams, but the present day there's absolutely no comparison.

"There's so much at stake that you can't afford to be lacking in any department. Teams are putting in so much and investing so much in terms of finance into their preparation that you just can't afford to lag behind. Mick is right, it has to be done if you are to get the best out of yourself and if you want to be the best prepared that you can be, you have to have everything else right."

The more things change, the more they stay the same, and in the life of an inter county footballer it's no different in that all of the harder work is done earlier in the year in pre-season and around league time, to hopefully see a team have a long Summer.

"A typical week around Championship time wouldn't be anywhere near half as hectic as a pre-season or that, but we are still doing our four nights a week. Your nutrition is vital at this time of the year. That's always being monitored nearly daily.

"The rest as well, that's imperative at this stage. If you are comparing it to pre-season, you could be doing six nights a week, or even the guts of seven sessions a week. Not saying that you would be training seven days a week, but you could be doing anything up on six to seven sessions a week.

"You learn so much. Probably I'm lucky enough to be playing at 33. I kind of looked after myself a lot through stuff I would have learned over the last few years, how to look after the body and stuff like that. I would be into all of the strength and conditioning side of stuff, nutrition and hydration, just you want to always give yourself the best opportunity you can when you go out and play."

Kenny is employed by Leinster GAA as a GDA (Games Development Administrator) in Meath and says the job goes hand in hand with his inter-county career.

"It is tough, but I'm lucky in that I am employed by Leinster GAA and I work here as a GDA in Meath, so it's great. It does give you that time to maybe recover that bit more and it's not sort of grating time wise. You can kind of look after yourself a little bit more. I have a lot to thank them for."

He sees at first hand the buzz created among kids any time teams from the Royal County are doing well.

"Any time you get to a final it does increase that buzz. Kids, I suppose, it doesn't mean as much to them. They just hear these things and they go out and they get their Meath jersey which is great. When you see kids walking down the town in a Meath jersey you know you are doing something right.

"There's still a great fondness for Meath football. If you are putting in big performances the kids appreciate it. They kind of see us maybe as role models, so that is great as well.

"We are a county with a massive tradition. A county that loves its football and a county that has a lot of legends that are mentioned throughout the country. Of course the supporters crave success no more than the players do. We'd love to be able to give that to them." Tweet

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