The 50th anniversary of Meath's third All Ireland football final win. Meet the men who made it possible.

On the left, in the number 12 jersey, Mick Mellett.

Mick Mellett rarely grabbed the big headlines but he had a vital role to play on the great Meath team of 1966-70.

The Martinstown man went about his work in a quiet, yet very efficient way. Mick as they say always ''worked his socks off'' and regularly chipped in with vital scores.

Those two long range points in the the second half of the 67 final with Cork pressing hard were so vital.

Mick, born in Connemara, came to live in the Rathcairn area at the age of 10. The Mellett or O Mealoid family are heavily immersed in traditional music, culture and of course GAA.

Mick and his brothers back boned the Martinstown team of that era and Meath junior club honours arrived in 1969. The Athboy parish team competed at intermediate level during the early seventies.

And yes for younger readers there was a team called Martinstown who later amalgamated with their parish rivals to become Martinstown/Athboy. The club also had associations with the An Gaeltacht club in Rathcairn.

Mick Mellett made his senior debut for Meath against Kerry in a NFL game at the tail end of 1966. He was a useful hurler to boot and played for the county in a number of under age grades and at both codes.

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