Peter McDermott - genuine gael and gentleman Meath's man in the cap was a Real Legend, outstanding footballer, Captain, Referee and County Secretary - All at same time. Australian Trip was also a major achievement It is a great pity that Public Libraries throughout the country do not have a book entitled "The History of the G.A.A. in Meath" on their bookshelves. Such a publication does not exist and while several counties have managed to produce excellent and important historical and social records, the Royal County is sadly lacking in this aspect of the Association. However, if someday, the vacant spot on the bookshelves is filled, you can be sure that more than one chapter will be needed to adequately record the contribution of Peter McDermott to the well-being of the G.A.A. in Meath. There were great administrators before Peter and indeed, after him . there were great players before and after him . great captains, great referees and great organisers. But none succeeded in combining all roles with as much success as the "Man in the Cap", the man who led Meath to victory in the 1954 All-Ireland Final when he was 36 years old and also held the post of County Board Secretary at the time. And to think that he had refereed the All-Ireland final between Kerry and Armagh twelve months previous. Difficult to envisage the captains of All-Ireland winning teams these days becoming immersed to the same extent! "I must have been mad (to take on so much)", said Peter, but the belief persists that if he had to live his life all over again, he would change very little. The roles which he embraced were very demanding and, in the late forties and throughout the fifties, times were considerably tougher than they are today. He does not boast about this contribution or about the depth of his love for the Association . yet it is safe to say that both are unsurpassed in Meath's illustrious history. The son of Meath parents, Peter was born in Belgooly near Kinsale in Co. Cork in 1918. His stay in the South was brief and his family settled in Cushenstown near Ashbourne having spent some time in Blanchardstown following their return from Cork. Despite his Rebel County birth, Peter is a true-green and 24 carat gold Meathman. His father wore the county colours in hurling and, from an early age, Peter showed a keen interest in Gaelic games. Among his earliest memories is a trip to Cork Park for an All-Ireland Final between Kerry and Kildare, probably in 1929. "I was put sitting on the wall separating Croke Park from the Belvedere College Grounds and I was terrified such was the size of the drop . but it was an enormous thrill to be present on such a big occasion and the memory stayed with me". While attending Cushenstown N.S., he sampled the playing side of football for the first time. Ardcath were permitted to play in the Fingal League, North Dublin) at the time and it was at this level that he first made the acquaintance of Jackie Maye. Their friendship endured throughout their respective playing careers and beyond. At Minor level, he played with Rathfeigh part of Skryne Parish and in 1936, they won the County Championship. "There weren't many legal teams around at the time, either at county or club level. The Minor grade was in its infancy at the time and it as more or less accepted that each team contained one or two players above the age limit. There were twelve teams in the competition and we played the other eleven. There were a few men behind that Rathfeigh team, Joe Moss, Tom Byrne and Beggy Lynch, Skrynemen really and if anybody influenced me, they did. And the ironic thing was that Skryne also had a Minor team. We were a bit of a "League of Nations" team and we included the usual compliment of 'hairy' Minors". Peter's performances were noted and he wore the county jersey against Louth in the first round of the Leinster Championship at Pairc Tailteann. With his first two kicks, he scored a goal and a point but he hardly got a kick of the ball subsequently and Meath failed to add to his early tally as Louth went on to win by a whopping twenty-six points. It was through his friendship with Jackie Maye that the involvement with Donaghmore began. In his first year with the "Moore's", they won the 1938 Intermediate Championship by beating a highly fancied Oldcastle team in the final. It was as a result of the success that Peter was selected on the Meath Junior team for the 1939 Championship. "We reached the Leinster final against Dublin and the game ended in a draw. Dublin hammered us in the replay and went on to win the All-Ireland. Had they beaten us the first day, I might have made the Senior panel but I had a poor game in the replay and was not among the Juniors who were invited onto the Senior panel. There was great excitement when the Seniors won the Leinster title for the first time in this century and went on to reach the All-Ireland final. Although they were unlucky against Kerry, I would have liked to be part of the scene". He did not have to wait too long for the call up to Senior ranks. It came against Wexford in the National Football League in the Spring of 1940, at Pairc Tailteann and Kevin Smyth also made his debut on the same occasion. Later in the year Meath retained the Leinster title with a 2-7 to 1-7 victory over Laois. It was his first Leinster final but when Meath were in trouble at the end of the opening quarter, Peter was switched from the half forward line to centre field to curb the effectiveness of Tommy Murphy in the area. The tide quickly turned and Jackie Maye's two goals ensured a Meath victory. The Royal County were subsequently well beaten by Galway in the semi final and seven years would elapse before they became Leinster champions again. A National League success in 1946 and a number of Special (League) victories during the War years maintained Meath's new found status but the Championship defeat by Offaly in 1946 led to much acrimony at County Board level and although Laois were again the victims in the Leinster final of 1947 the poor performance against Kerry in the All-Ireland semi final plunged the county back to the bad old days in terms of ambition and organisation. Stability at County Board level was a problem and "although we had great teams and great players, we just couldn't make the big breakthrough at All-Ireland level. The county simply hadn't got the know how and the selection system was unwieldly. Tactics weren't a major factor in what was largely a man-to-man style. There wasn't much optimism around when Fr. Tully took over as County Board Chairman in 1949". Luck played its part in the Chairman's first year. The positioning of Paddy O'Brien at full back and Paddy Dixon at centre half were accidental rather than planned and things just seemed to fall into place. "I couldn't pin-point any one particular reason for the 1949 success, we simply kept winning. The nucleus of a good team had always been there and the three games against Louth in the Leinster Championship helped greatly to mould us into an All-Ireland winning team". From being no-hopers at the beginning of the campaign Meath became champions for the first time ever by beating Cavan in the final. The players became instant heroes and to this day are held in great affection by the Gaels of the county. "Yes, there's a special aura about winning the All-Ireland for the first time. It was all new to us and to the supporters. I presume it's the same in Donegal and Derry at the moment. And we always appreciated the feelings of the supporters". Throughout the next five years, Meath were arguably the country's outstanding team but failed to go into the books as a three-in-a-row ore even a two-in-a-row team. In 1951, the "Home" National League title was won in the Spring, when Mayo were beaten in the final. The Final "Proper" was scheduled for New York on the Sunday after the All-Ireland Final against Mayo and the after-effects of the vaccinations were held responsible for the defeat by Mayo. A week later Meath took the League title in New York. The team was in constant demand for Tournaments, Church Building Funds and Openings of new pitches. The schedule took its toll and by the time 1954 came around it was generally accepted that the players were past it. "We had the rub of the green, there's no doubt about that but in the famous game against Wicklow our opponents were very much the authors of their own downfall. Had they concentrated on the ball they would almost certainly have won". Meath kept their heads and went on to cause a sensation by beating the holders Kerry in the All-Ireland final. It was the last hurrah and it was the "Man in the Cap" who received the Sam Maguire Cup. "They were the most magnanimous of losers and showed great sportsmanship in the way they accepted defeat. The victory came at a time when Peter was also making a name for himself as an administrator and referee. On his election to the post of Board Secretary in 1953, he immediately involved himself with a programme for re-organisation and many of his ideas are still part and parcel of the Board's procedures and regulations. His arrival on the refereeing scene owed more to chance than to ambition and he maintains that it was his handling of an extremely difficult local match that put him into the limelight as a "whistler". He dismissed two of the 'hardest' men around in the early stages and his bravery was rewarded with recognition at intercounty level. His first All-Ireland Final, between Kerry and Armagh, was a frightening experience. "The crowd broke down the paling and flowed out onto the pitch for a while I wondered if it might not be possible for the game to go ahead. But it did and I'll never forget Bill McCorry's missed penalty for Armagh. I always tended to favour the underdog in a 50/50 situation and the award of the penalty could be described as generous. But I always found it difficult to satisfy northern followers. Anyway, two years later I was in charge of both All-Ireland semi finals, Cavan v Kerry and Dublin v Mayo. Both games ended in draws and the replays were fixed for Croke Park on the same programme. All the teams were in favour of me doing both games but it would have been too much. Still, it was nice to have been considered for such an unusual distinction". When Meath returned to the limelight in the mid-sixties Peter was coach and Fr. Tully was trainer. The Sam Maguire Cup was captured in 1967 and in the following Spring the Royal County footballers made history by accepting an invitation to travel to Australia. The Aussie Rules footballers had been in Ireland in the previous Autumn and had thrilled the Croke Park crowds with their athleticism, skill and speed. Meath were better prepared for the encounters in Australia and won all five games on the Tour. It was a remarkable achievement. He has since managed the Irish team for a Compromise Rules series and has been closely involved with the concept of International competition in the G.A.A. "The problem is not so much with the rules, they go deeper and can best be described as a Professional versus Amateur conflict". Peter feels that the Irish teams have missed out on creating more interest in the games by adopting an almost anti-social policy while on tour. "The Irish people in Australia want to see the players, to talk to them and to become friends. The players weren't allowed to socialise and it showed in the attendances at the games in the most recent tours". He has his own views on changes in football over the past half-century or more and his opinions are worth listening to. The great Kerry team of the late seventies and early eighties are not among his favourites. "I'm not a big fan of the possession game and I believe it came into vogue during that era. It inevitably ends up with a free, in fact that's its purpose, and that is not a good thing". He has been involved with successful Meath and Down teams as coach, and as a player his record number of Championship appearances, 51, has only recently been surpassed by Colm O'Rourke. No other Meath footballer has six Leinster Senior Football Championship medals. The records are not important however. There is much more enjoyment in the involvement, in the chat over the old days, in the memories, in the analysis and in the sheer joy of it all. Written by the Hogan Stand Magazine 12.11.1993 Tweet

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