Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Meath manager Robbie Brennan.Morgan Treacy/INPHO Robbie Brennan 'It was all a bit crazy when you think back': Chaos and controversy, the Meath-Louth rivalry The Meath boss knows all about drama in big games in Croke Park. 6.01am, 9 May 2025 Share options Declan Bogue SOMETIMES, YOU JUST can’t keep a lid on things. And given Limerick’s fondness for it, you can never underestimate the recovery powers and the role that ice-cream plays in the GAA. As the final whistle went on their Leinster semi-final win over Dublin, Meath manager Robbie Brennan was swallowed up by his backroom team, county staff and anyone in green and gold. The delirium of Dublin finally being beaten 15 years into their complete dominance was always going to cause an emotional dam to burst. 𝙆𝙄𝘾𝙆 𝙄𝙏 𝙊𝙑𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝘽𝘼𝘼𝘼𝘼𝙍 🏐 A huge win for Meath as they beat Dublin in Laois Hire O’Moore Park ⏭️ They are Leinster Final bound for a 2010 rematch #LeinsterGAA #Championship125 @MeathGAA pic.twitter.com/71n6KnJwJD— Leinster GAA (@gaaleinster) April 27, 2025 “Even if you wanted to stop the celebrations on the pitch, you wouldn’t have been able to in Portlaoise,” says Brennan now, as he prepares for this Sunday’s Leinster final against Louth. “That’s 15 years of hurt, if that’s the way you want to say it. It was bound to come out. “From a player perspective, obviously the dressing room was buzzing. “But once we got it back down, the lads went for an ice cream in Supermacs. We stopped the bus. We all had 99s. They loved that, and they went home and started their recovery. “From a player point of view, I don’t see us getting caught up in any of that. But as I say, around the county, it seems to be buzzing, which is brilliant, and that’s what we want. But the lads know they have a job to do and they’re fairly focused on it.” It’s been some year for Brennan. Some few years, come to that. A few weeks back, his two coaches, Joe McMahon and Martin Corey left the set-up. That came a few weeks after he lambasted the new rules in a post-match interview. Asked about the new rules now and he engages that big laugh of his after proclaiming, “I love them! “Look, to be fair, there was a bit of ball-hopping around that time. I felt there was a bit of pressure coming on us as a squad, so we’re just trying to deflect a little bit. “To be fair, some of them I wasn’t mad about at the time. It was more that it was chopping and changing every week, or it seemed to be every week, from a coaching point of view, and I really felt for the coaches trying to plan a session and then it changes and, jeepers, that’s what’s happening. “So, it was more that frustration.” You can call it controversy or fuss or whatever you want, but Brennan is a man who has become used to being in the limelight, by accident or design. He was managing Kilmacud Crokes when they won the All-Ireland club title, beating Derry and Ulster champions Glen in the final when they had 16 on the pitch for the final play. Advertisement For Brennan, it was a seriously stressful time. Brennan while in charge of Kilmacud Crokes.James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO “Yeah, it was. There’s no doubt about it,” he says. “Purposely, I just shut down. There was no media. I don’t know about the club but I went to ground anyway and didn’t do anything. “I wouldn’t like to be caught up in that kind of thing. It does have an impact on your personal life. The funny thing was someone said it was masterminded on the sideline and I said, ‘If you got a camera and looked, we were just (in) panic stations not knowing what was going on! So I thought that was funny. “I know you say it’s an amateur game but I think Rory O’Carroll brought it back down. We were out in a pub and he said, ‘Can you believe we’re on Prime Time? Can you actually believe? This will go down as one of the funniest things that’s ever happened.’ “I suppose that’s one way of laughing at it but no it was definitely stressful at the time.” Brennan seems to be a man with impeccable timing. He left Kilmacud after two All-Ireland finals, following up a defeat to Kilcoo by beating Glen, before the same opposition took them out in the All-Ireland semi-final the year after. Around about that time, Colm O’Rourke was the Meath manager. He was pleading with everyone that the Royals project would be judged on how they performed against Dublin. He also wanted his second term to be a long-term one as he felt it was a major rebuild. Either way, the county board didn’t agree. The job became available and Brennan makes no bones about it; he has inherited a panel. One good enough to beat Dublin, or at least this iteration of it. “Going down (to Portlaoise) we felt we had a justifiable chance given it’s not the same Dublin team. With the likes of Sean Bugler, Eoin Murchan missing and Sean McMahon, it probably took them back a little bit as well,” he says. “I don’t know if it’s ahead of schedule. I keep referencing Andy Mac (McEntee) and the work he did. He probably drove it to within an inch of his life. I don’t think he could get any more out of his time there. He was brilliant. “Colm (O’Rourke) took it on for those couple of years. A lot of the players that Colm introduced are there now. A lot of the heavy lifting has been done and we just nudged it on that little bit.” A potted recap on that semi-final. Twelve points up after getting the benefit of the wind in the first half, Brennan went in at half-time thinking it might not be enough. The thinking with six minutes left and just ahead by two at that stage? “Yeah, that was Alex Ferguson stuff at that stage alright, squeaky bum stuff. I suppose that’s inevitable isn’t it? As soon as a goal went in. With Dublin, I suppose, every time they get a goal you’re used to that momentum,” he says. “If that was Croke Park and the Hill behind them – we’ve all been there, we’ve seen it happen so many times. “It was certainly panicky at that stage, if I’m being honest. Fair play to the lads, they got a bit of momentum back and managed to wrestle it back.” And onto Louth. He’s receiving all the What’s App messages and the craic about their 2010 Leinster final, already well documented by now. “But look, that’s going to be part of it, isn’t it? You can’t hide all the stuff that happened, particularly going back to 2010,” he says. “But there’s been loads of Louth-Meath games. I think of Graham (Geraghty) coming in on the helicopter. Loads of different things down through the years. “But look, as I say for some of our players, it doesn’t even register with some of them.” Well, on the way home from the semi-final, he sat beside one of the younger members of the panel and gave him the old, ‘God, Meath-Louth, eh?’ eye-rolling. The young player had no idea about 2010. “I was in the Hogan watching,” says Brennan. “And I still blame Seamus Kenny. I know he gets sick of me laughing at that, but Seamus is at fault for all of that. It was really the aftermath, the two or three days. “I was in Dunboyne at the time, Nigel (Crawford) was playing, and his phone was hopping, asking him what was going to happen and all that kind of stuff. A lot of controversy, but look, it’s a long time ago. “I said it to one of the players coming back on the bus the other day and he knew nothing about it. That probably tells you how old we are, or I am anyway, looking at it! “It’s very much about the here and now, but it was all a bit crazy when you think back to it.” * Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here Declan Bogue Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “'It was all a bit crazy when you think back': Chaos and controversy, the Meath-Louth rivalry”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “'It was all a bit crazy when you think back': Chaos and controversy, the Meath-Louth rivalry”. 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