David Beggy is hopeful that Colm O’Rourke can restore “the DNA of Meath with a modern twist” after agreeing to become the county’s new manager.
After he ruled out the prospect of succeeding Andy McEntee last month, the announcement from Meath GAA that O’Rourke’s name is to go forward for ratification came as a surprise yesterday.
An All-Ireland winner in 1987 and ‘88 and Texaco Footballer of the Year in 1991, O’Rourke was always seen as a likely Meath manager one day after bringing the curtain down on a 20-year inter-county career in 1995 but, just weeks from his 65th birthday, that opportunity seemed to have passed him by.
READ MORE: Colm O'Rourke put forward for ratification as new Meath manager
He took charge of Meath minor and under-21 sides but his most notable managerial success came with his adopted club of Simonstown Gaels, who he guided to their first Meath SFC title in 2016 and they retained the Keegan Cup under his stewardship the following year.
O’Rourke is currently back at the helm of the club’s senior team though he will naturally be relinquishing that role when their 2022 campaign ends and his position as a pundit for RTE and newspaper columnist will likely have to be curtailed at the very least.
Former Meath players Barry Callaghan and Stephen Bray will serve as his selectors, with others expected to be added to the backroom team in due course.
Beggy, who played alongside O’Rourke on those successful Meath sides of the 80s and early 90s, commented: “I’m a little bit surprised but I’m not in some ways because his enthusiasm for Meath football has never waned and he’s still young and fresh at heart.
“I know he’s 65 but he’s in great nick and he’s still full of energy so, yeah, it’s a long time coming. I thought he should have done it back in 2005, 2007 when Sean [Boylan] went but I’m glad he’s giving it a go now.
“His knowledge of club football in Meath is exemplary. He really knows every team in Meath.
“He’s brought a lot of players through at school level as well and underage so his finger would be very much on the local pulse of football which is very important and he’s on the sideline every week.
“He knows players are out there and I think he knows the difference between a good club player and a county footballer and that’s a talent.”
Beggy insists that expectations around where O’Rourke can take the team will have to be realistic, however. Successful minor teams have provided hope in recent years but any meaningful follow-through on that at senior level is “four or five years down the road at least”.
“If I thought of anybody who’d have a chance of giving it a go, he’s the one lad that I’d say we’ve a chance of getting it back in order.
“Look, he’s not going to change it overnight. Meath are struggling, they’re outside the top 16 at this stage nearly so they’re struggling. This is not an overnight fix and couldn’t be.
“There’s too much problems. Meath football wouldn’t be hectic at the moment so he’s not going to come up next year and beat Dublin or anything like that but what he’ll do is settle the ship.”
Interestingly, Beggy expects that O’Rourke will make contact with Conor Nash, who played under him at Simonstown before being lost to AFL club Hawthorn, with whom he is currently making waves.
“He’ll leave no stone unturned if there’s any fella out there from any corner of the world with a smell of Meath in him.
“The likes of Nash would have been a hell of a benefit for Meath over the last couple of years. He’s still a relatively young man.
“I haven’t heard much about him and don’t know whether he’s qualified to do medicine or something like that.
“He had a couple of injuries in Australia but I think he’s come back to fitness. He’d be a hell of a benefit to the team but it’s more trying to establish a style of football.
“I’m hoping he brings back a bit of the DNA of Meath from a number of years ago and I’m not wishing about the past, I’m wishing about the DNA that was in Meath football with a new kind of a modern twist. That’s what I’m hoping Colm will bring to it.
“Get a bit of what Meath football was about back on the pitch with the modern day what’s required and I’m delighted he’s going for it, to be honest with you, I really am.”
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