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15 For 30: Vote Now For Your Best Meath Team Of The Last 30 Years

15 For 30: Vote Now For Your Best Meath Team Of The Last 30 Years
Michael McCarthy
By Michael McCarthy
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It's time for the third installment of our GAA series here on Balls.ie - 15 for 30.

Each week, we want you to choose a different county's best football and/or hurling team for the last 30 years (from 1990 - 2019). Just pick your favourite team from 1-15 and we'll tally the votes over the course of a week and reveal your county's final XV, as voted by you.

In week 1, we kicked things off with the Donegal footballers, while last week we turned to hurling with the Waterford team of the last 30 years which was revealed on Saturday.

This week, we turn back to football and begin the search for Meath's 15 for 30.

Meath

Meath's 15 for 30 creates the most interesting question yet. Undeniably the greatest team in Meath's history was the All-Ireland winners of 1987 and 1988. However, those achievements can't be considered for this selection. Even so, most of that team were still around when the county made consecutive All-Ireland finals in 1990 and 1991. Were those achievements, including the epic four game series with Dublin in '91, enough to get these legends on this team?

The majority of players will likely come from the second great wave of the Sean Boylan era - the All-Ireland champions of 1996 and 1999. Both teams live long in the memories and imagination of Meath men and women and continue to cast longer and longer shadows as their achievements go unmatched. In 2001, a mixture of old and new made a last burst for Meath, hammering Kerry in an All-Ireland semi-final before going down to Galway in the decider.

Since then, it's been the doldrums for Meath football. A controversial 2010 Leinster title is all they have to show for the last 19 years of constant rebuilding. However, some fantastic players, possibly born at the wrong time, have worn the green and gold in that time. How much will their contribution be considered and valued by voters?

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Meath players have been awarded 33 All-Stars in the last 30 years, but remarkably have only since 2001 - Stephen Bray's award in 2007. Trevor Giles also won Footballer of the Year in 1996 and 1999, and remains the only player to have won the award twice.

Meath

You can read the rules, such as they are, here, but suffice to say, just pick your favourite team from 1-15 and we'll make sure we get the most popular team together by the end of the voting.

You can vote by emailing your team to [email protected], by sending a message to any of our social channels, or by simply filling out your team in the box below.

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Let your friends know about it and let the debates begin!

VOTE HERE:

(Remember to pick your team from 1-15 the way you'd want them to line out. If you don't want Ollie Murphy in goals, don't put him at number 1!)


Voting ends this Saturday the 6th June and the full team will be revealed that evening.

In case you're in need of some assistance, we've broken down some key achievements by Meath teams and individuals over the last 30 years.

 

Meath Silverware Since 1990: 

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship x2 - 1996, 1999

Leinster Senior Football Championships x6 - 1990, 1991, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2010

National Football League x2: 1990, 1994

All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship: 1993

All-Ireland Minor Football Championships x2: 1990, 1992

 

Meath All-Stars Since 1990: 

4 - Tommy Dowd - 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996

 

3 - Martin O'Connell - 1990, 1991, 1996

John McDermott - 1996, 1998, 1999

Darren Fay - 1996, 1999, 2001

Trevor Giles - 1996 (FOTY), 1997, 1999 (FOTY)

 

2 - Graham Geraghty - 1994, 1999

Ollie Murphy - 1999, 2001

 

1 - Robbie O'Malley - 1990

Terry Ferguson - 1990

David Beggy - 1990

Michael McQuillan - 1991

Colm O'Rourke - 1991

Brian Stafford  - 1991

Bernard Flynn - 1991

Brendan Reilly - 1997

Mark O'Reilly - 1999

Paddy Reynolds - 1999

Cormac Sullivan - 1999

Evan Kelly - 2001

Stephen Bray - 2007

 

SEE ALSO: Revealed: The Best Waterford Team Of The Last 30 Years As Voted By You

SEE ALSO: Revealed: The Best Donegal Team Of The Last 30 Years As Voted By You

 

 

 

 

Stay tuned to Balls.ie all this week for analysis of the key matchups, voting updates and a Meath man will pick his own 15 for 30.

 

 

 

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