Boylan's birthday a major milestone in the life of a legend

Happy birthday Sean. On Tuesday, 12th December, Sean Boylan will celebrate his 80th birthday.

It's a very significant milestone in anyone's life, one of those roundy birthdays that should be celebrated.

Boylan is, of course, a major personality in the Mount Rushmore of the GAA, his legendary status created during his years managing Meath from 1982 to 2005.

It was during his days with Meath he was the central figure in sparking one of the great transformations in Irish sport. The Dunboyneman turned a group of footballers in his native county, into champions - All-Ireland champions - and how he did it fascinated, intrigued and delighted many; irritated others.

From rank outsiders, Meath became All-Ireland SFC winners in 1987 (ending a 20-year exile from the top table) and, just to prove how good they were, they won the Sam Maguire again the following year. Winning something once is all well and good but doing it twice in quick succession proves you really deserve it. That you have the stuff of champions. The right stuff.

In turning the Meath football team into winners the Dunboyne man gave something intangible yet so, so priceless to the people of the county. His tribe. He gave them pride in themselves and in their native land.

His teams' many adventures and triumphs enriched people's lives with their exploits; made them proud to say they were from the Royal County; that they were Meath men and women. The Royals.

Why else would huge numbers of fans not only attend Meath games but even training sessions? Back in the 1980s Meath trained in Dalgan Park. Before big championship matches it seemed like thousands were in attendance at those workouts. People just wanted to be a close to their heroes. Standing shoulder to shoulder with them as they prepared for the big days in Croke Park.

And there were plenty of those big days. As well as the All-Ireland triumphs of 1987 and '88 further, major triumphs followed in 1996 and '99 when the Sam Maguire was brought back down to the banks of the Boyne.

Boylan had a way of bringing a diverse group of players together and moulding them into a team. A team that could win games. He did it time and again.

The All-Ireland triumphs no doubt inspired many Meath supporters in their ordinary lives. They watched how the team overcame difficulties; how they worked and strived to fulfill their ambitions. Followers recognised all that and translated it into their own lives. They knew that with the right approach, a positive attitude, they could triumph too, realize their own ambitions.

One of Boylan's greatest assets as Meath manager was his ability to give players confidence. How else did so many players who turned out at junior and intermediate levels with their clubs turn into All-Ireland and Leinster winning inter-county footballers?

He has an unshakable belief in the potential of people. It is this belief that has helped players bridge major divides; become better than they might otherwise have become.

That belief he gave players was reflected in they way the Meath team over the years dug out amazing victories.

Time and again they look destined to lose games only to come back and overcome impossible odds and end up as winners.

It happened time and again in the never-to-be forgotten four-game saga between Meath and Dublin in 1991. In 1996 Meath should have been beaten by Mayo in the first All-Ireland final. They were, by some distance, behind the Connacht side that day. They hung on, Colm Coyle scored a late, fortunate point and the match went to a replay which Meath won. His teams were never beaten.

Boylan also has an amazing ability to recall people's names. Everyone knows him but he appears to know so many people personally.

Because of his role as a herbalist Boylan knows how the body works better than most and how a player's "inner core " can be strengthened and improved. To help the Meath players attain a high level of fitness he employed a new way of thinking when he became manager.

He brought the players to the Hill of Tara, to the sands and water of Bettystown beach. He had them canoeing down the Canal. It was revolutionary stuff back in the 1980s.

Yet he also knows that without the mind becoming strong and robust too all the physical improvement can count for nothing. One has to accompany the other so he encouraged his troops, focused on the positive and how could they were, or could be.

Of course, his years in charge of Meath, also contained many setback and disappointments, painful losses such as the 1991 All-Ireland final defeat to Down. In 1987 he also stepped down as Meath manager, or at least threatened to do so, because he felt the players weren't putting in enough effort in their training. He set standards and wanted them to be met. He was persuaded by Joe Cassells and others to stay on.

Throughout Boylan's years also there were accusations of Meath ruthlessly going out to win games. 'Dirty Meath' became an accusation bandied about by distractors who found it difficult to marry Boylan's persona - the affable, humanitarian, kindly figure - with that of his teams who went out and, the critics felt, pummelled opponents into submission.

Players of his era points out that Boylan never once did he send them out to kick anybody or take an opponent out. The players themselves did what they felt needed to be done in the white heat of battle - and it was often a battle. A brutal survival of the fittest.

Before he became involved with Meath football Boylan was a hurler, turning out for Dunboyne and Meath in a game he loves.

After he had stepped down as Meath manager he went on to take charge of the Irish team in the Compromise Rules series against Australia in 2006.

He has had his own personal battles too. In 2009 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer following a check-up for what he thought was a pulled muscle. He fought the disease bravely and recovered.

He's still involved in the GAA even after all these years. He was back in the Meath fold this year, helping Colm O'Rourke as a selector and advisor.

No doubt he'll be back in 2024 doing what he can for his native county. For his people. His tribe.