Inside Track: Meath’s Cummins and Coogan had an input in Louth GAA affairs

Meathmen Brendan Cummins and Noel Coogan, both of whom died recently, were involved in the communications game. One was a radio man, the other, wrote for the papers, as they say.

Brendan would have been heard up until quite recently, bringing news of Math GAA affairs to listeners of LMFM. He also did commentaries, nearly always joined on air by his trusty sidekick, Meath All-Ireland winner, Matt Kerrigan.

He wasn’t a stranger at Louth club and county games, sometimes standing in for, or working in tandem with, colleague Colm Corrigan.

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When Louth launched the two-house draw for the new county grounds a few years ago in Dundalk’s Imperial Hotel, he was the MC, interviewing a number of personalities on stage.

It would be quite a while since Noel Coogan’s by-line appeared, but when he was in full flow, his reports appeared in the Meath Chronicle and later, The Weekender. He was also a stringer (correspondent) for daily papers, and would have had stories published in Ireland’s Own.

I often conversed with both lads, and when it got lighthearted, as it nearly always did, I’d remind them of a connection both had with this county.

It was back in the 1970s when Coogan wrote a few articles for this paper. They mostly centred on Louth Gaelic football, and were sometimes controversial. No, they were always controversial, often raising the hackles of the local authority.

Around the time there was a player of the same name playing with Glen Emmets. So that fingers wouldn’t be pointed in the wrong direction, County Board chairman, Nicky Marry, explained to delegates at a meeting of the board that the writer of the articles appearing in the Democrat was not “our Noel Coogan”.

The other NC would chuckle every time I’d remind him of the recognition he got back then.

It was also in the 1970s when Brendan Cummins entered the football fray here. He won a junior championship medal with Seán O’Mahony’s, but don’t go looking for his name in the record-books – you won’t find it.

O’Mahony’s, coached by Leslie Toal, were out against Naomh Finbarra in the 1973 final in Castlebellingham. They had their photo taken before the game, and when it appeared in print, there was a chap in the back row with his head bowed. Could that have been the interloper, one BC?

I wasn’t allowing Cummins much of an escape route – or so I thought – when I put it to him the time he featured in the questions-and-answers series that ran on these pages.

“Come on, own up, was that you who lined out for Seán O’Mahony’s in the 1973 Louth junior final?”

Answer: “Was that the game against Naomh Finbarra on Sunday, September 26th, at 6.30? At The Grove? Don’t know anything about it.”

“I’ll take that as a yes – what name did you play under?”

Answer: “I think it was a Harry Houdini, playing in the full-forward line. He was one of the well-known Houdinis from the Quay.”

The infamous Leinster final had been played two years before the interview took place. Cummins was Meath County Board pro at the time, and this led to another question.

“Give us your thoughts on the final.”

Answer: “What is it they say about hindsight? Anyway, it was a terribly difficult situation and Leinster Council should have taken more control in the immediate aftermath. It was all so unsatisfactory on the Louth players.

“However, if the game had been replayed, then the subsequent Down v Kildare All-Ireland semi-final (which Down won with the help of a controversial Benny Coulter goal) would also have to be replayed, as would several games in which there are blatantly bad decisions.”

Loyal to the Royal – that was Brendan. And it would have been the same with Noel, though there were times when some of the Navan man’s words would have irked the local politburo.