IT HAS been revealed defender Caoimhin King actually left the Meath senior football panel last Thursday and not, as had been reported, last Sunday on the day of the county’s win over Wicklow in their Leinster championship openerat Dr Cullen Park.
An established member of the inter-county set-up since 2005, the Dunshauglin club man was keen to stress his reason for leaving had nothing to do with being dropped. “I had no problem sitting on the bench,” said King yesterday. “My issue was with the way the management was operating things. There was more to it than not being selected.”
King was not willing to go into specifics but the wing back retains ambitions of returning to the panel. “There has been no communication with any of the management since Thursday but, yes, hopefully I will get back some day. Playing for Meath is the be all and end all for me.”
After relegation to Division Three in April, the Meath executive tried to gain the requisite two-thirds vote majority from the club delegates to replace manager Séamus McEnaney with Seán Boylan. They fell six votes short.
The players made no public comment, either in support or against the manager, at that time. Former All-Ireland winners from the Boylan era, Trevor Giles and Graham Geraghty, are part of the current backroom team.
Meanwhile, TV3 have announced their schedule of fixtures for the championship, starting with All-Ireland football champions Dublin against Louth at Croke Park this Sunday.
As Peter Canavan has become the manager of Fermanagh, Darragh Ó Sé has joined the football experts panel, while Matt Cooper returns as anchorman for the fifth year they have shared broadcasting rights with RTÉ.
They will show at least 11 live matches, including the Munster, Ulster and Connacht football finals, along with the two All-Ireland minor finals in September. “The advent of TV3 has been wonderful for us,” said GAA director general Páraic Duffy. “It brings a new dimension to the coverage of Gaelic games.”
TV3 schedule
June 3rd – Leinster SFC quarter-final: Dublin v Louth
July 1st – Leinster SFC semi-final: Dublin/Louth v Wexford/Longford
July8th – Munster football final July 7th – Hurling phase two qualifier (possible)
July 14th – Hurling phase three or football round two qualifier
July 15th – Connacht football final
July 21st – Football round three qualifier (possible)
July 22nd – Ulster football final
July 28th – All-Ireland football round four qualifier
July 29th – All-Ireland hurling quarter-final
August 4th – All-Ireland football quarter-final
September 9th – Minor hurling All-Ireland final
September 23rd – Minor football All-Ireland final
