PAUL BEALIN is Dublin's longest serving midfielder. The only surprising thing about his arrival to man a midfield position on Gerry McCaul's team in 1989 relates to his status then as a registered junior player operating with St Kevin's in Kilnamanagh.
Since then he has collected a mass of awards that include an All Ireland medal, four national leagues and a Railway Cup medal. He likes to think that playing for Dublin out of the St Kevin's club is another accolade won on behalf of his former junior clubmates.
More honours beckon, starting, he hopes, with another Meath scalp in Sunday's Leinster senior football final at Croke Park.
"I didn't leave St Kevin's for Ballyboden St Enda's to give myself a better chance of playing for Dublin. I was already an established member of the Dublin team by the time I left junior football."
He regards it as "a good and confident feeling'" to be playing on the county team with his Ballyboden club midfield partner Brian Stynes.
"I won't deny that it is an advantage. You become so familiar with a player by playing together week in and week out. We know each other's calls so well. Sure, I was comfortable playing alongside other midfielders for Dublin. Jack Sheedy and myself teamed up really well but I must admit that playing alongside a clubmate like Brian gives you an advantage.
Bealin is too modest of course to admit another major advantage the Ballyboden clubmates create for Dublin. They fit in with the modern type running game in that both players are not shy to take possession and solo forward.
Some observers are inclined to imagine not without justification, that the entire tenor of the match will depend on the outcome of the duels between Dublin's half backs and Meath's half forwards. Some even narrow it down to the one to one battle between Paul Curran and Graham Geraghty.
Bealin does not see such predictions lifting responsibility off his or Brian Stynes's shoulders in the usually crucial engine room exchanges.
"You are talking here about six excellent players, all set for a great battle. The pressure on either side will mount depending on the outcome of these two lines' and if we come out on top, I would imagine we could do more damage to them at the other end."
"But," says the Dublin six footer, "it's really going to be 15 against 15 at the end of the day. We all have big jobs to do. Every player will be aware of the importance of playing his part."
Bealin, who still has vivid memories of the four meetings of the sides in the 1991 championship, is convinced that "it will be decided on the day." He reechoes the sentiments of manager Micky Whelan: "Meath are the form team and as such are entitled to be favourites. Looking back at the two games they have played as against our two, they were by far the more impressive.
He adds: "They beat Laois well and anybody who would regard Laois as a poor championship side would not be a good judge, We would have to improve on our displays against Louth if we are to beat the form team.
"It will be a tough and close match. Last year's 10 points win was a freak result. It was largely a case of us refusing to panic when Meath came back at us to take a point lead. I reckon that Paul Clarke's goal was crucial.
"I agree with Martin O'Connell, the younger players in both teams will strive to make it very much a running game and I suspect the respective managers to give them their heads in this regard."
Bealin rues the injury sustained by Joe McNally that keeps the burly St Anne's man out of Sunday's game." I know the way Joe is feeling right now. Injuries especially before a big game are a curse.
But he does not see McNally's defection as something that will disrupt plans despite his reputation as a target man.
"The ball will still be going, in there no matter who is wearing the number 14 jersey. The nature of that ball is not for publication.
McNally is a superfielder of the high ball but now the strategy will be subjected to readjustments. We'll have to send in really high ones to Jason," Bealin quips.
"The fact that Dublin have All Ireland medal winners like Jason Sherlock and Pat Gilroy to come into Sunday's team reflects the current strength of the panel.
"I tend to believe, though, that experience goes out the window in matches like this. Take Cork last Sunday. They had dominated the Munster championship for the past four years but the young Kerry team were having none of it."
"Meath have at least six class players. I would rate McDermott, McGuinness and the full forward O'Reilly among them," says Bealin.
"The difference between last year and this time is that we have since gone on to lift the All Ireland and this is really great. The feeling after our win 12 months ago was very much of the kind that Meath would be finished for another three or fours years what with some older players having to be replaced by inexperienced ones.
"But it hasn't quite worked out that way, has it?"
Meanwhile, Niall Guiden remains extremely doubtful to fill the vacant AN Other left half forward position on the Dublin team. If Guiden's slipped disc has not responded to treatment by tomorrow morning, Damien O'Brien will be called into the attack.
There is still a very good chance of the Ulster senior football final between Down and Tyrone going out live on television from Clones on Sunday.
The indications from Havelock House in Belfast are, that despite a sense of indignation for being asked to comply with the Ulster GAA Council's request for live exposure of the match so late in the day, "all the stops will be pulled out this morning in order to send the match out live.
Down manager Peter McGrath said yesterday that the VTY crew attending his squad's training session on Wednesday night gave the impression that the match would be given a live transmission.
A special meeting of UTV programming staff is arranged for this morning when a final decision will be made.
FIC president Pat McQuaid is "very hopeful" that the 1998 Tour de France will start in Dublin. The route for next year will be revealed in October and then in November the organisers are expected to announce the starting point for the following year.
McQuaid spent a few days on the Tour last week and.had discussions with the top officials. He said: "There are several important aspects in our favour, the most obvious being the worldwide television coverage. It would be greatly to our advantage, showing Ireland off. It is all down to the government but I am very hopeful we will receive the required backing and a decision will be made in our favour."
It is proposed to have the Saturday evening prologue time trial over a closed city centre circuit. Stage one would then start and finish in Dublin but McQuaid added that nothing definite had been arranged, "it could go around a loop north, south or west but that decision would be made by the Tour people." The other stage on Irish roads could go to either Rosslare or Cork for the ferry to Roscoff. McQuaid said: "A lot has to be taken into consideration. There is the transportation of 1,500 Tour vehicles and then from Rosslare to Roscoff would be 15 hours with an hour shorter from Cork. It would be a huge operation but it can be done."
There are about 2,000 people involved in the Tour, including the 198 riders, and close on 1,000 press representatives. There is one other application in from outside France, from Liege in Belgium.
Of more immediate interest on the home front, Sunday's Tour of Armagh at Lurgan is the second, last of eight events to count in the classic league.
