Meath's team management now seem resigned to the fact that Tommy Dowd will not face Cork in Sunday's All-Ireland football final at Croke Park. Dowd has made a good recovery from a severe back injury, but he has played only two club matches within the last 11 weeks and is well short of the kind of match fitness which would be required for an All-Ireland final. Team manager Sean Boylan has not totally ruled out the possibility that Dowd might make an appearance at some stage, but it is unlikely.
The news about Ollie Murphy, who was carried off the field after about 20 minutes of the semi-final against Armagh, is much better. According to Boylan, he has made a good recovery from a ligament strain and has taken a full part in training in recent weeks.
The Meath and Cork teams will be announced tonight.
The Meath squad had a day out in Wales last Saturday week. They travelled on the Stena Sealink to Treddur Bay near Holyhead where they spent the day. They had a training session in a local park and had a meal before returning to Dun Laoghaire later that evening.
"It was simply an attempt to break off from the boredom of training. We went for a walk on the beach, had a light training session and a meal. We had a very enjoyable day. Nothing special - just a get-together," Boylan said.
Cork supporters do not expect any drastic changes in their team for the final. The only position which might cause a stir is that of right half forward. Brendan Jer O'Sullivan filled that position in the Munster final against Kerry while Micheal Cronin played against Mayo. However, Aidan Dorgan, first-choice at the start of the championship, is fit again and will push strongly to reclaim his place.
Mayo have named an unchanged side for Sunday's minor final with Down, keeping faith with the side that beat Cork by seven points in the semi-final. There will be no changes among the substitutes either.
This will be Mayo's 16th appearance in an All-Ireland minor final, with their last title coming in 1985.
Meanwhile, Waterford county board chairman P J Ryan has promised a "thorough investigation" into the violent scenes which marred the county senior hurling final between Ballygunner and Mount Sion at Walsh Park on Sunday.
It was the fifth time that the teams had met in the final in the '90s and it was clear from the start that old grudges still existed. An experienced observer said yesterday that "there was needle in the match from the start". There were a number of minor incidents which resulted in referee John Hunt putting several names in his notebook.
It was not until the seventh minute of the second half, however, that the referee saw fit to send off Roy McGrath of Mount Sion for an off-the-ball offence. Later, following a widespread outbreak of violence among players and substitutes during which gardai and officials tried to intervene, two other players - Paul Power of Ballygunner and Eoin McGrath from Mount Sion - were sent off.
At one stage Ballygunner goalkeeper Ray Whitty was "felled" with a late tackle after he had cleared the ball. After the lengthy stoppage which ensued and several other stoppages for other injuries, the referee played some 11 minutes added time before Ballygunner won, 1-18 to 210.
Meanwhile, serious concern still persists regarding the condition of Kilkenny hurler P J Delaney, who was seriously injured in a fracas outside a nightclub in Thurles on Saturday night. Yesterday his condition was described at "critical but stable" by a spokesman for the Cork Regional Hospital.
It seems that after a disturbance in the nightclub just off Liberty Square, Delaney made an effort to calm matters down but was struck with a blunt instrument. Two of his friends were also attacked and one of them was also knocked unconscious.
Delaney was first moved by ambulance to Cashel and later to Cork Regional Hospital where an operation to remove a clot on his brain was performed. It will be several days before the success or otherwise of that operation can be assessed.
MAYO (MF v Down): J O'Hara; MJ Meeneghan, P Kelly, J Brogan; R Keane, P Coady, C Moran; J Gill, G Duffy; R Moran, BJ Padden, B Loftus; G Dillon, A Dillon, E Gallagher. Subs: M Burke, S Lindsay, B Jordan, J Moran, E Barrett, R Walsh, D Costelloe, D Marley, M Webb.
