Jet-setting Royals won five games in nine days
THREE players - Sean McCormack, Mick White and Paddy Mulvany - started and finished all five matches against the Galahs, while Mick O’Brien also saw action in all the games.
The five energy-sapping matches were played over a period of nine days and the opening game took place in Perth, at Leederville Oval, against a Western Australian selection on Saturday March 9th and was witnessed by an estimated 13,000 people.
Surprisingly it proved a one-sided affair, with Meath running out easy winners - 6-6 to 0-3. Meath started with the team that had defeated Cork the previous September to win the All-Ireland title.
MEATH: Sean McCormack; Mick White, Jack Quinn, Peter Darby; Pat Collier, Bertie Cunningham, Pat Reynolds 1-0; Peter Moore, Terry Kearns; Tony Brennan 1-3, Mattie Kerrigan, Mick Mellett 0-1; Paddy Mulvany 0-1, Noel Curran, Oliver Shanley 2-0. Subs: Peter Black 1-1 for Curran, Jimmy Walsh for Mellett, Mick O’Brien 1-0 for Kearns, Pat Rooney for Moore, Ollie Geraghty for Shanley.
•Two days later - and 2,000 miles away - the biggest crowd of the tour, 28,636, gathered at Melbourne Cricket Ground for the second match in the series.
This proved a much more physical encounter, but again Meath prevailed - 3-9 to 0-7. MEATH: S McCormack; M White, J Quinn, P Darby; P Collier, B Cunningham, P Reynolds; P Moore 0-1, T Kearns; T Brennan 1-2, M Kerrigan 1-1, M Mellett 0-2; P Mulvany 0-2, P Black, O Shanley 0-1. Subs: M O’Brien 1-0 for Kearns, D Carty for Brennan, A Lyons for Collier.
•Meath’s journey then took them to Sydney where the third match, under floodlights, against New South Wales was watched by 3,000.
Of course the Meath players had no previous experience of
playing under lights, but the conditions were somewhat cooler than daytime.
Three goals in the final five minutes left it 3-14 to 1-3 in favour of the Royals.
MEATH: S McCormack; M White, M Quinn, P Cromwell; J Walsh, A Lyons, P Mulvany; P Rooney, O Geraghty; P Bruton, M O’Sullivan, D Carty; G Quinn, N Curran, M O’Brien.
•The winning streak continued in Adelaide against a Southern Australian selection on Friday March 15th, again under floodlights, before an estimated attendance of 8,569.
This time Meath won in what proved a hard-fought encounter - 6-5 to 1-9.
MEATH: S McCormack; M White, J Quinn, P Cromwell; P Collier, B Cunningham, P Reynolds; P Moore, T Kearns; T Brennan 0-2, M Kerrigan 1-0, M Mellett 1-0; P Mulvany 1-1, P Black 1-1, O Shanley 2-1.
•Then it was back to Melbourne for the concluding match of the tour at the Carlton Ground, the home of Australian star Ron Barassi, on St Patrick’s Day.
The game was played in extreme heat, close to 100 degrees.
An Irish trade mission led by George Colley had arrived in Melbourne for St Patrick’s Day and the minister was handed the honour of throwing in the ball.
The Aussies were determined to prevent Meath from completing a grand slam and this was the closest contested of the five games. A goal from Paddy Mulvany finally turned the game in Meath’s favour and they emerged victors 2-9 to 1-7.
MEATH: S McCormack; M White, J Quinn, P Darby; P Collier, B Cunningham, P Reynolds; P Moore 1-0, T Kearns; T Brennan 0-4, M Kerrigan 0-1, M Mellett 0-2; P Mulvany 1-1, P Black, M O’Brien 0-1. Subs: P Cromwell for Darby, A Lyons for Kerrigan, J Walsh for Moore.