Issue link: http://digitaleditions.uberflip.com/i/1437906
22 | WINTER 2021 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie C OAC H F O C U S By Jackie Cahill O N St. Stephen's Day, when there's a quiet couple of hours in the evening, Paul Garrigan will sit back and relive the magic all over again. On Sunday, September 5 last, Garrigan was an ecstatic coach as Meath made history with a stunning TG4 All-Ireland Senior Final victory over Dublin at Croke Park. A long, memorable and successful season for the Royals finally concluded on December 11 when they played host to the TG4 Underdogs at Donaghmore/Ashbourne, winning by 3-18 to 1-2 on the day. There were some brilliant days in 2021, like the Lidl National League Division 2 Final victory over Kerry at Croke Park, the TG4 All-Ireland Senior quarter-final win against a fancied Armagh, and that incredible come-from-behind success against Cork at the semi-final stage. But nothing could top All-Ireland Final day, as the pre-match outsiders upset the odds to land the Brendan Martin Cup. PAUL GARRIGAN "ONLY PEOPLE WITHIN GAELIC GAMES WOULD APPRECIATE IT. I DON'T KNOW OF ANY OTHER STORY THAT WOULD REPLICATE IT." Clockwise from Top Left: Meath joint manager Paul Garrigan Before the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Ladies Football Championship Final between Meath and Westmeath, 2020. 2 The Brendan Martin Cup, Dublin v Meath 2021; 3. Referee Brendan Rice with team captains Sinéad Aherne, Dublin and Shauna Ennis, Meath 2021 4. Meath players celebrate with the cup after the Lidl Ladies Football National League Division 2 Final match between Kerry and Meath, 2021. And Garrigan will turn the clock back when he sits down to watch that Final all over again on December 26. For 42-year-old Garrigan, a full-time coach with Leinster GAA, based in Wicklow, it's been quite the year. On December 20, 2020, he was hobbling around Croke Park as Meath atoned for two previous Final losses to land the TG4 All- Ireland Intermediate title. "I woke up around two years ago with a pain in my groin," Garrigan explains. "I went to the doctor and he remarked that I was very stiff, and asked if I had any hip issues in my family history. "I was sent for a scan in Santry and I was told I had the hips of an 80-year-old man." Garrigan had no cartilage in his hips and both of them were replaced – one in February 2021, the other in March. Before those surgeries, and at its height, the discomfort for Garrigan was substantial. He could bend down but when he came