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24 | WINTER 2021 | www.ladiesgaelic.ie ladies team in 2014 when they played a Meath minor selection managed by Murray. "If that senior job comes up, give me a call, I might be interested," Garrigan told Murray that day. Murray was in touch in 2017 and Garrigan joined mid-season along with Michelle Grimes (mother of Meath star, Stacey) and goalkeeping coach, Paddy Dowling. Shane Wall would follow, meaning that three men who knew each other so well from their work with Baltinglass – Garrigan, Dowling and Wall – were back together. Mark Brennan, from the Old Leighlin club in Carlow, was another key addition as strength and conditioning coach, while Eugene Ivers from Boardsmill is another vital cog in the wheel. Armagh native and current Meath county board PRO, Fearghal Harney, the former board chairperson, is another man that Garrigan name-checks as a visionary influence. They took over a side struggling in Division 3 of the Lidl National League and with memories of a 40-point thumping at the hands of Cork in the 2015 Championship still fresh. The progress since then has been quite remarkable. Meath have reached the Championship summit and will play Division 1 League football in 2022. "You start trying to instil values and improve the culture," Garrigan recalls, "But before we thought about developing that culture, we needed to support ourselves with really good people." Garrigan cites Daniel Coyle's book 'The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups' as he discusses the transformation. He talks about the components that contribute to a very good team – like clarity of purpose. "The purpose for me was to always get better," Garrigan says. At the time, Garrigan reckons that Meath were ranked 17 th in the country. So, naturally, getting to the top of the tree wasn't going to happen overnight. He talks about the growth mindset in the team environment and the willingness of the players to learn and engage. Leaders began to emerge, Garrigan says, "that were going to drive the culture." There was a huge sense of accountability embedded while individual players and the group were empowered to take ownership of what the group was trying to achieve. "The last one was sub-culture alignment," Garrigan adds, explaining a desire to align each player with the group culture. It was about understanding that players have personal needs as well as sporting needs, and how best to support them in that. And, slowly but surely, something magical began to happen. The journey had well and truly begun – and it took this group up the steps of the Hogan Stand in September to experience the feeling of being All-Ireland Senior champions, before celebrating with elated fans in the stands and on the Hill 16 terrace. Now, the challenge is to try and ensure that the journey will continue – and hasn't already ended. With Paul Garrigan involved, there's a fair chance that there are more chapters to be written in this remarkable story. Clockwise from Top Left: 2021, Meath players, including Niamh Gallogly, centre, celebrate after their side's victory in the TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Senior Football Championship Final match between Dublin and Meath 2 2020, Meath joint manager Paul Garrigan prior to the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Ladies Football Championship Final match between Meath and Westmeath 3. 2021, Meath manager Eamonn Murray and strength and conditioning coach Eugene Ivers, C OAC H F O C U S