In the summer of 2006 Roscommon crashed out of the championship, beaten 1-19 to 0-9 by Meath on a scorcher of a day in Navan. Cathal Cregg, with a full head of highlights, had scored three early points in his first championship start, buzzing off the ground, before everything fell apart.

My cousin Philip was heading for Trim well before the final whistle was blown, and he wasn’t alone. An all too familiar scenario at the time. This was the first year of the post-Sean Boylan era for Meath, they exited the qualifiers in the subsequent round, beaten comfortably by Laois. But in July 2006 they looked a team 10 years ahead of the Rossies in every aspect of their development, and that was a scary prospect.