Eoghan Frayne enjoying life as Meath captain

​By Paul Keane

When new Meath manager Robbie Brennan installed Eoghan Frayne as his captain for 2025, it was a significant statement.

Frayne had only started five Championship games at that stage and hadn't featured at all in the 2023 Tailteann Cup final win.

It was a similar story for Ciaran Caulfield, another third level student in his early 20s, who was named this season's vice-captain.

What Brennan was making crystal clear was that he had full trust and faith in the squad's talented young players to take the Royal County reins and to drive things on.

Six months later, Frayne has already captained Meath to Championship wins over Dublin, Kerry and Cork. In a lot of other seasons, that would have meant you'd won the All-Ireland though Meath are still only at the quarter-final stage, preparing to face Galway this Sunday.

For Frayne, it's been a rapid rise from where he was just two years ago to where he is now.

"Robbie probably just wanted to put more, I won't say pressure, but to give more responsibility to lads that are starting off, rather than giving it to the same fellas that are further on in their careers," said Frayne of the captaincy, at the launch of RTE Sport's action-packed summer campaign.

"They've been doing it long enough, they don't need to be worrying about all that stuff now, they just kind of need to focus on themselves. They've kind of done their trade and that sort of stuff.

"So he's been good, giving us that bit more responsibility, to the younger lads, and kind of getting us to drive it on."

Frayne didn't see the captaincy coming so quickly for him though.

"Definitely came quicker than expected," he nodded. "Maybe down the line, maybe it was a goal of mine to captain Meath, just from being minor and U-20s captain in the past, it would have nearly been a natural progression.

"I feel that I always wanted to be (captain) and I would have been working towards that. But then when it came along, I was obviously shocked that it came so soon.

"But I didn't have to think twice about it. I was always going to say, 'yes'. It's obviously a great honour for me, especially when I'm 22."

Brennan hasn't exactly overlooked or sidelined experienced players though. In fact, one of the first things he did after succeeding Colm O'Rourke as manager was to recall former captain Bryan Menton, 2023 Tailteann Cup final Man of the Match Jack Flynn and sticky defender Seamus Lavin.

All of them had missed at least a season with Meath but Menton and Lavin have started every single Allianz League and Championship game this year while Flynn was an ever present at midfield, next to Menton, until suffering a hamstring injury.

Donal Keogan, Cillian O'Sullivan, James McEntee and another ex-captain, Ronan Jones, are still contributing too.

But it's a young Meath group generally with 2021 All-Ireland minor winners Jack Kinlough and Brian O'Halloran already important senior players. Two-point poacher Conor Duke was a Meath U-20 in 2024 while club and county colleague Ruairi Kinsella is just out of the underage ranks.

Frayne said that Dunboyne resident Brennan has done a great job pulling them all together.

"It's energy, he fills the lads with confidence," said the Summerhill clubman of the manager. "He's been great so far. He makes you feel 10-foot tall when you're playing. At the same time, if you're not pulling your weight, he'll tell you. He gets to the point as well. But he's been great, everyone gets on really well with him. He's definitely brought a new, fresh approach and fresh ideas. It's just an energy that he's brought to training."

Asked exactly how far this improving Meath group can go, Frayne smiled, imagining the headlines that he might create.

"Look, I don't know, hopefully winning All-Irelands," he eventually said. "That has to be the aim, your goal can't be just to beat Dublin in the Leinster championship. You have to be looking further on than that. Everyone wants to be winning All-Irelands and Leinster championships, so hopefully we can get there."

It's one step at a time though and as if to underline just how early it is in Frayne's inter-county senior career, he says he's only played at Croke Park twice with the Meath seniors. And he's yet to win there.

Dublin did the damage in last year's Leinster championship and Louth overcame Meath in last month's provincial final. That was a result that could have derailed Meath's season but they bounced back with three huge results; beating Cork and Kerry and drawing with Roscommon.

"It hit some lads different to others," said Frayne of the provincial final defeat. "Maybe the older lads on the squad might have thought that it was kind of their last chance.

"The younger lads, and there's a good few in the squad, I suppose they kind of brushed it off, or it doesn't hit them as hard. But look, it probably still takes a few days. It can be hard to get it out of your head, what you could have done and all that sort of stuff.

"Getting back training helps and setting the focus on a new target, coming in training and trying to get on with it."