By Michael Devlin

The sight of Alan Brogan’s clean heels as he galloped away from the chasing Trevor Giles during the 2002 Leinster semi-final was an early sign that the Meath legend’s inter-county days were beginning to come to an end.

Three years later, Giles would call time on his illustrious Royal County career as a triple All-Star with three Leinster titles and two All-Irelands in his back pocket. Footballer of the Year in 1996 and '99, he looks back on that day 17 years ago as a game when the bright light of the great ‘90’s Meath team began to flicker.

“Dublin came with a new team that year, and I suppose we took a long time to recover from that defeat in 2001, losing an All-Ireland by nine points. I suppose we were vulnerable that day, confidence had been hit a little bit,” says Giles.

“Myself, I played reasonably fine that day. I do remember Alan Brogan getting the ball around midfield, and he just took off. You just kind of say to yourself, ‘Wow, he’s fast’. He is fast, but you’re also asking, ‘Am I getting a little slower here?’ You haven’t too much longer here, on a big pitch in Croke Park’.

If that loss to the old enemy was a symbolic dusk for that Meath team, then the Leinster final against the same opponents in 1996 was its dawn. Giles was in his third year of the senior panel having won All-Irelands at minor and Under 21 level, but had already experienced two Leinster final defeats in his first two seasons with the Meath seniors. Dethroning the then All-Ireland Champions in 1996 turned the tide.

“I suppose your back was a bit to the wall that day in ‘96, you couldn’t countenance losing a third Leinster Final. You couldn’t play poorly in a third Leinster Final on a personal level, or all that underage success and promise was going to count for nothing.

“The Meath public were demanding in those days, if you hadn’t won a Leinster Final against Dublin you weren’t considered a great Meath player, no matter what you done at underage age. So it was one of those one where it was time to do something.

“That game personally was the one I worked hardest in all my appearances with Meath, expended the most energy. Even at that, there were only two points in it at the end and the ball went across the goals and Dublin could have scored a goal and we still could have lost.

“So to overturn a series of defeats to a team that you’d nearly have to be five or six points better than to win by a point, that was one of my favourite games ever in a Meath jersey.”

Giles would chart his own Meath career with a gradual downward curve. Around the turn of the millennium the Leinster championship was an open field. Between 1997 and 2004, six different counties won the Delaney Cup. In 2005 began the dominance of the Dubs, a train of provincial success that is still ongoing, with only Meath’s success in 2010 interrupting the run.

“I finished in 2005 and at that stage, Dublin were winning Leinster but they were struggling against Kerry and Tyrone. It was more we had fallen from our previous heights. It’s great to win your All-Irelands young. I was 21 and 24, and we’d won two and that’s great, but when you start off at that standard and your standard drops in your last few season, it finishes on a bit of a low note.

“Compare that with [Armagh’s] Kieran McGeeney, who played for years and didn’t win anything, then his final few seasons were very successful. If you could choose it you’d go that route, finish your last few years at the top.

“But you can’t be too fussy at the same time, I’m glad we won what we did. Just in our last few years, I wasn’t as good as I used to be, the team wasn’t as good as it used to be, it feeds into your confidence levels and belief.

“When I was finishing up, I knew I wasn’t playing as well as I used to, or certainly not playing at the level I need to for Meath to be successful, not like the likes of Alan Brogan flying around the place! When you can’t do that, it’s not as enjoyable playing.

“Certainly my last couple of seasons it was getting hard to influence the game, so I said, ‘Look, it’s time for me to go here’.”

In his pomp though, there were few forwards better than Trevor Giles. He was iconic not only for that sleeveless Kepak jersey, but for the skill and talent he displayed while wearing it. One of the best set piece kickers of any era, his supreme passing ability and vision set him apart.

But could the Skyrne attacker flourish in today’s Gaelic Football climate? Giles believes the role of the classic centre-forward has changed, but there is still scope for players exude that same style.

“If you were playing nowadays at centre-forward, you’d have plenty more defenders around you than I would have had for most of my career. But at the same time there is still room for a player with a bit of vision that can find a pass or a hand-pass to unlock a defence.

“I think there’s a room for that, that you could still survive and play today. You probably wouldn’t have the influence you had in the 90’s when it was more one-against-one. We had John McDermott in midfield, at least getting 50 per cent share of ball, and that could influence a game.

“You’ve sweepers nowadays and you’d be double marked. Graham Geraghty and Ollie Murphy inside, it would be harder to get a pass into them. I still think the real top players have an influence today. Michael Murphy had a great influence in the second half there against Meath in the League Final.

“I think I’m glad I played when I did. Leinster was so competitive with Dublin, Kildare, Westmeath and Laois all winning, Offaly were winning Leinster titles. I played for 12 years and we won three. It was pretty good going.”