Davy Henry on the best of Dublin-Meath

Ahead of this weekend’s Leinster Football Final, dublingaa.ie caught up with Davy Henry, former Dublin Football captain and Raheny GAA clubman.

No stranger to big matches in the Blue and Navy, Henry has won seven Leinster Football titles, including five-in-a-row (2005-2009) as he moved through a back six that really rose to prominence in the mid to late noughties. 

We first asked him about his best memories of Dublin-Meath Championship battles: 

“I actually made my Championship debut against Meath. I came on in the Leinster Semi-Final in 2002, and that was my first real experience of this rivalry. It’s always a big deal to make that first step and I felt that I did alright on the day. We also won that day, which is hindsight was important because Meath had been very dominant in Leinster up to ’01. That game was the first step in Dublin really taking the upper-hand in these fixtures.” 

Apart from his Championship debut, the best Dublin-Meath memory for Davy Henry was the 2007 Leinster Quarter-Final battle that went to replay. The first game in particular is what many of us pick as one of his best ever performances for the Dubs.

“Yeah, that was a great battle of a game. Lashing rain, very physical. Exactly the type of Dublin-Meath clash that every player and supporter wants to be a part of. I think it was a sell-out that day too, around 80,000 in Croke Park… that just wouldn’t happen for an early round of Leinster Championship today – it made for a great occasion. Personally, that game is a nice memory for me. I was marking Graham Geraghty and he was one of the fellas you would have really looked up to as a kid. It was one of those games you came off the pitch knowing you gave your all. We pushed on then and won it easier in the replay”. 

So what is it about Dublin-Meath that brings out these types of performances, and is it still the same today? 

“Local rivalry is always going to be important, especially for the people around the Meath border and North County Dublin – that will never change. But it may have lost its edge to an extent. It wouldn’t be a first round sell-out, or like the battles of ‘91, but it’s still a rivalry that sparks… It’s special; it’s never going to be run of the mill for Dublin or Meath people and when you’re on the way in to a Dublin-Meath game you know it’s something that bit different to any other game.”

With a Leinster Football Final on the line on Sunday, Henry is confident in Dublin’s strong team ethic and clinical scoring ability. 

“I think it’s going to be a lot like last year. Granted Meath are better than last year, they’re developing and you can see they’re going in the right direction. Forwards like Stephen Bray and Graham Riley definitely stand out as a real threat. It’s still too hard to see beyond Dublin though, they’ve so many scoring options and a very strong bench that are coming on and just killing off games. I think Meath will make a good game of it on the day but I expect Dublin to pull away in the end.” 

Dublin Senior Inter-County Championship Career (2002-2012)

Leinster SFC Titles – 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011

All-Ireland SFC – 2011

Dublin Senior Football Team Captain – 2010