Hank Traynor in action for Meath

Sunday, September 26th, 1999 was a proud day for all Simonstown members as we witnessed Hank Traynor follow in Colm Brady's footsteps, and collect the club's second All-Ireland senior medal.

Hank, of course, lined out at left-half-back as Sean Boylan's men defeated Cork to land the county's seventh All-Ireland title. An ankle injury brought a premature end to his participation in the game but not before his opposite opponent, Micheal Cronin, had been substituted.

Just over a year since making his intercounty senior championship debut as a substitute against Louth in the provincial semi-final, Hank had achieved what every schoolboy in Meath dreams about.

"Winning an All-Ireland medal is an absolutely unbelievable feeling," the 26-year-old said. "It's every footballers dream to be on the winning team on All-Ireland final day and lifting the Sam Maguire is a memory I'll never forget. "It's a privilege and an honour to represent my county and as long as my health holds up, I intend to play at the highest level for as long as I can."

Back in 1988, former All-Star Robbie O'Malley was the guest of honour at a Simonstown underage presentation function. Hank was amongst the thirty-odd U-12s receiving mementos from the St Colmcille's man.

Little did anyone realise then that Hank would perform a similar function 12 years later; last December he handed out the U-12 championship medals. Winning All-Ireland medals tends to earn you invites to such occasions, however.

"I was delighted when asked to present the medals and it was great to see another Simonstown underage winning team with something to celebrate," he remarked. At the Presentation Night, Hank recalled O'Malley's visit to the club over a decade earlier.

It opened the eyes of these stars of the future to the dizzy heights which can be scaled in the GAA world once commitment and dedication are present. These are qualities which Hank possesses in abundance, the very same qualities which attracted the attention of county U-16, minor, U-21 and senior selectors for the past ten years or so.

His medal collection boasts Leinster minor, U-21 and senior souvenirs. In 1993, he was a corner-back on the Meath minor team which succumbed to Cork in the All-Ireland decider. Trevor Giles, Darren Fay, Ollie Murphy, Paddy Reynolds, Barry Callaghan and clubmate Ned Kearney also featured that year.

Leinster U-21 honours, meanwhile, were gained in 1996 at Louth's expense but Cavan sprung a surprise on the Royal County in the All-Ireland semi-final that year. In the club colours, he has bagged U-14 and U-16 medals as well as the Intermediate. His relocation to the full-back position at the beginning of the 1995 campaign laid the foundations for that year's success.

"Everyone in Simonstown have always been very supportive towards me, ever since I started playing there. There's been lots of coaches, too many to mention, who've helped me along the line," he remarked. "I'm very proud to be a member of such a great club and hopefully it won't be too long before we've a senior championship win to celebrate."

Injury has been a regular visitor to Hank's doorstep throughout his career. A shoulder injury ruled him out of Simonstown's 1997 semi-final joust against O'Mahony's, he broke his arm against Derry in the NFL three years ago while an ankle ailment seriously curtailed his involvement with the county last season.

That ankle injury was further exacberated by Meath's NFL final replay defeat to Derry and shock first round championship exit at the hands of Offaly; two games he was forced to view from the confines of the Cusack Stand.

"That was very frustrating, made all the worse by the team's championship loss to Offaly that day. It was a poor performance against Offaly which we, hopefully, will be able to rectify this coming year. "Westmeath will provide difficult opposition in the first round as they have a lot of talented young players who have won All-Ireland U-21 and minor medals in recent years. We didn't perform too well in the League but we'll be determined to make amends come June."

The following article appeared in the Irish News newspaper on Thursday, September 20, 2001, three days before the ill-fated All-Ireland final against Galway.

One and only Hank eyes All-Ireland win

A selected few players are known by their first name alone by virtue of their greatness: Peter, (big) Anthony, Ollie perhaps.

There's only one Hank too, though for different reasons. Meath half-back Hank Traynor is not one of their biggest names but definitely is one of the most memorable.

He can't explain its origin, however: "I'd no say in the matter, now!" he laughs. "I think my dad's mother wanted to call me Hank for some reason, why I really don't know. He never told me and she's long dead, I'm afraid. That's it, but it's a good name, I'm happy with it."

Making his name as an established member of Sean Boylan's side, though, is down to the 26-year-old's talent. His senior championship debut came three years ago in the Leinster semi-final against Louth. "I came on a sub and scored a point, happy with that."

A point separated the sides then but his start in the Leinster final against Kildare ended in a five-point loss.

The next year was much more memorable for Hank, for very different reasons. The Royals went all the way to All-Ireland glory, though the happiness did not last. Traynor was struck down by an unknown virus. From a name mystery at the start of his life to a nameless mystery illness which almost ended his life, never mind his career.

"Only a number of weeks after winning the All-Ireland I was near on the bleedin' deathbed. I was in Navan hospital for a week and then they transferred me up to the Beaumount.

"I was critical, really bad, it was some sort of mystery virus, they never put a name on it. But I came back, it took me months to get back into my stride, I was wasted. But I've come back stronger this year."

He offers a typically Meath response to the suggestion that the illness may have given him added incentive.

"Well, all the guys in the team have a serious appetite for football, no matter what happens them they'll always want to come back and play; that's what we're all good at."

No doubt about that. The semi-final display against Kerry should have dispelled much of the criticism of Meath's brand of football, but Traynor argues the ability has always been there.

"It's a lot to do with appetite. The team has good footballers so it's about preparing yourself physically and mentally, being hungry enough.

"Last year was a big disappointment, lads were sitting on their backsides watching other counties doing well, a bit envious.

"This year was to prove to ourselves and everyone else. We've got a bit of stick in the media, about being dogged and being this and that. But if it works, why change it?

"There's a lot of good footballers on this team if you go through them individually, we've some of the best footballers in the country. There's a lot of character and spirit in the team which has always stood to Meath teams. We've improved most games and please God now we'll peak for the final."

Worryingly for Galway, he contends that the Royals can do just that, match their performance against the Kingdom, perhaps even better it: "I can't see why not, I hope we can even up our performance from that."

Still, the Lagan Brick sales rep does not underestimate the worth of Sunday's re-built opponents. "I'm sure Galway will pose more of a stumbling block than Kerry did. They're going to be up for it as much as we are. It's going to be tough and tight, on Sunday they'll have been in three of the last four finals, they've a lot of experienced players and good footballers.

"Galway's similar to ourselves, a very strong team, similar style of player, work hard for each other, give quick, sharp ball into Joyce and Savage who are lethal forwards and can take scores.

"Their half-forwards drop back as do outs, it's probably going to be a bit of a minefield around the centre, a lot of bodies crashing into each other. But we've our plan and we're going to stick to it, it's worked well all year."