Mattie Kerrigan's dedicated work with promising young players is widely recognised throughout the county of Meath. His belief in slowly nursing players through the ranks stems partly from his own experience. In 1966, when only 22, he was thrown into Senior inter-county football in a National League match against Louth. He had played Junior football for Meath but the move to Senior ranks was more daunting. He had helped Summerhill win the Junior Championship that year but Senior inter-county was a big jump-up. Early in the match he went for a pass, slipped and fell and the ball rolled over him. Not a very good start but the experience taught Kerrigan a lesson that has stayed with him since. "Now I never judge a player on his first performance. It takes someone time to settle into a new situation, into a new grade."
Thankfully for Meath, the young Summerhill lad was given a second chance and he took it. From then on he went from strength to strength to become one of the best footballers ever to don the green and gold jersey, playing a big part in the All-Ireland success of 1967. Kerrigan started the game in the half-forward line before he was switched to midfield where he played impressively.
Mattie Kerrigan continued to play for Meath up to the late seventies helping the county to a National League win in 1975. For a few years after that, he still lined out with Summerhill but was eventually forced to hang up the boots because of an old back injury he had picked up playing football.
Born in Connemara, Matt Kerrigan moved with his family to Meath in the late fifties. His tall strapping frame quickly made him a popular figure with the local GAA mentors. For a big man, Kerrigan was very fast, was also an intelligent distributor of the ball, with an eye for goal - skills that made him eminently qualified for a number of positions, midfield, half-forwards and full-forward.
Mattie pictured here with the Keegan Cup and Jubilee Cup in 1977.
His early education in football was, to put it mildly, 'informal'. Every evening during the Summer, Mattie and a group of Summerhill lads would go to a nearby field and play for three or four hours with no proper coaching. He said he was encouraged a lot at the time by the great Paddy Daly of Summerhill. Kerrigan himself began his career in 'management' in 1966 when he became selector at Summerhill. It was a big job for a 22 year old who was already showing confidence and knowledge of football beyond his tender years.
For the best part of the following years, he was selector, player and coach with Summerhill helping them to win four successive Senior County Championships in the seventies, an outstanding achievement for a club with little tradition and who only won the Meath Intermediate Club Championship in 1972. In 1977, the 'Hill won the Leinster Club Championship. For a six month period during 1978, Kerrigan was coach of the Meath Senior footballers. He decided to give it up as there was seven selectors over the team and Kildare had knocked them out of the Championship.
In footballing terms, Mattie Kerrigan has seen it all. Eleven years as an inter-county player, an All-Star Award, winner of an All-Ireland and National League medal, four Club Championship medals ..................... the list goes on. As well as that, he has many years experience of coaching and training teams from Underage to the highest level. He trained the Summerhill Under 21's to their first ever Championship success in 1997 and has managed Leinster in the Railway Cup, Westmeath and Cavan in the All-Ireland Championship, and Meath at Underage levels.