Why can't Lilies 'do a Meath'?

KILDARE LEGEND DOYLE SAYS ROYAL RUN CAN BE TEMPLATE FOR SUCCESS

- BY MICHAEL SCULLY

"I'll give it a go anyway and see can I take that.

"It's amazing. You have that competitive streak in you and it doesn't go away just because you finish."

He'll be in the capital this afternoon with, he estimates, around 15,000 fellow county men and women for Kildare's Tailteann Cup final clash with Limerick.

After a slow buildup to the game he noticed white flags go up around Newbridge this week.

Again, it's all about crossing the finish line. If Kildare win they will automatically make the group phase of the All-Ireland championship next year, having had to sit out the action this summer after their Leinster semifinal defeat to eventual champions Louth.

It's a big prize and it's one that Meath seized upon two years ago, when they lifted the Tailteann Cup and are now in the All-Ireland semifinals.

"It's a motivation," said Doyle, who was a part of the Glenn Ryan management dream team that failed to engineer a breakthrough.

"Over the last number of years, even though anyone that played with Kildare would never have felt, 'what's the point if Dublin are going to win?, I think to the outside world that was a narrative that was thrown around 'sure Dublin are winning everything and sure I don't blame young lads for not wanting to commit'.

"Any of the lads we were involved with were very committed to the cause."