There was an outpouring of love for Seán Boylan after the former Meath manager's life and legacy were captured in a documentary that aired on Thursday night.
Suitably titled Seán, a documentary created by Alan Bradley to celebrate the Meath man's career in football and life away from it all aired to great acclaim on RTÉ last night.
Chronicling the relationship between Boylan and his parents, his life as a herbalist and, of course, his four All-Ireland triumphs with Meath's Gaelic footballers, a slew of Boylan's past players contributed their thoughts on a man who was as much a family member as their manager.
Needless to say, there was great love and affection for Seán Boylan from a number of those within the GAA fraternity.
#SeanBoylan brilliant documentary 🙌🙌. A man of integrity and a leader of men 👏👏👏 #GAA #rte
— Henry Shefflin (@ShefflinHenry) August 6, 2020
FACT : Sean Boylan is an unbelievably lovely human being #sean #gaa
— Eamonn O’ Hara (@EamonnOHara8) August 6, 2020
What a brilliant man Sean Boylan is. An absolute privilege to have looked back on my career and to have been managed by him for Ireland 🇮🇪 An inspirational manager that had an unbelievable presence in a dressing room #Sean
— Steven McDonnell (@StevenMcD13) August 6, 2020
Sean Boylan...what a man. Privileged to have played for him in Aus in 08. First played against him in 2000. We Eamonn C and him so similar in character and at that stage Derry and Meath had a great rivalry. Very few could man manage like them
— Paddy Bradley (@PaddyB14) August 6, 2020
One of the greatest men I’ve been managed by , one of life’s great characters. He always knew the right thing to say & I’m very honoured to say I played for him #Sean #SeanBoylan pic.twitter.com/YokQTFJy0J
— Aidan O Mahony (@GmailMahony) August 7, 2020
Wonderfu documentary @rte on @MeathGAA legendary manager, #SeanBoylan .What a man! 3 Leagues, 8 Leinsters & 4 All Ir.’s. No ‘shyness’ on the field by @MeathGAA ! Hope Meath bounce back. #Sean , the herbalist, a fab. fellow, would do anything to help someone. Gaiscíoch Ríoga ! pic.twitter.com/Ba0rtMdfaP
— Seán Kelly MEP (@SeanKellyMEP) August 6, 2020
Boylan is some man and those Meath teams had some hardy men #sean
— Matty Forde (@MattyForde15) August 6, 2020
Sean Boylan in the top two greatest men I have ever met. Everyone told me I was f**ked and going to miss one of biggest matches of my life. Rang Sean he says I’ll see you in the morning. #playedthematch #won🏁 #magicdust #legend
— Conor Laverty (@ConorLav14) August 6, 2020
1 August 1999; Meath manager Sean Boylan following the Bank of Ireland Guinness Leinster Senior Football Championship Final match between Dublin and Meath at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Ray McManus/SportsfileBeyond those from the world of GAA, plenty of onlookers were taken aback by the generosity and of Boylan.
An energy ... A positivity ... An honesty ....just a real true Irish man & when you meet him you know you’ve met someone special #sean #meath
— Hector (@hectorirl) August 6, 2020
A brilliant documentary on Seán Boylan what a gentleman manager and friend to all always trying to help out no matter what the sport injury or problem #Sean pic.twitter.com/NMtK5Uk8GO
— Barry Geraghty (@BarryJGeraghty) August 6, 2020
Growing up is all I wanted to do was play for meath, because of what Sean boylan brought to the table. I remember making the u15 County panel and at one training session Sean came in to say afew words. Everyone of us left the changing room feeling like giants. Legend. #Sean
— Rory's Stories (@RorysStories) August 6, 2020
If only the world was full of Seán Boylans...This is a gorgeous documentary about an amazing man @AlanBradders #seanboylan #sean #meath
— Sinéad Hussey (@SineadHus) August 6, 2020
Sean Boylan to me is the best manager in GAA history..way easier for Micko or Jim Gavin win All Irelands in title rich traditional counties.. Even Brian Cody has a conveyor belt of All Ireland winners from St Kierans coming in yearly.. Sean Boylan lifted Meath up by himself #sean
— Stephen Gleeson (@StephenGleeson_) August 6, 2020
Sean Boylan some hero
— The 2 Johnnies (@the2johnnies) August 6, 2020
Jesus Christ I absolutely love my county and there's no doubt that Seàn Boylan has had an influence in that for me and many others. What an absolute legend, we'll never ever see the like again! Didn't lift my phone once during that! #Sean #Meath #Anmhíabu
— David Rispin (@Davy_Rispin) August 6, 2020
Chief among those celebrating Boylan's life and footballing legacy last night was OTB's own Tommy Rooney, however.
Time for #SeanBoylan 💚💛
— Tommy Rooney (@TomasORuanaidh) August 6, 2020
"In life, you may not be able to do things as good as other people - but don't be afraid of being as good as other people. Just be yourself and be as good as you can."
How many pearls of wisdom will this man deliver tonight? #GAA #SeanBoylan pic.twitter.com/oZ01iDH03K— Tommy Rooney (@TomasORuanaidh) August 6, 2020
“Will you put your shyness in your arse pocket?”
Padraig Lyons to Sean Boylan, 1985.
One of the most important and underrated lines ever uttered in Gaelic Football history 😂 #SeanBoylan https://t.co/XBA2R52rBn— Tommy Rooney (@TomasORuanaidh) August 6, 2020
Rourkey’s All-Ireland final winning goal in 1987 vs. Cork and Tommy Dowd’s in 1996 vs. Mayo were remarkably similar and both of them beautifully defined all that Meath football was about under Seán Boylan.
Created with sheer skill, finished with pure ignorance. Killer instinct. pic.twitter.com/n2ur3Tm62e— Tommy Rooney (@TomasORuanaidh) August 6, 2020
#Sean should have been a four-part saga, with an episode dedicated solely to beating the Dubs, over and over again, he was bloody good at that. #GAA
— Tommy Rooney (@TomasORuanaidh) August 6, 2020
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