In 1965 Muhammad Ali was Heavyweight Champion of the World, Lyndon Johnson was in the White House, Sean Lemass was Taoiseach, Martin Quinn was Meath’s full-back, Mick O’Connell was the star man for Kerry, Colm O’Rourke was in high infants over in Leitrim,  and Arkle won his second Gold Cup.

Just outside of Navan, meanwhile, a group of lads, led by Joe Clarke of Simonstown and Jimmy Lane of St. Mary’s Park, were making a big decision to start a new football club. They had to get a few locals back from Kilberry and Gibbstown, there were a few ex-O’Mahony’s available and there were a few other young lads unattached and ‘mad’ for action.

There had always been a tradition of kicking ball down in Clarke’s fields in Simonstown- a suburban area of the northern side of Navan town- so the name of the new club submitted to the County Board was Simonstown Gaels G.F.C. It’s fair to say that the reaction of most County Board officials at the time was ‘where the hell is Simonstown?’

Jimmy Lane was actually a native of Trim who was at that stage residing in St.Mary’s Park, beside the Round O. He had been a member of the Meath Hurling Panel which had won the 1948 All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championship title.

Joe Clarke was a twenty something year old just eager to play football with his own team. He also had a couple of brothers who shared his enthusiasm and a Mother who was only too glad to allow goalposts be erected in a field at the back of the house.