It's 2007 and the pin-up boy of Dublin football has been sent out to prove not all Dublin footballers are mute.

"There's a big spotlight on Dublin and there's obviously some fellas that don't like it.

Some have been burnt by papers in the past. Some of the guys it makes nervous.

They have to be careful of saying things that might hinder their game and give the opposition a boost. Lads are so wary of that because it's like someone is waiting to get a line out of a guy and hang Dublin. It is individual choice.

For me though it adds to the game-day experience. It makes me realise what's around the corner."

By now he's already had breakfast. He's sat through Mass and even picked up the papers although they won't be read. We won't get into his father winning All Irelands because he can't tell you much other than what's been passed down but Bernard snr is there to talk him through the day over lunch. Still, there's one game none of them will bring up. "Mayo, ah here we go. It's very disappointing. We did talk about it and we got caught. Mayo came back, went ahead, we fought back but it took a bit of magic from Ciaran McDonald to win that game. Like he was probably the only player on the field who could have kicked that score. All credit to him for even trying something like that. For having the bravery at that stage to do that, he deserved it.

"Straight after that we didn't have any big discussions about what went wrong though. There was a lot of emotion in the dressing room and it was left alone. People thought about it over the days afterwards and then we came together when heads were in some frame of mind for it and we went back over all that. In fairness to our management they are excellent facilitators and they gave us every chance to go through things and left it to us to find the reasons why it went wrong.

Like I am not going to reveal what we should or should not be doing. But we know we are going in the right direction, we know there are games we should have won and lost. We don't need people telling us any of this.

When these games come up again we have gone over them in our head and we'll know how to make a difference."

The problem is, Dublin apparently haven't learnt anything from their nearmisses in recent seasons. In 2004 they threw away a lead against Westmeath. Paul Caffrey arrived but while the side gnawed further into the summer, there was still always a bite too big. In 2005 they let Tyrone back into the quarterfinal before losing the replay.

Last year they should have been in an All Ireland final but weren't. This season they've allowed Mayo, Donegal and Tyrone back at them in the league and ended up outside the top-four in Division 1A. As Jack O'Connor pointed out last week, the side tend to play in a frenzy for 20 minutes and then fade away. From lions to lambs.

"I wouldn't say a psychological softness, like the media look at it that way but we are not concerned about it. We know when the time comes what we have to do and I'm well aware of us losing close games. It always forces my mother to go for a fag in the second half of games. I think she knows one of the stewards at this stage and he lets her in and out.

But you have to lose a few to win one and hopefully that's the case with us. We are learning as a team and I am learning as a player. Like in the quarter-final in 2005 I started really well in the first half and the next thing Conor Gormley came onto me and had a job to do which was just mark me. We had a bit of a go and it took my mind off the match and that was just another lesson you learn.

Defenders want that and he did a good job. It made him more focused, whereas I completely lost it. I couldn't think and I just wanted to go at it.

That quietened me down and I didn't play that well in the second half."

There's a trend here. When Brogan struggles, Dublin lose despite the patchy quality of those around him. In 2005 he kicked 2-20 in the championship but when he was taken off in the quarter-final replay with an injury Dublin deflated. Last year he ended up with an All Star but as less ball came his way in the second half of the Mayo semifinal, the lead slid away. The problem is Dublin need Brogan at 11 and 14. The rotational policy of the forwards allows him to play in both positions briefly, but for too long he can be hidden away in the corner.

"I don't mind it, it just changes things up. The players call it, we change when we want. It's something that has worked well at times and sometimes it hasn't, that is true. But we are comfortable with it. The same with the management so we all know what we are doing even if some people try and disagree and say we don't have a clue how to handle it. And it is not about me being pivotal all the time. I don't buy into the fact I have to be at centre-forward or full-forward. We have fellas like [Conal] Keaney and Mossy [Quinn], they have matured over the last couple of years and we are expecting them to deliver. Diarmuid Connolly is coming in too, he's an exceptional talent and we have to harness that and get it working for the team.

"We need that today because Meath are going to be tough. They did very well against Kildare and they are a big strong physical team and they'll be looking to rough us up quite a bit. We are said to have smaller forwards so they'll be looking to exploit that and hit hard. Because of their size as well they appear very strong with the breaking ball and in the middle of the field. With Graham Geraghty back and with Joe Sheridan they have a very good team.

They've been gone a few years but the last time we played them they weren't a mile off us and we only beat them by two points [in 2005, a day Brogan got much the better of Mark O'Reilly].

There wasn't much in it then and I honestly don't think it will be any different this Sunday. A point or two and not much else."

On hearing that, his mother already has her lighter to hand.