Roll on 2010!
December 30, 2009When 2009 Naomh Moninne senior vice-captain Pearse Doherty was growing up in Mayo, the age-old practice of a husband and wife vying to wear the trousers assumed a different hue in his household.
It was more of a case of who would wear the togs, you see.
Doherty's mam hailed from hurling territory just outside Tullamore. His Donegal-born father, meanwhile, had a gra for soccer.
Becoming a disciple of the mantra that 'mam knows best', the young Doherty threw in his lot with hurling and a passionate interest which remains to this day was spawned.
From the loins of that fateful decision, Doherty has gone onto ply his small ball skills in and around Mayo, Donegal, Templemore (briefly) and, for the last seven years, Dundalk.
The iconic Mayo Railway Cup hurler Joe Henry was Doherty's totemic idol in Toureen 'till he headed up the Atlantic coast with his family to live in Donegal at the age of eleven.
He travelled the highways and byways with his by-now converted father for hurling training and matches.
From his home in Clonmany in the Inishowen Penninsula, the teenage Doherty initially commuted to Cardonagh twelve miles away 'till the club there folded.
Then it was onto St. Eunan's of Letterkenny, 38 miles from Clonmany. To play in Ballyshannon meant it was a round-trip of 150 miles.
"Sometimes when I hear some of the lads at the club now talk having to travel what they would see as a long distance across Louth, I have to laugh," quips from his now Naomh Moninne's base.
Having sampled the strength of hurling at grass roots level in Mayo, Donegal and Louth, the Dundalk-based Garda in unequivocal in his estimation of just how much more planning goes into the game to calibrate the health of a hurling club located in hard-core football territory.
"When I was starting out, it was all a matter of just getting a group of lads together to make up a team; get them to tog out and fulfill the fixtures.
"Times have moved on and I have seen for myself the quality of the coaching that is given to the youngsters at Naomh Moninne and the way they are looked after.
"Men like Jim McGuinness and John Murphy have been doing tremendous work with the youngsters for years now but there was nobody of their calibre over hurling where I was when I was growing up.
"The planning and thought processes that goes on, using the big soft ball and mini-games, in underage training is just brillant.
"On any given Saturday morning, you can see up to 30 players from 6-12 at the club pucking about and learning the skills of the game."
Doherty was less than a week on the beat in his first posting after passing out as a member of the Garda Siochana when he was inveigled into joining up with the Saints by fellow Garda and 2009 player-manager Ger Collins.
Over the past seven years, the 29 year old has hurled for his adopted hurling club with unflinching honesty and pride, alas without the reward of silverware.
"The closest I got to getting my hands on a medal or a cup was when we got to the county final in 2004 but left it behind us against Pearse Og," recalls the then corner-forward.
"Things went downhill for us a bit after that year, mostly 'cause of retirements and we didn't win a single championship game in 2005, '06 or '07.
"At times we struggled to field a team but the tide turned last year when we won three games out of the five but lost out to Knockbridge and Pearse Og."
Ironically, shortcomings against Knockbridge and Pearse Og in 2009 once again proved to be a malady even beyond the cure of the cultured Doherty and co.
"We just didn't play well overall against Knockbridge," Doherty says of the fallow times that pock-marked the Saints' year.
"They didn't out-gun us in terms of work-rate but they had that bit more poise in possession and were better able to take their scores under pressure.
"There was never much in it but they carved out one goal chance and hit the jackpot and that was the difference really in the end.
"It was very disappointing to lose to them but heartening all the same that we only lost by seven points considering the heavy defeats we suffered against them in previous years.
And what of the Pearse Og match?
"A similar story really. We underperformed and didn't play to our potential on the day but let's just say we'll bank it and use the experience to good effect.
"We have some good young players who are making their way up to senior level and the more games against the likes of Knockbridge and Pearse Og they are exposed to, the more they will grow in experience and know-how," the 6'0, 13 stone-plus policeman concludes.
Things had all looked so rosy earlier in the season as lung-tearing bursts of energy and no little skill had combined to put to the sword the challenges of Mattock Rangers (3-18 to 2-10); Wolfe Tones (1-17 to 1-4) and St. Fechins (6-16 to 0-8).
The Mayo native concedes that the lop-sided nature of Naomh Moninnes' victories says as much about the unevenness of the playing field in Louth right now as it does about the Saints' own teeming talent.
Predictably, the Saints' all-action full-back seeks to talk up those clubs who may not sport bluechip credentials but whose value to Louth hurling remains immense.
"Over the last six years, the likes of Mattock Rangers have come up from nothing and it's a credit to all those involved in promoting hurling within the club there.
"St Fechins is another club that has started from scratch and they're doing their best as well while Wolfe Tones are going through a bit of a transition period at the present time.
"Everyone with an interest in Louth hurling would like to see those clubs becoming stronger and stronger and, with no disrespect to Knockbridge, I don't think a club winning five-in-a-row is a healthy sign of the competition.
"I think there is a firm hurling base established in the county and I know in our club, there's a healthy stream of young hurlers being brought on year after year."
And what of Louth's flagship team? Can the collective enervation of a handful of Wee County clubs spawn some stardust at intercounty level?
"Things aren't too bad on the county front. Louth have won two Nicky Rackard Cups in recent years as well as beating Donegal in the division three league final.
"There's a good crop of young players on the scene at the moment but neither the clubs nor the county board can rest on their laurels.
"I think hurling in Donegal has stagnated a bit and the same in Mayo but there's tremendous interest in underage hurling in Louth and that will definitely be the lifeblood of the game into the future," adds Louth's 2004 NHL 'keeper.
Having been raised in a household which was truly ecumenical in a sporting sense, Doherty accepts that the twin ravages of hurling's poor profile in Louth and the attractions of other more popular field games like Gaelic football and soccer will always chisel away at hurling's foundations in the county.
A huge admirer of what the likes of Brian Cody has brought to bear on promoting hurling among the great unwashed, Doherty looks to his peers such JJ Delaney and Ken McGrath in the cockpit of the game for inspiration.
Married to Fatima parishioner Noelle (nee Oliver), Naomh Moninne's outgoing senior vice-captain is still seeking his first medal with his adopted club.
But he confesses that even if he never wins a medal over the course of the remainder of his career, "hurling will still be a massive part of my life and a life-time passion."
"The longer I play the game, the more and more it appeals to me. It's just a bug that grabs hold of you.
"It's a unique sport, unrivalled and it's appeal is just not something you can easily explain to someone who only plays gaelic, rugby or soccer for instance and that's no disrespect to anyone who plays those games.
"The club's celebration of it's 50th anniversary brought home to me too just what the game has meant to so many people at Naomh Moninne down the years and you could see the sacrifices made by them to keep the club going during more difficult times.
"It's great that the club has such a good foundation these days and that plans for our new pitch and clubhouse are in the pipeline for 2010.
"On the field, we'll be aiming to close the gap on Knockbridges and Pearse Ogs of this world so there's a lot to look forward to."
JUVENILE REVIEW 2009
Looking back at 2009 the club experienced mixed fortunes in competitions they took part in with the highlights being the capturing of the under 11 McCreesh Shield and under 12 Tony Carr Shield. The under 14 team won the Feile na nGael 'B' Final as well as reaching the Championship final, with their under 16 counterparts also reaching the under 16 Championship Final.
UNDER 8 TEAM
The activities of this improving group of young hurlers under the guidance of manager John Murphy and coaches Paul Drumm, Michael McNamara and Brian Brady saw them competing in several blitzs throughout the year. These included Coiste Iomana blitzs in Darver on Thursday 18th of June and Saturday 17th of October as well as one organised by the Wolfe Tones club in Drogheda on Sunday 4th of October. At that latter blitz the Moninne boys had wins over Wolfe Tones, Ratoath 'A' and Ratoath 'B'. Naomh Moninne under 8 panel: Kyle Rafferty, Luke Murray, Dylan Conophy, Brendan McCann, Cathal Purcell, Reece O Hanlon, Brian Brady, Sean McGill, James McNamara, Dylan McKeown, Ben Walsh, Ruairi O Connor, Conor Murphy, Aaron Whyte, Fintan Brady, Oisin McDermott and Paul O Grady.
UNDER 10/11 TEAM
Looking after under 10/11 affairs in 2009 was Joe Cunningham and his charges took in blitzs in Dublin, Ashbourne and Newry throughout the year. The trip to Dublin on Saturday 20th of June saw them taking part in a blitz organised by the St Olafs club. Another trip this time to Ashbourne on Tuesday 14th of July saw them taking part in a blitz organised by the local club. A local blitz took place in Darver on Saturday 12th of September while another one followed a week later in Newry which set them up to contest the McCreesh Shield in Darver on Saturday 10th of October. The team were successful in capturing the McCreesh Shield with a 5-2 to 1-2 victory over St Fechins in the Final. Naomh Moninne under 10/11 panel: Tiernan Cahill, Cian Kelly, Padraig Cunningham Oisin Finn, Liam Lynch, John Durkin, Conor Capplis, Darren Geoghegan, Matthew Fee, Ryan Conophy, Ultan McEneaney, Sean Bellew, Jack Kerley, Eoin Murphy, David Lait, James Cushnahan, Caoilte Curran O Rourke, Gene Murtagh, Nicholas Browne, James Shevlin, Aaron Fee, Sophie Murtagh, Eoghan O Hora, Oisin Geoghagan.
UNDER 12 TEAM
Selectors Seamus Cahill and Seamus Capplis were again in charge of the under 12 team this year and their prime objective was to retain the O Broin shield title captured in 2008. This team saw action at several blitzs throughout the year including the trip to St Olafs in Dublin which also took in a trip to the Croke Park museum. The blitz in Ashbourne in July and another one in Newry on Saturday 19th of September where the team were successful in capturing the Tony Carr Shield. This was seen as good preparation for the O Broin Shield, which commenced with two opening games in Darver on Saturday 26th of September. This competition came to a conclusion under lights in Termonfeckin on Tuesday 20th of October and the following were the results on the night: Naomh Moninne 0-2 Knockbridge 0-2; Mattock Rangers 2-0 Naomh Moninne 0-1; St Fechins 3-0 Naomh Moninne 2-0. Unfortunately on the strength of these results the Moninne boys failed to qualify for the final and had to make do with another game against Knockbridge in the 'B' final which the did manage to win by 1-1 to 1-0. Naomh Moninne under 12 panel: Shane Connolly, Colin O Connor, Cian Kelly, Alex Cahill, Oisin Finn, Stephen Woods, Michael Lambert, Tadhg McEneaney, Andrew Lynch, Kyle Cotter, Seamus Woods, Jack Kerley, Clodagh Fennell, Sean Durkin, Aoife Cunningham, Sean Maguire, Liam Lynch, Tiernan Cahill, Conor Capplis, Graham Cairns, Eoin Murphy, Ultan McEneaney, Conal MurdocK, Darren Geoghegan, Matthew Fee, Padraig Cunningham, Sean Bellew, Clodagh Fennell.
UNDER 14 TEAM
Competition for the right to represent the county at the 2009 Under 14 Feile na nGael commenced in Darver on Thursday 23th of April with the opening round of group matches. Despite losing their opening games to Knockbridge and St Fechins the team, under the guidance of selectors John Murphy and David McBride Moninne, recovered to defeat Mattock Rangers to keep alive their hopes. Week two of the competition again in Darver on Thursday 30th of April again saw Moninne losing to Knockbridge and St Fechins but another win over Mattock was enough to qualify them for the 'B' Final. That final a week later saw Moninne and Mattock Rangers playing out a low scoring game with the Dundalk boys winning by 2-1 to 2-0. The team had to wait a further five months before seeing action in the Semi Final of the Championship when they welcomed Knockbridge to the Marist Grounds on Tuesday 15th of September. Victory on this occasion went the way of Moninne on a scoreline of 7-5 to 0-2 with Tadhg McEneaney top scoring with 2-4. In the final at Darver on Saturday 10th of October they came up against strong opposition in Feile Champions St Fechins who pulled off the double with an easy 7-15 to 2-1 victory. Some of the Moninne boys did taste success with the Louth Under 14 team who captured the All Ireland 'C' title in Termonfeckin on Saturday 29th of August, they being Donal Connolly, Daire Flanagan, Joseph McCann, Eoin Lafferty, Conal McEneaney, Emmet O Driscoll, Darren Whyte, Stephen Bellew and Sean McGill. Naomh Moninne under 14 panel: Donal Connolly, Shane McBride, Darren Whyte, Ronan O Reilly, Derek Williams, Daire Flanagan, Emmet O Driscoll, Joseph Mc Cann, Eoin Lafferty, Tadhg McEneaney, Conal McEneaney, Sean Watters, Sean Mc Gill, Stephen Bellew, Aaron McMahon, Tiernan Shields, Colin O Connor, Eoin Farrell, Shane Connolly, Patrick McArdle, Killian Duffy, Eoin Murphy, Ultan McEneaney, Glen McCourt.
UNDER 16 TEAM
The Naomh Moninne under 16 team under manager Gerry Blundell and selectors David McBride and Charlie Geoghegan had a quiet year in 2009 only managing four outings throughout the year. These included two blitzs in March and April in Darver with the results of the games played at the second of these on Friday 3rd of April being as follows; St Fechins 5-5 Naomh Moninne 4-3, Naomh Moninne 1-1 Mourne (Newry) 0-3, Knockbridge 6-6 Naomh Moninne 1-1. In the semi finals of the under 16 Championship the team were drawn to meet newcomers Glen Emmets and this historic game took place in Tullyallen on Saturday 19th of September. The game ended in a comfortable victory for the Moninne boys who qualified to meet holders Knockbridge in the Final. The final itself went ahead in Darver on Saturday 17th of October but it was to prove to be further dissappointment for the Dundalk boys as the village outfit produced a strong first half display to lead by 6-7 to 0-2 at the break. Moninne lifted their game on the resumption and the second half was well contested throughout with centre half forward Ronan Geoghegan adding 2-5 to his sides tally as Knockbridge ran out winners by 8-17 to 2-7. Several members of the panel were involved with the Louth under 16 team in 2009 and they included David Bellew, Liam Blundell, Ronan Geoghegan, Jamie Kerr, Mark McDonnell, Paddy McGee and Conor McBride. Naomh Moninne under 16 panel: Donal Connolly, Jamie Kerr, Conor McBride, Darren Whyte, Daire Flanagan, Liam Blundell, David Bellew, Eoghan Lafferty, David Yore, Joseph McCann, Ronan Geoghegan, Mark McDonnell, Adam McDonnell, Paddy McGee, James McArdle, Shane McBride, Shane Connolly, Padraig McKeever, Lorcan Rafferty, Aaron McMahon.
MINOR TEAM
Looking after the Naomh Moninne minor team in 2009 were Paul Drumm and Maurice Murphy but the squad were restricted to just two outings throughout the year. The first of these was a blitz in Darver on Friday 20th of March and it was not until September that they saw action again. That occasion was the quarter final match of the minor Championship when they came up against St Fechins in Termonfeckin on Thursday 9th of September. First half goals from Mark McDonnell and Oisin Drumm had the Dundalk boys leading by 2-5 to 1-4 at the break. The second half saw Moninne squander chance after chance while their opponents got through for three further goals to turn things around and progress to the semi final on the strength of 4-11 to 2-10 victory. Naomh Moninne minor panel: Donal Connolly, Conor McBride, Daniel Begley, Donal Griffin, Adam Kelly, Liam Blundell, David Bellew, Oisin Drumm, David Yore, James McArdle, Anthony Collins, Paddy McGee, Mark McDonnell, Donal Lee, Jamie Kerr, Ronan Geoghegan, Lorcan Rafferty. Naomh Moninne hurling club would like to thank once again the Marist Fathers for the continued use of the College Grounds in Dundalk for the training of all teams and for home matches. Gratitude is also extended to JJB in Dundalk for the use of their indoor pitches over the early months of the year and to the Louth clubs who made their pitches available for adult homes games which included St Patricks GFC, Clan na Gael GFC and the Sean O Mahonys. Tweet
