Twenty-ten was a satisfactory year for Lannleire, who competed well in the JFC despite losing an array of key players to retirement, emigration and injury. The Dunleer club finds itself in a transition period but defied the odds with an impressive run to the semi-final stage of the championship. Though disappointment was their lot as they bowed out against neighbours Naomh Fionnbarra in late August, Lannleire players, selectors and committee men can still hold their heads high as they reflect on their season's work. 

It's always disappointing when you lose a championship semi-final. However, when Lannleire let the dust settle and look at the bigger picture, there are much more positives than negatives to be rescued from the ashes of 2010. Overall, they are entitled to be feeling extremely pleased with the progress they made in terms of building towards the future. It's encouraging to see so many young lads coming through to not alone claim starting places in the first team but acquit themselves well in adult football, coming agonisingly close to a place in the JFC final and showing enough promise to suggest that the future of the Dunleer club is in good hands.
Club PRO Aidan King sums up the mood in the clubhouse when he confirms: "I think we would be happy enough with the year. We're satisfied with the progress that we made, though obviously you would like to win a trophy. We found ourselves in a transition period as six or seven of our more senior players stepped down, but the lads who came in did well and the year's experience will stand to them next year."
The senior management team for the year comprised Derek Walsh, Stephen Flood and George Reynolds and the daunting task facing this triumvirate was to sculpt a new-look Lannleire team for the 2010 season. To all intents and purposes, they succeeded in putting together a competitive outfit that represented the club with distinction.
The winter league campaign was used to try to get a formation in place and this went so well that ultimately Lannleire could consider themselves somewhat unfortunate not to get out of the group stages. A similar approach was adapted to the league as the first team was further honed and a playing system established. Everything was going according to plan and the Dunleer lads looked to have every chance of going all the way in the championship.
However, they had more than their fair share of injuries to contend with, as the likes of John Farrelly, Peter Neacy, John O'Connor and Donal Clare were all sidelined for long spells, while Alan Murphy was unavailable for the vital semi-final clash with Naomh Fionnbarra. Obviously, with a young side in development, Lannleire couldn't afford so many long-term injuries… They also had to cope without Mark Dunne and Shane Kennedy, two of their more senior players, who went to work overseas for the year.
Still, they performed heroically in the JFC, advancing to the last four with an impressive 100% record. In the group stage, Lannleire won all three of their matches in July, beating Wolfe Tones in Drogheda [2-14 to 0-12 with Paul Callan firing the goals inside the opening quarter], Stabannon Parnells at Knockbridge [1-12 to 1-6] and St Nicholas [0-14 to 0-9] to top Group Four and set up a crunch quarter-final derby duel with near-neighbours St Kevins. Lannleire turned on the style in this one to record an impressive 1-14 to 0-5 win at Stabannon on August 12th. The team on duty that day was: Donal Martin; Thomas Doyle, Paul McGeough, Bob Murphy; Brendan McEvoy, Breen McGuinness, Andrew Flanagan; Kevin Prout, Ian Mulroy (0-2); Alan Murphy (1-3), Patrick O'Connor (0-1), Carlos Lambe (0-3); John Farrelly, John Boylan (0-1), Paul Callan (0-4). Subs: Darren Noone for John Farrelly, Gary Monaghan for J Boylan, Donal Clare for T Doyle, Robert Moynagh for D Clare.
This meant another derby meeting at the semi-final stage, against Naomh Fionnbarra. But on the day the team was a little apprehensive and failed to do themselves justice, The younger lads were somewhat overawed by the occasion, while some of the more experienced players didn't deliver on the day, so Lannleire fell a little short and lost by four points - 2-15 to 1-14 in Ardee. That defeat was the low point of the year, but it certainly didn't take any gloss off what was still a pleasing campaign.


"Overall, there was a sense of disappointment after the Finbarrs game because they had done well in the JFC up until that and probably didn't play to their full capabilities in the semi-final, but they are developing along the right lines and there is hope for the future with the likes of Thomas Doyle and Bob Murphy - a couple of minors who came on this year and established themselves on the first team - as well as Gary Monaghan, another young lad who has come through to nail down a place."
The PRO continues: "There are about half a dozen young lads there around the 19 or 20 mark and they are keeping it going. We had lost maybe ten or eleven players in total from the 2009 team, but still had 40 or so lads play adult football for us during the year, which is a good sign for the future."
Off the field, the club held a successful dinner dance in Darver on May 21st, where last year's Kevin Mullen Shield winning players were presented with their medals and the 1985 JFC-winning team was also commemorated on the 25th anniversary of that success. Three hundred people turned up and a great night's entertainment was had by all.
Development work in the club continues unabated in 2010. Work started on a new juvenile pitch a couple of years ago and this is now nearing fruition. It will be ready to host matches next year. "We're very happy with how it's turned out and it will be a terrific asset to the club going forward," says Aidan. A substantial amount of money has also been invested in the main playing surface - under the instruction of club chairman Kenneth Dunne - and this has been very well received with players and backroom staff from around the county complimenting Lannleire on their superb pitch. The club was duly rewarded with some club championship games being played at Pairc Ui Mhuire during the course of the year and great credit is due to the committee of Kenneth Dunne (chairman), Declan Dowd (secretary), Mary McGeough (treasurer) and Sean Kelly (County Board rep) for their tremendous work and vision. Sean also puts in a huge shift collecting admissions at the gates.
Martin McGeough and Gerry Neacy looked after the minors in 2010 and Lannleire fielded a team on their own. Even though silverware eluded them, they were delighted to be able to field an all-Lannleire side, mostly against combinations. The club has been standing on its own at U18 level for a couple of years now and it's really starting to pay off with the quality of young players coming through onto the first team.
Former player Aidan Dunne did well in 2010 on the intercounty referee's panel while Bernard Dunne also merits a special mention for his ongoing work in maintaining the playing field as well as his Trojan efforts as First Aid man. Noel Callan and Patsy Carroll are two others who work diligently behind the scenes.
Lannleire also now boasts a thriving ladies set-up and the men's club would like to take this opportunity to compliment them on the hard work they are putting in and to acknowledge the great strides they made during the year gone by. Tweet

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