Mochtas take to the intermediate grade with aplomb
December 30, 2010While other clubs may have set out with the intention of consolidating their place in the Intermediate ranks for the first year, there was no such thoughts in a fearless young Mochtas side who were hungry for more success.
Although they were not among the favourites for the Intermediate title when the draw was made, the Louth Village men were not short on self-belief and after some impressive performances ended the season bitterly disappointed that they did not go all the way.
However, their campaign was to end with more silverware in Louth Village as they club collected a prestigious Junior All-Ireland Sevens title for the second time in their history. In a repeat of the 2009 Louth Junior Final, St Mochtas defeated St Fechins in the decider at St Jude's, Templeogue on what proved to be another memorable day.
For Declan Byrne and his colleagues, it was a mixed year in that they proved they were very much at home at the Intermediate level, but finished up with a feeling that they let a great opportunity slip by after losing narrowly to Young Irelands in the semi-final.
Nonetheless, the Louth player believes that they have proven to themselves that they do possess the quality to step up to the next level and they have their sights firmly set on playing senior football in the not too distant future.
"The championship form was definitely the highlight for us and having achieved our initial aim of retaining our Intermediate status, we kicked on from there and in the end were very disappointed not to have gone all the way. When you look back at the season I feel that the championship was there for us, but unfortunately we just didn't perform to our potential against Young Irelands.
"After getting promotion from Junior I think we got a tough draw after coming out alongside O'Connells and Geraldines, and aside from the all-Dundalk group I think that was the hardest of all. The O'Connells were one of the favourites from the outset, while the Geraldines have been very strong at underage level in recent years and we have had a few tough battles with them and there is a bit of rivalry there.
"When it came to the start of the championship, we had no real fears about anyone and knew we had the ability to compete with most teams. In our first game we should have beaten the O'Connells but were denied by a very late point. However, it didn't matter in the end as we played well to beat the Geraldines and qualify for the quarter-final against the Clans," he explained.
It was that game in the last eight that made a lot of people stand up and take notice as the Mochtas brushed aside a Clans team who had emerged on top of their group ahead of Sean O'Mahonys and Na Piarsaigh. However, Declan believes that the manner of that victory may have played a part in their downfall in the semi-final.
"The game against the Clans was our best performance of the year as we showed people what we could do. Unfortunately, I don't think it helped us in the long run winning by so much as perhaps we went into the semi-final a little bit over-confident. It was very disappointing as we simply did not get going and by the time we settled down and began to play it was too late. The Young Irelands played with a bit more hunger on the day and fair play to them, they got through."
Although disappointed, the Louth player believes there is much more to come from this very youthful squad and he is predicting good times ahead.
"Our performances this year will give us the confidence to build on it next season. We have a young team and although one or two players might be thinking of hanging up the boots we are hoping that everyone continues as we need that bit of experience to bring everyone on. We also have some promising players coming through the underage ranks so there is every reason to be optimistic about the future.
"Our aim over the coming seasons has to be to win the Intermediate Championship and get up to playing Senior football and that certainly can be achieved if we continue to make progress.
"The Intermediate grade in Louth is very competitive and it is true to say than anyone can beat anyone else on their day. The proof of that is in the Division 2 League where most teams are within a few points of each other. Coming towards the end of the season we were in the bottom half but knew that a couple of wins would put us into the play-off places so it is great when there is something to play for."
St Mochtas weren't to end the season empty-handed as they celebrated victory in the Junior All-Ireland Sevens Shield competition on September 18th in St Judes, Templeogue.
The Louth Village men had gone into the competition determined to challenge for the title but were unlucky to lose out to St Johns of Down in the group stages, with the Mourne men going on to win the title.
However, they recovered with wins over Europe and Ballyboughal while there was a 3-4 to 2-7 draw with Kiltimagh of Mayo saw them reach the quarter-final stage. Wins over Mount Collins of Limerick and Glanworth of Cork saw the Mochtas set up a meeting with St Fechins in the decider.
Once again St Mochtas proved too strong for the Termonfeckin side and after a 5-8 to 1-11 win, Declan Byrne had the honour of accepting the shield on behalf of the team.
That was another highlight on a very satisfactory season for Byrne who also made his mark at inter-county level with both the Seniors and U-21s, and Declan is hoping to continue at that level in 2011.
"Overall I would have to say that from a personal point of view it was a memorable year. I managed to break into the senior team and as everyone knows we were very unlucky not to win the Leinster title. Unfortunately that is the way it goes but we will be determined to come back stronger next year.
"We also put up a good showing in the U-21 Leinster Championship only to be beaten by eventual All-Ireland champions, Dublin, after extra-time. We really threw that away as we were two points up with a couple of minutes left and had an extra man, but maybe a bit of inexperience cost us in the end."
Nonetheless, Byrne will go into the 2011 full of confidence that he will be making the headlines once again at both club and county level. Tweet
