Naomh Mairtin raised quite a few eyebrows with a magnificent run in the 2005 Louth senior football championship. The Monasterboice men emerged from their group unbeaten and went as far as the semi-finals before losing by three points to would-be champions Mattock Rangers at Drogheda in early September. The Mairtins also pushed hard for a place in Division 1A, making for a satisfactory year. Not too many would have mentioned Naomh Mairtin as potential Joe Ward Cup winners at the start of 2005, but the Monasterboice men were almost the surprise packet of the SFC. They performed superbly in the premier competition, almost securing a place in the county final. The Mairtins were only marginally pipped by Mattock in their semi-final, an outcome which suggests that there's plenty more to come from this exciting team. They probably won't be on too many shortlists in '06 either, but Naomh Mairtin will almost certainly be in the shake-up for major honours again when the new season gets underway. Pitted in Group D of the 2005 senior championship, the Mairtins opened their account with an impressive 1-11 to 0-9 victory over former kingpins Stabannon Parnells at Drogheda on June 4. After falling behind early on, the winners replied with points from Damien Carroll and Francis McCullagh. Despite further scores from Raymond Winters and Nicky McDonnell, they trailed by 0-5 to 0-4 at the short whistle. However, the tide turned when McDonnell placed Patrick Halligan for the only goal of the game within a minute of the resumption. Three more points from McDonnell and another from Mark McCormack sent the Mairtins five clear and they retained that margin all the way to the final whistle. Next up was Roche Emmets at Pairc Clan na Gael on June 25 and a game that finished all-square, 0-7 apiece. Damien Carroll, Francis McCullagh, Nicky McDonnell (all with two apiece) and Patrick Halligan accounted for Naomh Mairtin's scores in that match and the Monasterboice men followed up with a stunning 2-11 to 0-5 victory over Dreadnots to book their passage to the last eight. After a six-week championship lay-off, the quarter-final at Castlebellingham on September 3 finished in a 1-11 to 1-10 victory at the expense of St Brides. Four points in the last ten minutes of the first half had Naomh Mairtin in touch at the break, 0-8 to 0-6, and the winners refused to panic despite the concession of a goal three minutes after the restart. Four unanswered points inside six minutes brought the Mairtins right back into it. The Blue & Whites still trailed as the match went into injury time but there was a dramatic denouement when JP Rooney and Francis McCullagh worked the ball to Nicky McDonnell and the county man crashed the ball to the back of the net to give his side a thrilling victory. Naomh Mairtin hit a scoring streak of seven unanswered points either side of the break in the semi-final against Mattock but the concession of two goals proved costly. The Monasterboice side almost stole the game when, in a bizarre repeat of the climax of their previous championship outing, Nicky McDonnell got through for a goal chance right at the death, with his team trailing by two points, but his effort missed the target and Naomh Mairtin's championship voyage was over for another year, 2-11 to 1-11. Martin Winters was part of the five-man management team that took charge of Naomh Mairtin's three adult teams in 2005. He looks back on the year with a clear note of satisfaction: "The club is developing well and we are pushing on. We were happy enough with our form in general." It was the second year that the five-man delegation of Martin, Kevin Lambe, Richard McCormack, Frank Keenan and Aidan Lambe took charge of team affairs. He explains: "Two years ago, we decided to put the five men in charge of all three teams - the seniors and the two junior sides. The idea was to co-ordinate all adult football in Monasterboice, so that we knew how all the players were progressing and so that we wouldn't have one team pulling against another." In 2004, the results were immediately visible when Naomh Mairtin won their first adult trophy in 16 years in the shape of the junior 4B championship. Martin continues: "From there, we managed to keep it going this year. A lot of young lads came through onto the first team and we had a reasonable run." Due to commitments to the county minor, U21 and senior teams, Naomh Mairtin didn't always have their full complement available. At the start of the season, the club was faced with a mini crisis, with as many as eight players from their senior panel unavailable for one reason or another at times. They made a stuttering start but eventually gathered a bit of momentum, which culminated in the fine championship run. They also competed at the business end of Division 1B, finishing near the top of the table. At the time of writing, the Mairtins sat joint-second in Division 1B with one round of games remaining and promotion very much within their grasp. Reflecting on the objectives that were set out for the team before the season commenced, Martin Winters comments: "The main objective was to get promotion to Division 1A, but we also felt we could go a step further in the championship. Since the new format was introduced, we have been perpetual qualifiers for the knockout stage of the championship and we really felt that we could reach a semi-final or a final this time." And so it proved as the Mairtins streaked into the last four, wherein their fate was a very narrow defeat to Mattock, who went on to beat Newtown Blues in the decider. "We were only beaten by three points and we took a lot of heart from that but, when you look back, you are very disappointed to have missed out after going so close." There's every reason to approach the new season with confidence, as Martin Winters acknowledges: "The younger guys will have another year's experience behind them and that will do them the world of good. Paddy Halligan and Padraig McDonagh have just enjoyed their first championship campaign, while Barry and Paddy Sullivan have also emerged as first-team players. We have three exceptional forwards in JP Rooney, Francis McCullagh and Nicky McDonnell and the team has also tightened up at the back, so there could be a lot more to come. "All in all, it's been a reasonable year. A lot of good young lads are coming through and the year will stand to them. "We have a good minor team who won the minor league on their own, without being amalgamated with another club. I believe the present format is working for us and there are five or six minors there now who are ready to start coming through the junior teams. "The Blues and Mattock are either side of us and we want to break into that elite group. We want to be considered one of the top five or six senior teams in the county. Reaching the semi-finals was a good step in the right direction and with a bit more belief, there's no reason why Naomh Mairtin can't break into the elite group of clubs in Louth." The championship run in 2005 places them provisionally in the Top Four. The key now is to find consistency. Tweet

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