Hot on the heels of their excellent JFC success of 2004, St Mochtas followed up in style with some superb performances in '05. The Louth village outfit competed well on all fronts. They reached the last four of the IFC, finished a commendable third on the Division 2B league table and had the distinction of bringing All-Ireland glory to the Wee County. They did this by claiming the All-Ireland Shield in the St Jude's Sevens in Dublin on Saturday September 24. Manager Gerry O'Reilly has every reason to look back on the year with satisfaction. Few would have predicted it. Having escaped the bottom grade at the first attempt by claiming the 2004 JFC (as well as the Kevin Mullen Shield), St Mochtas redoubled their efforts in '05 and made quite a name for themselves with a series of stellar performances. The Louth village men demonstrated a frightening level of consistency over the course of the year, delivering notable campaigns in both league and championship, not to mention a fruitful trip to Dublin in September... They came within touching distance of capturing the intermediate championship outright - winning all four group games before losing their semi-final to champions-elect Geraldines by a mere point - and took third place in the league, pushing hard for a place in the top half of intermediate football. But the real icing on the cake was the club's magnificent performance in the St Jude's All-Ireland Seven-a-side tournament in Dublin on the eve of the 2005 All-Ireland SFC final between Tyrone and Kerry. The men from Louth village beat teams from all over the country to garner the Shield and bring some long-overdue All-Ireland glory back to a county that's been starved of such successes since the never-to-be-forgotten heroics of 1957. While it might be stretching things a bit to compare the two victories, St Mochtas can still feel justifiably proud of their own remarkable run in the capital and are entitled to celebrate the recognition they brought to a county whose national profile sadly appears to be in freefall. The All-Ireland Sevens was a lovely bonus for the 2004 county junior champions, but it was the performances in the bread and butter competitions that offer most encouragement. St Mochtas emerged as genuine IFC contenders and proved also that they've got what it takes to challenge for promotion to Division 2A. Next year should prove very interesting for the villagers, who have clearly put the bitter disappointment of '03 behind them. St Mochtas weren't even close to getting relegated this time around. To the contrary, they challenged for promotion to Division 2A. They finished their 2B campaign with 13 points, winning five and drawing three of their twelve games. It was a comfortable third-place finish, seven points clear of the relegation places but also seven off the two promotion trapdoor. Thus, while it was an encouraging innings, there's still room for improvement. In the championship, St Mochtas were in Group A. Amazingly, they won all four of their group outings. They opened with an excellent 2-9 to 1-8 victory over Glen Emmets in Dunleer, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat with injury-time goals from Nicholas Browne and Shane Cassidy. Ken Meegan and Gervaise Marron bagged the goals in Round Two as the Louth village side recorded a superb 2-7 to 0-12 win at the expense of Naomh Malachi at Knockbridge on July 14. Westerns were beaten by 1-13 to 1-7 at Tallanstown on August 4 and the final group game ended in an emphatic 2-13 to 1-6 victory over Hunterstown at Pairc Mhuire in Ardee. Four wins from four was sufficient to book a semi-final berth. The semi-final against the Geraldines took place at Knockbridge on September 2. The Haggardstown/Blackrock men had the better of the first half and led 0-6 to 0-3 at the interval. The Louth village side refused to give up and were still within three points with three minutes left. Two pointed free from Nicholas Browne meant a thrilling finished but, despite their best efforts, the Mochtas were unable to force an injury-time leveller. Geraldines prevailed by 0-11 to 0-10 and went on to book promotion to senior football. St Mochtas carried their outstanding championship form into the St Judes All-Ireland Sevens, winning the Shield competition on the eve of the All-Ireland senior football final. A total of 24 counties were represented at the tournament in Dublin, with St Mochtas qualifying by virtue of their 2004 Louth JFC victory. They beat Grattan Og of Longford in their first game, 2-6 to 2-5, and then saw off Millford from Donegal, 3-6 to 4-1. The Louth side accounted for the hosts by 2-4 to 2-3 before suffering their only defeat of the group phase, 2-5 to 1-0 to Tourmakeady from Mayo. Defeat eliminated the Mochtas from the Cup but they had done enough to qualify for the Shield final. Victory over two Munster clubs brought national glory to Louth village. Mochtas beat Annascaul of Kerry by 1-9 to 2-5 in the semi-final and pipped Cork side Aghabullogue 2-7 to 1-7 in the decider with goals from Liam McGranaghan and Aidan Homer. The panel of ten that claimed the All-Ireland Sevens Shield was: C Ryan, B Mulholland, Gervaise Marron, C Hoey, G O'Reilly, Gerard Marron, M McGahon, A Homer, L McGranaghan, D Butler. Looking back on the events of 2005 in general, Mochtas manager Gerry O'Reilly says it was a great year for the club. "We're very happy. After winning the junior championship, we'd have been satisfied with preserving out intermediate status. But we went even further and we're delighted with that." There was never any danger of relegation. Gerry continues: "We finished third in the league after making a bad start. We dropped some points early on because the management team wasn't in place in time and we never got training going early enough. After that, once we got the team together, the lads put in a tremendous effort. "We also had a great championship run. The semi-final was the only game we didn't win and we felt we should have got at least a draw against the Geraldines." Gerry doubled up (alongside Seamus O'Hanlon) as a selector with the county U14s who beat Meath in the Tuft Cup. On the club front, he appointed Sean Kinlon and former captain Anthony Meegan as his selectors and also enlisted the services of one Stefan White as trainer, which proved to be quite a masterstroke. The All-Ireland Sevens triumph was especially sweet. "We were proud to go up to St Jude's and represent the county," Gerry notes. "To be honest, we weren't expecting to do so well. As far as I'm aware we're the first club in Louth to win something like that. I don't know if any other club in Louth has won an All-Ireland before. We brought our best ten up and I suppose it's a game for fast, young players. It's frenetic and the goalkeeper has a big role to play." All in all, it was a memorable experience for those concerned. "We went up and made a weekend of it. We stayed the Saturday night and went to the All-Ireland final on the Sunday. It was a good weekend for the club and an experience for all of us. "There were other high points during the year too. We really enjoyed the championship run and getting within touching distance of senior football. We had a very good year all round and we're looking forward to building on the progress in 2006." What can St Mochtas achieve in the coming year? "The team is there and we're also hoping to add a couple of new players. Even if we don't get them, we still have a team that's strong enough to win Division 2B and push for honours in the intermediate championship. We are good enough to compete with any of the teams we'll be facing next year." In hindsight, did slipping down to junior level for a year act as a wake-up call? "Some of the lads had been around since the last time we won the junior championship in '95 and the rest of them would have got some experience from the '04 win, so it did them no harm. They all put in a huge effort in 2005 and you couldn't ask for more. It was a very successful year and we're hoping to hit the headlines again in 2006. "We have three on the Louth Development Squads at the moment and we're also negotiating a new training pitch for next year to cater for the demand. There are a lot of houses going up in the area and there's a great interest in the club. The U14 girls had a successful year and we have lots of promising teams to cater for. The new training pitch will be a big help." Two years ago, St Mochtas appeared close to an all-time low. They're flying now. The fortunes of the Louth village club have never appeared healthier. Tweet

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