Community spirit
November 30, 2009Having seen a sizeable lead evaporate in the final of the 2008 All-Ireland Vocational Schools Under-16 final against Athenry, Dunshaughlin Community College went into this year's campaign on a mission of redemption.
And while they again came up short on the big day, losing out to Derry school St Paul's College, Kilrea in an entertaining decider in March, the Dunshaughlin lads can be satisfied with their progress during the year - not least following a revenge job on Athenry in the All-Ireland semi-finals.
While he was understandably disappointed with a second successive All-Ireland final defeat, team mentor Connor Brennan was proud of his charges. "We had only three starters from last year's team who were underage again," he says, "but I suppose the target at the start of the year was to get to another Leinster final at least. We felt we had left an All-Ireland final behind us against Athenry the year before, so we had plenty of motivation."
The year started with victory in the Oliver Coogan Memorial Shield, where Dunshaughlin came out on top on points difference - a statement of intent in a competition which included St Pats Navan, Ashbourne, Gormanston and Dunboyne. They built on that momentum as the focus turned to the North Leinster Colleges' B and Vocational competitions. Victories in North Leinster over Dunboyne, St Joseph's of Drogheda, Longford's Moyne and Kilcock in the final were followed by a comfortable win at the expense of Ashbourne in the Vocational Schools' semi-final, setting up a Leinster Vocational Schools decider against Gallen-Ferbane of Offaly.
"The game was played in very wintry conditions," recalls Connor. "It was very wet, very windy. The game was tight and very physical. At half-time, it could have gone either way but we got a couple of goals at a vital time, from Brian Davis and Adam Kinsella, and in the end that made the difference [Dunshaughlin lifted the provincial title on a 4-6 to 2-6 scoreline]."
That victory propelled them into an All-Ireland semi-final - and a date with holders Athenry, whose victory over Dunshaughlin in the previous year's final still rankled. "The final of the year before was mentioned a few times in the build-up alright," admits Connor, "but above and beyond any sense of revenge over Athenry, I think it was more important that we get back into another All-Ireland final."
In the end, it proved a relatively straightforward afternoon. "We played with the wind in the first half and were ahead by nine at half-time. We had done the same in the final the year before and lost, so the lads knew that had to keep it up in the second half and not let them back into it. And they did that. Brian Davis, Niall Hannon, Colm McCullagh at centre forward played very well but they were all excellent."
Onwards and upwards, then, to a second All-Ireland final in 12 months. Perhaps it was the big stage; perhaps it was the vocal support which travelled to Clones in huge numbers to back St Paul's Kilrea; perhaps it was just that the Derry school had managed to assemble an excellent side. Whatever the reason, it was to be another All-Ireland disappointment for the Dunshaughlin lads.
"I think it was a combination of all those things," said Brennan. "St Paul's were a really fantastic team. They're only a small school but we knew they were going to be very strong, having come through such a strong province as Ulster. Schools football seems to have more prestige up north. I think it was their first time out of Ulster and there was a massive crowd - it seemed like the whole county had come out in support of St Paul's. I don't think we did ourselves justice - we definitely froze a bit in the first 20 minutes - but you have to hand it to St Paul's, they fully deserved the win on the day."
The Under-16 grade wasn't the only one to bring success to Dunshaughlin Community College in 2009. The under-14 side went from also-rans to Leinster champions, while the school's minor camogie team, comprising first- and second-year students, also lifted provincial honours.
Speaking of the school's under-14s, Brennan says: "The year before we didn't win a match. While we knew we had some very good footballers, we didn't know what kind of team they'd make or how committed they'd be. But they were brilliant all year. There were 40 lads out training every day - we had a panel of 46!"
A hard-fought win over Nobber was a good start and they built on that with comfortable wins over Boyne Community School and Ratoath before an impressive victory at the expense of Offaly's Killina in the North Leinster quarter-final. Two Dundalk schools would stand in their way of North Leinster glory, and neither Marist nor De La Salle proved any match for the Dunshaughlin lads. That set up a clash with South Leinster kingpins Wicklow De La Salle, and again Dunshaughlin showed great character to claim a one-point victory.
"In the final we played Dublin champions Portmarnock in Ballymun and the result was never in doubt," says Brennan. "We started very well and built up a big lead, with Paul Donnellan, Conor O'Brien, Fergal Cleary and Paul Clarke all excellent. Portmarnock came back into it with two goals before half-time but our lads pulled away again after that, with Paddy Darby and Jonathan O'Connor shoring things up defensively." At the final whistle, there were 20 points between them, with the scoreboard reading 6-15 to 3-4 in Dunshaughlin's favour.
Connor is keen to pay tribute to the local clubs which play such an integral part in player development at underage level: "A lot of credit has to go to the clubs. The lads come to us with a very high skill level - it's just up to us to bring them together into a team. It used to be dominated by Dunshaughlin players but over the last few years it's become much more spread out. Now you have a great mix, lads from Skryne, Dunsany, Walterstown and Moynalvey, so all the clubs are playing their part."
When it came to claiming provincial honours, the school's camogie sides would not be left behind. Sarah Ross and Jenna McGillivary steered the school to Leinster success in the Minor C grade, where a memorable semi-final win over Kilkenny school Johnstown proved the key.
Says Sarah: "We won the Meath championship final against Loreto [Navan] and that set up a game against Johnstown in the Leinster semi-final. We knew that was going to be really, really tough but the girls were brilliant. For that age, they were very professional, they put in a lot of hard work and commitment."
To all intents and purposes, the semi-final was to prove the true provincial decider, with Dunshaughlin far too strong for Kilbeggan in the final.
Sarah and Jenna were also at the helm of the school's senior side, which lifted the Meath schools championship for the first time with victory over Trim in the decider before coming up short against Johnstown in Leinster.
"Cliona Murphy from Drumree captained the minor team and Fiona McGill from Ratoath was the senior captain. They were both great but all the girls were excellent during the year. They really gave it everything. Camogie in the school only really started three or four years ago, but it's really going places now." Tweet
