Gaeils cause a stir
November 30, 2009title for the first time in 15 years when they defeated Kilmessan in the final.
Now, place the Kells outfit against the might of Kilmessan in any grade and the favourite will always be the same as the blue and whites have dominated the small ball code for many years, but every now and again, a fairytale story in thrown up and in this case, it lies with Gaeil Colmcille.
Kells are more noted as a footballing area, but the stark reality is that the club are senior in hurling, while they only ply their trade in the intermediate grade in football. The main reason for this is that a great emphasis has been placed on the club's underage hurling structure, which has begun to reap the benefits of the hard work and dedication undertaken by a small number within the club.
The fruits of their labour really came to the fore earlier this year with the success in the minor championship and selector Bob Tormey spoke to the Meath GAA Yearbook about their emphatic win and what he hopes that the future holds for the club.
Following last year's success in the intermediate championship, Gaeil Colmcille enter the top flight, quietly confident of holding their own in the grade, throw in the victory in the minor and that confidence is justified.
For too many years, the town team have been failing to fulfill their true potential, but that could all be about to change and there is a renewed belief in the club. Many teams have dined at the top table of the senior hurling, but given a bit of time and there is no reason why Gaeil Colmcille cannot be among them.
Certainly, winning the minor title helps that cause and with so many talented players at their disposal, Kells will be a big threat to many sides over the coming year.
However, the minor success is to be celebrated and we review a remarkable campaign that ended in glory, causing quite a stir among the hurling fraternity in the county.
Indeed, Bob admitted that at the start of the year, no one really know what this side was capable of, making the journey all that more excitable.
"To be fair, I don't think there were too many lads thinking that we could win the minor, but the fact that we were knocked out of the minor football early, meant that the lads could concentrate solely on the hurling," said Bob.
Indeed the fact that they could only scrape a team for the first round match against Dunboyne, suggests that the commitment was not there early on.
"We had 13 going up to play Dunboyne in the first round and another two lads turned up and to be honest I didn't think we'd beat them as they were one of the favourites for the title. However, a number of the lads played very well and we came away with a two-point win."
This meant that the Kells outfit was through to the semi final where they would play Longwood for a place in the decider and once again a close match was the outcome.
"After the Dunboyne game, there was a renewed confidence in the squad that we could actually win this, but we needed all the players to do well, this was not the case in the semi final, but more played well than they did in the quarterfinal and we ran out winners by two points for the second consecutive game."
There was still much work to be done and although Gaeil Colmcille had looked impressive in their opening two matches, they were still massive underdogs against a Kilmessan side that had a number of county representatives in their ranks.
"We knew we had to up our performance for the final because Kilmessan
are a very strong side and they have produced great teams at all levels down through the years. But, the lads felt that they had a great chance, a final is a final as they say."
The final was played at Pairc Tailteann and what an exciting game it turned out to be as both sides had chances to win it, but Kells held on for a resounding victory.
The win was all the more satisfying as Gaeil Colmcille played most of the match with 14-men while centre back Darren Tormey (Bob's son) was forced to move to full forward having injured his ankle early on, but that switch proved decisive as the talented youngster found the back of the net on two occasions at critical times in the match.
Corner back Darren Morgan received a straight red card for an off the ball incident before Tormey's injury, but Kells were still to the fore and with the exceptional Brendan Murray running the show from midfield they raced into 1-6 to 0-0 lead by the start of the second quarter.
However, as expected Kilmessan battled back and reduced the deficit to 2-8 to 1-4 by half time.
It was going to be a titanic battle in the second half, but the town team deserves great credit for the effort they put in as they held on for a 3-11 to 3-7 victory.
Many of these young men will grace the senior team this year and if they keep progressing the year they are then there is no reason why Kells can't maintain their top flight status.
"Every player was exceptional on the day that was what we needed and that is what we got. It was an amazing performance by the lads and it was just great to win it."
The management team of Conor Ferguson (manager), Bob Tormay and Willie Keegan (selectors) deserve great credit for their efforts with this side, while Bob feels that this is the culmination of a number of years hard work.
"A lot of work has been put into the underage hurling over the last few years and it certainly has made a difference. Another man that has done great work with the juveniles is Benny Reddy and he deserves a mention also. Hopefully we can go on from here and do well in the senior."
For the record the victorious minor Gaeil Colmcille team was: Danny McGovern; Alan McGovern, Cormac Keegan, Darren Morgan; John Murray, Darren Tormay, Darren King; Brendan Murray, Fionn Ferguson; Evan Keegan, Conor Murray, Shane Morgan; Seamus Mattimoe, Conor Roche, Ryan Farnham. Subs - J Quigley for McGovern 44mins; Thomas Smith for King 59m; L Carry for Keeagn 60m.
Working away on both fronts
In another busy year of football and hurling activity in the Gaeil Colmcille club, the highlight was the winning of the MHC but there was also satisfaction that the hurlers retained their senior status.
April saw the minor title head to Kells and nearly six months later hurling people in Kells were again celebrating, this time not after a title triumph but after the club preserved their senior status with a play-off victory over Boardsmill. It was a big relief for them to stay in the top grade, having won the IHC the previous year.
When the SHC draws were made back in March, Gaeil Colmcille were pitted against Rathmolyon, Navan O'Mahonys, Kilmessan, Clann na nGael and Trim in Group B. Player/manager of the Kells side, Tom Shine, said the main aim was to stay in the top grade and bring in some young players.
Trim were their first round opponents and just got the better of their town rivals on a 1-9 to 0-9 scoreline in Athboy. After trailing by 0-2 to 1-5 at the break, Gaeil Colmcille came back well in the second period and could have taken something from the tie as Shine and Robbie Flanagan had late chances of goals.
It was a promising return to senior ranks for the first time since 1997 for the Kells side in a game in which Shine put over four points and Flanagan struck three. However, Gaeil Colmcille failed to win a game in their group, the closest they came to achieving that was in the 1-10 to 1-11 defeat to Clann na nGael in the second round clash at Pairc Tailteann.
The Athboy side also led by the minimum margin (1-6 to 1-5) at the break after the sides had been on level terms five times. Midfielder Denis O'Neill scored the Kells goal when a shot from him deceived the Clann na nGael and Colin Tormay put over three points in the first half.
The close exchanges continued following the switching of ends and Gaeil Colmcille trailed by two points when Colin Tormay was shown a red card. Tom Shine might have snatched a dramatic winner but his shot whizzed over the bar.
When the SHC resumed after the Nicky Rackard Cup success it was the same story for the championship newcomers as Rathmolyon cruised to a 3-13 to 0-6 victory over them in a Saturday evening clash at Kildalkey.
The first half was close enough and finished with a 1-6 to 0-4 scoreline. County minor Brendan Murray returned to puck over two points for the losers for whom Tom Shine converted three frees.
Gaeil Colmcille went down to a fourth defeat when Navan O'Mahonys outscored them by 1-13 to 0-8 and Kilmessan were their opponents in their last group game in the 2009 SHC. The defending champions had already qualified for the semi-finals and the Friday evening clash at Dunganny resulted in a 4-14 to 0-11 win for them.
The first half was close enough and the Kells side gave indications that they might survive in the top ranks when holding their more renowned opponents to four points (0-8 to 1-9) in the opening half hour.
Boardsmill also went through their group without picking up a point and they maintained the losing run when Gaeil Colmcille defeated them by 0-15 to 2-7 in the relegation play-off in Athboy. It was a big win for the Kells side who will be hoping to improve in the senior grade come 2010.
The latest attempt by Gaeil Colmcille's footballers to return to senior ranks ended in disappointment as they bowed out at the quarter-final stage. In 2008 they lost to eventual winners St Ultan's in the penultimate round and this year it was Nobber who dashed the Kells hopes of IFC glory.
Benny Reddy's charges had chalked up four wins from five outings in their group, just being edged into second place on score difference by Dunderry. They began the campaign with a narrow 3-9 to 2-11 victory over Na Fianna at Boardsmill as they repeated a quarter-final win of the previous year.
A late point from Tom Shine gave Gaeil Colmcille the winning start after they were in arrears of 2-2 to 2-6 at the break. Stephen Reddy, Martin Barrett and Justin Carry-Lynch netted the winners' goals.
The Kells side made it two wins from as many outings with a 1-11 to 0-11 success over St Michael's in the May Bank Holiday clash at Carnaross. The goal which separated the sides at the end arrived after 17 minutes when Gary Arkins punched a cross from Stephen McManus to the net.
Although Gaeil Colmcille trailed by 0-8 to 1-7 at the break, they had the better of the second period and finished strongly with the game's last four points, two of them put over by Tom Shine, who joined the action inside the last 10 minutes. Brian Hanlon played a notable part with six points, three from play.
A place in the quarter-finals was secured with a 1-14 to 2-7 win over Carnaross at Ballinlough in a game which they led by 0-8 to 0-3 at the break. Benny Reddy's side suffered their only group defeat when Dunderry outscored them by 0-13 to 1-5 in Bohermeen. It was 0-6 to 1-0 at the break with Stephen McManus getting the goal Gaeil Colmcille completed their IFC group schedule with a 3-11 to 0-7 win over Drumconrath at Syddan, having led by 2-5 to 0-5 at the break. However, another north county side ended their hopes of gaining possession of the Mattie McDonnell Cup, Nobber edging them out on a 1-11 to 2-7 scoreline in the quarter-final clash at Moynalty. Two goals from Brian Hanlon, the first from a penalty kick, awarded for a foul on Stephen McManus, boosted Gaeil Colmcille to a 2-4 to 1-4 interval advantage.
Within five minutes of the restart, the Kells side had increased their lead to five points but only managed to add one point as the men in black and yellow took control of the scoring for the rest of the encounter to advance.
Long-serving player Tom Shine was delighted that the hurlers preserved their senior status and is quite hopeful that they can improve their performances in the grade in 2010.
He was one of the selectors along with manager Conor Ferguson for the MHC success. and remarked that a much bigger effort was put into the promotion of hurling in the club over the last three years.
"Hurling had gone done a good bit in the club but the extra effort put in has reaped rewards with intermediate and under 21 B successes being gained before the minor title win this year.
"We have some really good young hurlers, lads like Brendan Murray, Gary McGovern, Cormac Ferguson, Cormac Keegan and others, and hopefully some of the minors will progress and strengthen the senior side.
"Over the winter months we held a number of five-a-side games and then in April a large group of adult and underage players, as well as officials and some supporters, travelled to Iona, an island off Scotland, to link up with a shinty club there.
"We played matches against them under compromise rules, there are historical links between Kells and Iona and it was a very pleasant experience. They are coming over to us on a return trip in March of next year and we will be looking forward to that," said Tom.
"I hadn't played senior hurling since 1995 and it was difficult to adjust to it again. But we put in some decent enough displays, especially against Trim and Clann na nGael, also we held Kilmessan well in the first half.
"Also we played well in the relegation play-off against Boardsmill. That was a very important win for us as it gives us the opportunity to do better in the SHC next year.
"Our performances in those games should give us a bit of encouragement to push on and do better next year. We should have learned a lot from the first year back in the senior grade and I would be thinking in terms of getting to the quarter-finals in 2010," he said.
Tom Shine has had a long football playing career, one of the highlights being figuring at right half forward on Meath's All-Ireland Under 21 FC winning team in 1993, having come on as a substitute for Gaeil Colmcille's last SFC final victory two years earlier.
After getting to the last four in the 2008 IFC, he was obviously disappointed not to at least get that far again this year. "We have a good number of dual players and maybe the heavy programme of games took its toll in the game against Nobber," he said.
"We were five points up at one stage. I don't like making excuses but we hit a few wides and Nobber took their scoring chances better than we did. Things just didn't happen for us on the day.
"We have suffered too many narrow defeats in the closing stages of the IFC in the last few years. They're hard to take and lads can only take so many of them. It's a hard championship to win and we need to get to the final next year," concluded Shine. Tweet
