Junior C side end 21-year wait
November 30, 2009It was another disappointing exit for the east county outfit in the intermediate championship, gaining just two wins from four outings in their five-team group before surprising 2008 beaten finalists Cortown but then losing heavily to Dunderry.
The Piltown-based side showed some promise in their opening outing in the IFC when holding well-fancied Nobber to the minimum margin (1-9 to 1-10) at Slane, having led by 1-8 to 1-6 at the break.
Following that opening reversal, St Colmcille's won their next two games in the IFC. In the 1-10 to 1-8 success over Clann na nGael at Dunsany Karl Mullen gave them an early lead with a point, the seasiders were rocked by a Graham Geraghty goal on four minutes and they were behind by 1-4 to 1-6 at the break.
Sean Collier netted his second goal in two games after 15 minutes and in the second half points from Enda Grogan, Collier, John McKenna, Ciaran Kelly (two) and Graham Reilly saw them past the post in front.
After losing at the venue earlier in the campaign, St Colmcille's were back at Toddy Harding Park in Slane for their third round outing and the second visit brought them more joy as they romped home to a 1-16 to 0-12 win over Syddan, who were going down to a third defeat.
The Saints enjoyed a numerical advantage for most of the hour after their opponents had Eamonn Maguire sent off in the early stages and they made it pay in the second half after leading narrowly by 1-5 to 0-7 at the break.
However, the Cille's were no match for Oldcastle in their last group game played at Rathkenny as the team from the north-west of the county won by 2-10 to 0-8 in a game in which the losers had a penalty kick kept out by Seanie Fox.
That result meant that St Colmcille's finished on third place in the group with four points as Oldcastle and Nobber both on six points. Third place put the seasiders into a preliminary quarter-final against Cortown.
That game took place on a Tuesday night at Simonstown and St Colmcille's made a fine recovery in the second half to advance to the last eight. After trailing by 0-3 to 0-7 at the halfway stage, they stormed back strongly to record a 1-10 to 0-10 victory.
However, they failed to maintain the momentum five days later when Dunderry decisively defeated them by 2-15 to 1-6 in a quarter-final tussle at Seneschalstown.
The east Meath outfit fell into arrears of 0-0 to 1-2 in the opening 12 minutes and did not recover from their slow start. It got even worse for them as Dunderry had 1-7 on the board before Ciaran Kelly slotted over their first score from a free on 25 minutes.
The 'Cille's finished the first half with a bit of flourish with a point from Enda Grogan and a goal by Damien O'Brien leaving it 1-8 to 1-2 at the interval. Although Kelly further reduced the arrears from a free, that was as close as they got as Dunderry took control again to run out victors with 12 points to spare.
Enda Grogan was the longest serving member of this year's St Colmcille's team. "That was my 15th or 16th year playing with the club's first team. We were in the senior grade when I began playing adult football. However, we were struggling badly before going down to intermediate football in 1994.We got some heavy beatings and I can remember one particularly bad hiding from Kilmainhamwood," he said.
This year the 'Cille's had Ciaran Rohan, an Offaly-native who is a Garda in Drogheda, as manager of both the intermediate and junior C teams with Oliver 'Jackser' Kavanagh and Colm Hilliard as selectors.
"Ciaran played in goals for the intermediate team for about five years up to last year. He put in a huge amount of work with both teams this year, he missed very few training sessions and it was good that he got some reward for his efforts with the junior C success.
"We had reasonably high hopes in the intermediate championship this year. We held a meeting early in the year at which we decided to put in an extra special effort. In 2007 we got out of out group but lost to St Ultan's and last year we failed to qualify.
"This year we had a couple of good challenge matches against teams from north county Dublin. Although we have a couple of players who played on Meath teams over the last few years, there seems to be a lack of confidence in the team and we may need to win more games against better class opposition to improve the morale.
"Graham Reilly figured on the Meath senior team during the National League while Ciaran Kelly has been there or thereabouts. However, Ciaran has had a lot of trouble with a back problem," said Enda, whose father Mick is a former Offaly county player.
Enda was on the Meath under-21 team which won out in Leinster with a final victory over Westmeath in 1997. Then the side managed by Gerry Cooney went on to defeat Kerry in a penultimate round clash in Nenagh but lost out to Derry in the All-Ireland final played in Clones.
"After being a regular on the team that year, I was dropped for the final before being brought on as a substitute." he recalled. All-Ireland senior winners Darren Fay, Paddy Reynolds and Barry Callaghan were on that side.
Fast forward to 2009 and Enda Grogan, who is a Garda based in Balbriggan, said that the best display by St Colmcille's in the IFC probably came in the game against Cortown. "We were four points behind at half-time that night but we came back strongly in the second half and finished up winners by three points.
"Our display against Dunderry was not a true reflection of what we are capable of. We drew with them in a league clash (Division 2) back in April but we didn't produce our best form against them in the championship quarter-final.
"We have to look ahead to next year and hope that we can make a stronger bid in our efforts to get back up to senior ranks. You have to look ahead in a positive frame of mind and I'm sure all the other teams will be thinking along the same lines.
"The winning of the junior C championship should be a boost to the club. There were a god young footballers on that team and I hope we will see some of them performing at a higher level next year.There were promising young players on both our first and second teams this year and such augurs well for the future," concluded Grogan.
To reach the Junior C final, St Colmcille's defeated Oldcastle by 1-13 to 1-6 in a quarter-final clash played at Simonstown before outscoring Na Fianna by 1-17 to 1-9 in a penultimate round tie in Ashbourne. Dunboyne's third team also advanced to decider, following a 1-12 to 0-6 victory over Rathkenny.
St Colmcille's were back in Ashbourne for the final as they attempted to bring a long overdue championship title to the club. The 2-9 to 1-3 victory meant that the gap dating back to 1988 when a team powered by Robbie O'Malley and Bernard Flynn captured outright honours in the IFC was finally bridged.
The east Meath side got off to a slow start as Dunboyne raced into a 1-2 to 0-0 lead in the early stages. However, the team in yellow and black did not score again in the first half and could only add one point after the switching of ends.
Although playing against the breeze, St Colmcille's took control with team captain Owen O'Brien and John Levins showing good form at centrefield and top scorer Cathal Hilliard and Gary McCloskey impressing in attack.
Hilliard put over five points and a goal netted by Jim Lalor boosted the eventual winners to a 1-5 to 1-2 interval advantage. With Kevin Towell, who soaked up an amount of pressure, Mark Eagleton, Niall Smyth and Frank McCloskey covering well in defence, the Dunboyne forwards were well contained in the second period.
Levins burst through for his side's second goal for and a brilliant point from a line ball by Hilliard put the seal on the victory. The latter finished up with a total of five points.
The St Colmcille's team and scorers in the 2009 JFC C final : Darren Magill; Mark Eagleton, Brian Kelly, Kevin Towell; Niall Smyth, Frank McCloskey, Ben Brennan; Owen O'Brien, John Levins (1-0); Cathal Hilliard (0-5), Gary McCloskey (0-2), Michael Gallagher (0-1); Dominic McDowell, Keith Farragher (0-1), Niall Lalor (1-0). Subs: TJ Dixon for Levins, Tom Reilly for Lalor
Our year
Things are stirring on the Meath Coast again as the local side put in a year to remember in this the most historic of years for the association.
It certainly was a year to remember for the Seasiders with a first adult championship annexed in 21 years and a plethora of their underage teams reaching finals and semi finals. The roll of honour for 2009 reads
- Junior C Champions
- Intermediate Championship quarter finalists
- U12 Reserve League Winners
- U12 Reserve Summer League Winners
- U12 Donore Tournament winners
- U12 Division 1 Runners up
- U14 Division 1B Runners up
- Ladies Junior B Championship runners up
- Ladies U11 Division 2 Shield winners
- Ladies U14 Division 2 Shield runners up
- Ladies U12 Division 2 Shield runners up
At the time of writing, an impressive bunch of U21s have also qualified for the Championship semi-finals.
Off the field, tremendous progress was also made with the final stage of a 5 year work plan on the Pairc Uí Rís surface completed ensuring that the pitch remains playable 12 months of the year. New ladies dressing rooms were also constructed for the biggest growing section of the club. Work did not end there as a new state of the art astro turf was laid, a new football wall built and a new tar macadam surface laid on the car park. Works have also started on improving the surface at the Seafield grounds in Laytown which will help relieve some of the excruciating demand on the impressive Piltown pitches in the coming years.
Whilst the locals can be proud of their achievements both on and off the field in 2009, the work has not stopped there as a record number of coaches are now coming through the club. Each and everyone of these will be needed to cope with the expanding population and ambitions of the East Meath club. Once again, over 20 coaches completed foundation and level 1 courses in the year gone by. Such is the demand for space now at Piltown that serious consideration will now have to be given as to how pitch time and space will be timetabled in the coming year.
Surely, with continued hard work by the club such as this the Mattie McDonnell Cup cannot be far away and the Cilles will again establish themselves as a Senior team.
JUNIORS SHOW THE WAY!
2009 will be remembered for an impressive showing by the Junior side in annexing the club's first "Royal Meath Association" Cup. The victory in Ashbourne was made all the sweeter given that the club suffered final defeats in 1995 and 2005 and an impressive list of recent winners of the cup. Like all good championship sides, the Seasiders timed their run to perfection putting in impressive showings at the end of the campaign to make it to the Ashbourne showpiece
The campaign did not get off to the best of starts with a narrow defeat to Rathkenny but hopes were very high after that match given that a number of players were yet to come back from injury and college. However victories followed from there on and Na Fianna were overcome under lights in the semi-final under lights where it was obvious that the team were "coming to the boil" nicely.
On final day, the Seasiders made a slow start as a strong Dunboyne side made the early running. However, with John Levins gaining control in midfield, a solid defence and impressive forwards, Naomh Colmcille finally pulled out in front mid way through the first half for a lead they would not relinquish. Instrumental to the win was a solid defence that only conceded 4 scores on the way to becoming Champions for the first time.
In the end, the score board read Naomh Colmcille 2:09, St Peters, Dunboyne 1:03 and inspirational captain, Eoin O'Brien became the first man from the club to lift adult championship silverware in 21 years.
Innovative Club School Link launched
St Colmcilles launched its club-school initiative in 2007 and in each year, the programme has grown from strength to strength. The 2009/2010 programme is sponsored by the local Tesco store in Bettystown, without whose support the programme could not succeed.
The Club-School initiative is a partnership programme where the progressive east Meath club works with Scoil Oilibheir Naofa, Gaelscoil an Bhradain Feasa, Le Cheile, Mount Hannover and Donacarney Boys and girl schools in coaching participants the skills of Gaelic Football and the promotion of the GAA in general.
The 2009/10 programme focuses on First Class children and is being supported by Meath Coaching and Games Committee. In what is one of the most ambitious programmes of its kind in the area, the club coaches approximately 240 children in the skills of Gaelic football in an environment where fun and personal developments are core values
Each fortnight, from 10am to 1:45pm at St Colmcille's GAA grounds, Piltown, the club provided 3 of its own coaches from a pool of 14 coaches to help coach all the school children. This is supplemented by one coach from the Meath Coaching resource. The coaching sessions commenced on Wednesday September 9th running to December 2nd, will culminate in a School Blitz Finals day in March next year. This promises to be an occasion to remember with a series of games being played which will bring the skills learned "to life" and will feature visits from intercounty footballers and referees and many local celebrities planned.
Speaking at the launch, co-ordinator Jude McNabb noted that
"For many years, the club has made its facilities available free of charge to each of the local schools. However by working in partnership with the schools to provide a sporting outlet to classes, to create an awareness of local community and Irish culture, we passionately believe that the club-school initiative will have very positive impact on our community and each participant's personal growth and development
St Colmcille's GAA Club would also like to thank not only our sponsors Tesco but also the Order of Malta for providing their invaluable service down at the club for each of the coaching mornings.
IMPRESSIVE YEAR FOR UNDERAGE TEAMS
2009 represented a very impressive year for the club's burgeoning underage section with both the girls and boys teams shining in their respective competitions in 2009.
The U12 reserve bunch were the glory team in the year gone by, claiming the "double" of league and Summer Shield. This represented back to back reserve titles for the Cilles and augurs well for u12 in 2010.
The U12 first team really shone on their way to the Division 1 county final for the first time since 2001. In what is a very impressive division, the young Seasiders posted some very noteworthy results and hopes were high that O'Mahonys could once again be overcome in the final. Whilst we had chalked up an impressive win at Brew's Hill, the town side had improved steadily during the year and their win over red-hot favourites Dunboyne in the semi-finals really marked them out as a team to watch. In the end, in a final played at the impressive Drumconrath pitch in front of a large attendance, the Cilles came out on the wrong side of a two point match. However, the young Seasiders can look back fondly on campaign where, with continued work and commitment, their may be many more glory days ahead
The U14 boy's however were a team that really showed everyone the way forward in 2009. First into action, many had written off this squad at the start of the year but showing great steel and no less skill, they blazed an impressive trail through Division 1B. Dunshauglin put a stop to the gallop however and it was the black and ambers who we met in the final in late April. Despite continued improvement and a big heart, Dunshaughlin proved themselves to be a very capable outfit that will perform well in Division 1 in years to come and they claimed the silverware on county final day. Still, this was an impressive year for the boys and 5 of them went on to work with the county development squad, coached by St Colmcille's mentor, Michael Garland, later in the year
Ladies football
St Colmcille's U11 girls won the Division 2 Shield, defeating Clann na Gael at Ashbourne in October. This was the club's second year in a row to claim an U11 trophy and with Shield final appearances at U11, 12 and 14 level, there is great work being undertaken at ladies level by the Seasiders
2009 was a memorable year for the 'Cilles U12 second team who won the Reserve league and Summer Shield double
The squad are pictured under lights with mentors, Liam Walsh and Micky Conlon with the trophies won during the year
It was also a year to remember for Naomh Colmcille's ladies who reached the knock out stages of all competitions in 2009
In only their second year fielding an adult team, the girls team reached the Junior B championship final. Although losing out to an experienced Dee Rangers at the impressively appointed Ashbourne grounds on the day, performances in 2009 augur well for adult success in the very near future Tweet
