Great club rivalries from the past: Kilbride v Colmcille Gaels
November 27, 2010One such rivalry came to the boil in the 1960s when an emerging Kilbride team, powered to a large extent by the Quinn clan, took Meath football by storm, but one side which did its level best to thwart their dramatic progress was Colmcille Gaels from Kells who, with the help of a healthy sprinkling of players from other counties, brought overdue senior success to the north county town.
It's interesting to examine the different paths these clubs took to reach a position where they could challenge for Keegan Cup honours and, in the process, captivate audiences with some gripping encounters, including the three matches it took to decide the destination of the senior championship title in 1966.
Kilbride rose from being a humble junior club to the status of greatness in a very short space of time and were fortunate to have several highly talented players emerging at the same time. It all started in 1960 when the valuable work undertaken in the juvenile ranks the previous decade bore fruit with the annexation of the junior championship title.
Batterstown were overcome in the final proper and the village of Kilbride had never before witnessed the scenes which followed. After captain Martin Quinn had taken possession of the Royal Meath Association Cup one and all headed home where a bonfire blazed and there was singing and dancing to the music of an accordion. Surely it couldn't get any better than this!
The following year Kilbride took some big scalps in the Donaghmore tournament, including that of Skryne in the final, but were eliminated from the intermediate championship when they lost to eventual winners Drumree. But they were learning fast and in 1962 they made the move up to the senior ranks when a team captained by Owen O'Sullivan defeated Walterstown in a well-contested intermediate final.
Jack Quinn was captain when Kilbride won the first of three Feis Cup titles in 1963, but their hopes of winning the senior championship in their first year in the grade were dashed when St Vincent's from Ardcath defeated them in a semi-final. However, their greatest days were just around the corner.
Hopes had been high that the Keegan Cup, which had been presented for the first time in 1953 to Navan O'Mahonys' captain Tony McCormack, would take up residence in Kells in '54, but a well-fancied Kells Harps team lost to Skryne in the final. They were again favourites in the 1955 decider, but this time St Vincent's spoiled the party. They subsequently slipped down the rankings and by the 1960s a new amalgamation was in place called Colmcille Gaels, made up of Kells Harps, Drumbaragh and Kilmainham.
Their first year in the SFC was in 1964 and that's when the great rivalry with Kilbride was set in motion.
Only four years after they had won the junior title, Kilbride reached the senior decider in their second year in the top flight and their opponents were Colmcille Gaels who were bolstered by the arrival of the McCormack brothers, Padraig, Sean and Larry, from Kilmainhamwood and locally based school teacher Mick O'Brien from Walterstown.
Also in their ranks were Greg Hughes from Offaly and Phil Fay from Longford who were both living and working in the town.
The final was a low-scoring affair and the key score was a Pat Rooney goal which helped Kilbride to a 1-8 to 0-8 victory. The Keegan Cup, which had been presented to captain Wardie O'Sullivan, was proudly paraded around Navan and then taken back to Kilbride where a huge reception awaited.
Kilbride surrendered their title in 1965 after the hugely controversial final against Skryne, having beaten Colmcille Gaels again, this time in a semi-final. The rivalry had become huge and it reached astonishing heights in 1966 when the championship was run on a league system, with the winners of two groups advancing to the final.
Those teams were Gaeil Colmcille and Kilbride and after Meath had lost the All-Ireland final to Galway the county decider took place on the second Sunday of October. The Kellsmen led by a point in the latter stages, but half-back PJ Reilly surged upfield to equalise for Kilbride. It finished 1-7 each.
The replay took place on the first Sunday of November and despite scoring three goals through Tommy Hickey, Padraig McCormack and Miceal Campbell, Colmcille Gaels failed to win as Murty O'Sullivan rescued Kilbride with a late pointed free. The Kells side scored more goals than points and it finished all square, 3-2 to 1-8. A feature of the game was the brilliant performance of midfielder Joe Murphy, despite being directly opposed by Jack Quinn.
No extra-time was played and the second replay was staged on the final Sunday of November when Colmcille Gaels ended the marathon with a 0-8 to 0-6 victory. Their top scorer with five points was Jimmy Murray from Athlone, a local Garda who had played for Westmeath in the 1963 All-Ireland minor final when they lost to Kerry. Referee Dom Tighe sent two players off in separate incidents - Harry Campbell for Colmcille Gaels and Murty O'Sullivan of Kilbride. The winners included former Dublin dual star Des Ferguson who was superb in attack and the victorious captain was Phil Fay.
Kilbride regained the Keegan Cup in 1967 when PJ Reilly captained them to a final victory over Navan O'Mahonys, but Colmcille Gaels were back in the ascendancy the following year when Kilbride failed to emerge from the group stages. The Kellsmen had been boosted by the arrival of former Drumbaragh player Paddy Carry from Sean McDermotts in Dublin and defeated Walterstown by 3-17 to 1-4 in the final which wasn't played until March of 1969 after both semi-finals took three games to decide. This time they were captained by Harry Campbell.
Colmcille Gaels and Kilbride renewed rivalry again later that year, this time in a semi-final. The Kells side were originally thrown out of the competition for failing to fulfil the fixture, but were reinstated by Leinster Council. When the match eventually took place Kilbride won comprehensively en route to the first of three successive senior titles.
They beat Skryne in the final, with Austin Reddin their captain. The following year Owen O'Sullivan led them to glory when they defeated O'Mahonys in the decider and the three-timer was completed in 1971 when they again got the better of Skryne and Pat Bruton got his hands on the Keegan Cup.
They were great years for Kilbride and Martin Quinn was a key player, including in the many battles against Colmcille Gaels.
"That was a huge rivalry with Colmcille Gaels," he recalled. "It was a big one when you had to face them each year. They were always the team we kept an eye on. Once the championship draw was made you would be checking when you would be playing them. We really admired them. They would stand up and fight. They would never lie down. They were great days and bring back great memories."
By the time Kilbride faced Colmcille Gaels in the 1964 senior final they had made a remarkable climb through the ranks.
"It was a huge thing to win the junior championship in 1960," Martin added. "When we won that we wondered how far we could go. Drumree knocked us out of the intermediate championship in 1961, but we knew we could win it. We beat Walterstown in the final in 1962. St Vincent's beat us in a senior semi-final in 1963, but we knew after that we would be there or thereabouts. We were improving, getting bigger and stronger. We knew we would take beating.
"One of our best performances was in the 1964 semi-final against Trim. That was a great game. We came from four or five points behind at half-time to win. We beat Colmcille Gaels in the final. Pat Rooney got the vital goal. To win the senior championship was huge, but we were still developing."
A year later Kilbride defeated Colmcille Gaels in a semi-final, but controversy reigned when they lost their crown to Skryne. There was further disappointment the following year when they lost to the Kellsmen in the marathon three-match final saga.
"It took three games to decide the 1966 final against Colmcille Gaels," Martin said. "We were missing Pat Rooney and Gerry Quinn. We couldn't overcome our injuries. We had a small panel, whereas Kells had a huge amount of players. I always say that Des Ferguson won it for them. He was on fire in the third game. It was one of the best displays of football I ever saw. It was a huge disappointment, especially knowing that with a full team we would have been there or thereabouts."
Kilbride regained the Keegan Cup in 1967 and their next big meeting with Colmcille Gaels was in the 1969 semi-final which only took place after the Kellsmen were reinstated by Leinster Council.
"They knew they wouldn't have Greg Hughes and didn't want to play, but we wanted to play them," Martin said. "We said we would play them any day when they were at full strength. We eventually beat them and then beat Skryne in the final.
"We completed a three in-a-row after that. We had developed a bit of strength with the arrival of George Glynn and Mick Bohane. They were a great boost to us. We had a small panel and couldn't do without anyone."
Joe Murphy was an influential figure for Colmcille Gaels and fondly recalls those mighty tussles with Kilbride.
"They used to say it was the greatest football every played," he said. "You don't see anything like that today. It was tough, but I had nothing but the height of respect for Kilbride. They were one hell of a club for a small club. They were picking their team from five or six houses and had about 12 or 13 footballers.
"Kilbride were very popular, while we were the town team and had a big pick with lads like Greg Hughes from Offaly, Phil Fay from Longford, Jimmy Murray from Westmeath and Vincy Cahill who had been with Navan O'Mahonys.
"Even though we had big names, it was only when Dessie Ferguson came in that we really improved. He was a mighty man. He balanced the team and sorted us out. If you didn't listen to him you need not have listened. He would whisper in your ear. We looked up to him. He made a team out of us.
"We lost the 1964 final to Kilbride. Dessie played in 1966 and 1968 when we won it. He was 38 in 1968. The 1966 final against Kilbride went to three games. It must have been nearly Christmas by the time it was over. To win the senior championship was something you would dream of. It's great to win something with your club. We probably should have won more, but we lost players too.
"Kilbride were crafty. They would move players around. I remember looking around the field one day and wondering where Murty O'Sullivan was. He would usually be on the '40', but there was no sign of him, I thought. But there he was in at corner-forward on Brian Caffrey. Brian never gave him a smell of the ball and Murty was moved back outfield.
"That was a great rivalry with Kilbride. Of all the teams I played against I loved them most. I always had the height of admiration and respect for them. I had some mighty battles with Jack Quinn. They could put anybody with Jack at midfield and it would be a strong partnership." Tweet
