Getting back to the Senior Hurling Championship final is proving difficult for Kiltale and when they lost to neighbours Kilmessan at the semi-final stage in 2010 it was the third successive year that they bowed out at the penultimate hurdle.

Kiltale were probably ahead of their time in 2007 when Paddy Kelly's generally young team appeared to come from nowhere to win their first Jubilee Cup in 24 years with a final victory over Kilmessan. Kildalkey deprived them of a place in the decider in 2008, before they lost to resurgent Kilmessan after a replay.
Last year Kiltale came close to returning to the biggest stage when Dunboyne edged them out by the minimum margin in a semi-final and this year it was Kilmessan who frustrated their bid to get to the final when they recorded a surprising easy win at the second last obstacle.
Kiltale have enjoyed an enormous amount of success at under-age level in recent years and bringing so many talented players through the ranks has enabled them to be highly consistent at senior level. However, trying to add to their 2007 triumph is proving to be somewhat frustrating.
They had a new man at the helm this year in Paul Regan and were drawn in group A of the championship along with Gaeil Colmcille, Na Fianna, Rathmolyon, Trim and Kilmessan and it was against the Kells men that they opened their campaign with a very comprehensive victory at Athboy.
Two early points from frees by Padraig Kelly set the tone and when Mark O'Sullivan, Stephen Donoghue and Philip Garvey split the uprights and Cathal Sheridan goaled Kiltale were in command. Gaeil Colmcille recovered briefly, but Kiltale pushed on late in the first half to lead by 1-10 to 0-5 at the break.
Points early in the second period from Peter Durnin, O'Sullivan and Brendan Dixon copper-fastened Kiltale's position of supremacy and a late goal from Kelly put the icing on the cake. It was the ideal way to start the championship, but a real struggled followed in the second round against Na Fianna.
This game took place at Boardsmill and it was Na Fianna who looked the more likely winners when they opened up a 1-6 to 0-1 lead, with the goal coming from Barry Slevin after an error. With Durnin enduring a difficult time from placed balls Kiltale were in trouble, but they went close to netting when Mark Coffey denied Durnin with a brilliant double save.
Kiltale improved late in the first half and trailed by 0-5 to 1-7 at the interval after Durnin had scored four times and Stephen Donoghue once. They were soon level after Durnin and James Kelly pointed and Durnin goaled, before Slevin regained the lead for Na Fianna with a point.
Durnin found his range in brilliant fashion from a free to restore parity, Sheridan gave Kiltale the lead for the first time and Slevin drew the teams level again. The outcome was very much in the balance, but James Kelly had the last say with a goal which earned Regan's team a dramatic 2-9 to 1-9 victory.
A maturing Trim team brought understrength Kiltale back to reality with a bang in the third round at Pairc Tailteann where they won by 2-13 to 1-9. Points from Durnin (two frees), Stephen Donoghue and TJ Lynch helped Kiltale to be level, but the side in red pushed on to lead by 0-9 to 0-5 at the break after Durnin had scored the losers' only other first half point from an 18th minute free.
An Alan Douglas goal five minutes into the second half helped Trim open up a 1-11 to 0-8 advantage, but Durnin goaled from a 20-metre free to cut the deficit to three points at the three-quarter stage. However, Trim's second goal from Neil Heffernan proved decisive as the town side finished strongest. Durnin top-scored for Kiltale with 1-6.
Kiltale bounced back from that defeat by inflicting a 5-13 to 3-8 beating on Rathmolyon at Boardsmill where the Village looked to be very much in contention at the break when they led by 2-5 to 1-6 after playing with the wind. James Kelly scored the first of the game's eight goals, but John Farrell netted at the other end in the 17th minute and again in first half injury time.
Durnin goaled twice in the third quarter as Kiltale moved into a 3-8 to 2-8 lead and with Sheridan adding two more they moved clear. Gary Cole replied with a late goal for Rathmolyon on a day when Durnin with 2-3, Sheridan with 2-1 and James Kelly with 1-2 did the brunt of the Kiltale scoring.
Kilmessan secured a passage straight through to the semi-finals when they defeated Kiltale by 2-15 to 1-14 in the last round at Trim. Eleven wides, nine of them in the first half, proved very damaging for the losers and they led by only 1-6 to 0-8 at the break when they might have been well ahead.
A superb Durnin goal was a highlight of the opening period and despite their wastefulness Kiltale were in a useful position when they led by 1-12 to 0-13 entering the closing stages. However, Kilmessan turned it around as goals from Charlie Keena and Eoin Marsh did the trick. Sheridan contributed eight points, seven from frees and the other from a '65'.
Kiltale had to content themselves with a quarter-final place and what a tussle that proved to be against Dunboyne at Pairc Tailteann where it finished level (1-23 to 3-17) after extra-time. The teams were level 12 times and Kiltale, who were without Sheridan, Paul and Philip Garvey and Shane Reilly, were rescued by points from O'Sullivan at the end of normal and extra-time.
Dunboyne led by five points after 23 minutes, but a James Kelly goal helped Kiltale to be in front by 1-7 to 1-6 at the interval in normal time. It was close in the second period and Dunboyne looked likely to shade the verdict until a superb O'Sullivan point saved Kiltale.
The scoreboard read Kiltale 1-16, Dunboyne 2-13 at the end of normal time and they were level again (1-21 to 3-15) at the short break. Again, Dunboyne appeared to be on the verge of victory approaching the end of extra-time, but O'Sullivan did the business once more with an equaliser. Durnin made an impressive contribution of 14 points.
There was no denying Kiltale's supremacy in the replay which they won by 5-12 to 1-11 at Trim. This time Durnin played a key role with 2-6 and the superb James Kelly helped himself to 1-1 in what was an impressive win.
Goals from a Durnin free and James Kelly helped Kiltale lead by 2-8 to 0-7 at half-time and further goals from O'Sullivan and Brendan Dixon enabled them to push further clear. Dunboyne battled away and Stephen Moran rewarded their effort with a great goal, but Durnin scored 1-2 in the closing stages to stretch Kiltale's advantage.
Kiltale had lost to Kilmessan by four points in the last round of group games, but when they met in the semi-final at a very wet Pairc Tailteann they were decisively beaten by 1-4 to 2-10.
Danny Maguire was a first half hero for Kilmessan when he goaled in the seventh minute following hesitation in defence and again 12 minutes later to help earn his team a 2-6 to 0-2 interval lead. Only Durnin (free) and John Donoghue scored for Kiltale in that period.
Shane McGann made fine saves from Charlie and Kevin Keena, but Kiltale were in big trouble and it got even worse when Kilmessan scored the first three points of the second half. Kilmessan had Peter Reynolds sent off in the 42nd minute, but the issue was beyond doubt at that stage.
Kiltale ended a spell of over 35 minutes without a score when Durnin pointed and they got their goal three minutes into injury time when substitute Sheridan netted. Their day of misery was compounded when another substitute, TJ Lynch, was sent off near the end.
"We were very disappointed," said Kiltale coach Paul Regan. "It's hard to know what went wrong when you're beaten by that much. That's three semi-finals in a row Kiltale have lost since winning it in 2007. We have more or less the same lads and a few new lads like Mark O'Sullivan, Sean Carroll and James Kelly.
"We have had a lot of under-age success, but it doesn't always bring success at adult level. We have a great panel of players. I think we need to forget about all the under-age success and concentrate on building a senior panel capable of winning it again. Look at Kildalkey. They don't win much at under-age level, but they could win the senior and junior championships last year."
Kiltale had a mixed bag of results in their group, but Paul was just happy to get through to the knockout stages.
"We had a fair few injuries at the start of the year and Mark O'Sullivan and Sean Carroll didn't play early on because of exams. Philip Garvey was out for most of the year with a shoulder injury and Paul Garvey broke his ankle earlier in the year. He came on in the semi-final. They were big losses to us.
"We beat Gaeil Colmcille, Na Fianna and Rathmolyon in the group and lost to Trim and Kilmessan. We were missing a lot of lads for the Trim game. When we won the championship in 2007 we only scraped through, so I was just happy to get out of the group this year.
"We showed good character in the drawn quarter-final against Dunboyne and we played very well in the replay. I thought we were coming right, but we were well beaten by Kilmessan. I knew after 15 or 20 minutes that it wasn't going to be our day. We had the wind in the first half, but gave away two goals. I'm not blaming the players or anybody. We had trained hard. It was very disappointing."

U14HC final: Kiltale
overwhelm Ratoath
 
Kiltale added another U14 title to the title they won last year by overcoming Ratoath in Kilmessan by 6-12 to 2-2.

Kiltale were quick off the mark with a goal from a 65 by captain David Schilder and further goals from Ronan and Ross Ryan gave Kiltale a cushion which they never lost. 
Kiltale had points from Hugh O'Sullivan, Michael Burke, Robert McGuinness and David Schilder to put them ahead by 3-7 to 0-1 at half time. 
Darragh Kelly got a point for Ratoath in the first half and was unlucky not to get a goal only for great defending by Brian Harnan and Daragh Walsh. 
Kiltale started off brightly in the second half with two goals from Ronan Ryan and one from his brother Ross. 
Kiltale got further points from David Schilder, Hugh O'Sullivan, Iarla Hughes and David McLoughlin and Ratoath replied with a point from Daragh Kelly. 
Daragh Kelly scored two goals in last five minutes but it was to late for a Ratoath comeback. 
Brian Harnan was outstanding throughout the game and got great support in defence from Hugh Smith, Sean Kiernan and Daragh Walsh. 
David Schilder and Iarla Hughes dominated midfield were Daragh Kelly and Gavin King tried hardest for Rataoth. 
Kiltale forwards showed great combination with twins Ronan and Ross Ryan, Hugh O'Sullivan, Michael Burke, Robert McGuinness and David McLoughlin all combining well to get great scores. 
Kiltale - Fergal Ryan, Sean Ryan, Sean Kiernan, Cathal Brien, Hugh Smith, Brian Harnan, Daragh Walsh, Iarla Hughes, David Schilder 1-4, Dave McLoughlin, Michael Burke 0-1, Robert McGuinness 0-1, Hugh O'Sullivan 1-2, Ross Ryan 2-2, Ronan Ryan 2-2. Subs - Brian O'Reilly for David McLoughlin, Kyle Benson for Iarla Hughes, Cathal Ryan for Daragh Walsh, Sean Healy for Cathal Brien, Jack Farrell for Michael Burke.  


Under 21HC final replay: Holders too good for Dunboyne 

Kiltale retained the Under 21 HC title with a convincing win over Dunboyne, the team they defeated in winning the title for the first time 12 months ago, by 1-10 to 0-5 in the replayed final at Trim. 
The teams were level three times in the opening 27 minutes before Kiltale upped a gear to secure their second title in the grade with a side that was sprinkled with players with SHC experience. 
Paddy Kelly's charges registered 1-2 without reply in the moments leading up to half-time and were five points to the good at the break. 
His teenage son James - who took scoring honours with eight points - got the sequence underway with a pointed free. 
When the same player found the range at the town goal from a 65 more than a single point separated the sides for the first time in the game. 
In first-half stoppage time, substitute Anthony Forde fired low to the Dunboyne net and it was 1-5 to 0-3 at the break. 
A pointed 65 from Dunboyne team captain Alan Watters three minutes after the restart slightly dented the deficit. That was countered by a James Kelly free from distance. 
What proved to be Dunboyne's last score arrived courtesy of midfielder Michael O'Grady in the 41st minute and left four points between the sides, 0-5 to 1-6. 
Kiltale ensured retention of the Carrigy Cup with four unanswered with Kelly notching three (two from play) and Mark O'Sullivan completing the holders' tally. 
Just before the end Dunboyne substitute Tommy Meyler was sent off on receipt of his second yellow card. 
The sole score of the opening quarter came from a Michael Dunne 65. Two pointed Kelly frees edged Kiltale in front. 
Watters levelled matters with a free from his own 65 before an O'Sullivan point edged Kiltale in front for the first time. 
A Dunne free restored parity and then came the aforementioned Kiltale scoring burst the proved decisive. 

Kiltale - S. McGann; A. Donnelly, S. Carroll, T. Mahady; S. Dunleavy, W. Mahady, M. McCormack; P. Kelly, I. Douglas; J. Kelly (0-8, 5 fs, 1 65), M. O'Sullivan (0-2), W. Harnan; C. McCabe, B. Reilly, M. Hennessy. Subs - A. Forde (1-0) for Hennessy (26), C. Garvey for Reilly (47), T. Forde for Dunleavy (58). Tweet

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