When Oldcastle defeated St Ultan's in a Senior Football Championship relegation play-off at Ballinlough in early September everybody associated with the Simonstown Gaels' club could emit one collective sigh of relief. 

Simonstown had already beaten St Ultan's in the first of the play-offs in the battle for survival and when the Bohermeen/Martry combination lost again they were doomed to the drop back to intermediate level just two years after winning that grade. The big winners were Simonstown and Oldcastle who had survived.
Sean Barry, who along with Sean Kelly had guided Navan O'Mahonys to Keegan Cup success in 2008, moved across town for 2010 to take charge of Simonstown and he inherited a very young team which will have learned much from the experience of a campaign which took a definite turn for the worst when they were caught late by Trim in their last group match.
Six years after contesting their second successive senior final, the north Navan men were in danger of relinquishing their place in the top flight, but that victory over St Ultan's proved invaluable and now they can start to plan with a view to building a team capable of challenging for the club's first SFC title.
Simonstown had a mixed bag of results in last year's championship when Colm O'Rourke was at the helm, winning their first two games against St Patrick's and Duleek/Bellewstown, before losing to O'Mahonys and Donaghmore/Ashbourne. They missed out on knockout action and with such a young side there was always the likelihood that it would happen again in 2010.
There was plenty of family rivalry when they faced Skryne in their championship opener at Seneschalstown where it finished level (1-8 to 0-11). Shane O'Rourke (two), Shane O'Neill and Wayne McCarthy scored first half points for Simonstown, but they trailed by 0-4 to 0-7 at the interval after failing to make best use of their chances.
Goal opportunities for Stephen Moran and Shane Barry were comfortably dealt with by Skryne 'keeper Phelim O'Rourke in that period and another one was wasted early in the second half when Padraig McKeever shot wide. However, they got the game's only goal from Shane O'Rourke and that helped them to be level (1-5 to 0-8) at the three-quarter stage.
The teams exchanged three points each subsequently, with David Ryan edging Skryne ahead late on, but McCarthy had the final say with an even later leveller. Simonstown demonstrated great character in this match and a share of the spoils looked like a decent outcome ahead of a match against Dunboyne at Skryne.
Simonstown opened the scoring with a McCarthy pointed free, but Dunboyne were the superior team and goaled on three minutes through Colm Brennan. They led by seven points at one stage in the first half and by five at the break, 1-7 to 0-5. It was all over bar the shouting when Michael Reilly got their second goal near the end of the third quarter, though the Gaels notched the last five scores, including a Joe Lyons fisted goal, to be adrift by 1-11 to 2-13 at the end.
When Simonstown defeated St Patrick's by 0-15 to 1-6 in the third round at Donore they were still very much in contention for a knockout place. This game produced four red cards in the last eight minutes for Pat's trio Keith Whearty, Andy Reilly and Brian Calvey and Simonstown's McCarthy.
Points from O'Rourke and Lyons (two each) and McCarthy enabled Simonstown to lead by 0-5 to 0-3 at the break and they steadily pushed away to be clear by 0-11 to 0-4. There was no way back for the Stamullen men, but they did get their only score from play four minutes into injury time when Daithi Whyte fisted a goal.
Simonstown looked certain to win again when they opened up a 2-3 to 0-1 lead against Wolfe Tones at Pairc Tailteann, thanks largely to goals from O'Rourke and Sean Tobin. O'Rourke (two) and Seamus Kenny scored first half points, but Tones had reduced the deficit to 0-5 to 2-3 at the break.
Goalkeeper Gary Lynch saved a penalty from Cian Ward in the opening half, but he was beaten in the second when Stephen Sheppard found the net. Simonstown scored only two points in this period and Tones steadily gained the upper hand to win by 1-10 to 2-5. 
Simonstown still had an outside chance of reaching the knockout stages as they headed for Dunderry to meet Trim, but they returned home worrying about survival after Paul Gilsenan earned the reds a dramatic 1-7 to 0-9 victory with an injury time pointed free which secured their status.
The Navan men suffered a big blow when Seamus Kenny retired with a leg injury after eight minutes, but three points from O'Rourke helped them to be level, before they finished the first half strongly with points from O'Rourke (two) and Sean Tobin to lead by 0-6 to 0-3 at the break.
Trim resumed smartly with points from Alan Douglas and Gilsenan and after a 15-minute spell without a score substitute John Lunney pointed to give Simonstown a 0-7 to 0-5 advantage with seven minutes remaining. The teams traded points and Simonstown looked likely to win, but then it all went wrong.
Michael Lowther goaled to give Trim the lead, Shane Barry equalised and four minutes into additional time Gilsenan slotted over the winner after a foul on Neil Heffernan. It was a shattering defeat and left Simonstown focused purely on survival.
Thankfully, they required only one match in the relegation struggle as they defeated St Ultan's by 0-17 to 1-12 at Kilberry in a well-contested game. Simonstown played very well for parts of this match and scored freely to lead by 0-11 to 0-6 at the break. But Ultan's made changes, battled back and aided by a goal from Ciaran Rogers they restored parity.
O'Rourke edged Simonstown back in front, Cian Rennicks equalised four minutes from the end and just when they needed a strong finish it came in the shape of points from O'Rourke and McKeever which secured a vital win. O'Rourke made a telling contribution with six points (five frees), Lunney and wing-back McKeever both scored three, Tobin notched two and Kenny, Eanna Donoghue and O'Neill got one each.
It was a huge relief and when Oldcastle did them a favour by inflicting a second relegation play-off defeat on St Ultan's, Simonstown were safe.
"At the start of the year the plan was to survive," coach Barry said. "We have so many young players on the team at the same time. In our last game of the championship we had five players under 19 on the field of play and finished with six under 20s. We were probably the youngest team in any grade, junior, intermediate or senior.
"The whole year was a learning process for these lads, yet with a bit of luck we might have got out of the group. The league was frustrating for us. We had players missing because they were on county teams or with their colleges and it was April before we got a team together.
"We started the championship with a draw against Skryne, but then got a bad beating against Dunboyne. We were 10 points behind at one stage, but got it back to five. After that we had a good win against St Patrick's and we had a great chance in the fourth round against Wolfe Tones.
"We made a great start and led by eight points. We were ahead by 2-3 to 0-5 at half-time, but Tones are experienced and they came back and won by a couple of points. We had three good chances which could have made all the difference if they were taken.
"Then we were caught late by Trim and with other results going against us we were in the relegation mix. We built up a good lead against St Ultan's, but lost our way approaching half-time. We were five points ahead at half-time, but they got back level. For a young team we showed great character. There was great fight in them and while we missed chances to close it out we got a couple of vital points at the end."
With that campaign under their belts it's now a case of looking ahead for this developing panel.
"It was great to survive," Barry added. "This year will stand to them. Even when we were in the relegation mix turnouts at training were very good. The older players rallied around. Ned Kearney got injured early in the year, but he came back. John Lunney got three or four points against St Ultan's and Paul Meade plugged away with the juniors all year. We have blooded the young players and Simonstown's future is in good hands with these lads."  
 
Under-14s are impressive
A strong start proved decisive for Simonstown as they defeated Donaghmore/Ashbourne by 5-8 to 2-14 in the Under-14 FC Division 1 final at Kilbride to add to their earlier league triumph over the same opposition.
Goals from Chris O'Neill (two), Graham Nelson and Ben Hoey helped the Navan lads take control and they led by eight points at the interval. Nelson also netted in the second half, but the lead stood at just three points at the end.
This was a superb team display, with Kia-fiach Rael, Ronan Meegan, Aaron Farrelly, Cillian Farrell and O'Neill particularly impressive. The win qualified Simonstown for the All-Ireland Feile in Derry.
Simonstown Gaels - K Rael; O Lavin-Kelly, R Meegan, P Woods; D Meegan, A Farrelly, B Conlon; B McGrath, C Farrell; J Shealy, G Nelson, C Nash; B Hoey, C O'Neill, J Powderly. Subs - R McLarney, B McEvoy, S Gallagher, C Farrell. 
 
Girls claim another title
Simonstown maintained their dominance of the Girls' Under-14 Division 1 grade when they defeated Boardsmill by 5-9 to 1-2 in the final at Dunganny.
Kelly Marie Harris was a star of the show with 2-6 for the Navan girls who led by 2-3 to 1-2 at the interval, before dominating the second half. Eleanor Lane scored 2-1, Naoise De Graff got 1-1 and Aine Farrelly contributed the other point in what was an impressive team performance.
Simonstown Gaels - N Byrne; G Ishola, C Keoghan, K Tolan; L McLoughlin, F Kalonzo, A McGoona; E Lane (2-1), N Sheridan; K Nesbitt, KM Harris (2-6), R Gardiner; E Devine, N De Graff (1-1), A Farrelly (0-1). Subs - R Hand for Farrelly, L Ivers Ducie for McGoona, KM McDonagh for Nesbitt, H Costello for McLoughlin, S McDermott for De Graff.
Simonstown also claimed the Girls' Under-12 FC title with a 5-3 to 4-3 win over Boardsmill in the final at Skryne.
An Amy Fallon goal helped Simonstown lead by 1-2 to 1-1 at the break after playing with the wind. The second half was thrilling as goals were the order of the day and in the end it was Simonstown's fifth from Regina Hand which proved decisive.
Simonstown Gaels - M Peters; K Bellew, C Corrigan; S Lister, H O'Brien, N Hand; N Donnelly, K Nesbitt (1-1); A Treanor, R Hand (1-1), L Grier; A Fallon (2-1), A Duffy (1-0). Subs - M Byrne, A English, R Martin, S Shalvey, A Lawes, L Barrett.
Simonstown ladies
underage success
When the current crop of U14 players were heading for Under 10, Meath footballer Jackie Shiels believed Simonstown could achieve in underage Ladies football if they were caught early and coached properly. Jackie, along with the assistance of Jackie Sheridan, started the team off and created a huge interest within the club. By Conor Sheridan.
However Jackie Shiels' career took her overseas and she left her team in the care of Jackie Sheridan. Over the last four years Des Lane, Karen Clynch and Eanna Donohoe have all become heavily involved and the team grew from strength to strength. Due to their hard work, dedication and motivation, underage Simonstown Ladies teams are now a major force to be reckoned with in the Royal County. When they started off at under 10 they reached the Division 1 quarter final, followed by the semi final appearance at Under 11 and were finally crowned Under 12 Division 1 champions in 2008. This group of players have never looked back and have added Under 13 and Under 14 Division 1 championships to their short but already very successful careers.
The success of this team reverbarated through the club and interest in girl's football rose dramatically. Stalwarth Sarah Shiels and new mentors such as Michael Hand and Siobhan Hanrahan encouraged many youngsters to play the game and that dedication paid off this year when the Under 10, 12, and 14 teams all claimed Division 1 honours. This is a major success for the club and a fantastic reward for all mentors involved, with much of their hard work going unnoticed.
In the Under 10 final the Gaels defeated Donaghmore/Ashbourne by a scoreline of 1-11(34) to 3-6(21), a point worth three points and a goal worth 1 to encourage the girls to kick for points rather than goals. The Under 12's served up a thrilling final beating Boardsmill by 5-3 to 4-3 in a nail biting encounter for many of those who attended. In the Under 14 final Simonstown ran out comfortable winners against Boardsmill winning by 5-9 to 1-2.
This was a particularly impressive achievement for the U14 girls as they got the honour of representing Meath in the annual Under 14 Feile na nOg Competition which was held in Derry this year. Simonstown managed to top their group of six, where they recorded impressive victories over teams from Wexford, Donegal and Dublin and book their place in the semi finals of the historic competition where they would take on Monagea of Limerick. In an extremely entertaining end to end game Simonstown unfortunately came up just short of the margin and were defeated by the minimum by the eventual winners of the competition. This was a fantastic achievement for the panel of players involved and a great weekend was had by all players, management, parents and supporters in the host village of Muff, Co. Donegal.
This was not the end of the Under 14 girls season however. They were invited to play in the prestigious Ladies All Ireland U14 Sevens, hosted by the Kilmacud Crokes club in Dublin each year. In what was considered a very tough group which included St. Endas Ballyboden, Scotstown of Monaghan and Sheain Ui Neill from Armagh, Simonstown topped the group with a 100 % record. The girls would now play rivals Dunboyne in the last 16 knockout stage. Simonstown produced a spirited display and ran out convincing winners to progress to the quarter final stage. Here they played St. Laurences of Kildare where they were narrowly defeated.
The Simonstown Under 16 Ladies team also had a good run in the Division 2 championship. They finished second in their group to qualify for the semi finals where they recorded an emphatic victory over Dunboyne. However they were defeated by a bigger and stronger Na Fianna team by two points in the decider. This was no mean feat as all but four (i.e. Captain Aisling Sheridan, Niamh Lister, Rachel Flynn and Aoife Mullen) of the Under 16 team were made up of Under 14s.
In what proved to be a very successful year Simonstown's achievements are not a coincidence by any stretch of the imagination and the hard work and hours of dedication spent by plenty of parents bringing their children to and from matches are greatly appreciated by the mentors of the respective teams. Parents are also grateful of the many mentors' hard work and encouragement in ensuring their daughter gets the best coaching and care possible. All these factors have greatly influenced the success of the underage Ladies Club and those involved will work hard to make sure that trend continues. Tweet

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