Best in a decade
November 27, 2011
Along with Navan O'Mahony's, Curraha were the surprise packets of this year's JFC after they reached the knockout stages for the first time since their Matthew Ginnity Cup winning year of 2001. Vice-chairman and underage coach Pat Moriarty took a great deal of encouragement from their run to the semi-final and is hoping there is more to come in the next couple of years.
One of the highlights of this year's JFC was Curraha's march to the last four where they were narrowly beaten by Ballivor. Since returning to manage his home club, former county minor boss Pat Coyle has overseen a dramatic improvement in Curraha's fortunes, transforming them from relegation candidates to championship contenders in just two seasons.
2011 was easily Curraha's best year since their last JFC triumph a decade ago. Indeed, it was the first time since 2001 that they qualified for the latter stages. They also performed strongly in Division 4 of the league and contested the inaugural Tailteann Cup final, which was carried over from last year.
"We've made great strides since Pat took over as manager and hopefully that progress will continue in 2012," Curraha vice-chairman Pat Moriarty enthuses.
"The club had been down for a few years, with retirements taking their toll after our 2001 junior championship success. But we're slowly but surely finding our feet again and we probably took a lot of people by surprise this year. We have a good underage structure and please God we'll be able to push on from here. Neil Shortall and goalkeeper Liam Hogan both came through to make a big impact this year, and we're hoping to get a few more young players of that quality through in the next few years.
"You have to give credit to Pat and his selectors Declan Hanley and Christy Bermingham for the work they've done and the improvements they've carried out. We had upwards of 30 lads down at training every night and that's a great number for such a small club."
Kerry native Moriarty, who has been involved with Curraha for the past 17 years and won a JFC 'B' medal as a player before going on to serve as a selector under Meath legend Brian Stafford when they lifted the Matthew Ginnity Cup in 2001, believes the green and golds were very close to reaching a county final this year.
"There was very little between ourselves and Ballivor," he says as he reflects on Curraha's 1-8 to 1-10 semi-final defeat.
"We were on top for most of the second half and a few bad wides probably cost us in the end. We were without Terry Hetherton, who had left for Australia, and Kevin Mallon, who was injured, and if they had been available, it could have been a different result. No-one gave us a chance against Ballivor, but we showed that day that we can compete with the best of them. The challenge now is to prove that this year wasn't a flash in the pan."
Drawn in Group D of the JFC, Curraha opened their campaign with a 1-7 to 1-9 defeat to Kilmainham in Kilberry. The winners got off to a great start thanks to a fifth-minute Trevor Lynch goal, but were outscored by 0-4 to 0-2 for the remainder of the half. Indeed, the green and golds could have gone into the break ahead but for an excellent save from the Kilmainham goalkeeper to deny Alan Carroll.
Curraha were dealt a huge setback just minutes into the second half when Robbie Hetherton - who had replaced the injured Kevin Mallon - was sent off. Making the most of their numerical advantage, Kilmainham surged into a five-point lead, but the 14-men refused to throw in the towel and, inspired by Carroll, they had reduced the deficit to the minimum before an injury-time point proved to be the insurance score for Kilmainham.
A brace of early goals paved the way for Curraha's only win of the group campaign against Drumbaragh. The north Meath side responded with a brace of their own, only for Curraha to rattle in two further majors before half-time. Pat Coyle's charges looked to be out of sight when they opened up a nine-point lead on the restart, but it was all Drumbaragh after that and Curraha were relieved to still have their noses in front - 4-7 to 3-9 - at the final whistle.
Curraha had to be content with a share of the spoils against Duleek/Bellewstown's second string in their third round clash at Slane. In a low-scoring opening period, Duleek registered the first three points, but a trio of points from PJ Casey in reply had the sides level at the break.
Duleek regained the lead early in the second half, but a fisted goal from Rory Gleeson and three points on the trot from Simon McDermott, Casey and Gavin Coyle had the Joe McDermott Park outfit five up with less than 10 minutes remaining. However, they couldn't close out the game as Duleek fought back to leave the sides level on 1-8 apiece at full-time.
Despite having to settle for another draw against Dunboyne (0-13 to 2-7), Curraha pipped Drumbaragh for second spot in the group and a place in the quarter-finals by virtue of their victory over the Kells parish side. Points from Alan Carroll and Locky Keogh gave Curraha an early cushion, only for the Dunboyne second string to reply with an unanswered 1-1. Carroll and Phelim Dowling restored parity before St. Peter's struck for their second goal. However, another brace of Carroll frees, coupled with scores from Simon McDermott and Brian Cosgrave, saw the wearers of green and gold trail by just two points, 0-8 to 2-4, at the interval.
Carroll and PJ Casey had Curraha on level terms early in the second half and there was little to separate the sides after that. Gavin Coyle thought he had won it for Curraha, only for Dunboyne to grab a late equaliser, but the draw was good enough to see Pat Coyle's men through.
Perennial Matthew Ginnity Cup contenders Moylagh were expected to put a stop to Curraha's march in the quarter-final, but the underdogs showed how much they have improved over the past 12 months by carving out a 0-10 to 0-7 victory. Moylagh dominated possession in the first half, but some superb defending by David Coyle, Conor McCann and Phelim Dowling restricted them to just four points. At the other end, county minor Neil Shortall popped over a couple of frees to leave just two in it at the short whistle.
Curraha upped the tempo after the restart and three points from their outstanding midfielder Noel Keogh soon had them in the driving seat. His midfield partner PJ Casey also found the target, as did Shortall, Alan Carroll and Sean Mallon, to ensure a famous win for the green and golds.
Curraha were now just one step away from a shock county final appearance, but a two-point defeat to last year's runners-up Ballivor ended their championship odyssey. Alan Carroll found the net in the first half, but was later forced off with an injury and was a huge loss to the club from close to the Dublin border.
Earlier in the year, Curraha lost the delayed 2010 Tailteann Cup final to Dunsany by 3-13 to 1-13 after a hard-fought clash at Pairc Tailteann. Dunsany dominated the early exchanges to lead by 0-5 to 0-0 after 10 minutes. A Ger O'Neill goal in the 20th minute extended the winners' advantage to 1-7 to 0-2, and the same eight-point margin, 1-10 to 0-5, separated the sides at half-time.
The introduction of veteran Locky Keogh and some fine scores from Sean Mallon, Neil Shortall and Gavin Coyle saw Curraha close the gap to five points, 0-10 to 1-12, 12 minutes into the second half. Dunsany hit back with a goal from substitute Joey Keena, but Pat Coyle's men didn't give up and had the margin back down to five after Gavin Coyle stroked home a penalty. But a late point from Declan Smyth sealed Dunsany's win and saw them become the inaugural Tailteann Cup winners.
Curraha's vice-chairman has put a tremendous amount of work into the club's underage section and is excited by what the future holds.
"I'm involved with the under 14, 15 and 16 teams, and I can tell you there is plenty of talent coming through," the affable schoolteacher explains.
"About 90 per cent of the kids in the parish play Gaelic football which must be the highest percentage of any club in the county. We are very lucky to have a great group of people who are willing to help out with the coaching. We're joined with St. Vincent's from under 15 upwards and the amalgamation is working well. Our minors reached the Division 3 final against St. Pat's, while our under 14s and 15s were in semi-finals.
"Our big concern going forward is emigration and the lack of job opportunities for young people. But I suppose it's a problem every club in Ireland is facing," he concludes.
The Curraha team which scored a surprise win over Moylagh in the JFC quarter-final was: L. Hogan; D. Coyle, C. McCann, G. Dowling; P. Dowling, B, Doyle, S. Prendeville; N. Keogh 0-3, PJ Casey 0-1; N. Shortall 0-3, G. Coyle, L. Keogh; S. McDermott, A. Carroll 0-2, B. Cosgrave. Subs used: S. Mallon and M. Jackson.
U11/U12 Fooball
Panel: A McLarnon; S Kelly, C Carey; J Clearey, C O'Farrell, M McBride; A Moriarty, N McLarnon; H Keogh, I Battersby, D Kelly; J Brennan, O Fay, A Fitzpatrick, M Nolan, G Murphy, K Reddin, J O'Connor, A Kelly
Training started in February and went well through the good weather into March. Matches started in April and continued right through the summer and into November.
Thanks to Donaghmore/Ashbourne who organised an Autumn League at U11 level with a series of matches against the local clubs including Ratoath, Dunshaughlin, St Colmcille's and Blackhall Gaels.
2011 Juvenile Hurling Report
The year started in Gormanston with matches through six Sundays in January and February, and provided great entertainment indoors during an extremely harsh winter. The kids and parents were extremely loyal to our coaching programme in Cushinstown AC throughout the winter and their dedication showed with some fine performances in the North Dublin Indoor League.
At the final day presentations, before a massive crowd, Sean Keogh was picked by the organisers as player of the tournament. A huge achievement for Sean and the club, to be picked out of several hundred players for his performances by the selection committee.
The Meath leagues got underway with the u12s, and with a small panel the kids did very well to notch up a couple of victories and to be competitive in all of the games. Conor O'Farrell and Shane Kelly attended the Meath u12 development squad through the summer. Match reports can be found for most matches at www.currahagaa.com.
The U13 squad is a talented group of hurlers, they are: S Kelly, M Phelan; N McLarnon, Mark Nolan, G McKane; S Keogh, A Battersby; S McSweeney, B McMahon, C O'Farrell; A McLarnon, N Rodgers, A Kelly, O. Fay, J. O'Connor, N Murphy, A McEntee
They just missed out on a semi-final spot in the league after conceding two late goals against Boardsmill after dominating throughout.
The highlight of the year was undoubtably the inter county U13 blitz hosted by our neighbours, Ratoath. Curraha were pitted against St. John's Belfast, Erin's Isle and Castleknock from Dublin, and Boris-Moycarkey of Tipperary. After these games, they qualified for the shield final against Dunboyne, who edged a brilliant game by a single point. Thanks to all the parents on the day and to our hosts who kept everyone fed and watered.
Like our U13 squad, this U14 group have some very fine hurlers, several of whom starred on the Ratoath U15 team that clinched the Div1 League title against Kiltale, back in September.
They are:- S Kelly, M Phelan; N McLarnon, Mark Nolan, G McKane; S Keogh, A Battersby; S McSweeney, B McMahon, C O'Farrell; A McLarnon, N Rodgers, J. O'Connor, B Murphy, C Phelan, D McLarnon, K Laffey, A McEntee
North Dublin Indoor Hurling Competition in Gormanston College: Summary (Feb 27, 2011)
2011 Cumann na mBunscol hurling champions
Scoil Naisiúnta Aindréas, Curraha 7-04
St Finian's NS, Killyon 4-06
This encounter started at a hectic pace and to the credit of both teams, the pace never slacked throughout. Killyon took the lead after two minutes with a well taken point, but Niall McLarnon settled the Curraha nerves with a brace of excellent points.
Then two magnificent interventions, first by Aaron Kelly and then by Mark Phelan, saved two certain Killyon goals. Niamh McLoughlin, who had a super game throughout, broke through from midfield to place the ball in the corner of the net with a terrific strike and minutes later, Curraha broke through again after fine play from Andrew Battersby and ended up with Gavin McKane flicking past the Killyon keeper for his first goal of the game. Then followed a period of total Curraha dominance with Niamh and Andrew bossing midfield and Mark Nolan and the impressive Phelan mopping up the sporadic Killyon attacks. During this time the two front men, Gavin and Niall, added 2 more goals, with just 1 point conceded. A welcome 4-2 to 0-3 halftime lead was a fantastic advantage, but Killyon were unlucky to have missed several chances, and the game was by no means over.
The second half started with Curraha pressing, but Killyon broke away to goal, this was followed up by a couple of Killyon points. Niall McLarnon then goaled when put through with a super pass by Andrew Battersby who was really putting in a huge effort to make sure that Curraha would not be beaten. Then Killyon got a goal run similiar to Curraha's first half finish, when they goaled three times without reply to leave the score 6-3 to 4-6 with 5 minutes left to play. Curraha looked shell shocked and a brilliant comeback by Killyon was on the cards, when Burke burst past the Curraha defence once more and was about to pull the trigger when somehow Andrew Battersby blocked to concede a 65'. Killyon's 65' attempt ended up with Niamh McLaoughlin and Niall McLarnon robbing possession and Niall soloing up the left wing and picking out Andrew on yet another strong run through the middle, Andrew collected the sliothar brilliantly and rifled to the net to ease the nerves of the large Curraha support. The last score of the day was fittingly left to Niamh who pointed from 30 yards to at last end the valiant Killyon fightback.
Curraha:- Aaron Kelly, Mark Phelan (Capt), Mark Nolan; Andrew Battersby (1-1), Niamh McLoughlin(1-1); Niall McLarnon(3-2), Gavin McKane(2-0). Subs:- Sam McSweeney, Gillian Murphy, Aidan McLarnon, Oisin Fay, Sean Keogh
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