In recent years, the Drumbaragh club have been annually tipped as one of the teams that could win the junior 'A' football championship and they have consistently reached the knockout stages. However, their form eluded them this year and they were disappointed to be out of the championship very early. Talented forward James Connolly spoke to the Royal County about the 2011 campaign and stressed that the Drums would be back stronger than ever next year.

Having been drawn in a group that comprised of neighbours Kilmainham, Curraha and second string sides Dunboyne and Duleek/Bellewstown, it was no surprise to see Drumbaragh fancied to reach the knockout stages once again.
"We were happy enough with the draw when it was made and we felt that we could progress along with Kilmainham," admitted James. "I think complacency creeped in from early on and that proved very costly."

Cavan native John Mulvaney took over the managerial role in 2011 and the campaign couldn't have got off to a better start when they faced Dunboyne in the opening round of the championship at Bective.

Scores were traded between both sides early on and after 20 minutes the score board showed the teams level on 0-5 apiece, with Drumbaragh's Colm And Thomas Carry proving a handful and John Smith chipping in with two fine points from wing forward. However two goals in quick succession provided the Drums the platform to kick on. The first came after good work in defence from Noel Corcoran and John Morrissey and a lay off from Colm Carry put William Carry through who finished expertly to the net. The excellent Willie Arkins then caught an incoming free in his goalmouth and from there the ball was worked up the field via Darragh Gogarty, Enda Nulty, Seanie Bennett, William Carry and Colm Carry where he finished to the net. Drumbaragh scored another point through Nulty to leave it 2-06 to 0-5 at half time.

Drumbaragh started the second half the same way as they finished the first with John Rennicks doubling his tally. Drumbaragh stretched their lead further but Dunboyne fought back and scored a point of their own and only for some outstanding defending from the Drumbaragh fullback-line Dunboyne would have got in for more. The north Meath side got back on top with midfielder Mark Smith dominant and they went further ahead with Rennicks, Carry and Nulty adding to their tallies to close out the scoring. It was a good team performance from Drumbaragh and they had solid performances all over the field from one to fifteen as they won by 2-11 to 0-07.
"It was the perfect start to get and we played well on the evening. It is always important to start well in the championship or you can be left under a lot of pressure if you lose your first round match," added the talented corner forward.

Curraha were the next opponents and Drumbaragh would be considered favourites going into this match. However, the South Meath side had 2-1 on the board in the first few minutes to leave the Drums with an uphill struggle.
Drumbaragh responded with two goals of their own through Thomas Carry and Enda Nulty. However Curraha struck for two further three pointers before half time and another after the break to leave them nine ahead with 20 minutes left.

However, Drumbaragh fought back with points from Mark Smith(3) and Seanie Bennett (2) and a goal by William Carry but Drumbaragh were still behind by two. Another point by Colm Carry was the last action of the game as Drumbaragh's sleepy start was the turning point in this Championship encounter and their efforts fell short as Curraha held on for a 4-07 to 3-09 victory.
"The result against Curraha was the defining moment of our season. I think we took them for granted and you just can't afford to do that with any team. They got off to a great start and it was very hard for us to come back from that.
"All the talk was about getting through and we took our eye off the game against them. We have no one else to blame only ourselves. We went into the next game against Kilmainham very deflated, which definitely didn't help."

In the match against Kilmainham, Drumbaragh struggled in all departments for the opening 24 minutes and it was only when they made a couple of changes that matters improved. Drumbaragh finished the half on a more positive note with points from Colm Carry (two), Nulty and Darragh McNamara. However, it turned out to be a false dawn and that opening 20-minute blitz gave Kilmainham a platform for victory. Midfielder Barry Lynch set up his partner Gavin Butler for the opening point in the first minute which cancelled William Carry's effort after only 25 seconds.

Michael Newman (two), returning after injury, Sean Mahon and Shane Butler split the posts, but Colm Carry's goal revived Drumbaragh and they were denied a second goal when Mark Smith hit the post.
That miss proved costly as Kilmainham found the net at the other end when Newman finished after Gavin Butler's run from midfield made the opening.

Drumbaragh then squandered what looked like a gilt-edged goal chance when McNamara found Colm Carry, but his effort was cleared off the line by Mark Fallon. By the 20th minute further points from Newman (three), Barry Lynch and Danny Butler had extended Kilmainham's lead to a substantial nine points (1-10 to 1-1) before the changes brought brief respite for Drumbaragh.
The pace dropped, understandably, after the break with Kilmainham absorbing lots of pressure as Drumbaragh tried to retrieve the game. It was that sort of night for Drumbaragh, nothing went right, and they lost the influential Seanie Bennett with a shoulder injury in the final quarter as the sides traded late goals which were academic.

"We knew we needed to win against Kilmainham, but we just never showed up on the night and we could have no complaints about the result, they were better than us all over the pitch. We lost our manager John Mulvaney then as the interest dropped through no fault of his I might add.
"John was an excellent trainer, but when we were beaten by Curraha, the numbers started to drop at training and the interest went down a lot, so he decided to leave. We were at a low ebb and indeed we had no manager for six or seven weeks, but fortunately Eugene McGillick came in and straight away he lifted the whole squad."

Drumbaragh rounded off their Junior campaign with a five point victory over Duleek/Bellewstown.
The East Meath side started off the better before Seanie Bennett hit a goal to put the Drums ahead. Further points from John Smith, Enda Nulty, William Carry and Colm carry put Drumbaragh in command at half time.

Duleek/Bellewstown started the second half much better and got within one of Drumbaragh before the Drums where reduced to 14 men. However Drumbaragh showed great courage and hit back with points of their own from William Carry, Darragh Gogarty, James Connolly and Smith to get a five point lead that they never relinquished as they ran out winners by 1-11 to 0-09.
James admits that they have learned a lot from this year's campaign and he believes that with the players at their disposal, they can make a genuine challenge for junior championship honours next year.

"We have a fairly strong panel and fortunately emigration hasn't troubled us too much. We also have quite a number of young lads coming through and there were five players who played championship football on the team this year.
"There is a good blend of youth and experience there and hopefully Eugene will stick with us next year. I definitely believe we have the players to win the championship. There are a lot of good teams out there and it is not going to be easy, but we certainly won't be as complacent as we were this year."


BFL 6 honours for Drumbaragh
Drumbaragh claimed the silverware with a B League victory over Ballinlough in a pulsating encounter (2-15 to 1-15) played in Athboy in September.
The two teams traded scores early on with Dara Mc Namara, Gary Mc Cormack, Damien Carry and Thomas Carry pointing for the Drums to leave it 0-4 each after 20 minutes. Ballinlough got ahead in the run up to half time and lead by 0-8 to 0-6 at the break.

Drumbaragh came out the better side in the second period with Brian Forde, David McManus and John D Smith to the fore. They drew level with Colin Forde and DJ Carry pointing for the Drums. Drumbaragh then went ahead with the impressive Mc Namara scoring. Ballinlough replied to level matters before DJ Carry put Drumbaragh back ahead. Again Ballinlough levelled matters before Experienced John Madden put Drumbaragh ahead with a fantastic score in injury time. However four minutes into added time Mark Mc Cullen levelled to send it to extra time.

Drumbaragh were quickest out of the blocks in extra time with a point from Thomas Carry. Then came the first three pointer of the game with Dara McNamara scoring for Drumbaragh. Ballinlough responded with a point but Thomas Carry then struck for another goal midway through the first half after good work from Madden.
Again Ballinlough came back at Drumbaragh and got back within four with less than five minutes left. Then after great defending by Drumbaragh they let Ballinlough in for a goal. It was again a one point game but somehow Drumbaragh drove up the field and Dara Mc Namara passed to Mc Manus who got fouled twenty metres out and Carry pointed. And with momentum again back with Drumbaragh it was Mc Manus who sealed it with time up to cap a great win for Drumbaragh and a first B League crown.

Drumbaragh - A Stevenson, A Corcoran, N Corcoran, T Lynch, D Mc Manus (0-1), B Forde, J Morrisey, C Forde (0-1), G Mc Cormack (0-2), J D Smith, D Mc Namara (1-3), T Carry (1-4), P Murray, D Carry (0-1), P Mc Manus. Subs DJ Carry (0-2) for Mc Manus, J Madden (0-1) for Morrisey, J Mc Cormack for Lynch.
U21FC A final win for Kilmainham Drumbaragh

The coming together of Kilmainham and Drumbaragh proved a very worthwhile venture when the amalgamation side defeated Walterstown (1-10 to 1-9) to claim the Meath U21 A FC.

The eventual winners raced into a two point lead when Mickey Newman, first, and a great individual effort from corner back William Carry, fired over. Walterstown settled and by the 15th minute had levelled matters. The blacks then grabbed a goal and were soon 1-3 to 0-2 ahead. Mickey Newman began to dominate around the middle of the park and the scores followed for Kilmainham/Drumbaragh. Two great efforts from Newman, a magnificent point from Ryan Farnham, Thomas Carry (2) and DJ Carry (1) put the combination side in a very good position at the break leading 0-8 to 1-3.

Kilmainham/Drumbaragh started the second half as they finished the first. When Mickey Newman's free fell short, half foward DJ Carry was on hand to finish to the net to put his side into a comanding position leading 1-8 to 1-3. Mark Newman and Madden exchanged points before a brilliant effort from half back Paddy Murray extended Kilmainham/Drumbaragh's lead to six points, 1-10 to 1-4.
The combination side failed to score for the last twelve minutes. Walterstown began to pick up breaking ball around the middle and the scores followed. Kilmainham Drumbaragh keeper Andy Stevenson produced a brilliant save before Walterstown tagge don five points to leave the minimum between the sides. Some excellent defending from William Carry and Shane Morgan kept 'The Blacks' out for the last minutes and Kilmainham/Drumbaragh held on for a memorable victory.

Kilmainham/Drumbaragh: Andy Stevenson, William Carry (0-1), Johnny Quigley, John D Smith, Shane Morgan, Paddy Murray (0-1), Enda Nulty, Michael Newman (0-3), Mark Newman (0-1), Darrah McNamara, DJ Carry (1-1), Thomas Carry (0-2), Ryan Farnham (0-1). Subs: Paddy Hennigan, Colin Forde, Darren O'Sullivan Tweet

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