While John Bruton has seen more lows than highs in his 10 years as a Kilbride footballer, the desire to emulate his father Pat by winning a junior championship medal with the Dublin-border club still burns brightly.

It can't be easy for the current crop of Kilbride footballers who continue to live in the shadow of their illustrious predecessors who won an incredible five Keegan Cups between 1964 and '71.
The success that sparked that glorious era for the club was the 1960 junior championship triumph, which was commemorated last November when over 200 people attended a golden jubilee celebration and reunion in Dunboyne Castle Hotel. Backboned by the Quinn brothers - the most famous of whom was 1967 Meath All-Ireland winning full back Jack - Kilbride went on to annex the intermediate championship in 1962 and won five senior championships in a seven-year period, including a three-in-a-row between 1969 and '71. Also during that golden spell, they won the Feis Cup three times and were runners-up in the senior championship in 1965 and '66.


Along with the Quinn brothers, Jack, Martin and Gerry, Pat Rooney and Murty O'Sullivan, Pat Bruton was part of the Kilbride contingent that tasted Sam Maguire Cup success with Meath in '67. Pat's son John is the current Kilbride captain and having grown up listening to stories of the club's remarkable deeds, he would like nothing better than to experience the thrill of winning something tangible with the small Dublin-border club for himself.
"I wasn't at the reunion in Dunboyne Castle, but I heard it was a great night and that there were plenty of great memories shared," the 26-year-old midfielder says.
"Obviously, success has dried up for the club since the 1970s but the will is still there and we go out every year with the intention of trying to win the junior championship. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened for the current team but we'll keep trying and hopefully it will happen for us eventually."

2011 was another frustrating year for John and his team-mates who exited the junior championship at an early stage. It was a familiar feeling for all concerned with defeats to Ballivor, Trim and Slane putting them out of the running for a place in the knockout stages before they faced Ratoath in their final Group B game.
"In the 10 years I've been playing for Kilbride, the closest we came to winning the junior championship was three years ago when Moynalvey beat us in the quarter-final. When they went on to win the county and Leinster championships after that, it gave us a bit of a boost but we didn't build on it and this year's championship was another disappointment."
Kilbride started out the year under the management of Declan Patton, who is a lecturer in DCU, but parted company with the Donegal native after the third round defeat to Trim. Former player and manager Eamonn Clarke stepped into the breach, and was assisted by Pat McDonagh.

Victories over Curraha and Dunsany in their first two outings in Division 4 of the All-County League had raised expectations going into the championship, but Kilbride were brought crashing back down to earth when they were hammered by last year's runners-up Ballivor on a 0-6 to 0-21 scoreline.
"It was a huge setback," John ruefully reflects.
"We were still in contention up until half-time, but Ballivor pulled away from us in the second half. It kind of set the tone for the year."

Kilbride showed character to bounce back and defeat Wolfe Tones by 2-9 to 1-10 in their second championship outing in Skryne. Bruton and Paul Smith both found the net for the green and reds, but they still trailed entering the closing stages. However, they weren't to be denied as a couple of late frees from Brian White gave them a much-needed win.

Unfortunately for Kilbride, that was as good as it got. They failed to take advantage of a strong wind in the second half as they crashed to a 1-5 to 2-12 defeat to Trim in their next game at Dunshaughlin. And despite first half goals from Bruton and Finbarr Clarke, they also came out second best against Slane (2-7 to 1-12) - a defeat which made their final round game against Ratoath meaningless.

"We were six points up against Slane at one stage, but couldn't hold onto our lead and lost by two points in the end. If we had held on, it would have given us something to play for against our neighbours Ratoath in the final round, but it wasn't to be," says John, who was a member of the Meath U21 panel in 2005 and was on the fringes of the Meath minor squad that reached the All-Ireland final three years earlier.
Kilbride's cause hasn't been helped by the loss of key players to emigration. John, whose own brother Richard has moved to Scotland (his other brother Robert is still playing with the club), admits the situation is becoming critical.
"We have been hit harder than most by the recession. Paddy O'Neill, Peter Roche and Paul Smith are just some of the lads we've lost to emigration. On top of that, Andrew and Conor Rennicks were unavailable this year due to work commitments.

"We're a small club and can't afford to be without anyone. The big clubs can absorb such losses, but we can't. If we had everyone available to us, I'm convinced we could win a junior championship. But sadly that's not the case."

Kilbride have been putting in a big effort at underage level recently and could take encouragement from their achievements at under 12 and under 14 level this year. They've also been carrying out major improvements to their pitch, having added ball-stopping nets behind both goals and fencing in the past year. And there also plans in the pipeline for the development of an all-weather pitch.
"We're a club with a proud tradition and we'll continue to do our best to keep the GAA alive and well in Kilbride. When you've small numbers it's a constant battle, but we'll keep fighting.
"Next year we'll set out our stall again to win the junior championship and see where it takes us," the Kilbride captain concludes. Tweet

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