For a club like Boardsmill, with a proud tradition in the Senior Hurling Championship, holding onto your standing in the top grade is highly important. And that's how it turned out for the south Meath side in 2004 as they diced with death before securing their survival in the last chance saloon. Boardsmill can look back to 1958 for their first SHC success, while they were also triumphant in '64 and '71, before becoming a dominant force by taking the Jubilee Cup in three successive years between '73 and '75 with a team that included many superb hurlers, including that ace score-getter Sean Garrigan. Those were wonderful days for all involved with Boardsmill - the sort of heights the present players would dearly love to be able to recapture. But during the season gone by it was all about survival. The 'Mill, with another fine player of that '70s team Eamonn Cosgrave at the helm, showed good signs in the earlier part of the year with promising league form, so they could certainly afford to be optimistic as they headed into their first championship assignment against Kildalkey at Trim. However, it wasn't the start they would have hoped for as Kildalkey won easily by 3-10 to 0-5. Boardsmill trailed by only three points with 10 minutes remaining, but once Nicky Potterton scored the winners' first goal they started to score freely and the 'Mill were 14 points adrift at the end. That immediately put the pressure on to bounce back positively and they did against Killyon at Kildalkey, despite again conceding three goals. Centre half-back Sean Reilly contributed four points to a performance which yielded a 3-11 to 3-8 win. Alan Ashe and John Nolan goaled in the opening period to boost their team to a 2-7 to 1-6 interval lead and John Flood got a crucial third goal shortly after the change of ends. But Boardsmill failed to make it back-to-back victories when they lost by 0-7 to 1-9 to Kiltale in the third round, again at Kildalkey. Kiltale held a slender 0-5 to 0-4 lead at the interval after playing with a stiff breeze and things looked good for Boardsmill, but Cathal Sheridan scored a goal and a point late on to scupper their hopes. When Boardsmill suffered a third defeat in the group campaign against Trim at Longwood the survival battle was really on. Joey Toole notched an impressive 1-8 as the town side won by 1-17 to 1-8 after leading by 0-11 to 0-3 at half-time. Ashe got a late goal for Kildalkey, but Toole cancelled it out with an even later one for the men in red. The pressure was really on going into the last group game against Rathmolyon at Longwood and the possibility of the dreaded drop to the intermediate grade intensified as Kildalkey went under by 1-10 to 2-12, a result that consigned them to bottom spot in the table. It was a thrilling match played in wet conditions and the outcome was in doubt until Mike Cole scored Rathmolyon's second goal 12 minutes from the end to open up an eight-point cushion. John Nolan had scored the Boardsmill goal in the first half. If that match represented pressure it was nothing compared to the clash with Dunderry in the do-or-die relegation play-off at Trim on the last Saturday of August. But there was huge relief for the Boardsmill players, officials and supporters as they won by 1-17 to 2-7 to secure their place in the senior ranks. Boardsmill held a seemingly commanding wind-assisted 1-11 to 0-3 lead at half-time, after Vinny Guy had scored their goal, and added two further points within four minutes of the restart. However, they managed only four points from there to the finish as Dunderry eventually battled back and reduced the deficit to five, thanks largely to a brace of goals from Keith Callaghan frees. The losers might have got closer, as they missed two further goal chances, but Boardsmill got their act together and had seven points to spare at the close. Survival was secured. "It was a very big relief," said club PRO Mark Flood. "We were 13 points up at one stage against Dunderry, but were only five ahead with five minutes to go. Thankfully, pride set in and we got it together. It was a real monkey off our back. "The win in the relegation play-off came a week after the footballers went out of the Junior B FC. A lot of the lads play both games and one can directly affect the other. It can be very demanding. We are putting a motion to congress that dual players be allotted eight days instead of seven, because seven is just not enough when work has to be done, houses have to be built, family commitments, etc." Boardsmill's form earlier in the year had suggested that they wouldn't be haunted by the threat of relegation. "We got the year off to a good start with an unbeaten run in the league and maybe we thought we were better than we actually were," he added. "We lost to Kildalkey in the first round of the championship and were on the back foot after that. We were caught on the hop. "We were playing catch-up after that, even though we were on the easier side of the draw. We beat Killyon in the second round, but failed to win another group match, which was something of a surprise given that we lost by only a point to Kilmessan last year. "Cormac Leonard took time out and missed all bar the Dunderry game. He was our 'player of the year' last season and represented a big loss. I would hope we can improve sufficiently to avoid a similar situation again. Free-taking is a big problem for us and we could have beaten Kiltale and Rathmolyon if we took our frees." Football disappointment After the shattering disappointment of losing the Junior B Championship decider to St. Vincent's in such sickening circumstances the previous autumn, Boardsmill must have possessed a burning desire to go one better in 2004 and lift the title. And all appeared to be going according to plan when the 'Mill, coached by Dessie Hamilton, easily made the quarter-finals from Group A, achieving victories over Clonard, St. Patrick's, Trim, Bellewstown, St. Paul's and Na Fianna and suffering their only loss of the qualifying campaign against Cortown, and that by only a point. However, their hopes of making up for the previous year's agonising final defeat, when St. Vincent's snatched the most dramatic of victories with a late, late penalty at Pairc Tailteann, were ended when a very strong-looking Walterstown team recorded a comfortable quarter-final win at Dunderry. Yet, Boardsmill started well with the wind at their backs and edged into a 0-6 to 0-2 advantage. It was significant, however, that the Blacks had cut the deficit to the minimum (0-6 to 0-7) by half-time and, with the breeze to come in the second period, they were favourites to advance to the last four. And, to Boardsmill's great disappointment, that's exactly how it turned out as Walterstown took complete command and pushed clear to win by 2-16 to 0-8. "All winter it was in the back of our heads that we were robbed last year," Flood said. "We had Eoin Dunne and Thomas Reilly back this year, though we were without Sean Reilly and Cormac Leonard. "Interestingly, if you look at our side of the draw, nobody won their quarter-final. For our last few group games we knew we were through already and it was probably hard to up it after that. It was a huge disappointment. "But they are a tight-knit group of players and I would be hopeful for next year." Underage progress A great deal of work is being done at under-age level in Boardsmill and it reaped reward when the under-14 footballers won the FL Div. 4 title by defeating Moynalvey by 2-14 to 2-9 after extra-time in the final at Summerhill. A goal from Jimmy Pratt and some fine point-taking by Marcus Bailey, Vivian Dwyer and Niall O'Rourke helped Boardsmill to a wind-assisted 1-4 to 0-2 half-time lead, but Moynalvey fought back in the second period and levelled just before the end of normal time to force extra-time. During that additional period a goal from Dudley Regan and points by Pratt, Cathal Flattery and Dwyer secured victory and the title for Boardsmill. Liam O'Brien, Niamh Guy, Shane O'Brien, Shane Barrins and the brilliant Ray Hatton stood out in a very accomplished team performance by Boardsmill. Boardsmill - S. Barrins; S. Hoey, L. O'Brien, S. O'Brien; J. Bird, S. Curran, R. Hatton; C. Flattery (0-1), N. Guy; M. Bailey (0-2), S. Dixon (0-2), D. Regan (1-1); V. Dwyer (0-4), J. Pratt (1-2), N. O'Rourke (0-2). Subs - J. Tuohy for Hoey, N. Weir for Barrins. Further evidence of Boardsmill's concentration on working on their under-age structures was clear during the National Feile na nGael hurling competition when they enjoyed a very progressive run which brought them all the way to the Div. 4 final. Unfortunately, a panel which had put in such a huge amount of effort to get that far was tired for the decider and went under to by 1-0 to 3-5 to Kevin Lynch's of Derry. But it was still a memorable weekend for the young Boardsmill players who will undoubtedly have learned a great deal from the whole experience, including beating Trim en route. Boardsmill panel - Dudley Regan, Stefan Hoey, Liam O'Brien, Niamh Guy, David Kealy, Raymond Hatton, Shane Barrins, Cathal Flattery, James Pratt, John Touhy, Niall O'Rourke, Shane O'Brien, Sean Curran, Sean Dixon, Vivian Dwyer, Evan Dixon, Niall Weir, Sean Kelly, Fergal Flattery, Brian Quinn, Danny Cummins, Jim Bird, Michelle Dixon, Paul Dickinson. "Great work is being done at under-age level, particularly by Vinny Guy, Thomas Reilly and Derek Fitzsimons," Flood added. "John Byrne from Kiltale is also putting in a huge amount of work in Boardsmill National School and that's reflected in our Primary Schools' successes. "While Peadar Lehane was unique and will never be replaced, very few teachers today could fill the void the way John has." Camogie also returned to Boardsmill this year after an absence of over 14 years with the fielding of a junior team. Boardsmill Ladies GFC 2004 proved to be a very successful one for our club with the capturing of the Intermediate Championship title being our greatest achievement to date. We defeated Skyrne, on August 8th in Ratoath, in the very evenly contested final where we emerged victorious after a stunning last minute goal by 'wonder sub' Caroline O'Brien. The final was played in extreme bad weather and although both teams found it difficult to perform to their usual standards, neither lacked in a will to win and sheer tenacity. Best for Boardsmill on the day were goalkeeper Eimear Murray, who had some excellent saves and in the backline Patricia andBrid Guy along with Karla O'Brien, Mary Doran, Karen McCarthy, who were outstanding in their defensive duties. At midfield Ciara Dempsey was in control and had a major part in the final result with three points from play. It was a difficult day for the forwards on both teams but the introduction of Caroline O'Brien was to prove to be "the winning formula" with her impressive display and super goal. The cup was presented to captain Aoife Guy, who was unable to play due to injury, by county Board Chairman - Eugene McQuaid. Team: Eimear Murray, Karen McCarthy, Patricia Guy, Mary Doran, Karla O'Brien, Bríd Guy, Sinéad McLoughin, Michelle Guy, Ciara Ashe, Niamh Guy, Siobhan Hannon, Katie Hackett Subs: Aoife Guy, Karen McCarthy, Caroline O' Brien(1-0) for Katie Hackett, Sinead O'Connor for Siobhan Hannon. We were also triumphant in our U-14 "B" Final where we defeated Moynalvey in an excellent display of skills from both teams. Sinéad O'Connor was the captain on the day and played a captain's role with an excellent performance. She was also well supported by Eileen Peppard, Niamh Guy, Michelle Dixon, Laura Bagnall and Meabh Murray. Team: Michelle Dixon, Rachael Fay, Meabh Murray, Niamh Rochford, Tina McCarthy, Lauran Bagnall, Debbie Small, Niamh Guy, Sinéad O'Connor (Capt), Amy Brady, Jenny Forde, Eileen Peppard, Aedín Guy, Laura Dempsey, Cliona Murray. Our underage teams had an excellent run in the U-10 and U-12 championship and were very unlucky not to reach the knockout stages. It was the first year that we entered teams into all grades. At present our U-21 team is in the semi-final and we are to play Seneschalstown. Tweet

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