The sun shone brightly on a hugely significant and proud day in the history of Kiltale Hurling Club when the official opening of their fabulous new pitch and clubhouse facilities at Grange took place on Saturday, May 1, 2004. An attendance in excess of 1,000 people gathered to mark the occasion which was the culmination of a huge amount of work carried out by so many dedicated people and a real dream come true for the Kiltale club and the whole parish. Meath and Armagh met in a senior football challenge match as a highlight of the opening of Pairc Cluiche Gael and the official ceremony, with the unveiling of the plaque, was performed by Royal County manager Sean Boylan who recalled his own hurling days with the club while he was a student at the nearby Warrenstown College. The Meath team boss was joined by Co. Committee chairman Fintan Ginnity, Hurling Committee chairman TJ Reilly and local club officials and members for an occasion that had been looked forward to by all concerned for a long time. Prior to the opening, the grounds were blessed by Fr. Peter Mulvany. Paddy Kelly, the chairman of the development committee responsible for the project, described it as "a long hard project which could not have been completed without the support and goodwill of every person and business in our parish, and outside it." Naturally, he was especially delighted that his father, Paddy senior, who was one of those involved in the club for over 50 years, was in attendance to see Kiltale's dream become reality. He also paid tribute to Minister Noel Dempsey for his involvement in the development and said that without his support it would never have taken place. Also among those joining the opening party were club presidents Paddy Kelly senior and Ned Costello, as well as club chairman Francis Lynch, secretary Ann Gilsenan and camogie club chairperson Louise Byrne. Kiltale's history dates back to the 1920s, though the present club was formed in 1970, with the late Tommy Kane as chairman. The club's new facilities include dressing rooms, a meeting room, community facilities, bar and pool room, catering facilities and toilets and will undoubtedly prove to be a tremendous facility for the community as a whole. The funding for the ambitious project came from local fundraising and a National Lottery sports grant amounting to E127,000. The next phase of the project includes the acquisition of further land and the installation of a walking/running track around the pitch. That should add considerably to the already highly impressive nature of the venue. "A very proud day," was how club secretary Ann Gilsenan described that memorable and highly significant May day. "And not only for the Kiltale Hurling Club, but for all the people of the parish. It was a tribute to the amount of work they had contributed over the years. That's the bottom line. "The fundraising for the project came from the people of the parish through various ventures and this was a big moment for so many people - people like Martin and Patricia Lydon who had taken care of stage one. We unveiled a plaque to them on the day. "It was all about so many people down through the years who had contributed so much. That's what made the occasion so important and significant." Of course, the work of a GAA club is never done and Kiltale are looking ahead with enthusiasm. "We hope to buy another piece of ground to facilitate training," the secretary added. "And we are in the process of putting up lighting. The walking track is also a big part of the whole development and that will be a huge plus for the people of the parish." 14 year gap bridged Of course, Kiltale would dearly have loved to mark such a hugely significant year in their history by regaining the Jubilee Cup as Meath Senior Hurling champions. Alas, it wasn't to be, but they did enjoy a very prolonged run in the competition which saw them play no fewer than seven matches and reach the semi-finals for the first time in14 years in the process. Ultimately, Kiltale suffered a very heavy defeat against champions-to-be once again Kilmessan at the penultimate hurdle in Pairc Tailteann, but it was still a campaign that offered promise for the future as Kiltale bid to bridge a gap that goes back to 1983 when they last won the senior title. Kiltale opened their SHC campaign with a narrow 2-8 to 1-10 victory over Killyon at Longwood as an injury time point from substitute PJ Walsh did the trick. The move of Cathal Sheridan to centre half-back in the second-half to curb the considerable threat of Mark Gannon proved vital in the win as Gannon had scored five points in an 18-minute spell after moving to the 'forty' from full-forward. Goals from Stephen Donoghue and Ciaran Ennis helped Kiltale to lead by 2-4 to 1-3 at the interval, but that scoring blast from Gannon enabled Killyon to be on level terms (1-8 to 2-5) with 10 minutes remaining. Indeed, the Hill of Down men were in front approaching the end, but Shane Reilly equalised for Kiltale, before Walsh got the winning point two minutes into injury time. Kiltale's hopes of making it back-to-back victories were thwarted in no uncertain manner by Trim goalkeeper Mark McCormack when the sides met in the second round at Kilmessan. McCormack was impressive throughout, but particularly in the closing stages when he deflected a Cathal Sheridan penalty over the bar two minutes from the end and made a superb double save in injury time. Trim held a 1-4 to 0-5 interval lead and when the impressive Joey Toole got his and the town side's second goal two minutes after the change of ends only one result seemed likely. However, it still took those late heroics from McCormack to keep Trim's lead in tact. It finished 2-8 to 0-8. Kiltale were undoubtedly determined to bounce back after that loss and they did so in the third round against Boardsmill at Kildalkey, winning by 1-9 to 0-7. It took a late goal and point from Sheridan to secure the win, with the goal coming from a 30-metre shot from out on the left wing. The match had been close up to Sheridan's crucial intervention and Kiltale looked to be in bother when they led by only 0-5 to 0-4 at half-time after playing with the aid of the stiff breeze. But they did enough to win by five points as Peter Durnin top-scored with seven points from frees. Kiltale's qualification hopes suffered a blow next time out when they lost to Rathmolyon by 1-6 to 0-14 at Dunboyne. The winners held a slender 0-5 to 0-4 interval lead, but once they extended that to 0-11 to 0-4 by the three-quarter stage they were safe. Late Durnin points and a goal by Brian Gilsenan just weren't enough for Kiltale. However, they bounced back to secure a crucial 2-11 to 0-13 win over Kildalkey in the last round of qualification matches at Trim and that meant they were through to a play-off against Rathmolyon to decide who would fill the runners-up position in Group A. Kiltale survived the sending off of Shane Reilly with 15 minutes to go and they led by 2-4 to 0-8 at half-time after PJ Walsh and Durnin had scored the goals. Kildalkey surged ahead early in the second period, but Kiltale were in front by 2-8 to 0-12 with five minutes remaining and battled their way to a vital win, despite their numerical disadvantage. Having lost to Rathmolyon earlier, the incentive was certainly there for revenge as Kiltale prepared to meet them in the play-off at Trim and this turned out to be the Peter Durnin scoring show as he contributed the fantastic tally of 12 points, 11 of them from frees. However, things weren't looking so bright for Kiltale when they trailed by 0-4 to 0-10 at the break. But they won the second-half by 2-10 to 0-1 after the selectors had reshuffled the pack very effectively and goals from Walsh and Gilsenan helped enormously. It finished 2-14 to 0-11. Unfortunately for Kiltale, their championship run came to a halt when they met defending champions Kilmessan at the semi-final stage at Pairc Tailteann and it was the extent of the defeat against their neighbours that must have hurt most. The match started brightly enough when Durnin pointed Kiltale ahead against the wind after just 30 seconds, but Kilmessan restricted them to just two further first-half points and held a 1-9 to 0-3 lead at the interval. A hat-trick of goals from Joey Keena in a four-minute spell in the closing stages helped Kilmessan to copper-fasten their position of supremacy and they ran out very easy winners on a 5-14 to 0-7 score line. Regrettably, it was a very heavy loss at the end of an extended championship campaign for Kiltale. But it was still a run that suggested they are certainly heading in the right direction. And with such enhanced facilities now in place and further improvements planned, that can only benefit the future preparation of the club's teams. Camogie honours for Kiltale The Meath U16 Camogie crown rests in Kiltale this winter following a well merited two point final win over arch rivals Kilmessan at Longwood in October. The two sides have come face to face many times over the years and on this occasion the young Kiltale ladies made up for previous disappointments thanks to a 1-3 to 0-4 success. In a game with so few scores it was always likely that a goal could be decisive and so it proved to be as Debbie Wigglesworth's first half major proved the key score of the match. That goal was the winners only score in the first period as they led by the minimum, 1-0 to 0-2, at the break. Points from Emily Brennan and Wigglesworth kept Kiltale's slim advantage intact and the final score of the game fell to Fiona Madden as she fired over to put the winners two points clear and ensure they would not be caught. The Kiltale side that brought honours to the parish was: J Walsh, B Harnan, L Donoghue, R Mulligan, C Cummins, A Madden, S Courtney, E Brennan 0-1, A Pearl, N Tucker, D Wigglesworth 1-1, F Madden 0-1, L Fagan, R O'Connor, A Crann. Subs - S Whelan, C Martin, A Courtney, D Slattery. Tweet

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