If George Bagnall decides at some stage in the future to put pen to paper and catalogue his lengthy loyalty to the Rathmolyon cause, only one title will suffice: 'The loneliness of the long distance hurler'. Thankfully, Bagnall's travels have brought their rewards in the shape of Senior Hurling Championship glory, but his dedication has to be truly admired in an era when there is so much talk of professionalism within the GAA. Of course, that talk concentrates on the higher echelons of gaelic games and players who do their stuff in the likes of Semple Stadium and Croke Park, not a man who is prepared to do a day's work, hurry home, grab a bite to eat and his playing gear and drive from Ballyjamesduff in Co. Cavan to south Meath, all because he clearly appreciates the significance of the most important unit in the association - your club. Those long journeys alone over the years must have been lonely, especially the trip home late at night with that day's work and a punishing training session taking its toll, but veteran Bagnall has been doing it for the best part of 16 years. That represents some mileage, but also some dedication to the game and club he loves. "I find it hectic alright," he said as he reflected on Rathmolyon's campaign in the 2004 SHC which met with disappointment when they lost to Kiltale in a play-off for a semi-final place. "But I've been doing it for nearly 16 years now, travelling down and back for training and matches. As time goes on it gets more difficult and I'm not getting any younger either. "I get in from work at 7.30 and head off. It takes an hour to get there and an hour back. I'm away for about four hours, so it can be as late as 11.30 when I get home. People ask me why I do it? If I was playing in Cavan it would mean travelling for only 10 or 15 minutes to training. But I suppose that's what playing for your club means." Unfortunately for Bagnall, who lined out at midfield alongside John Gorry when Rathmolyon made that historic breakthrough by winning the SHC in 1993, his travels didn't bring Jubilee Cup success in 2004, though they did make an astonishing start which suggested that anything was possible. Trim provided the opposition in that opener at Boardsmill and Rathmolyon knocked six goals past the men in red to win by 6-7 to 2-12. Having only narrowly avoided relegation the previous year, this represented a dream start to the campaign for Dave Foley's side. They led by 2-5 to 0-5 at half-time and withstood a late Trim rally to secure a deserved success. The highly impressive Mike Cole notched 2-4, including two goals from long range frees, while his brother Gary netted three times and John Farrell also raised a green flag. Goalkeeper Stephen Ennis made a number of fine saves and Rathmolyon could afford the luxury of 16 wides. Surprisingly, they failed to build on that great opening and lost their next two outings against Kildalkey at Boardsmill and Killyon at Longwood. Kildalkey brought them back down to earth with a bang and, having netted six times in the opening round against Trim, Rathmolyon failed to goal even once on this occasion as they went under on a 0-11 to 2-8 score line. Having hit 16 wides against Trim, they tallied 15 in the defeat to Kildalkey and that wayward shooting proved very costly. The winners led by 1-5 to 0-4 at the interval and that advantage stretched to six points when they added a second goal early in the third quarter. Mike Cole scored eight points over the hour, but even that wasn't enough and Rathmolyon were three adrift at the end. A three-goal burst close to half-time proved decisive for Killyon as they achieved their first win of the group campaign thanks to a 3-9 to 1-8 triumph. The sides were on level terms three times during the first 20 minutes, but the Hill of Down men held a commanding wind-assisted 3-6 to 0-3 advantage at the break, by which stage Rathmolyon had hit a damaging 10 wides. Gary Cole scored a kicked goal in the second half as Rathmolyon mounted a serious revival bid, but Killyon sealed victory with three late points and had seven to spare at the final whistle. With only two points to their name after three outings, Rathmolyon knew how important their fourth round meeting against Kiltale at Dunboyne was and they got the victory they so badly needed to bring themselves firmly back into the qualification picture. They held a slender 0-5 to 0-4 half-time advantage after a tentative opening 30 minutes, but they became the dominant force after the change of ends as Mike Cole impressed once again. By the three-quarter stage the gap had widened significantly to 0-11 to 0-4 and the game was well and truly over as a contest by the time Brian Gilsenan scored a late consolation goal for Kiltale. It finished 0-14 to 1-6. The fifth round meeting of Rathmolyon and Boardsmill at Longwood was of huge significance to both sides, for different reasons, and Rathmolyon came out on top by 2-12 to 1-10 to book a second meeting with Kiltale and consign the 'Mill to bottom spot in the section and a do-or-die relegation shootout. The match was played in difficult wet conditions and the outcome was in the balance until Mike Cole scored Rathmolyon's second goal 12 minutes from the end to open up a 2-12 to 1-7 gap. Aaron Fagan had scored the first Rathmolyon goal early in the second half which helped them to a 1-10 to 1-7 advantage at the three-quarter stage, but that Cole goal secured the vital win as he finished with an impressive personal tally of 1-8. Having already beaten Kiltale by five points in the fourth round of the qualifiers, Rathmolyon surely had reason to be optimistic as they faced them again in a play-off at Trim for the runners-up position in the group to decide who would meet champions Kilmassan in the semi-finals. And when they built up what appeared to be a comfortable 0-10 to 0-4 half-time lead that optimism certainly looked to be justified. But Kiltale made crucial changes and switches which left them a transformed team and, amazingly, they won the second period by 2-10 to 0-1 as goals from PJ Walsh in the third minute of the half and Brian Gilsenan 11 minutes later proved crucial to their revival. This was a match in which Rathmolyon clearly engaged in far too much fouling, as the deadly accurate Peter Durnin scored 11 of his 12-point haul from frees, thus playing a huge role in helping Kiltale through to their first semi-final in 14 years on a 2-14 to 0-11 score line. Rathmolyon's dreams of another Jubilee Cup success were dashed. "We had got off to an unbelievable start to the championship against Trim when we scored six goals," George Bagnall recalled. "It was the ideal start. The whole team was really geared up for that match. There's plenty of history between Rathmolyon and Trim and nobody needs motivating for matches like that. "We were on a real high after that big win, but then we lost to Kildalkey when we didn't score any goals. We then suffered another defeat in the third round against Killyon which was a big blow. "It's very hard to put a finger on what happened in those games, especially after making such a great start against Trim. I know we had injuries against Killyon, and that doesn't help, but I wouldn't be inclined to use that as an excuse." The pressure was firmly on Rathmolyon as they went into their fourth round meeting against Kiltale at Dunboyne, especially after suffering back-to-back defeats which threatened to derail their bid for a place in the last four. But they got the win they required. "Thankfully, we dug deep after the losses to Kildalkey and Killyon and won our next two matches. I would have to say we played well as a unit against Kiltale which was satisfying and then we got the better of Boardsmill in the fifth round to earn a play-off against Kiltale. "We were looking good in that second meeting when we led by 0-10 to 0-4 at half-time, but we fell away in the second half. Again, we had injuries and I didn't start that match myself, but that's not an excuse. "We also missed frees in that game and you can get at least six or seven points if your free-taker is on song. You need to be taking those chances." However, the long-travelling Bagnall, despite that disappointing end to the 2004 campaign, sees plenty of hope for the future. "It's a relatively young team," he said. "We have some very talented youngster like Kevin Fagan, who is only 17, and Graham Whelan, who is in his early 20s. Definitely, if Rathmolyon can keep those young lads together, there's a big future." Tweet

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