St. Brigid's collected their first piece of silverware in a decade when they saw off Meath Hill in a closely fought Div 5 League final at Kells on Sunday October 17. Fergal Hennessy reviewed the year. Outright league or championship successes don't visit St. Brigid's all that often. Their last trophy at adult level was garnered back in 1994 when they captured the Junior Football Championship. But what is rare is often sweet and St. Brigid's will long remember their narrow 1-14 to 1-13 victory over Meath Hill in the 2004 Div 5 league decider. There were outstanding displays all over the field, but two of the class of 1994 - Micheal Briody and Tomas Blake - rolled back the years to turn in commanding performances. They were able assisted by Jerome Hussey, Stephen Farrelly and Fergal Hennessy who contributed a personal tally of 1-5. "It was the type of game that could have gone either way. If it had gone to extra time we wouldn't have had any complaints. We were hanging on at the end. The momentum was with them and we just did enough to hold on," recalled Hennessy. St Brigid's had the better of the opening exchanges, playing with the aid of a stiff breeze, but they only led by the minimum (0-7 to 0-6) at the break. They were quickest out of the blocks on resumption and when Tomas Blake set up Fergal for St. Brigid's, only goal, a comfortable victory looked on the cards. To their credit Meath Hill came storming back and with better finishing they could have forced extra time. But in a tense finish St. Brigid's held their nerve and ran out deserving winners. Having lost consecutive promotion play-offs to St. Vincent's and Kilmainham, St. Brigid's were anxious to make in third time lucky in 2004. In that respect promotion was their top priority. "Obviously we wanted to win the Junior Championship, but getting out of Div 5 was equally important to us. We felt 17 points would get us up. We finished with 15 points but we didn't play our last league game as we had already qualified for the final," he added. Under the guidance of Ray Lydon and his selectors Declan Masterson and Mickey Hussey, St Brigid's hit the ground running and clocked up four league victories before their first opening championship encounter with Blackhall Gaels. "We got off to a great start in the league, which set us up well for the championship. We carried that momentum into the game against Blackhall Gaels. It was a tight game(2-7 to 1-8). It was a typical first round affair. Both teams were really up for it. We felt we were fortunate to come away with a win," he recalled. He added: "They would have had a few lads with senior experience and they made it very difficult for us. We were delighted to get the win and get off to a winning start." St. Brigid's built on that win when they scored a resounding victory over Castletown in Round 2, 2-12 to 0-5. "It was a very easy victory. We were never tested in that game and we fully deserved our 13 point victory." Having lost to Walterstown in 2003 championship, St. Brigid's were expecting a stern examination when they faced the Blacks in Round 3. However, they preserved their 100 per cent record with an excellent 4-8 to 1-12 victory. "We played possibly our best 30 minutes of football for the year in the first half of that game. We hit the ground running. Every goal chance that came our way ended up in the net," he noted. The St. Brigid's bandwagon came to a shuddering halt in Round 4, when Longwood narrowly beat them 1-10 to 1-9. "It was a very cagey affair. We both had the feeling that we would meet again later in the championship. It wasn't a great game of football. We had a few chances late in the game but we didnít take them. It was a game we could have drawn," the club captain remarked. Normal service was resumed in Round 5 when St. Brigid's got back to winning ways against Seneschalstown on a 1-13 to 0-12 scoreline. "It was a comfortable enough victory. We were never really in any trouble in that game. Every time they drew close to us we were able to lift it and move away from them," Fergal affirmed. St. Brigid's clocked up another large winning margin when they hammered Navan O'Mahony's 2-12 to 1-2 to Round 6. "They had run out of steam by that stage. They would have lost a lot of their better players to their other teams and they had a lot of young players out that day." They ran up another cricket score in beating Moynalvey in their final group game 3-14 to 1-4. "Moynalvey were out of it at that stage. They would have also lost a good few players to their first team, but we still had to go and out and beat them," revealed Fergal. St. Brigid's arrived at the quarter-final stages with six victories out of their seven group games. Their only blot on their copybook was that narrow defeat at the hands of Longwood in Round 4. The four teams that qualified from St. Brigid's group (Longwood, St. Brigid's, Walterstown and Blackhall Gaels) eventually occupied the four semi-final berths, which would indicate that they were in the tougher group. Consequently, St. Brigid's entered the quarter-final against Trim brimful of confidence. They managed to prevail 0-11 to 0-7, but the victory wasn't as clear-cut as the scoreline would suggest. "We were lucky to have four points to spare. It was a really tough game. Perhaps the signs were there that we weren't playing up to scratch. We got the victory but it wasnít that convincing," Fergal recalled. The spectre of Longwood who had headed the group loomed on the horizon again in the semi-final. "We felt confident that we could beat them. We knew they had some very good players, but we were confident enough that we could take them, but it didn't turn out that way on the day," he rued. St. Brigid's failed to get out of the blocks in the opening 20 minutes. "They dominated the opening but were only four points up on us. They blitzed us in the closing 10 minutes of the first half and scored something like 2-5 to lead 3-6 to 0-1." Even the most loyal St. Brigid's fan knew the contest was effectively over at half time. But to their credit St. Brigidís mustered a revival of sorts after the break, which restored some pride. He continued: "We showed some pride in the second half and saved some face, but to all intents the game was over at half time. It was very disappointing, but hopefully we can bounce back next year and take it on again. "We were beaten in 2003 in the quarter-final by Boardsmill. We lost this year in the semi-final to Longwood who were the team of the year. Hopefully we can go all the way next year," he added. The return of Tomas Blake to the St. Brigid's fold proved a big boost to the club, as did the return of Stephen Skelly. Martin Briody's arrival back on the scene after a prolonged injury was also a welcome development. Throw in the considerable presence of Peter Skelly and Stephen Farrelly as well as up and coming talent like AJ Gilsenan and St. Brigids will be amongst the favourites for the 2005 Junior 'B' Football Championship The St. Brigid's club and extended community were plunged into sorrow on Thursday May 6 with the sudden death of fullback Raymond Heery, who was a pilot with the Air Corps. Second Lieutenant Heery died when the Cessna plane he was piloting crashed after take off from an airfield at Clonbullogue, Co. Offaly. He was due to line out that evening for his beloved St. Brigid's against Castletown in the Junior 'B' Football Championship. Raymond, 21, was buried with full military honours including a 21-gun salute. Three planes flew overhead in the shape of a cross, as mourners watched the aircraft form the poignant 'Missing Man' formation over the cemetery. Tweet

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