This time two decades ago Walterstown were looking back on a third successive Meath Senior Football Championship title and a fifth in seven years. They may not be at that level right now but the foundations are in place to make a surge in the near future. They also had wonderful memories of fantastic runs at a higher level during a golden era for the men in black as they also claimed two Leinster Club Championship titles in 1980 and '83 and reached All-Ireland finals at the end of both those amazing campaigns, losing to powerful Cork opposition on both occasions - St. Finbarr's in their first national decider and Nemo Rangers in the second. What memories those incredible days bring back for everybody involved with the club and those who were also fortunate enough to be sitting in press boxes reporting on the wonderful exploits of a team that played just like that - a team. How Walterstown would love to return to days like those when their style of play was so effective that they weren't just a power to be respected in Meath, as they still are, but at provincial and national level too. Unfortunately, the 2004 campaign in the Meath SFC simply wasn't consistent enough for Walterstown to make it to the business end of the battle for that most coveted piece of silverware in Royal County football - the Keegan Cup - a trophy that made so many memorable journeys into the Johnstown area and its surrounds between that never to be forgotten day at Pairc Tailteann in 1978 and their last triumph in the premier grade in '84. The Blacks, coached at the beginning of the competition by Dave Foley, the man who guided Rathmolyon to SHC glory in 1993, were drawn in Group B along with St. Patrick's, Summerhill, Kilmainhamwood, Dunderry, Seneschalstown, reigning champions Blackhall Gaels and Cortown and opened their campaign with a match against the 'Wood at Pairc Tailteann. It was a very tight game that ended in some controversy as Walterstown unsuccessfully protested that a late Christy Reynolds effort had gone between the uprights and not wide. They simply missed too many chances and Ray Magee's second minute goal, which helped the 'Wood to a 1-5 to 0-6 interval lead, effectively made the difference at the end. Yet, Walterstown dominated the closing stages, but fluffed far too many opportunities as they went under by the minimum on a 0-10 to 1-8 score line. When St. Patrick's inflicted a 0-10 to 0-8 defeat in the second round at Donore things were looking bleak for the Blacks in their quest for a qualification place. However, they were unfortunate to lose Christy and Alan Reynolds with first-half injuries and had been on top up to that, holding a 0-5 to 0-1 lead at the break. But the Stamullen men outscored them by 0-9 to 0-3 in the second period. Mick O'Brien was at the helm by the time Walterstown faced Summerhill in the third round at Pairc Tailteann and with a victory so badly needed they got it and brought to an end a worryingly-long sequence of defeats in league and championship. It took them some time to get moving, but a goal from substitute Ronan Barry helped earn a 1-4 to 0-4 interval lead. They fell behind nine minutes into the second-half, but the 'Hill didn't score subsequently and Walterstown did enough to earn a four-point victory (1-7 to 0-6). It was back to Pairc Tailteann for a fourth round meeting with Cortown and what a dramatic ending this one had - but not in Walterstown's favour. Cortown led by 0-5 to 0-4 at half-time, but the Blacks were in front at 0-9 to 0-8 late on and looked capable of winning. But Gordon Codd equalised and Packie Henry came on as a substitute to snatch a dramatic winner. That defeat left Walterstown tied at the bottom of the section with Summerhill on two points and when they faced Dunderry at Simonstown in the fifth round they were well aware of its importance. They responded positively as two second-half goals from impressive full-forward Senan Moylan helped them to a 2-13 to 1-3 victory. They tallied 2-10 from play and this was another match in which John Davis demonstrated that he surely has the ability to play at inter-county level. Champions Blackhall Gaels provided a huge challenge next time out at Pairc Tailteann and Walterstown ruined their chance by kicking 13 wides. Blackhall held a slender 0-4 to 0-3 interval lead, but dominated the third quarter to extend their advantage to 0-7 to 0-3. And despite another very accomplished display by Davis, Walterstown weren't accurate enough to come back from that situation and went under by 0-6 to 0-10. Neighbours Seneschalstown provided the opposition in the last round of the qualifiers at Skryne and the Blacks finished their campaign on a very bright note by recording a 1-9 to 0-6 victory. The Yellow Furze side, which qualified for the quarter-finals despite this loss, never led and a punched goal from Davy Reynolds after only 40 seconds helped Walterstown to a 1-6 to 0-4 interval lead. Davis and Charles McCarthy impressed at midfield and the winners scored seven of their points from play. At the end of it all, Walterstown finished sixth in the group after three wins and four losses, yet they were only a point adrift of Seneschalstown who did go through. It was very much a case of what might have been. "Obviously, it was a big disappointment not to qualify for the quarter-finals," said Walterstown player Brian McCormack as he reflected on the campaign. "We have been knocking on the door for a few years, but we need to be building on that. "We won the A League Div. 1 title last year and were relegated this season without winning a game. There's no point in winning the league if you don't build on it. "However, we were a bit unlucky in the championship this year and you do need that bit of luck. In our first match against Kilmainhamwood we had a late point from Christy Reynolds disallowed and lost by a point. "And in our second game against St. Patrick's we lost three players with injuries which was a big blow. We might, with a bit of luck, have had four points after those two matches. "Mick O'Brien came in after that and we won three games with him in charge. We ended up only a point off qualifying and I remember thinking afterwards that if that point against Kilmainhamwood had been allowed we were there. "Our defence was excellent all year, but we just aren't scoring enough, particularly goals. And goals win games." However, the former Meath minor and under-age International Rules player remains hopeful as he looks ahead. "The talent is there for the future," he added. "You do need a bit of luck, but it also takes a lot of work and you need everybody pulling in the right direction. Realistically, the club is sitting good. We have good reserve talent, the ladies won the Junior C title this year and we have great facilities. "Johnstown is such an untapped area. There's a massive population there to be tapped into; so many young people. There's also a new primary school (St. Stephen's), so the population is there to build for the future." Fabulous facilities Walterstown have done tremendous work at their grounds and boast a truly fantastic new clubhouse - the sort of place they would dearly love to bring the Keegan Cup home to at some stage in the very near future. The E1 million clubhouse is a tribute to the forward-thinking and hard work of the club's officials and committee, as well as the people of the parish, and opened last February. The new building comprises a luxurious carpeted foyer, four new dressingrooms, a function room and bar, as well as separate rooms for meetings, physio and referees. Finance for the project came through a National Lottery grant of E350,000 and the kind support of parishoners who each contributed E1,000 to the fund. Fund-raising in the area and borrowing made up the balance, while two years ago, in conjunction with the Skryne club, they raised E100,000 on a draw for a new house. The club's 16 acres, which were bought four years ago, include three new pitches, one of which is floodlit. There is a hope that land still to be developed will provide four tennis courts and further all-weather pitches. All in all, the club has developed a tremendous facility for the community and one to be very proud of. Ladies triumph The Walterstown ladies gave the club's supporters something to cheer about in 2004 when they won the county Junior C Championship thanks to a very clearcut victory over Kilmainhamwood in the final at Simonstown in August. It was a notable triumph for Walterstown, who were coached by Mick O'Brien, as they came out on top by all of 11 points on a 2-14 to 2-3 score line. Goalkeeper Susan Oakes made a couple of outstanding saves in the early stages as Kilmainhamwood threatened, but goals from Denise Callaghan and Alice Davis gave Walterstown the edge and they went on to win comfortably. Davis and Callaghan shared the scoring honours with an impressive 1-4 each. The Walterstown team and scorers were - S. Oakes; A. O'Sullivan, B. Moylett, C. McMahon; A. Daly, B. Murphy, A. Kennedy; R. Brady, E. Davis (0-3); N. Reynolds, A. Davis (1-4), A. Davis (0-2); O. Ni Ceallaigh (0-1), D. Callaghan (1-4), S. McMahon. Joey's full of hope It may not have been a spectacular 2004 for Walterstown, but inspirational midfielder Joey Farrelly remains full of hope. The man who captained the All Blacks to Division One league glory in '03 is convinced that Walterstown still have what it takes to be major contenders at senior level in the Royal County. And, true to form, he's probably not too far off the mark. Walterstown are an enigma. The dominant force in Meath in the early 'eighties, they've gone 20 years without winning a SFC yet remain eminently capable of culling the Keegan Cup. Unfortunately, they never really looked like doing so in 2004, winning only three of their seven games in their SFC group and failing to muster a solitary victory in the league, thereby slipping down to Division Two. Still, there were flashes of excellence along the way and there are clear indications that Walterstown are anything but a spent force. Okay, things didn't go according to plan in '04 but, in their defence, the men in black had a terrible run of luck and were never really in a position to show the world their true worth. Next year could be a different story entirely. That's what Joey Farrelly's hoping, anyway: "I have no doubt that on our day we are as good as anybody else out there. We haven't been in a final since 1991, against Kells, so we're overdue a good run in the championship and we're capable of putting a run of good results together. There's no way we're conceding defeat just yet. "We reached the reserve league final in 2004 and won the Division One league the previous year. We had a bad run of luck in 2004, but we can put that behind us. Walterstown are well able to put it up to anyone on our day. Paddy Reynolds has retired from county football now and it's going to be a big boost to have a man of his calibre available for all the games. We've had difficulties in the past due to men on intercounty duty, so it's good to have Paddy back. "With a full panel at our disposal in 2005, no injuries, and all the younger lads that bit stronger, we can make an impression. There's a good mixture of youth and experience and plenty of ability, so we're looking forward to the new season." Looking ahead to the dawn of a new season, Joey is completely upbeat: "There's a great future for Walterstown, with lots of work being done at juvenile level. All the new developments in the parish have attracted a lot of young players and the new clubhouse is a great base, so we're hoping to reap the benefits of that. "We can take a number of positives from 2004. A number of new players were introduced to the senior team, such as Alban Crosbie, Davy Reynolds and John Davis, all of whom had a great year. This has strengthened our panel for next year and gives us great hope for qualifying for the knockout stages. There's a good combination of young and old players, which is essential for building a strong senior team." Joey has been playing senior football with Walterstown for 13 years. The high point came in 2003 when he captained the club to their first ever Division One league success. Unfortunately, the year gone by was arguably the lowest point: "It was my 13th year playing senior football and was definitely the worst since I started. We've played in a lot of quarter-finals and semi-finals and it was very disappointing not to make any impact at all. "It was a shocking disappointing year. We lost by one point to Kilmainhamwood in the first round and then three of us picked up injuries inside ten minutes of the second championship match, against the Pats. As a result, Christopher Reynolds, Alan Reynolds and myself [with a broken hand] were all ruled out long term, so things certainly didn't go our way. We had a lot of narrow defeats (one point against K'wood and Cortown, two against St Patrick's) and one more victory would have qualified us for the quarter-finals. "We had a terrible run in the league, but we were plagued by injury all year and that took its toll on the team. We only really have a panel of 17/18 lads at the best of times, so we were struggling. "On the plus side, Davy Reynolds and John Davis made the breakthrough and [goalkeeper] Alban Crosbie was the find of the year. Mick O'Brien took over after three championship games and he tried to piece the thing together. It took him a while to get it right, but he saw the year out and things eventually came good. Unfortunately, it was too late." Walterstown finished their championship campaign in style, with a superb 1-9 to 0-6 defeat of Seneschalstown, who went on to contest the last eight. The fact that the Yellow Furze rattled Trim tells its own story: "The Seneschalstown game was the one where the lads had nothing to lose and they went at it from the start and gave it everything. Of course, we'll always raise our game that bit more against Seneschalstown anyway, but we were delighted with the result and hopefully we can build on that next year." Every club with genuine aspirations needs a steady supply of youth. Walterstown are no different. How are they faring in this regard? "There are a few of us coming close to the end of our playing days so it would be no harm to get a few new faces around the team! There could be as many as seven players with only a year or two left, but there are players in the club who should be able to come in and take their place. A few lads came in already last year, so we're doing okay. "They won the U15 Division II league final last year, so a few of the lads off that team should be ready to step up in a year or two. I suppose the only worry is that they might not be ready in time. There's a chance that nobody will come through next year, but that won't be the end of the world as we'll still have a very strong side if everyone is available. We had three or four minors playing this year and they should be better in 2005. "With a bit of luck, we could qualify for the quarter-finals. There are five or six senior clubs in the county with nothing between them and I rate Walterstown as one of those sides. We can get into the shake-up for the senior championship this year. "We've been close in the recent past, no more so than when Dunshaughlin beat us by a point at the semi-final stage a couple of years ago and went on to win it. We can go close again. In fact, we can win it." Walterstown could well confound the critics in 2005. Tweet

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