Rags to riches tale of Gaels
December 31, 2003
Mol an Oige agus Tiocfaidh Siad- Start them young and they will flourish. The above statement is one, which has clearly been the motto around Batterstown, and Kilcloon and it bore fruit on September 21st, writes Brendan Boylan.
There can be no other way to describe the short history of Blackhall Gaels G.A.A. Club than to use the phrase in the headline above. Formed in 1995 out of an amalgamation of the Batterstown and Kilcloon clubs, the Gaels wasted no time in making an impact on Meath G.A.A., or indeed further a field.
It hasn't been all roses though, they went from gaining senior status within three years of their amalgamation to finding themselves back in the grade below senior two years later.
People first began to realise the Gaels were a force to be reckoned with and a club with enormous potential in 1996 when they were lucky to have a very good U-14 team backboned by the likes of George Beirne, John O'Brien and Tadhg Brosnan.
In 1999, Noel Farrell engineered what was the first really big breakthrough for the combination club when they captured the MFC. As well as Beirne, O'Brien and Brosnan, other notable names on that team to make contributions to this latest success included Andy Dalton, Noel O'Hora and John Callanan, who rejoined the panel shortly before the September showpiece.
Indeed underage successes played a major role in getting Blackhall Gaels to where they are now, the standard setters for Meath football. Many of the side's more senior players, such as Paul Nestor, Stephen Nally and Mark Crampton collected U-18 medals with the Moynalvey/Kilcloon/Batterstown combination nearly a decade ago.
There were many, including this scribe, who felt that the Gaels were very unfortunate to make the drop in 2000 and once they got back into the top flight of Meath football for a second time it was assumed they were going a serious impact at senior level, though maybe not as quickly as it has happened.
Last year they issued warning of what was to come when they toppled Dunshaughlin only to lose it in the boardroom over the eligibility of Anthony Moyles and when the tie was eventually re-fixed they were touched off by two points, indeed they could have snatched at the death but Mark Crampton's fisted effort came back off the crossbar.
The whole affair hurt the club and left a sour taste in the mouth, but it also ensured that Leo Turley's team would need little or no motivation for the 2003 campaign.
In January this year, a new system, which saw the senior football championship switch from four groups of four to two divisions of eight, was adopted. This meant that the championships started considerably earlier than usual, probably for the first time ever they kicked off on a Thursday when Blackhall came face to face with Simonstown Gaels at Skryne on April 10th.
The game was also significant as it marked Evan Kelly's championship debut in the blue and navy jersey and he marked it by rifling a thunderous shot to the net, though Colm O'Rourke's side were lucky to go in one clear, 1-04 to 0-06, at the interval having seen Mark Crampton crack a shot off the crossbar.
Kelly had to retire with a nasty arm injury at half time and in the end this proved to be the undoing of the north Navan side. It was point for point for much of the second half until a dreadful error by the Simonstown 'keeper gifted Tadhg Brosnan a goal and from that point the side in blue and gold never looked back as the loss of Kelly became very costly as Simonstown' missed a number of kickable frees which would have earned O'Rourke's charges a point, but instead Turley's team held on for a 1-09 to 1-08 win.
The new championship system also ensured that there would be none of the long gaps which had been for so long the vein of club players in the county. Nine days later, Blackhall tackled Seneschalstown in Dunshaughlin. In a dour affair which was punctuated by missed opportunities on both sides, Blackhall led by 0-04 to 0-02 after the first quarter with Anthony Moyles and Nigel Nestor prominent. They got the break they needed when Owen Creevey goaled shortly before half time to put them 1-05 to 0-02 clear.
Mark Crampton took advantage of a Seneschalstown defensive slip to hit the net again and although Colin and Shane Clarke scored goals for the then Joe Tallon trained outfit, Blackhall eased home by 2-11 to 2-02.
County players often grab most of the attention in club games, but from the first two rounds of the championship there was no doubt that Blackhall's most impressive performer was their blonde bombshell of a defender, Dermot O'Brien.
On the back of some outstanding displays, he was awarded a Greenstar award in the early part of the campaign and given the consistent nature of his performances throughout the year a county call up must beckon.
In a campaign which had gone from three games to seven, it was always possible that there could be a slip up along the way and in round three the Blackhall bandwagon came to a shuddering halt when Skryne ran out comfortable winners by 1-14 to 1-08 in Pairc Tailteann.
In the wind and rain, Tadhg Brosnan got Blackhall off the mark early but Des Finnerty's side soon hit a rich vein of point scoring. Despite a Mark Crampton goal, John McDermott ensured that the Tara side led by 0-10 to 1-05 at the interval.
Anthony Moyles did spark his side into life for a period after half time, but the nearest the side an blue and gold could get to their opponents was four points as a David McGoldrick goal and a point from Jamie Jordan ensured the points went back to McManus Park.
That defeat presented a critical test for Turley's team, could they recover or would the wheels come off their wagon? They emphatically proved the former when trouncing previously unbeaten Dunderry in round four by 2-10 to 0-04. Mark Crampton was imperious, notching 2-4, by half time the Gaels had 1-06 up and Dunderry hadn't scored.
On the road to winning any competition, it's not all about playing glitzy, glamourous attractive football. There will be days when the performance won't be all that it might be, or indeed all that might be desired by those in charge, but it gets the job done.
Blackhall knew all about this in their next outing when Ballivor, who hadn't picked up a point at that stage, gave them the scare of their lives.
Pat Carey's side led by 0-05 to 0-03 at the interval in a drab affair at damp Dunsany. The Blackhall shooting was atrocious and they just squeezed home by 0-08 to 0-07 to all but guarantee themselves a knockout spot. Job done, but massive improvement would be required if any hopes were harboured of making an impact at the business end of the championship.
With all the other teams taking points off each other, no further slips could be afforded and there are few more adept teams at pulling off shock results than Ballinlough, who presented themselves as opposition for round six in Trim at the end of July.
After a effective but not spectacular first half showing, the side in blue and gold led by 0-07 to 0-05 at the midway point before taking off after the restart. Anthony Moyles, who was steadily improving with every game, netted shortly after the restart and then points flowed from Mark Crampton, Tadhg Brosnan, Mark Ferris and Barry McKeon en route to a 1-15 to 0-06 win.
What transpired in the final group game at Pairc Tailteann on August 10th was nothing short of a farce. Gaeil Colmcille got hard to field a team and would surely have been better off conceding a walkover than seeing themselves humiliated. The winners could afford the luxury of leaving Anthony Moyles on the line for the second half having notched up 2-12 before the break without conceding a score.
They had nine different marksmen that day as the finished with a total of 3-22 but Leo Turley, Declan Mahon and Vincent Nestor then had a very important job to do guarding against complacency in the build up to their last eight encounter. In it they would face a St Patrick's team who had a rags to riches tale of their own.
The Stamullen side were trounced by 1-21 to 0-02 in their opening fixture of the season against Skryne, but thanks to the intervention of Martin Barry they had turned themselves and proven themselves to be the surprise packets of the year.
They claimed the scalps of Trim and Dunboyne and can count themselves unlucky not to see coach Barry get one over his brother Eamon's champions from Dunshaughlin. Only a typical booming kick from Niall Kelly saved the holders from a second defeat at that stage. The last eight saw Turley's team head back to Skryne on August 22nd, where the journey had started over four months earlier.
There are those who say the championship only starts at the quarter final and both sets of players worked as if their lives depended upon it in what was a cracking encounter.
Barry's boys, for whom Daithi Whyte left the field three times with a blood injury but kept coming back, led by 0-05 to 0-03 and the half way point and indeed could have been further ahead, had Martin Byrne's effort been an inch lower it must surely have shook Martin Whelan's net. Blackhall emerged from an emotionally charged dressing room and went about dragging themselves into the game, thanks mainly to the efforts of Mark Ferris and Barry McKeon.
Still, with the tie entering its' twilight zone, Cormac Murphy made it 0-09 to 0-07 and it appeared as if the St Pat's shock show was going to continue. Tadhg Brosnan did pull a point back for Blackhall though and a minute later the thin line between success and failure was all too apparent to the side in green and white.
Whyte had a fourteen yard free, but instead of taking the seemingly safer option of placing the ball, he elected to kick from the hand only to see his shot screw wide of Whelan's left post.
Midfielder Moyles caught the resultant kick out and set off down the centre only for Murphy, his side's hero minutes earlier, to turn villain and haul his county colleague down.
Under extreme pressure, Ferris showed incredible composure when just squeezing the free inside the posts and sealing a Pairc Tailteann reunion for the two sides nine days later.
Life works in mysterious ways, you always had the feeling that Blackhall would adopt a once bitten, twice shy attitude and that the east Meath outfit may have lost their chance first time out. Add to the old adage above that Blackhall's chief tormentor from the original tie, one 'Spud' Murphy, who deferred his holidays for that game, was now out of the equation having jetted off to Ecuador, and the chances of an upset this time round seemed most unlikely.
It was also obvious that the Batterstown/Kilcloon boys had done their homework between the draw and the replay. Having obviously come to the conclusion that Daithi Whyte was the main threat, which he was, the very astute move was made of deploying the very versatile Denis Beirne to patrol the diminutive forward and it worked to a tee.
After a drab first half the Gaels led by 0-04 to 0-02, and despite Pat's hitting the net and briefly going into the lead, the script soon returned to expected lines.
Tadhg Brosnan hit the net twice as Barry McKeon and Robert Cox also goaled as a 4-07 to 1-08 win was recorded. However, their was one fly in the ointment, Nigel Nestor received a straight red card which ruled the young club's most decorated star out of the remainder of the championship.
Difficult circumstances can sometimes bring the best out of people, as if any motivation was needed to cross the penultimate hurdle against Dunshaughlin, which it wasn't, the Gaels more than likely took on a 'Let's do it for Nigel' sort of attitude.
While Nestor was obviously going to be a huge loss, perhaps more psychologically than anything, but it was offset by the fact that the Leinster champions were being forced to field without some of the mainstays of their glorious last few years in the form of Denis, Dermot and Richie Kealy and Michael McHale.
While the latter pair did join the action late on, neither was anywhere near as effective as they might have been.
In truth though, it was hard to see Turley's team losing, they had all the motivation they required from last year and even besides that they were starting to hit form at just the right time.
While certain players make immense contributions to the campaign, there will always be the few unsung heroes. On September 7th Barry Moyles and Stephen Nally, who deputised for his suspended brother-in-law in the number six jersey, more than filled this role.
When David Crimmins hit the net after eight minutes to put the champions 1-02 to 0-04 up it appeared as if Eamon Barry's side were going to push on before the game was turned on its head when Paul Nestor converted the best penalty this writer has ever seen.
Referee Eugene McDonnell decreed that Kenny McTigue had impeded Tadhg Brosnan and within minutes of Nestor's rocket passing Ronan Gogan one of Dunshaughlin's hands was slipping off the Keegan Cup when the Blackhall full forward collected a peach of a pass from Barry McKeon to drill a cheeky shot under the Dunshaughlin number one and send his side to the dressing rooms up by 2-05 to 1-04.
For the side chasing four in a row all hope seemed to evaporate instantly after the restart when Brosnan grabbed a wayward ball from Aidan Kealy and returned the compliment by placing McKeon in to blast past Gogan.
To be fair Eamon Barry's side showed the type of character that has earmarked them as one of the greatest club sides of all time. Trailing by 3-05 to 1-04 and having seen Aidan Kealy dismissed, they set about a retrieval mission and as the minutes ticked they made Leo Turley's team sweat more and more as they got closer and closer. Having being 3-09 to 1-08 clear thanks to scores from Mark Ferris, Denis Beirne and Robert Cox, the game suddenly turned into a cliff-hanger.
Niall Kelly and Trevor Dowd sent over a flurry of points to drag their side back into contention. Indeed they may even have restored parity but for the fact that the Leinster Club Footballer of the Year missed a free very similar to the one which, I'm sure, has haunted a certain D. Dolan in Garrycastle for the past few months.
It was at this time that the heroics of Barry Moyles and Stephen Nally came to the fore as the Gaels sensed the danger. I distinctly remember the former of the pair throwing himself on Martin Reilly's boot to rescue possession for his side.
So there they were, the ghosts of 2002 finally banished and a first ever final appearance assured. In it, they would encounter a Simonstown team they head beaten in the first round nearly five months earlier and who themselves had upset the odds by ousting a much fancied Trim side to earn there place on centre stage.
Before the game, much was written about the fact that the experience would be a new one for both sides and of the playing rivalry between the opposing coaches, Leo Turley and Colm O'Rourke. The point was also made that Stephen Nally might just be a lucky captain, having led the Gaels into senior status at the end of 1998.
The one thing nobody mentioned was that Blackhall Gaels had a secret weapon. Declan Mahon had seen and done it all before when he trained St Paul's, a team which ironically was backboned by Anthony and Barry Moyles, to win the JFC in 1999.
Both teams were so evenly matched it all the makings of a cracker. Few, if any, could have predicted what would unfold before our eyes.
We had never in all our years seen two more nervous teams, in fairness, when Alan Meade did take advantage of a bad error of judgement by Martin Whelan to hit the net, O'Rourke's side started to play some of the football everybody knew they were capable of. John Lunney, Ned Kearney, Evan Kelly and Ronan Brady sent over some terrific scores.
In contrast, Turley's team appeared to glued to the ground, they couldn't get near the ball, and on the few occasions they did get a hold of it they kicked it into touch. When Mark Crampton fisted over to register his side's first score after twenty six minutes with the goal seemingly yawning at him people couldn't help feeling any chance the blue and gold Gaels had of getting back into it was gone as they trailed by 1-07 to 0-01 as they retired for half time.
I spent a lot of time with Leo Turley the day after the final and one of the first things I asked him was 'What in God's name did you say to them at half time?' 'Nothing' came the reply, 'It was up to them'. The former O'Dempseys, Eire Og and current St Mary's, Leixlip player left his players alone for four of the five minutes of the half time break to do some serious soul searching and ask themselves did they really come down to Pairc Tailteann on county final day to leave it all behind them.
It was a masterstroke, for from the moment Mark Ferris curled over the first score of the second period, those in the massive attendance, the biggest many can ever remember in a county final, sensed that one of the greatest comebacks of all time was about to unfold.
Further scores from Barry McKeon, Anthony Moyles and Robert Cox sent pulses racing and soon after the latter drilled the ball low to the net to give the first real indication that the tide was turning Blackhall's way as they just trailed by three, 1-05 to 1-08.
Mark Crampton again blazed over the bar with the goal gaping and Tadhg Brosnan, largely invisible up to that point, left the minimum in it before Blackhall endured the most nerve wracking of periods. I, and countless others I'd say, suspected they had blown their chance when Moyles, Robert Cox, Brosnan and Mark Ferris were guilty of four horrendous misses.
Still, as they say, cometh the hour, cometh the man, or men as it was in this case. Anthony Moyles and Tadhg Brosnan were two of the principle reasons Blackhall Gaels had arrived at that stage and after the former had eventually levelled affairs and Barry McKeon had put them in front for the very first time, Brosnan left Hank Traynor prostrate on the ground before hitting the net and sending the Keegan Cup to Batterstown.
As Paul Nestor said in a post match interview it was Roy of the Rovers stuff. Then again, isn't the entire story of Blackhall Gaels GAA Club. They have proven they are the best by beating the best.
Chairman Michael Lillis, his committee, mentors and most of all, players can be extremely proud of what they have achieved. It really has been more or less a never ending success story ever since January 1995.
You may wonder am I forgetting the fact that they were relegated, no, I'm not, that just serves to make it even more of a rags to riches fairytale. They were down, they rose again and went further than everyone in 2003.
Knowing the ambition that exists within this very vibrant club, they will want to hit the same heights as those who went before them, if not to go even further.
Methinks these guys have no intentions of finishing just yet!
Leo's Lions
Teams with serious championship ambitions need leaders on the field of play, but they also require an astute guiding force on the sideline. By Paul Clarke.
Leo Turley undoubtedly fits that requirement after managing Blackhall Gaels to an historic first Senior Football Championship title in 2003.
Blackhall recovered from a seemingly impossible position at half-time to defeat Simonstown Gaels in the final, but their championship campaign as a whole was full of spirit and commitment and, while the players can take an enormous slice of the credit for that, there can be no doubting that former Laois player Turley played a highly significant role in instllling the self-belief and steely determination required to win the Keegan Cup.
Turley makes no secret of the fact that he encouraged a Meath-like spirit in the Blackhall players and that was certainly evident as they stunned Colm O'Rourke's Simonstown side with a second-half performance of thorough conviction and passion which turned what had all the appearances of a heavy defeat into a great victory and the greatest day in the history of the young club.
Of course, Blackhall's great will to succeed was well-known before they reached the senior final. They won the Intermediate Championship in 1998, three years after the amalgamation of Batterstown and Kilcloon brought about the formation of the club, but they were relegated back to the intermediate ranks in 2000.
That represented a shattering blow after all the hard work it took to achieve senior status, but rather than sit back and feel sorry for themselves, Blackhall set about making the journey back to the premier grade and, astonishingly, they achieved it at the first attempt in 2001 when scoring a dramatic victory over Ballivor in the intermediate final thanks to a late goal from a Paul Nestor penalty.
Winning two intermediate titles in the short space of just four years certainly represented some achievement and demonstrated the great will to win in the Blackhall camp.
It took enormous character and courage - the very same qualities, along with a fair amount of very good football, which enabled them to make a Lazarus-like recovery in the senior final against Simonstown.
Blackhall's hopes of bringing home the most coveted piece of silverware in Meath club football looked remote after they had managed only a solitary point in the first-half and found themselves training by nine points at the interval (0-1 to 1-7).
But Leixlip resident Turley, who began his coaching career with the Fenagh club in Carlow, before moving into the hot seat at Arles-Kileen in Laois, was well-aware of the level of spirit within the Blackhall panel and, while he was surely worried as he headed for the Pairc Tailteann dressing rooms at the interval on that September Sunday, he certainly wasn't without hope.
"The final was a real game of two halves," he said. "But we have such a great bunch of lads and they showed tremendous spirit to come back from being so far behind at half-time. Significantly, in a lot of our games this year our second-half performance has been much better than the first and that's how it worked out in the final too.
"We have tried to instill a Meath-type spirit in them, telling them never to give up and to keep it going right up to the final whistle. No game is ever over until that whistle sounds. You have to keep going, going, going.
"They have also won so many matches in tight finishes in recent years and that will stand to a team. They are also a very fit bunch of players and that helps too."
Blackhall's recovery in that second-half, when they turned a nine-point interval deficit into a three-point victory and outscored Simonstown to the tune of 2-8 to 0-2, surely represented one of the most astonishing comebacks in the long history of Senior Championship finals in the county.
But even allowing for all the confidence and belief he undoubtedly has in the players under his care, Turley must have wondered if it was possible to turn such a big deficit around in 30 minutes of football against a side which had dominated them almost totally in the opening period.
So how did the man who took over as Blackhall coach at the start of 2001 react at half-time when he realised the gravity of the situation?
"They are grown men and I have to admit that there were a few Fs at half-time," the manager added. "I just told them not to mind who else out there they might be letting down, but above all else not to let themselves down.
"I also told them that they had worked so hard all year for this day and this opportunity. I had spoken with the other selectors and we agreed that we had to tell the players how important it was for them. Having reached the final, we had to finish the job.
"I also told the players to go back out and get the first score of the second-half which would give us a lift. When we got our first goal I really believed we would win it. Suddenly it didn't look like a hopeless situation any more. They are a really great bunch of lads and they worked so hard for it."
Turley's words during the interval clearly got through to the Blackhall players and, rather than lie down and accept that they were in a hopeless position, they produced a rousing comeback that typifies their attitude.
Blackhall won six of their seven group matches en route to the knock-out stages, their only defeat coming against Skryne in the third round, got the better of St. Patrick's after a replay in the quarter-finals and then came face-to-face with three times county champions and reigning Leinster kingpins Dunshaughlin at the semi-final stage.
After the happenings of the previous year when Blackhall bowed out of the championship at the quarter-final stage in the controversial refixed match against Dunshaughlin, there was even greater interest than usual in the 2003 clash between the sides, with some regarding it as not merely a battle for a final ticket, but a real grudge confrontation.
"Contrary to what some people might think, it wasn't a grudge match against Dunshaughlin," Turley added. "The only thing we took from last year was that we knew we could beat them. We beat them then and going into the semi-final we knew we had to beat them again. Last year we were playing them for a place in the semi-finals, but this time the prize if we could beat them was huge - a place in the county final."
Of course, beating the champions was a huge victory for the Batterstown-Kilcloon combination and suddenly they were just an hour of football away from becoming senior champions.
After all their success in recent years, Dunshaughlin's great run, which saw them win three successive county titles and a memorable provincial crown just before Christmas last year, had come to an end - for the time being at least.
Turley greatly admired the way Dunshaughlin accepted their defeat and he had particular praise for the man who was the guiding force behind their truly fantastic run of success - Eamonn Barry.
"Eamonn Barry was so gracious in defeat after that match," Turley added. "He is such a gracious man. Joe Kiernan was the very same after Armagh had lost the All-Ireland final to Tyrone. The sign of great champions is that you can be gracious when you do lose."
Blackhall looked on as Dunshaughlin monopolised the Senior Championship between 2000 and 2002 and, having got their hands on the Keegan Cup and enjoyed every minute of the great satisfaction that brought, they will surely be extremely determined to hold onto it.
But it's a long, long road because of the new championship structure, involving seven group matches, before two knock-out games have to be negotiated to reach the final. And after that marathon journey you still have to win the biggest game of all.
"It's a marathon alright," Turley added. "But Simonstown lost three matches in this year's championship and they still managed to get to the final. They showed great character to do that. The greater number of matches actually helped them.
"It would be wrong if we didn't give the defence of our county title 100 per cent effort."
Those are clearly the words of a man who has his sights set on having a serious go at achieving back-to-back Keegan Cup triumphs.
Club piece
The commonly accepted belief in terms of political battles is that it's the winners write the history; and it is always about the chiefs and leaders. Thank God for the GAA club. You see, in the GAA Club it is the club itself writes its own history and better still it is not centred on the chiefs or leaders. Its about the club, its members and its supporters.
When Blackhall Gaels commenced its first year in existence in 1995 it did so with enthusiasm, hope and expectation. The people who inspired the move were motivated by new ideas for the future and no doubt were conscious of their history but not enslaved by it. John O'Donoghue in his book Eternal Echoes said, "to sanitize history is to blaspheme against memory. Equally to become obsessed with the past is to paralyse the future."
What the inspirational club leaders in Batterstown and Kilcloon gave to the new generation in Blackhall Gaels was the freedom to write their own history and boy they've grasped the opportunity. Highlights abound and just to mention a few from 2003 we have the "Keegan Cup" as Senior Football Champions, we won the Ladies Intermediate Football Championship and our U14 hurlers delivered our first All-Ireland victory when they won the All Ireland Feile na nGael hurling.
What has been achieved is that the name Blackhall Gaels is now emblazoned in the chronicle of GAA achievers, not just in County Meath but also beyond. What makes it special for the parish of Kilcloon, from Kilglynn to Quarryland is that the authors of this history are our own people. The hurlers and footballers, male and female who proudly don the "Gaels" jersey, the coaches and mentors who work with them throughout the year, the people who make up our committees, the mothers, fathers and partners who live with the demands of the modern-day player and all our great supporters who are with us through thick and thin.
In the programme produced to mark the official opening of the Kilcloon dressing rooms in 1982 the editor said "the future generations of club footballers will have said thank you to the hard-working officials of the present and past by talking the Keegan Cup to the parish." Now, twenty one years on, we can conclude that chapter by saying a resounding thank you.
Isn't it great to be part of a living history?
- Michael Lillis, Chairman
Blackhall Gaels - Meath ladies intermediate football champions - 2003
At Simonstown, Sunday 27th July 2003
Blackhall Gaels 1-13, Boardsmill 2-8
The ladies from Blackhall Gaels wrote another page into the history books when they brought further senior status to their club by winning the Meath Ladies Intermediate football championship final at Simonstown on July 27th 2003. In a great final and with a great team effort they defeated a gallant Boardsmill side by two points having led by 1-7 to 1-4 at half time.
Jane Burke, the Blackhall captain and 'player of the match' was the goalscorer in the 23rd minute. Boardsmill closed the gap to a single point ten minutes after the restart and looked likely to take control but for the goalkeeping brilliance of Blackhall's Caroline Griffen who saved a penalty kick from the opposition at the end of the third quarter. From here on the 'Gaels never lost sight of the bright lights of senior football and managed to stay ahead and hold on to a two point margin when referee Michael Ryan blew for full time.
Blackhall Gaels - All Ireland Under 14 Feile na nGael
(Division 4) Hurling champions 2003
At Cusack Park, Mullingar, Saturday 14th June 2003
Blackhall Gaels 2-6 Lough Lene Gaels (Westmeath) 1-2
Another piece of club history was written on June 14th last at Cusack Park, Mullingar when Blackhall Gaels under 14 hurlers, representing Meath, won the All Ireland Feile na nGael Division 4 hurling final. This was indeed something very special as it was the first All-Ireland title to be won by the club.
The team won county honours the previous Monday evening winning the Meath Under-14 'B' Hurling Championship, defeating Moylagh, and then went on to progress in the Feile Championship with wins over Tooreen (Mayo), St Martin's and Cnoc Brid (Louth). In the semi-final against Delvin (Westmeath) there was no less than two periods of extra time before a winner emerged with Blackhall qualifying to meet Westmeath representatives Lough Lene in the final.
Ciaran Collins scored the Blackhall goal in the first half of the final to level the game at half time and three Thomas Meyler points early in the second half set the course for victory. Ciaran Collins netted for his second goal four minutes from full time and two closing points from John O'Malley sealed victory for the Meath representatives.
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