Right direction
December 31, 2003
Two-thousand-and-three was another decent year for Kilmainham. Even though key man Petsey Curran was sidelined with a rib injury for some crucial outings, they preserved their junior 'A' status and put down a clear marker for the coming season by winning Division 5 of the All County Leagues. Kilmainham are moving in the right direction.
Sometimes we are so distracted by the stampede for silverware and the accompanying fanfares that we fail to notice how well some of the smaller clubs in the county are doing. Operating against all odds, and on limited resources, Kilmainham are a case in point.
Once again in 2003, Kilmainham put in a commendable showing. Mixing it with the bigger fish in the choppy waters of the all-county Junior 'A' championship, the gallant north Meath minnows gave as good as they got and certainly didn't disgrace themselves. Indeed, had they enjoyed a more favourable rub of the green at defining moments in their campaign, Kilmainham could even have cut an unlikely path to the knock-out stages of the JFC.
Understandably, centre half back Peter 'Petsey' Curran looks back on the season with a degree of satisfaction: "In the championship we gave some great displays in a very difficult group. Considering we were playing a lot of major clubs from major towns, we did ourselves proud for a club of our size.
"It was a great achievement, especially with the team being so young. We also had to cope with a couple of injuries, so we're pleased with how things worked out. We're holding our own at the moment and hopefully we can build on that."
Paddy O'Rourke took charge of the team in '03 (ably assisted by selectors Declan Black and Gerard Morgan) and, according to Petsey, the manager did "Trojan work" over the course of the season, taking charge of training sessions himself and generally providing a level of leadership that went above and beyond the call of duty.
The team was well prepared and threw themselves into the task at hand with no shortage of vigour. Peter reflects: "The season had plenty of ups and downs, but it was mostly encouraging and we can take a lot of heart from our performances.
"We started off in the championship with a great win over Kilbride. We won that game by a point and it was an excellent display, which set us up nicely. We had a few injuries after that and, with such a small squad of players, Kilmainham tend to suffer when we've players missing. But full credit to the lads who came in - they didn't let themselves or the team down.
"Ballinabrackey beat us by three points and Gaeil Colmcille beat us by one point. Those two games went right down to the wire and so did the next one against Ratoath, but they also pipped us by a point, so we went into our last game against Moylagh needing a point to avoid getting dragged into the relegation battle. We managed to get a draw there, and that kept us safe for another year."
A good year's work for one of the smallest and youngest clubs in the Royal County!
Even though Kilmainham are happy with their lot, there's still a slight niggling sense of 'What Might Have Been'. With a bit of luck they could have beaten Ballinabrackey, Kells AND Ratoath. Indeed, but for injuries, they probably would have done so!
Says the man known far and wide as 'Petsey': "It was a great year but I suppose human nature is such that you'll always wonder could it have been even better. If we'd been injury-free all year, we could have made a bigger impact. [County junior] Barry Lynch carried a muscle injury all year and I fractured three ribs myself in the Kilbride game and was out for six weeks. It's a pity we weren't at full strength all year but we achieved our prime objective of staying up, so we're not going to complain too much!"
Kilmainham gave as good as they got in the JFC and the correct structures are in place to ensure that they improve even further. To this end, they will soon have a place to call home, as Peter explains: "There's a lot of work being put into the new pitch at the moment. We bought the land from a local farmer in 2001 and have been developing it since. We're re-seeding it and hopefully by next spring we'll finally be playing our home games at home!
"Up until now we've been playing our home matches either at local clubs or else surrendering home advantage, which isn't ideal. But hopefully we'll soon have the pitch finished, which would be another major milestone in the history of Kilmainham football club."
It's refreshing to observe that even though Kilmainham weren't ultimately in the shake-up for honours in 2003, they're as content as almost any club in the Royal County at present. "We have tremendous support from the local community and we're excited about getting the pitch finished, with a clubhouse and dressing-rooms to follow at some point.
"Things are looking good. Kilmainham is a very small area, with only 200 people at most and - with no church, shop of community centre here - it's the football club that holds the community together. There's a great spirit in the community and it's unbelievable how many people chip in and do their bit for the club.
"We have a new sponsor this year, Tile Once, which is owned by Joe Mahon here in Kilmainham. Joe gave us a new set of jerseys and little things like that are great for boosting the morale of the players. We don't take anything for granted in Kilmainham ... we're grateful for every bit of help we can get."
In terms of actual playing resources, the reports emanating from Kilmainham are also encouraging: "We have the bones of a good team at the moment and we have some very good young players coming through as well, from minor and U16 level. We had seven U16s on the Round Towers first team in '03, which is a big achievement, so in a couple of years, or perhaps even next year, we could cause a few surprises."
Kilmainham GFC was formed 36 years ago as a breakaway from Kells and currently boasts around 50 members. Petsey's father, Peter Curran, formed the club with Tommy Morgan on the steps of Kilmainham in 1967 and it has grown from there. Taking recent successes into consideration, Kilmainham has already developed beyond
its founding fathers' wildest expectations.
Petsey notes: "Kilmainham struggled for a long time and sometimes we wouldn't even win a game in Junior 'B' all year, but we have progressed gradually, culminating in the Junior 'B' championship win in 2001 after 20 years of trying. Last year was only our second year in Junior 'A' and we know that if we can hold our own for a couple of years we have some very good young fellas coming through."
And Petsey intends to stick around to help ease these younger players into adult football. Though he's far from over the hill at the age of 30, Petsey has already represented Kilmainham for 15 seasons (he made his championship debut as a 16-year-old in 1989). Patsy Walsh, who's still playing at 42, has set the standard for others to follow!
"I don't know if I'll play that long but I'll definitely stay around for a few years to see how the younger lads are getting on and to try to coax them. It's looking good for the future and I don't want to miss out on it. We've won two U21 'Special' championships and we should have an even better U21 panel in a couple of years..."
Curran has represented Kilmainham with distinction, not just on the club stage but also at intercounty level. He was with the county juniors in 1999 and 2000. In '99, Meath reached the All-Ireland final. What a year that was!
The Kilmainham centre half recalls: "The highlight was meeting Dublin in Croke Park in the Leinster final. That's the only time I played in Croke Park and it was a wonderful experience. We beat them by a goal but were beaten by a point by Waterford in the All-Ireland final."
How disappointing was that shock defeat? "When I joined the panel I didn't even know if I'd get a jersey, so I was delighted to get that far and to actually hold down my place was unbelievable. Every step after that was a bonus. Of course we were disappointed to lose the final but Waterford were a good team and it was a great honour to wear the Meath jersey."
Another Kilmainham clubman, Barry Lynch, was full forward on the Meath junior side that won the 2003 Leinster JFC final, but his season was then disrupted by a shoulder injury.
And so to the 64,000-euro question: how will Kilmainham fare in 2004? "I can see us getting stronger as the years go on. Whether we can break through to the knock-out stages remains to be seen, but going on our '03 performances against good sides, we're not too far off the mark. A lot depends on the injury situation because we can't really afford to be missing players.
"I'm optimistic, though. Things are looking good and for Kilmainham people to be able to say that is in itself a great achievement for a club our size. In my mind there's no reason why we shouldn't be pushing for a semi-final or final spot in the next two or three years."
Kilmainham could be worth keeping an eye on...
Postscript: Following our chat with Petsey , Kilmainham swept to Division 5FL honours with an extra time win over Moynalty. When we caught up with Petsey again he was still enjoying the win and described it as - "A great boost for next year". Christmas will be celebrated with a bit more cheer around Kilmainham way this December and fair play to them.
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