It is highly unlikely that Blackhall Gaels will receive any Christmas cards from GAA folk in Ballinlough this winter. Not once, but twice in the 2002 senior football championship the North Meath club found themselves on the receiving end of a Blackhall victory. The blue and yellow jersey is certainly not the most popular in Ballinlough these days. It all started way back in late April when only the minimum separated the teams in the first round of their Group A championship clash. The game ended 0-11 to 1-7 in favour of Blackhall and Ballinlough manager Ray Lydon (or Jake to his football buddies around the 'Lough) concedes that an opening round defeat made progress in the championship tricky. "Losing that first game meant that qualifying would be difficult and that we had given ourselves a lot of work to do in the next two games. We were unlucky to lose to Blackhall Gaels that day and could have won or at least got a draw." However Ray believes that it was their second game against Simonstown, which disappointed the most. "We really could have beaten Simonstown that day. A few decisions went against us but overall we had the better of the game in some parts and losing that match was very hard because we realised we could have won." The final result was Simonstown 2-6, Ballinlough 1-9. Two championship outings, no wins and the relegation trapdoor was looming. But a determined Ballinlough side battled out a two-point win, 0-12 to 1-7, over Dunderry during their next outing in early August. The result also propelled Lydon's charges to a play-off collision against Blackhall Gaels. Ballinlough were confident of avenging the defeat inflicted on them earlier in the championship and set about wiping the slate clean. However they were overwhelmed by an on-form Blackhall outfit and lost 1-10 to 0-6. "That was disappointing. I mean I thought we were holding them at half-time and that we were still in the game but it was just a bad day. Blackhall improved a lot from the first time we played them and some things didn't go right for us in that game," admits Ray. Although they failed to get any nearer the senior football championship Holy Grail this year, Ballinlough ensured that their status in the top flight was maintained with the earlier win over Dunderry. Last year they beat Syddan in a relegation play-off but avoided such a scenario this time out. Thus the last twelve months were a step forward for the club. "I think we might have gone further in this year's championship and I would have liked us to but I guess in some ways the main thing was to stay up in the senior grade and we have achieved that. We certainly didn't set out with the sole aim of not getting relegated, far from it. We wanted to go as far as we could in the championship and in the process we stayed up but still we might have gone further with some luck here and there," he states. They also retained their proud Division 1A status this year, finishing up with three wins, four draws and four defeats. Remaining in the top flight is no simple task, with some of the best teams in the county contesting the division such as Dunboyne, Dunshaughlin, St. Patrick's, Summerhill, Skryne and Simonstown. Perhaps a true reflection on what Ray has achieved with Ballinlough this year is the fact that he was drafted in at the last minute to coach the team and in doing so, it was the first time he had ever managed a senior side. James Lovett was over the team at the start of the year but was also involved with the Cavan under-21's and found it difficult to commit himself to both. Therefore Ballinlough turned to Ray for help. "I was a selector with the team and was approached and asked if I would take over from James. So I said I would and took it from there." Although both his parents come from the West of Ireland Ray was born and reared in Ballinlough. From an early age he took a keen and active interest in playing for the club. He was regarded as a very good underage player and lined out at midfield for them in the 1977 under-12 final against Slane. His older brother Sean also played for the club and his mother has always been a big fan. Down the years he continued to play for Ballinlough and enjoyed a lot of success at various levels. He played an integral part in their 1988 Division Three league title success and also their 1989 Division Two league win. However the junior championship win in 1988 stands out. "That was a great achievement and great for the club. We beat Carnaross (0-11 to 2-4) in that junior final and it was brilliant." Ray was also captain of the 1996 Ballinlough side that won the Division Two league title and regards the 1997 and 1999 Division One league wins as "great memories and good wins for the club." Ray was a regular with the Ballinlough second string all year and his coaching pedigree has for some time now been very successful. He managed the Ballinlough under-12 and under-13 teams to trophies in 1998. The under-12 footballers won the Division Four title while the under-13's were victorious in Division Five. His success at underage level has given the rural club a huge boost and Ray is proud of the fact that some of the players he coached at juvenile level have already started to make an impact on the senior team. "We had about four minor footballers with us this year in the seniors and that is great for the future of the club. The minors who were involved this year never looked out of place and we should have a few more players coming on in the near future," he says. "The outlook is very good for Ballinlough because our younger teams and players are quite strong. The thing is to keep them playing with the club because sometimes you lose a lot of fellas because of work or emigration and so on. But if we can hold onto what we have here then we won't be doing that badly in the future." On the county scene Ray confesses that although he follows Sean Boylan's men, he has not attended a Meath game in almost three years. "I like to see them win like everybody else but I haven't been at a game in ages. I would be a follower but not a huge fan." Ray's lack of interest in the Meath cause is great news for Ballinlough, who receive his total and dedicated commitment. He has also tried his hand at hurling with Kilskyre on occasions in the past but says he "wouldn't be that good at it. I am definitely more of a football man." However reflecting on the year just gone Ray acknowledges that although he enjoyed the role as senior manager, he will not be keeping the position on for another term. "It was a great experience to be over the team but hard enough work also. I only took the job temporarily and nobody ever really intended on having me stay on long term and I never intended either so I won't be doing it again next year. But it was still a good experience." And so Ballinlough must go in search of a new man for next year but Ray's work will surely stand to the team in the future. The players responded well to him in the months he was in charge and they should continue to improve further next year. At a time when they had no manager and things slowly started to look desperate, Ray stood in and carried out the burdensome task successfully. In years to come don't be surprised to see many more of the players he coached at underage level make the breakthrough onto the Ballinlough senior team. Somewhere, inside or outside the fence, Ray Lydon will look on and will no doubt instruct and encourage the players he has watched and helped grow into men on a football field. He may have an official capacity or he may just be an interested fan but he will be there urging them on. Ballinlough are lucky to have him, because he has realised that like almost everything else in life you must work from the ground up. You might not notice the difference immediately but the results of your labour will bear fruit over time. Gaelic football is no different. Tweet

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