In the end it didn't really matter! Gaeil Colmcille's senior footballers had just outplayed and outclassed Dunboyne in the opening round of the 2002 championship. They had become contenders, genuine contenders. However an inexplicably beleaguered performance followed against a struggling Summerhill side and their first round heroics had suddenly been cancelled out. Gaeil Colmcille had enjoyed one fine day, but it was short lived. They had crushed Goliath but been slaughtered by David. Not many people were tipping the Kells club for glory prior to this year's championship, but they had a huge belief in themselves. The players actually pooled together their own money to place a collective bet on Gaeil Colmcille lifting the Keegan Cup. A replica of the betting slip was enlarged, laminated and pinned to the club's notice board. In their first championship outing in April they overwhelmed Dunboyne, running out deserved five point victors, 1-10 to 0-8. The bet was looking good. Tommy Donohoe was there that evening, and the club's County Board delegate was pretty impressed. "I thought we played very well against Dunboyne in the first game. We looked good and got the scores at the right time," he says. Tommy has been a Gaeil Colmcille stalwart since the 1970's and was part of the senior panel that last won the championship in 1991. Down through the years he has played in almost every grade and in almost every position for the club. During his playing career Tommy held various positions within Gaeil Colmcille, including vice-chairman and vice-secretary. Since hanging up his boots however he has been a senior selector on a number of occasions. He is well known by everybody in the club and like most he believes that the second round defeat to Summerhill was a huge blow to the team's championship aspirations. "We were very disappointing, especially in the second half. We should have done better and could have but that was a bad result, especially as it came on the back of the Dunboyne victory." The final score saw Summerhill cruise to a commanding win, 2-12 to 1-4. It was to be Summerhill's only victory in the group. The defeat had taken the momentum out of Gaeil Colmcille's sails and they faced the onerous task of playing defending champions Dunshaughlin in their last group game at Simonstown in early August. By all accounts it was a poor game played in atrocious conditions with neither side finding their rhythm. It was hard uncompromising stuff in which three men received their marching orders, two from Gaeil Colmcille. It finished level at six points apiece but it was enough to earn the Kells side a play-off place against Dunboyne. They were still in with a shout. However they had to face Dunboyne without the influential Henry Barry because of the straight red card he received during the Dunshaughlin game. The other man to be sent-off that day, Derry Hunt, was eligible to play. Gaeil Colmcille started the match brightly with Hunt in particular proving effective in the centre of the field. However Dunboyne raced away in the early stages of the second half, picking off scores with ease. The impressive Justin Carry-Lynch was introduced and proved a handful for the Dunboyne rearguard in the second half. Nevertheless by the final whistle Gaeil Colmcille had only reduced the deficit to four points and Dunboyne progressed, 1-17 to 3-7. It was the end of their championship road. Gaeil Colmcille's league campaign got off to a disappointing start and they were relegated after failing to recover from two early defeats in Division 1A. Way back in February they lost by the minimum to Dunderry, 1-6 to 1-5. Then Kilmainhamwood notched up a two-point victory, 0-12 to 0-10, in early March and Gaeil Colmcille appeared to be struggling. However they beat Donaghmore/Ashbourne in their next league fixture, 3-6 to 0-11. It should have been the catalyst to spur the Kells side on but two defeats in succession followed, at the hands of Simonstown and St. Patrick's respectively. A win over rivals Navan O'Mahony's gave them hope of battling back up the table but worse was to follow. Summerhill, yet again, disposed of Gaeil Colmcille, 3-17 to 1-6 in June, and their relegation dogfight was looking extremely precarious. A defeat to Dunboyne followed and as they prepared to face north Meath neighbours Ballinlough in October, Gaeil Colmcille knew that nothing short of victory would suffice. However at the final whistle the sides were deadlocked on nine points apiece and Gaeil Colmcille's fate had been decided. At that stage, with nine games played, they had won two, lost six and drawn one. They were second from bottom on five points, with Donaghmore/Ashbourne on the basement floor with only three. However all the sides directly above Gaeil Colmcille were on ten points and so their final two games in the league were irrelevant as the gap couldn't be closed. Next year Gaeil Colmcille will hope that by competing in Division 2A they can get back to winning ways, and with good results, comes confidence. Tommy agrees and suggests that the future is not looking too bad. "We have a lot of good young players coming on and they should be making the breakthrough onto the senior side over the next few years. The likes of Gary Arkins, Shane Flood, Deeko Smith and Phil McCabe are all talented footballers and they are looking good for the future. Robbie Flanagan, James Flanagan, Justin Carry-Lynch and Simon Cahill for example have already made the breakthrough to the senior side and they have been helped immensely by Connor Ferguson and the other established players on the team. The likes of Larry Manning, the late Mattie Smith and others have been instrumental in bringing a lot of young players onto the junior C team through the years. Many of those players have progressed onto the senior side and that helps the club develop. But I think we need to rebuild a little at senior and if the lads put their minds down to it they could do very well," he states. "However it is important that we keep fellas because we have been losing players through emigration and so on in recent years and that has not been good for the team. If we keep the current crop together and add a few new faces then we will improve," he adds. The seniors Feis Cup challenge withered away against Kilmainhamwood in late July. In a tight game it was Kilmainhamwood that had a goal to spare at the end, 2-11 to 1-11. Meanwhile in the juvenile set-up, the Round Tower's minor footballers enjoyed a good run in the championship before stumbling at the penultimate stage to Wolfe Tones. This year he may have been a supporter but in the recent past Tommy was handing out the orders inside the fence as a senior selector. His popularity can be gauged by the fact that he has been a selector under several coaches such as Martin Barry, Tony Dunne and Ray Cullivan. In 2002 Colm McEvoy was in charge but Tommy opted out to concentrate on being the club's County Board delegate. Indeed his GAA CV makes for impressive reading and Tommy is one of very few men to have been part of both the intermediate success in 1986 and the senior triumph in 1991. "I played corner-back in the 1986 championship when we beat Meath Hill in the final. I battled on for a few years after that and was a sub in the 1991 senior final when we beat Walterstown. I was suffering with back-trouble at the time but still after all my years it was great to be part of that success," he admits. He also won a Division 2 league in 1986 and a Division 1 league in 1991. In 1994 Tommy was a selector on the senior team that won the Division 1 league title. In the twilight years of his playing career he played with the club's junior sides. He lined out everywhere from full-forward to goalkeeper, and in doing so can boast playing alongside almost every footballer who has come up through the club in the last 15 years. In his day Tommy also picked up a hurl, enjoying a number of successful years in the '80's. In 1980 he was part of the successful junior championship side and in 1988 he was involved in the club's intermediate championship triumph. However it is the future, not the past, which concerns Tommy these days and like everybody else in the club he is hoping that next season Gaeil Colmcille can reproduce the form they showed against Dunboyne in the opening round of this year's championship. It was a step in the right direction and although it didn't matter in the end, it was still a commendable performance. This Kells outfit just need to achieve more consistency because if nothing else, they proved this year that the talent is there. In fact they only played badly in the second half against Summerhill and likewise against Dunboyne in the play-off this year. Apart from that, they did not seem too far off the championship pace set by the 'bigger teams.' They drew with the eventual champions and enjoyed one fine day against Dunboyne. However next year many people throughout the county will regard Gaeil Colmcille as rank outsiders, but it is a challenge they will relish nonetheless. More displays mirroring that Dunboyne performance last April and they won't be too far away. That is what went wrong in 2002; they only played to their potential once all season. Gaeil Colmcille played like Keegan Cup winners that day, but it didn't really matter, in the end. Time to Usher in a new legacy The town of Kells enjoys a vivid history. It is a 'Heritage Town' speckled with monuments of a legacy long gone. Intimidating yet glorious Round Towers, mossy Celtic Crosses, St. Colmcille's House, the overgrown Abbey and the famous Book of Kells. They are all reminders of a past greatness. Each one has left their own distinct mark on the town, a timeless history of illustrious storybook streets, and a certain powerful legacy. Nestled somewhere amidst this history is Gaeil Colmcille, a GAA club, which for all its efforts in the last few years must also rely on past glories and triumphs. For too long now they have huffed and puffed but ultimately failed to blow the championship house down. But things could be about to change. By Gordon Manning. The intermediate hurlers were bundled out of this year's championship at the penultimate stage by Wolfe Tones. Last year the hurlers lost to Athboy in the intermediate final. They have been knocking on the senior door for some time now and eventually it will have to open. If it does it will be largely thanks to the enormous amount of talent coming through the underage ranks. Central to all of that has been goalkeeper Charlie Usher. The 18-year-old has had quite a year between the posts for both club and county. He was the goalkeeper for the Meath junior hurlers that lost to Antrim in the All-Ireland final in Clones. "It was a good experience for me to play with the juniors and it helped having Conor and a few other fellas from Kells there also. In the final against Antrim we were unlucky and they got an unfortunate goal, but these things happen." The Meath junior coach, Martin Curran, was also involved with the Gaeil Colmcille hurlers this year and Charlie insists that his game improved as a result. "Martin brought about a lot of good changes in my play including quicker releasing of the ball and making a quick decision to find a man and so on. He certainly helped improve my game." On the club front Charlie admits that this year was unsatisfactory and that the hurlers had set out with the aim of winning the middle grade championship. "I thought I played well enough this year but overall it was still disappointing to lose against Wolfe Tones. I don't think many people at the club would say we had a good year because we wanted to win the championship and that is what we set out to do," he states. Apart from the defeat to Wolfe Tones, Gaeil Colmcille only lost one game in their entire group campaign. A fantastic start to the championship saw them go four games unbeaten. In April they beat Na Fianna 1-9 to 1-7 and then comfortably dismissed of Trim 1-9 to 0-3 in May. Impressive performances against Donaghmore/Ashbourne and Killyon followed and helped them secure two more wins before they faced Kilskyre in early July. There the Kells side suffered their first defeat of the year, 2-12 to 1-6, and so the next game against Drumree carried extra significance. Both teams were in with a chance of making the final but a loss for either would have ended any hopes of championship success. Gaeil Colmcille triumphed 2-7 to 0-8, with Charlie pulling off some top-drawer saves to keep out the Drumree forwards. But the 3-10 to 1-10 play-off defeat to Wolfe Tones in early October meant that all of their heroics in the early part of the championship accounted for very little. However Charlie disagrees. "We are definitely improving every year and there are a lot of good young hurlers coming through and they will help us get even stronger. The games brought us on this year. We also have some great fellas here who have been playing for ages such as the Ferguson's, Benny Reddy (this year's Meath minor football coach) and Tommy Shine, so if we can keep the current group together and bring in some new young players as well then we should be looking good I'd say." Charlie also plays Gaelic football for the Kells side and has been able to juggle both with much success in recent years. He says that Conor Ferguson, well known and liked within the club, was the biggest influence on his career and admits that although he is no longer a young fella, Conor remains "a great hurler, some man." Currently studying Civil Engineering in Athlone Charlie's long-term sporting ambition is to play for the Meath seniors. "Eventually I would like to play for them and they have come on an awful lot recently. Under Michael Duignan they have improved and Mark Gannon is not only a good goalkeeper, but he is also the captain as well. I think hurling is starting to get better all over the county and that should improve the Meath team also," he believes. As for goalkeeping heroes around the country the great Davy Fitzgerald is never far from anybody's lips but Charlie insists that although he would like to be as good as the Clare number one he is certainly "not as mad as him. I'm a bit quieter," he laughs. Charlie already has an All-Ireland intermediate medal, after being drafted into the Meath panel for the 2001 final against Wicklow and has won the young hurler of the year award with Gaeil Colmcille also. If all goes to plan Charlie will wear the number one jersey for the hurlers again next year. The majority of this year's team should also be present, including a number of other rising stars, such as Robbie Flanagan, Brian Black, Colin Newman, Robert Burke and Niall Flanagan. All five played in this year's championship and they remain the former side of 25. Peter Maguire missed out this term due to injury and his expected return should further bolster the strength of the team. Niall Flanagan is the oldest of that group, and the 22-year-old can also see a bright future for hurling in the club. "I think we have many reasons to be hopeful because of all the young players coming on and they will keep improving year after year with more experience," he says. The bank official is another Kells man who was kept busy in the last 12 months, as he was also a central figure in the senior footballers quest to capture the championship. Indeed the Flanagan name has been associated with the club for decades now. Both Niall's uncles Robbie and Kieran, and his father Tommy, have played with the club in the past. Furthermore Tommy is currently a selector with the senior footballers. Niall is continuing the proud Flanagan tradition in the club and has also represented the county's hurlers at under-14, under-15 and under-16 level. "It was great to be involved with Meath and I really enjoyed it. It was a fantastic experience and the coaching you receive at that level, even at that age, is very good and of a high standard," he states. His silverware cabinet is quite full for a player of so few years and Niall can boast an under-21 hurling championship medal, an under-21 football championship medal, under-13, under-14 and under-16 hurling championship medals and a primary school football medal. But still he wants more and hopes that under coach Martin Curran he can soon add an intermediate hurling championship medal to that collection. "We were all very disappointed this year but we will come back and give it a shot again next year. Martin has a great knowledge of the game and has brought us on a lot in hurling terms. He is very dedicated and all the lads responded to him. Hopefully in the near future we can win the championship." The last time Gaeil Colmcille won the intermediate hurling title was in 1996. In Meath hurling terms it is a lifetime. These days the legacies of past glories are hung up on the walls of the club's Gaelic centre bar. There are many proud photographs of winning teams from days gone by. After training every night the current crop of player's regularly have a Lucozade or Club Orange in the bar. As they sit and chat the eyes of history stare down upon them, and with each barren year that passes, the burden to win grows ever greater. Charlie Usher and Niall Flanagan don't seem perturbed though, because sometime in the near future they are confident that silverware will be brought back to Kells. There is a gaping photograph space waiting on the wall of the Gaelic centre bar. The time has come for the current group of Gaeil Colmcille hurlers to create their own legacy. Tweet

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