Survival was very much the name of the game for Kildalkey in the 2002 Senior Hurling Championship and it was a case of mission accomplished thanks to two victories over reigning champions Trim, the second in a relegation play-off. Kildalkey hadn't beaten Trim in the Jubilee Cup title race for several years, but two victories over their town rivals in the one championship campaign was certainly a noteworthy achievement, particularly as Trim were the holders of the trophy and because those wins were so important to Kildalkey as they maintained their senior treasured status. That unbroken run in the top grade stretches back all of 31 years to 1971 when Kildalkey won the Intermediate Championship and with a good batch of young players coming through to replace the more seasoned campaigners who have called it a day, the hope for the club is that they can steadily consolidate their position and develop a team strong and seasoned enough to challenge for honours and perhaps bring the first Senior Championship title to the club since 1951. It was ironic that Kildalkey were managed by a Trim man, Eunan McCaffrey, in a year that they defeated the Reds twice in the Senior Championship. McCaffrey, who was a highly successful player with Trim, played with the Meath senior team for a number of years and was a member of the Royal County panel that made the breakthrough in 1993 by winning the All-Ireland SHC 'B' Championship with a memorable final victory over London at Ruislip. His brother Ivor lined out at left corner-forward in that decider, helping to make it a very special triumph for the McCaffrey family. Kildalkey, with McCaffrey having taken over at the helm from Eddie Priest, were drawn in group A of the Senior Championship, a section that also included Longwood, Rathmolyon, Dunboyne, Killyon and Trim, and a punter would certainly have been offered highly attractive odds about champions Trim ending up in the relegation dog fight at the bottom of the group. But that's exactly how it turned out as Kildalkey tied for bottom spot with Kildalkey on two points, both having managed one victory and lost their remaining four matches. Dunboyne, who went on to reach the final where they went under to Kilmessan, and Killyon emerged as qualifiers from the division. However, it was very much a game of survival at the other end of the table and the performance in the second half of the play-off against Trim, which ultimately secured Kildalkey's senior status, must give the club's supporters most to enthuse about as they eagerly look to next year and beyond and dream of championship glory. Reflecting on the 2002 championship campaign and their survival after the threat of relegation, Kildalkey secretary John Canty was delighted that they had stayed in the senior ranks and very enthusiastic and upbeat about the future. Indeed, he is already looking forward to the 2003 campaign. "It was a long time since we had beaten Trim in the Senior Championship and then we beat them twice in the one competition," he said. "It was good to survive. We have a lot of young lads in the team, including Seanie Corrigan (a son of one of the club's most wholehearted players 'Crash') and Enda Keogh, both of whom are still at school." Kildalkey opened their SHC campaign against Longwood at Boardsmill and appeared to have every chance of making a winning start until the 'Wood struck late to dash their hopes. Ray Dorran scored 1-6 in that match and it was his injury-time goal that snatched a dramatic victory for Longwood on a 1-13 to 2-9 score line. Next up were Rathmolyon and Kildalkey went under by 12 points (2-16 to 2-4). They lost narrowly by 2-10 to 2-8 against a strong Dunboyne side in round three which killed off any hopes the club might have been entertaining of reaching the semi-finals. However, that performance at Kilmessan against a team that was to ultimately go so close to gaining outright honours was highly encouraging from a Kildalkey point of view, especially with survival in mind. Though beaten, the team's resolve and commitment certainly couldn't be questioned. Killyon booked a semi-final ticket when defeating Kildalkey by 0-13 to 0-6 in the fourth divisional match at Longwood and that meant one thing - a crunch assignment in the final game of the section against Trim. It was a pressure occasion, especially for a team containing so many young players, but Kildalkey responded in the manner their supporters would have hopes for as goals proved the key to a very important victory. McCaffrey's side edged through by the minimum margin on a 3-7 to 0-15 score line and their senior status was safe for another few weeks at least. Enter Trim once again for the divisional relegation play-off and when Kildalkey trailed by 10 points at half-time they looked all set for a dreaded head-to-head against Athboy, with the losers going down. But Kildalkey, to their great credit, produced a remarkable turnaround and ended up winning by just two points (2-11 to 2-9) to preserve their status in the top flight. What followed for Kildalkey was that mixture of joy and absolute relief that goes with winning tense relegation battles. Trim, on the other hand, had to prepare themselves for the relegation final against Athboy which they won by 1-6 to 1-4 to avoid the drop to intermediate level. After surviving in the top flight Kildalkey will hope the whole experience of playing in those pressure matches against Trim will stand to them, especially with so many young players in their team who will develop and improve with time. "We are certainly looking forward to next year's championship with a young team," added John Canty. "We are hopeful, especially after that second-half performance in the divisional relegation play-off against Trim which was very encouraging." Not surprisingly, the Kildalkey junior team failed to make an impression in the JHC after a lot of players had to be promoted to the senior side. "We had to draw a fair few players from the junior team onto the senior side," secretary Canty recalled. "Naturally, the juniors suffered as a result." Apart from the senior team surviving, another pleasing aspect of the 2002 hurling year for the Kildalkey supporters was the showing of the versatile Seanie Corrigan with the Meath team that reached the All-Ireland MHC 'B' final where they were edged out by Carlow. This very talented youngster looks capable of turning into a high quality senior player and the Kildalkey supporters will certainly monitor his progress with interest. Tweet

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