Killyon last won the Meath SHC in 1991. On the last Sunday of September the same year Kit Mitchell came off the Killyon bench and scored the winning goal in the junior hurling final against Donaghmore. The club had won both the senior and junior titles. At the time hushed whispers about a continued reign of Killyon dominance echoed ominously around clubrooms all across the county. However during the intervening years Killyon have failed to win the senior hurling title again. These days Kit Mitchell is chairman of the club and Killyon have become the nearly men of the Meath game. This year they lost to Kilmessan at the semi-final stage when it looked like they were the strongest team in the county. The fact that Kilmessan went on to win the championship will be of little consolation to Killyon. Out of all the twelve teams that competed in this year's senior hurling championship they were the only side that remained unbeaten in the group stages. In fact their unblemished record saw them play five and win five. Current assistant secretary Eanna Greene watched most of the 2002 senior championship from the sidelines and admits he also believed Killyon were heading for the title. "It certainly looked like we were going all the way. We were unbeaten until the semi-final and having seen the hard work and commitment the lads had put in I thought we were looking good," he confesses. The friendly bank official has played with Killyon seniors for many years now but was only a sub in 2002 because of an injury. He did however play for the intermediate side that contested the championship this past year. But it is the senior title that everybody wants to win and Killyon got off to the perfect start with a victory over St.Peter's Dunboyne, who coincidentally went on to face Kilmessan in the decider. In early June they beat Longwood 3-9 to 2-5 and by the end of the month they had also accounted for Trim, 2-5 to 1-6. July brought another victory, 0-13 to 0-6, against Kildalkey as a wave of optimism began to spread around the club. Their last game in Group A saw them win by a whopping 32 points. The team on the receiving end were Rathmolyon, 6-22 to 1-5. Having topped the group they faced the second placed team in Group B, which happened to be Kilmessan. They drew initially but Killyon lost the replay. "We probably should have won the first game and I suppose we feel we left that behind us on the day. We were the team that had shown the promise all year and carried that good form into the semi-final but it finished as a draw and in the replay Kilmessan had the advantage. Like in a lot of drawn games, the team that probably should have won usually end up losing the replay. I think Kilmessan had a bit of a psychological advantage going into the second game," admits Eanna. The final result of the replay was 1-14 to 1-6 in favour of Kilmessan. The intermediate side endured a tough championship, finishing second from bottom, but Eanna contests that they were very unlucky and that their final position in the table is not a true reflection of how they played. "We were narrowly beaten in a lot of those games and the results could have gone in our favour. It just seemed that most of the times this year we didn't have that little bit of luck. I mean if you take the two teams that made it to the final, Kilskyre and Wolfe Tones, both those sides only beat us narrowly with Kilskyre in particular only beating us by two points. "However it was disappointing results against Gaeil Colmcille, Donaghmore/Ashbourne and Na Fianna that cost them any chance of progressing in the championship. Their only victory of the campaign came against Trim, courtesy of a walkover. But as Eanna points out, Killyon also competed in the junior B championship and that is a mark of the success the club has had in encouraging young kids in the area to pick up a hurl. "We never had a problem putting out 15 players in this year's junior B championship. I think all the lads, whether they played with the seniors, intermediates or juniors deserve a lot of credit because the commitment they put in was second to none all year. It is great for the club to be able to field a third string side and have no problems in doing so," he says. Indeed commitment has long been a word associated with the club and they can boast countless numbers of hard working and diligent members, who are always willing to help out and develop the club further. "I think I speak for everybody involved when I thank Tom Lenehan (Lenehan's Bar and Lounge, Ballivor) for his amazing support and sponsorship over the past few years. It has really been appreciated within the club. "There are so many people that work hard to keep Killyon going and there is also a lot of credit due to Sean Ryan and his fellow selectors for their hard work and commitment over the past year." The signs of hard work are beginning to show results around Killyon as their ground redevelopment continues. A new topsoil has been placed on the grass and they have also erected a fence around the pitch. The dugouts and dressing rooms are due for a makeover shortly with work expected to be completed in the coming year. Eanna has also represented Meath at nearly every level of the game and won an All-Ireland under-16 hurling championship in 1989. Meath beat Wicklow 0-15 to 2-1 and Eanna scored an impressive 5-2 throughout that successful campaign. The 28-year-old regards the win as his best memory in the game. "It has to be my best memory because it is the only All-Ireland medal I have. Jimmy McGuinness was the captain of that team and Donal Curtis andMark Gannon also played." Eanna represented Meath at under-11, under-14, under-16, minor, under-21 and senior levels. "Maybe I could go the wrong way about it and get a chance with the Meath juniors next year if I play junior hurling with the club," he jokes. He also spent some time down in Tipperary where he played with St. Mary's Clonmel. "The game is much faster down there but hurling has really improved in recent years here in Meath. I think there are two main reasons for the improvements in the county. Firstly the underage set-up is well organised and seems to be achieving success already because we had our minors competing in the All-Ireland B final this year. Killyon had three players on that team, Calvin Ryan, Patrick Ryan and Padraig McKeown. With a good underage set-up the game will continue to improve in the future. Secondly Martin Donnelly's sponsorship of the game in the county has been absolutely fantastic and without such assistance it would be hard for the game to improve. He also implemented the 'Friends of Meath hurling' which is kind of like a supporters club and that will help the game get even more recognition. "However I think it is almost impossible for any county to compete at the highest levels in both football and hurling. Perhaps there are only one or two that can realistically challenge for All-Ireland hurling and football titles. In Meath, football is the number one sport and hurling probably suffers as a consequence but the game is still moving in the right direction at the moment," states Eanna. The aforementioned Gannon is the current Meath senior hurling goalkeeper and captain. Brian Perry also got a run with the county team this year and Eanna is confident that more Killyon players will get their chance under Michael Duignan in the near future. "There is a young element to our senior side and that is good for the next few years. I am probably one of the oldest players and I am not yet 30 so we certainly have a good young side." For Killyon twelve years in the senior championship wilderness is too long. It must feel like a lifetime ago now, but Eanna Greene is adamant that the current crop of Killyon players are capable of becoming senior champions. "I think we are strong enough. I don't think Kilmessan are all that much better than us and we could have beaten them this year. I honestly think that if we win one county championship, more would follow. With the new facilities and developments on the pitch next year would be an appropriate time to win it, but we'll just have to wait and see." Killyon may not have the best individual players in the county, but collectively they are probably the strongest outfit in Meath hurling. The senior championship is long overdue on the Hill of Down but it could be about to pay a visit to the area, soon. They certainly have the calibre of players required; all they need now is a bit of luck, a rub of the green if you like! Tweet

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