Clearly Red and White
December 31, 2002
Damien Lynch was only seven when he pulled on a Moynalty jersey for the first time. In the 18 years since, football has afforded him the pleasure of good days and the pain of bad ones. Unfortunately 2002 produced plenty of the latter, as Moynalty now find themselves at a football crossroads.
Having been relegated from the intermediate football championship in 2001, the north Meath club were expected to be strong contenders for the junior title in 2002. However the challenge never materialised and they were actually lucky not to finish bottom of the pile. Damien, as always, was an ever-present in the side and admits they were lucky to stay up: "When we were knocked back down to junior after being intermediate the year before we were all extremely disappointed. We hoped to turn things around this year but it was a disaster. We really struggled in a lot of the games in this years championship but thanks be to God we didn't get relegated. We really were lucky enough to survive," he concedes.
And so in the space of only two short years it appears Moynalty have lost their way. They used to talk about capturing the intermediate championship but despondently, for some, success is now considered remaining in the junior A grade. But if it is one thing people in Moynalty have it is an abundance of pride. The village, seven kilometres from Kells, won the National Tidy Towns award in the Meath area for the eighth time in succession this year. They are a close-knit community and wish to see their team back in the intermediate championship again. And the talent is certainly present in the panel. Talk to anybody in Moynalty about the football team and there is one word, which is used over and over again, 'potential.'
However in recent times many have questioned the players' commitment to the Moynalty jersey and this year coach Mattie McCabe walked out after watching his side slump to a league defeat at the hands of Ratoath in late June.
Moynalty lost 0-13 to 0-9 and McCabe decided he had had enough. "At the start of the year Mattie was training us but he left half way through our campaign because he felt fellas just weren't putting in the effort. He left that evening we played Ratoath in the league. We lost and after the game Mattie just walked out. He didn't tell us he was leaving or anything, we were just told when we got back into the dressing room that he was gone," explains Damien.
Losing the former Meath player as their coach didn't help morale in the camp but Damien believes that Willie Govern and Charlie Smith deserve a lot of credit for filling the void left by McCabe: "The only ones that kept it going after that were Willie and Charlie. They put in a lot of effort to keep us all training away for the rest of the year and fair play to them."
The only victory Moynalty enjoyed in the championship was a 1-11 to 1-8 victory over Bellewstown in June. It was to prove a vital result as Moynalty finished second from bottom, just ahead of pointless Bellewstown. Apart from that win, the red and whites suffered defeats at the hands of St. Michaels, Moylagh and the Wolfe Tones. However they were very unlucky against Bective, losing only by the minimum, 0-9 to 0-8.
Damien played most of this year at centre half-forward and although obviously frustrated by the results, the 25-year-old can see the club climb back up the ladder to the intermediate grade in the near future: "We are hoping next year that we can get back to intermediate football and I believe we are good enough. The team has great potential and I know it is clichéd but we have a very young bunch of players. David Murtagh would probably be the oldest on the team and he is only about 28 or 29. He is the only one of us in that age bracket. The rest of the lads range from 17 up to 26 or so and therefore the potential to build is definitely there."
Damien's family have always been associated with Moynalty and his father also lined out for the red and whites.
Indeed it is thanks to him that Damien got involved: "I'm playing football with Moynalty since I was about seven. My father, lord of mercy on him, played football with them and I remember when I was younger he used to throw a load of young fellas into the auld car and take us off to play a few games. That is really how I got involved with the club and the game really. My brother, Thomas, has been playing football for years also, so it has always been in the family."
Damien's talent was evident from an early age as he led the Moynalty under-12 team to championship success. It is something he was honoured to have achieved and rates it as one of his best football memories with the club: "Certainly when we won the under-12 championship and I was captain, that sticks out in my mind. It was brilliant to win something when we were so young. I also recall winning a minor championship with St. Ciaran's, which is an amalgamation of Moynalty and Carnaross. They are probably the best memories of my days with Moynalty so far but I suppose we are all hoping for better ones in the future," he smiles.
Damien, who works for Coca Cola, also wore the coveted Meath jersey on a number of occasions in his formative years. He played in various Meath set-ups from the age of 12 to 18: "I remember playing for Meath in Croke Park. It was only an under-12 blitz but it was still a great experience to play in Croke Park. I also played for Meath at under-16 and minor level. Paddy Carr was over us at that time with the minors and he was a great trainer but unfortunately Offaly beat us in a Leinster championship replay down in Tullamore."
The likes of Daithi Regan from Carlanstown and Ronan Farrelly from Oldcastle were on the Meath minors back then in 1995, and both went on to be involved in Sean Boylan's Meath seniors at different stages. However following the drawn game with Offaly in '95, fortune played a cruel joke on Damien: "I played the first day against Offaly and that was on a Saturday. On the Sunday I went out to play with Moynalty in a championship game and unfortunately fractured and dislocated my finger. I ended up missing the replay. That really was a disaster. I was involved with Meath from under-12 to minor but it hasn't happened since, but sure that's the way it goes I suppose."
It would probably have been the biggest game of his life had he played against Offaly. Some of those minors went on to achieve better things with the county and Damien had the ability to join them, until fate intervened. He never played for Meath again. For many young footballers it would have been a time for wallowing in self-pity, a chance gone, perhaps forever. In essence Damien was at a crossroads in his football career. It would have been so easy for him to turn his back on the game and walk away, but that wouldn't be in his character. He laced up his boots, just as he had been shown when he was seven years of age, pulled on the Moynalty jersey and got on with playing football. He realised that nothing could be gained by standing at a crossroads for too long. Since then he has been one of Moynalty's most consistent performers.
These days however, it is his club that must decide the direction they are to take at a crossroads. Straight-ahead is intermediate championship football, where they belong, while back down the road, the junior B grade awaits. It is up to the players to stand up, take responsibility and show the rest of the county that the last few years were just a blip. It is true that the club have suffered quite a few knocks in recent times but Damien Lynch has proven his resolve by simply dusting himself down and getting on with things. It is time for his teammates to follow suit and realise their obvious potential. The crossroads loom for Moynalty now, and only the players can decide which road the club will venture down.
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