Kelly's Heroes
December 31, 2002
Success. A sporting illusion of grandeur to sit at the winner's table, or a fleeting moment in time when for once the spotlight is directed upon somebody different? Sometimes, just sometimes it is not about the competing, it's about the winning. And success has not been long coming to south Meath club Na Fianna. In only their third year of existence the amalgamation of Enfield, Baconstown and Rathmolyon's footballers captured the Division 4A league title in 2002.
After years of anonymity and obscurity these success-starved footballers are finally on the winning trail again. Success, it can mean so much sometimes. By Gordon Manning.
Of course Na Fianna needed some guidance along the way and that came courtesy of former Meath player Sean Kelly.
The friendly Dunderry man had been asked a couple of years ago to take the job but had to turn it down at the time. He did however promise then that he would eventually coach Na Fianna and he was true to his word.
As both a player and a coach Sean brings with him a successful pedigree. He led Dunderry to no fewer than three under-21 titles and also brought Cavan side Kingscourt to a senior county final against Gowna.
Taking the Na Fianna reigns in January Sean was impressed with the players commitment and attitude. However it was something else about them that really struck him. "They were extremely hungry and eager to win something. You could just tell by them at training. Sometimes if you are hungry enough, no matter how good or bad you are, teams can win things," believes Sean.
In truth Na Fianna have been knocking on the intermediate championship door for the last few years and their league triumph didn't surprise Sean. "We set out to win the league and thankfully achieved our aim in that regard. When I took charge I was going on the logic that an intermediate side should not be playing division four football."
There is little doubt that the Na Fianna players immediately responded to Sean and accordingly they got off to a winning start with a league victory against Bellewstown in February. "We played poorly in the first half that day but improved as the game went on and deserved to win," he says.
A string of victories ensued, including encouraging triumphs over St. Ultan's, 3-8 to 0-9, and Moynalty, 0-11 to 1-6.
However they fell to their first league defeat in early June against Ballinabrackey, 2-11 to 0-10. Due to bad weather the game was played in Kappa, Kildare but the black and yellows would have their chance to inflict revenge four months later in the league final.
Na Fianna responded admirably to the defeat and victories over Nobber, 2-9 to 0-9 and Kilbride, 2-15 to 0-11, soon had them back on track again. They remained the form team in the division for the rest of the season and found themselves waiting in the final for the winners of a Ballinabrackey and St. Mary's play-off in early October. "To be honest I was hoping Ballinabrackey would win because I thought our lads would respond better against them in a final because they had beaten us earlier on in the year and the players would want to lift their game against them, " admits Sean.
Ballinabrackey won and Na Fianna got the chance to redeem themselves in the final at Summerhill. "The big thing for me on the day was that everybody played well. Sometimes in finals players don't play to their potential but that didn't happen to any of the lads against Ballinabrackey. We got an early goal which helped settle us and we led 1-1 to no score after the opening few minutes. At half-time we were two points up and the players continued to play well in the second half." Na Fianna ran out one-goal winners, 1-12 to 0-12.
The historic title win means so much to Na Fianna Gaels who had gambled in 2000 when deciding to amalgamate. "It was a really big thing for the club and everybody was looking forward to it. I mean a league win in Dunderry might not mean that much to the people but for Na Fianna it was very special. The club had arranged a lot of things and thankfully the result turned out the right way," states Sean.
However their intermediate championship challenge fizzled out after getting off to an ideal start with a victory over Navan O'Mahony's, 2-6 to 2-5. The result against a club that had been playing senior football the previous year sent a wave of optimism around the club but they slumped to a defeat against Ballivor in their next outing. In 2001 Ballivor had trounced Na Fianna by 18 points and Sean's charges had hoped to set the record straight this year. However it was not to be, with the maroon and whites running out victors, 1-13 to 2-7, in late April.
In May Na Fianna beat Donaghmore/Ashbourne 1-8 to 0-10, in the first of two successive wins. Drumree fell next in early August, 2-11 to 2-9, and suddenly the south Meath club appeared to be heading towards a possible semi-final place.
"We had been playing fairly well and apart from the Ballivor game we had got off to a good start. However losing to Moynalvey (2-9 to 0-12) in our next game was a big disappointment. We were very unlucky that day and even missed a penalty," says Sean.
Following that defeat they lost to Syddan in their next match, 2-15 to 3-7, and any hope of progressing to the latter stages of the championship were pretty much gone. Na Fianna's final game was against a St. Ultan's team that were fighting for survival at the time. "They had more to play for in the championship at that stage really and were determined to get the victory." Na Fianna lost 1-11 to 2-5. However their championship campaign had not been helped by the loss of two key players, Martin Hanley and Shane Barrett, midway through the year. Had the two been available throughout the season they might well have gone further in the championship.
In his own playing career Sean has won three Leinster senior football championship medals, two National Football Leagues, a Leinster junior and under-21 title while playing with Meath. He also played an integral part in Dunderry's senior football championship triumph in 1995. He has been on the GAA merry-go-round for long enough to know a thing or two about the game and makes an interesting point about Na Fianna's future. "They need to create a tradition.
They have never been senior and in truth there is a vacancy down that part of the county for a senior team. If Na Fianna can establish themselves at senior and build a tradition they will do well."
However he points out that it might take more time before they make the step up the football ladder. "They possibly need a few more years together but the potential is certainly there. At the moment Na Fianna cannot afford to lose players through injury or anything else because the team will struggle to replace them. The bigger clubs on the other hand can get away with losing a player and still have the strength in depth to bring in somebody else.
"But there are some good young players here in the club and the under-16 lads were very unlucky in division 1 of the league where they lost to O'Mahony's in a semi-final. It is a good achievement for an intermediate club to have an underage team playing division 1 football," points out Sean.
On the hurling front Na Fianna finished mid-table in the intermediate championship. Having played seven games they won two, drew three and lost two. Na Fianna will be hoping to build on that next year as they only lost a number of those games by the narrowest of margins.
The good news for the club's footballers is that Sean Kelly is staying on as coach for a second year. Although their league success in 2002 might only have taken Na Fianna three years, in reality it has taken much longer. Prior to the amalgamation the footballers of Enfield, Baconstown and Rathmolyon competed in the junior grade, enjoying little or no success. Barren year upon barren year ensured that all too often they gained nothing but battered pride. They had competed without success for long enough.
And that is why this league win means so much, especially for those who were present at the birth of the Na Fianna club. It is vindication for their hard working player/secretary Mervyn Heffernan, Ollie Greville and all the footballers who were made believe they would never achieve anything in their careers.
Their moment in the spotlight has finally come. Success has a tendency of breeding further success so this may well be the first of many triumphs. The futures of both Sean Kelly and Na Fianna are looking good, but for the moment at least, the present is not too bad either.
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