So near but maybe not so far
December 31, 2002
Though the year ended in disappointment for Navan O'Mahony's first teams in both hurling and football, there are grounds for optimism for 2003. However, looking at the bigger picture Club Chairman, Louis Kinsella feels clubs deserve a better deal form the County Board.
Louis Kinsella, who is coming to the end of his three-year term as Chairman of Navan O'Mahony's believes the County Board should do more to look after the interests of ordinary club players. He points out that they account for the vast majority of players within the county and yet have to look on while the local championships are held up during the best playing days of the year, writes Liam O'Rourke.
"It isn't right that the senior, intermediate and junior football championships should run so late. Clubs should be allowed to use county players at least eight days before an inter-county championship match. I'm a great supporter of the county team but the current situation is killing club football. The introduction of the back-door system at inter-county level has put a huge strain on club fixtures," he maintains.
During his term in the chair, Kinsella has overseen big improvements at the Brews Hill club. The entrances to the grounds and clubhouse have been enhanced. But, most striking of all has been the installation of an impressive set of floodlights.
On the playing side, Louis is disappointed with the way the year ended, but optimistic about the future.
By the end of August Navan O'Mahony's were on course for an immediate return to senior ranks in football and had booked their place in the last four of the senior hurling championship with four straight wins. In the end things didn't turn out as players and supporters of the Brews Hill based club hoped.
"It started disappointingly and ended just as disappointingly but we had some great days in between. Overall, it was a good year," was how football coach Finian Murtagh summed up the year.
"We retained our place in Division 1 for a start. It was great to get to the intermediate final considering the way we started, but disappointing to lose."
Some mightn't regard the league as important, especially when you consider that Trim, Seneschalstown and Blackhall Gaels made great progress in the senior football championship despite being in Division 2 of the league. But Finian Murtagh believes playing in Division 1 is important in terms of team development. "Retaining our place in Division 1 is important for the young lads coming up. It gives them a chance to play against the top teams on a regular basis" he adds.
O'Mahony's won their final five league games to secure their status in Division 1 having been rooted to the foot of the table without a single point after six games. They opened their league campaign with defeats by Skryne, Dunshaughlin and Dunboyne. The IFC campaign began with a major setback, a one-point defeat at the hands of Na Fianna, who held out for a famous victory despite a strong rally by the Navan lads. "Against Na Fianna we held our own and in the end we were very unlucky not to get a result out of that game," says the man affectionately known as Fino.
Wins over Syddan, St. Ultan's and Moynalvey raised the spirits. His charges were then very lucky to leave Summerhill with a draw after sharing the points with Ballivor in the group stages of the championship. O'Mahony's dominated for three quarters of the hour, but a strong finish saw Ballivor go three points clear and the game entered stoppage time. But, a late goal from Stephen Bray gave boys in blue and white hoops a draw. However, with Na Fianna still leading the chasing pack behind Ballivor that result left Murtagh's Men "needing snookers". The break came from an unlikely source when Moynalvey, later relegated to junior ranks, surprised the Baconstown-Enfield combination and left
O'Mahony's vying with Donaghmore-Ashbourne and Drumree for the second-semi-final spot on offer from the group.
"The development of the team over the last three or four months has been very positive. Early on we were chopping and changing trying to get a formula that worked," Fino reflects. This new found stability was reflected in performances and results in league and championship. Despite playing most of the hour with 14-men following Stephen Bray's early dismissal, they ground out a result against a dogged Donaghmore-Ashbourne side on a damp August night in Dunshaughlin.
Drumree needed to shock O'Mahony's in the final group game to force a play-off with the Navan side. To their credit they had them within their sights for 50 minutes before Stephen Bray on return from illness and suspension saw off their challenge with two late goals.
From the outset of the IFC it looked like a case of "two against the field" with Ballivor expected to meet the side demoted after 51 seasons at senior level, in the decider. However, both Slane and Duleek went close to upsetting the odds in the semi-finals and O'Mahony's need the benefit of personal and positional changes before overcoming Duleek.
Some observers claimed O'Mahony's played the better football in the final, but what matters is that Ballivor got the scores that counts and all the Brews Hill side can do is wish Ballivor well and take heart from their perseverance.
Hurling
"I would be very optimistic about next year," says Hurling Committee chairman Pat Coone despite the disappointment of losing to Dunboyne in the SHC semi-final. O'Mahony's won their first four group games to clinch their place in the penultimate round of the championship before losing the final group game to relegation threatened Dunderry.
In retrospect he feels they were unlucky to lose to Dunboyne and might have fared better had Paul Connell and his own son Padraig been available. The one-point victory over Kilmessan on a very wet midsummer's night in Athboy was the highlight of the year. The junior hurling team also reached the last four, but lost to Dunboyne by ten points. On a positive note, the under-21s have reached the final of the 2001 competition and are bidding for their sixth title in succession.
Junior Football
Not so very long ago O'Mahony's were struggling to field a team at junior level and the decision was taken to regrade the third team as Junior C. Donal Finnegan and Ned Cahill have been at the heart of the renaissance of junior football at Brews Hill. With Finnegan at the helm and assisted by Cahill and Richie Brennan the club won the Junior C title in 2001 with an exciting blend of youth and experience. Brennan stepped down at the start of the year and was replaced by Ronan Mallon, who also lined out with the Junior B side.
It is a long time since Navan O'Mahony's were competitive at Junior A level but after a shaky start they reached the semi-final. The campaign opened positively with a good win over Gaeil Colmcille, but hopes of a good championship run were dented with defeat by Dunderry. The club's second side rebounded with convincing win over Skryne and forced a share of the points with Kilbride, thanks to a Gary Nelson point from an acute angle deep in stoppage time. A strong finish against St. Brigid's set them up for the final group game against table toppers Nobber. O'Mahony's put on their best display of the campaign and emerged victorious on a 3-10 to 2-12 scoreline to force a three-way play-off which also involved Dunderry, who it turned out were drawn to meet the losers of a Nobber-O'Mahony's rematch.
Once again Finnegan's charges came up trumps and advanced to a semi-final meeting with Dunsany. "We just didn't perform on the day" says Donal on reflection, "whether we were overconfident or not I don't know". The club's third team were eventually eliminated by Longwood who went out to Summerhill, the eventual winners, in a replayed semi-final.
"We had a good year, but when push came to shove we were playing against first teams. The highlight was beating Nobber twice. We lost Robert Duffy and Stephen Murray to the intermediate team and Gerard Brennan went to America on a soccer scholarship," Finnegan points out.
The installation of floodlights at Brews Hill are huge addition to the club both for matches and training. Occasionally they can cause problems as Finian Murtagh explains. "An odd time when the ball go up into the lights you tend to lose track of it. Buy if you are playing in the middle of summer and the ball goes up into the sun, you are going to lose it as well."
Underage
At underage level the club are not winning titles with the regularity they were in the late 90s in Paddy O'Brien's opinion, "these things go in cycles."
On St. Patrick's Day, the minor hurlers beat Kilmessan in the 2001 final to clinch their fifth title in succession, while the minor footballers, bidding for a three-in-a-row, are due to meet Dunboyne in the semi-final. The sides meet in an epic Under-16 final two years ago, which the Dublin border side won on the third attempt.
The under-16 footballers outscored Simonstown by 0-15 to 1-7 in the decider, while the under 12 hurlers were narrowly beaten by Kiltale in the final. The involvement of three players on the Meath minor football team was a boost to the club. Goalkeeper, Marcus Brennan and forwards David Murtagh and Barry Regan played key roles in Meath advance to the final. In addition Regan was selected on the Ireland U-17 international rules squad which took on Australia in a three match series at Easter, Brennan was the club's only representative on the Vocational Schools panel which won provincial honours for the first time in a quarter of a century. The club's involvement with Meath minors wasn't restricted to the playing side as Peter O'Toole was a selector and Jackie Murray tended to the players injuries in a role she also carries out with great efficiency for the club.
All things considered the club has good reason to look to 2003 with confidence.
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