It has been a long three years for Slane. Following their relegation down to the Intermediate Championship in 1999 they had hoped to bounce straight back up within 12 months. However for the time being the notorious middle grade remains their competitive home. This year Slane lost to the eventual champions Ballivor in a semi-final. In 2001 it was Blackhall Gaels that ended any aspirations Slane had of promotion. Sardonically Blackhall also went on to win the Intermediate Championship that year. Knowing that both those teams will now play senior football is a bitter pill to swallow for Slane GAA folk, but it also shows that they are not too far away from making the step back up the ladder themselves. Through it all club chairperson Patricia Harding has never given up hope, believing that Slane will come good sooner rather than later. "We were very unlucky in a few of the games we lost this year such as against Rathkenny in the championship. That was an absolutely terrible wet and mucky day. Then in the semi-final against Ballivor we conceded a bad goal in the last three minutes when the sides were level. But we have a good young team here with an average age of only around 23 or so." Patricia's role as chairperson of the club is quite unique, not only in Meath GAA, but also perhaps across the entire country. "I'm not sure if I am the only female chairperson of a club in Ireland! There could be a few more somewhere but I don't know. I did ask somebody once to find out for me but I still haven't got a conclusive answer," she says. Originally from Skryne her father, the late Tommy Murphy, and brother JoJo both played for the Tara outfit in the past. However she is a dedicated Slane aficionado these days and her husband Jim actually coached the club this year. Jim played minor and under-21 football for Meath, winning a Leinster championship with the successful 1980 minor side. Slane's championship campaign got off to a great start with a 2-6 to 1-8 victory over St. Colmcilles in early April. However defeat to Rathkenny followed, 0-10 to 1-6. That result put huge pressure on the team for the remainder of the championship, as they could not really afford to lose again. They responded superbly by beating both Castletown and Carnaross in their next two matches. Castletown fell first, 2-8 to 1-6, before they beat Carnaross 0-14 to 2-6 in early August. A three-point defeat to Duleek put extra significance on Slane's final group game against relegation strugglers Drumconrath. However they played well and overcame the Drumconrath challenge 1-12 to 1-5. The final outcome of the group saw Duleek finish top of the pile with Slane and Carnaross having to fight out a play-off to determine which one of them would advance to a semi-final. "I suppose we knew that we could beat Carnaross because we had done so earlier in the championship so we were confident enough. However the first time we played them they were without Ollie Murphy so he was a big boost to them when he returned. We played well on the day though and I think we deserved to win. It actually meant a little bit more to the players to beat Carnaross with Ollie Murphy playing," admits Patricia. The final result gave Slane a 1-11 to 1-9 victory. And so a semi-final date with Ballivor loomed up ahead. Ballivor had been beaten in the previous two finals in the grade and were once again on a strong charge to this year's decider. However very few, if any, teams wanted to face Slane and Harding's charges fancied their chances against Ballivor. "We played well enough but a lucky goal beat us. I mean it was tight pretty throughout the game and it was level at ten points apiece with only three minutes left. Then they just scored the goal and it killed us completely. Ballivor went on to win the championship but we were close to beating them, really close. We just have to build on that next year and as long as we play to our potential we should do well," believes Patricia. In the end four points separated the teams, 1-11 to 0-10. When she is not dealing with matters of a football nature the friendly chairperson keeps herself busy running the cosy Failte B&B in Slane village. However Patricia points out that she is extremely fortunate to have so many hard working and devoted people around her in the club. "We have a very dedicated committee here in Slane with the likes of Eilish, Ann and Adrian among others doing a lot of good work. I would also like to mention the effort put in by the selectors and coach, Eamon Hoey, Larry Kearns and Jim. Brian Wogan and Oliver Gough also carried out immense work all year. They have been great doing all the background things such as making sure there is water for games, sorting out jerseys and so on, while Jim Mullery was always on hand as medical officer. Everybody involved in the underage set-up also deserves praise after a successful year for the club in which they won the under-14 Division 4 title by beating Bective. The under-16's also had a good year and were unlucky to lose in a league quarter-final." In the league the Slane adult side also proved to be one of the strongest teams in Division 3A this year, narrowly missing out on promotion. In total they played eleven games, won eight and lost three. Those defeats came at the hands of Moynalvey, Oldcastle and Wolfe Tones. Slane finished third in the table with 16 points, only two adrift of both Oldcastle and Wolfe Tones, who finished top on 18. Slane's league triumphs came against Curraha, St. Michaels, Duleek, Moylagh, Drumree, Dunsany, Rathkenny and Athboy. "I suppose we had a reasonable league run but we were just a bit disappointed not to have finished a little bit higher. Still we played fairly well and won most of our games," says Patricia. The good news for Slane is that Patricia Harding has no intention of going anywhere in the next few years. "I will stay on as chairperson if nobody else goes for the job and if they still want me to do it," she states. And so as the year draws to a somewhat mundane close, Slane face another season in the middle grade of Meath football. It is of course the toughest championship to win, with any amount of teams capable of going all the way in any given year. Slane have learned how difficult it is to negotiate a safe passage back to senior football but they have dealt with it commendably. Many sides that have dropped down from senior in the past have struggled to make their mark. As recently as 1997 Navan O'Mahony's were lifting Keegan Cups. However in 2002 they lost to Ballivor in the middle grade final. Next year will be the real challenge for them. And that is where Slane have shown their strength of character, because since their relegation in 1999 they have been there or thereabouts come the shake-up of the Intermediate Championship. The first year was a transitional period and then they fell to Blackhall Gaels in 2001. This year it was of course Ballivor in a semi-final. In the coming 12 months Slane will look at those aforementioned teams competing in the upper echelons of the county game and realise that on their day, they had the beating of both. But instead of mulling over what might have been they will aspire to go all the way in 2003. Yes it has been a long three years for Slane. It seems a lifetime ago now that Graham Geraghty lifted the Sam Maguire and Robbie Williams headlined the annual Slane rock concert in 1999. Geraghty, the Meath captain that year, has since announced his intention to quit playing Gaelic football for the county and focus his intentions on rugby instead. Robbie Williams was huge in 1999, filling stadiums all over Europe. His popularity has waned in recent years though as the world discovered new idols. All the time the footballers in the village of Slane went quietly about their business. Their journey to get back up to the senior grade has continued pretty much unnoticed. But that might all change in the near future. This Slane side are young, talented and will no doubt be among the pre-championship favourites next year. Yes they have remained quiet in recent times but coincidentally Robbie Williams once released an album titled 'Sing when you're winning.' As of yet they have not achieved their goal of promotion so there has been little to sing about. But don't bet against Patricia Harding and Co. belting out a few classic numbers next year. Tweet

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