After two years competing at intermediate level St. Paul's were relegated to junior ranks at the end of 2001, instead of bouncing back, a combination of injuries and defections saw the Clonee side barely hold onto Junior A status. To understatement," said Michael Fox in the aftermath of St. Paul's 2-13 to 1-4 victory over Bellewstown in the JFC 'A' relegation play-off on September 15. For the Dublin border side it was a year to forget. Back in the junior ranks for the first time since their championship-winning year of 1999, the St. Paul's side saw themselves slipping further down the greasy pole. "We lost up to ten players through defection, injuries and loss of form. Confidence was destroyed and despite a great effort from a lot of people it just didn't happen for us on the field" said the Chairman. Bellewstown controlled the early stages of the play-off, but the turning point came when the 'Paul's were awarded a penalty 20 minutes in. John Dyer converted and the Clonee side never looked back. "We controlled the second-half and I had little to do," says Fox who doubles as the side's goalkeeper and takes full responsibility for the goal he conceded in stoppage time. Thankfully for him it didn't alter the outcome. Richie Gibbons and Robert Barker took joint charge of the side this year. Newcomer, Rory Kissane from Tipperary was a 'Goliath' at midfield against Bellewstown, according to the chairman. Others to impress on that occasion were Sean Moyles and Ian Kenny. In the opening round of their JFC campaign they went down by 0-11 to 0-9 to Meath Hill, which set a trend for the rest of the championship in which they won just one match, the final group game against Athboy to force a rematch in a group relegation play-off. Defeat by the minimum condemned them to that relegation play-off with Bellewstown. In the chairman's view it shouldn't have come down to a play-off. "We blew it against Meath Hill in our opening championship game. We dominated them and were up two points going into injury time and then conceded four points from play. We lost Cormac Finn and his replacement David Kane through injury." "We were well beaten by our neighbours from Ratoath, who were a much keener side on the day. We had Eamonn Moyles sent-off in the eagerly awaited local derby against Dunboyne and they played the extra man very well." They beat Athboy by 1-9 to 1-8 to force a group play-off in which the west Meath side emerged winners by the minimum on a 0-7 to 0-6 scoreline. "It was probably fair that we won one and Athboy won the other. It was a case of two extremely poor sides struggling to stay at this level. When it became clear midway through the second-half we were going to win the play-off with Bellewstown, a huge weight was lifted off our shoulders. We relaxed and played with pure belief and showed what we are capable of." Billeted in Division 2 of the league, their campaign began with a six-point defeat the hands of Seneschalstown and was followed by narrow defeats to intermediate sides, Syddan and Ballivor. This was followed by a 0-15 to 0-9 loss to Castletown, while Walterstown had 13 points to spare in the following match. They earned just one win from eleven outings and when the leagues resume in the spring they will operate in Division 3 along with Drumconrath.Clonee is very much part of the Dublin commuter belt and continues to expand but this development hasn't impacted positively on the club yet. "We haven't benefited from the influx of people into the area. Those who are still playing tend to stay loyal to their own clubs, though we got one useful player in Rory Kissane, who is a very good forward" said Fox. The club organised a leaflet drop in a bid to recruit players from the growing population but with little success. The juvenile scene is administered jointly with Dunboyne under the banner of St. Peter & Paul's. But such is the population explosion on the outskirts of the metropolitan area that Fox can see another club springing up in the area in the not too distant future. The club which was founded in 1975 following the demise of the Flathouse club faces the prospect of trying to find a new home as the M3 set to cut right through their current abode, where they have been tenants for over 25 years. "Laurence Ward who owns the land has been very generous to the club and looked after us very well. Our pitch is one of the best in the county. The land is very well drained and there have been many times it was one of a few pitches playable in the county. Finding a new home will be difficult," adds the Chairman. The high profile departures of Anthony and Barry Moyles weakened their player base but the Chairman points out that they left with the blessing of the club. "We are not in the business of stopping players progressing and would never knowingly refuse a transfer." Two other brothers, Sean and Eamonn are still involved with the club. St. Paul's are one of a growing number of Meath clubs with their own website. By logging onto www.stpaulsgfc.com you can get details of league and championship fixtures, leaves messages and get the latest club news. It has links to other GAA websites in including www.hoganstand.com .Administered by Brian Gogan, it has had about 10,000 hits since its launch three years ago. Despite the poor results in 2002 Michael Fox is optimistic for the future of the club. One source of optimism has been the performance of their second team in the reserve league who are still in the running for promotion from Division 6. The clubs hopes to acquire a new home in the next twelve months so that they are in position to make a smooth transition to a new base when work begins on the M3, something the chairman doesn't expect before the end of 2003. "When we secure a new site there will be a lot of work to be done. So the sooner we can organise something the better.The field will have to be ploughed, harrowed and reseeded. It will be a big job." On the playing front he is both optimistic and realistic about St. Paul's prospects for next year. "I think we can be competitive in Division 3 of the league. Regarding the championship, there isn't a team I would be afraid of. There is no outstanding side at junior level. If we can get our act together and get a bit of a run going, I think we'll be okay." Regarding the future of the small Dublin border, club Michael is upbeat. "We've been through worse times and survived. We're here for the long haul!" Tweet

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