Grit and determination marked Ballinlough's year at underage level in 2001. Defeats in two finals during the year was hard to take. Later on in the year the north Meath club gained under 17 honours but the club's under 14 players showed tremendous courage also to make little of their travails and lift the North League Division 4 crown as mentor Tom Brady reminds us. Tom Brady hands out the bouquets to his fellow Ballinlough clubmen as if he was master of ceremonies at a church wedding. So many are given a metaphorical slap on the back by Tom that you wonder is he in the business of politics. The stalwart gael is no politican and, one suspects, he has little interest in canvassing support for high office among the red and whites. Instead, giving credit where credit is due is simply the the man's modus operandi. In the frontline but taking a back seat at the same time - that's big Tom Brady. Much like many another ardent clubman involved at the heart of underage matters, he recognises that a true division of labour among the grass roots is the hallmark of a cup-winning juvenile section. He's pleased to acknowledge that Ballinlough's underage brigade has got that winning feeling right now: "We've got a few good people looking after the youngsters and that's very important because it won't be that long before you're looking to them to do well for the club at adult level." Indeed, while all belonging to the Ballinlough club continue to chomp at the bit in search of a long-awaited senior championship title in Meath, the notion that time may not be on their side is one which is universally held around the county. As such, the need to re-invigorate the underlings is all the more essential - and that's where the likes of Tom Brady comes in. Of course, the business of recruiting and nurturing of young talent is made all the easier when silverware is close at hand. 2001 was comforting and most helpful in that respect for Ballinlough as the north Meath bastion of all that is proud and passionate in the world of Gaelic games came good in the under 14 Division Four North Football League decider at the tail end of July. Ballinlough's 2-10 to 2-5 win over Carnaross in the county final was as sweet as it was dramatic for the players, the supporters plus Tom and co along the sideline. But, Tom explains, expectations weren't that high in Ballinlough circles at the start of the year. Expectations as far as the under 14 troupe was concerned wasn't that far elevated above respectability. "The fact that it was many, many years since the club won the under 14 league made us wary of setting unrealistic targets for ourselves. That made our win in the final all the more satisfying. "At the start of the year, we were hoping to do well but we didn't honestly think we'd do as well as we did. And when the foot-and-mouth restrictions got a grip on things, training and preparations took a back seat and we sort of reckoned that while our under 14s were our best hope of success, we'd just take it one game at a time." The sometimes twice weekly training sessions for the under 12s and under 14s, combined, and the willingness of both the players and the teams' mentors to give it their best shot in 2001 was to reap rich dividends for Ballinlough though. Tom - vice chairman of Ballinlough's juvenile committee - says he enjoyed helping out with the training and preparation of the young players in his role as "second in command to Sean Smith." "Sean has been involved in training underage teams in Ballinlough for a long number of years and he puts in a fantastic effort. "As far as I'm aware Sean has been involved for the guts of 20 years now and seeing that he's now retired from Gypsum, hopefully he'll have even more time to spend with the youngsters," Tom quips. Significantly, Tom is quick to point out that team-work is alive and well both on the sideline and on the field of play. In this respect, he pays due credit also to the work put in at underage level in Ballinlough by fellow committee members, Nuala Kane (Secretary), Pat Smith, Pauric Maguire and Jim McCabe. Meanwhile, as far as the club's outgoing under 14 panel is concerned, Tom emphasises the point that all 20 players on the squad were all gung-ho in 2001 and as talented as any of their peers in the county. Truth to tell, the Ballinlough boys looked the part from early on in the campaign and though they had to work hard in each of their matches, there was an obvious sense of self-improvement as the year wore on. "The lads were very easily managed, very keen and the fact that a good few of them had been successful at Cumann na mBunscoil level with the local national school gave them that bit of an appetite to win some more medals. "The local school is important and the club is fortunate in that Mrs. Usher, the principal, has always shown a lot of goodwill towards the playing of football there. We also have benefited from the work put in by the coach Gary McDonnell. "The progress we've been making at underage level was reflected in the fact that this year was the first year we competed at under 10 level when we had a few tournament games we organised against Ballinacree, Moynalty, Carnaross, Oldcastle and Carlanstown. "Being able to field a team at under 10 level is a good boost to the club. In previous years, we just didn't have the numbers and fellas who played for us at under 12 level missed out on the experience of not having played in any real games beforehand. "You could see the way the under 10s came on with every game they played in the tournament - their handpassing, the way they played their positions and their ability to pick the ball up on their toes," adds Tom whose sons Philip and Matthew were both members of the all-conquering Ballinlough under 14 panel in 2001. And the progress made by the title-winning under 14s in 2001? "They came on in leaps and bounds too. They were very keen from the start of the year and did everything they were asked to do. "The team was very strong right through the middle. We had some very good scoregetters in the forward line, our midfield worked very hard and our defence didn't concede too many frees. "The fact that the team came back so strongly in the league after losing to Athboy in the division three championship final said a lot about the character and determination of the players." So what went wrong in the championship? "The players didn't do themselves justice but the fact that the county board put on an under 16 game the day before our under 14 match didn't help. A lot of our under 14 lads played in both matches and you could see them getting tired towards the end of the game against Athboy. "I think it was very unfair of the county board to make us play that under 16 match the day before the under 14 championship game. Some of our lads made mistakes in the under 14 game through sheer tiredness. We objected to the fixture being set. We're a small rural club and we can't be expected to field two totally different teams at under 14 and under 16 levels. Needless to say we got nowhere with our objection. "Having said all that, Athboy deserved to beat us in the championship. They were the better team on the day and once they got their goal in the last ten minutes, they pulled away from us to the end. We were disappointed to lose to them because we had beaten them the year before at under 12 level "Fair play to the lads though for coming back so well for the league campaign. The fact that some of the players were on the losing side against Longwood in the under 16 final was a blow that others mightn't have got over but our lads dug deep and came good in the end in the league," adds Tom who learned the rudiments of the game as a youngster many moons ago under the tutelage of Johnny Gaynor and Frank Nulty and who later served the club as a defender at adult level for many years. And so it proved to be third time lucky for Ballinlough at underage level in 2001 when, following defeats at under 15 and under 14 championship levels, the red and whites did the business in the under 14 Division Four North Football League competition. With Lisa and Sarah Finnegan back from holidays to take their place for the final, Ballinlough approached the league decider with their near-neighbours Carnaross in justifiably confident mood. Played at the well-appointed Carlanstown venue, it was the opposition that got off to the proverbial flyer in the final. Ballinlough were visibly rattled as they fell 0-0 to 1-3 behind with just over 20 minutes of the first half gone. Like true champions though, Ballinlough rolled up their sleeves and hung in there. The winners-elect were to be rewarded for their resilience with three precious points thereafter which left them trailing by a solitary goal at the interval. Carnaross were equally determined though to lift the cup and another goal for them put their opponents under immense pressure as the tempo of the game increased relentlessly. Ballinlough poured forward with intent and were duly rewarded when getting through for a brace of match-winning goals. Final score; Ballinlough 2-10 Carnaross 2-5. So how did the Carlanstown celebrations go? "Great, everyone was delighted. It was a tremendous way to finish the year but the lads deserved it for all the work they put in through the year. Winning the league came as a great boost to the club and hopefully we can build on this success in the coming years." Watch this space! Players on that successful Ballinlough under 14 squad included: The Finnegan twins Lisa and Sarah, both Meath underage stars. Padraig Ryan who, as full back, had an outstanding game in the final against Carnaross. Philip Brady. Like his dad Tom (see interview) another corner back. Eleven year old brother Matthew was a substitute. Joey Gaynor. Only 12 and yet an outstanding half back. Lorcan Maguire was captain of the team and a brother of under 16 and 17 star Conor. Dessie 'Junior' Reilly, who was good enough to play on the club's under 16 combination. Cian Mallon. Another 14 year old with the ability to make the jump up to under 16 level. His 12 year old brother Colm was titled 'super sub'. Joseph Farrelly, a strong half forward. Matthew McGrane, a cousin of Damien McGrane, a well known Irish golfer. David McCabe, who was equally at home on the half or full forward lines. Catherine Gaughran, who showed the boys exactly where the goal posts were and notched 2-2 in the semi-final against Moynalty. Alan Smith was another who knew where the sticks were and broke Carnaross hearts with a final day tally of 1-4. Robbie Farrell, a speedy forward who likewise contributed handsomely on the scoreboard. Joe Keelaghan arrived in the parish from Navan and was a useful substitute. Susan Farrell is a sister of Robbie's and another vital panel member. Brian Carolan is only 12 and is a great grand nephew of Meath 1949 star Charlie Smith, who sadly passed away a few months past. On their road to their League Final win over Carnaross, Ballinlough beat Slane by 2-9 to 1-0, Nobber 7-8 to 2-7, drew with Carnaross 4-7 apiece, beat Moynalty 5-9 to 4-6 and again in the semi on a 3-10 to 2-3 scoreline. In the championship the Reds also made it to the final but Athboy proved that little too strong on a 2-11 to 0-9 scoreline. Earlier, Moynalty were overcome 4-14 to 0-3 and Dunderry 1-19 to 2-7. Ballinlough's progress at underage level continued when the Reds under 17s beat Walterstown for Division 3 honours at Drumbaragh in early November, the final scoreline 2-5 to 0-6. Manager Vinny Ryan has carried out a tremendous amount of work on these young lads over the past two years and it showed on final day. A much better balanced Reds selection generally held the upper hand over a hotly fancied Walterstown. Goals from 15 year old Derek Muldoon and John Farrell proved crucial. Another under 15 starlet David McEnroe, raised three white flags while Muldoon's older brother Padraig, hit 0-2. At the games end Minor Board representative Eugene Comiskey from nearby Carnaross handed over the silverware to Ballinlough captain Terence Fagan. Terence's uncles Jimmy and John (Jack) were key members of the Meath squad who were beaten by Galway in the All-Ireland decider of 1966. The winning Ballinlough side was: B Balfe, B Smith, C Maguire, J O'Keeffe, N Geraghty, G Smith, P Muldoon, M Gaynor, T Fagan, D Muldoon, N Finlay, J Farrell, D McEnroe. Sub - M Briody for Gaynor. Tweet

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