Kildalkey's bid for senior hurling championship honours was ended by Trim in a play-off last August. County senior panelist Dan Fagan looks back on a year that promised much but delivered little as he explains. Kildalkey's attempt to end 50 years of senior hurling championship famine was dashed by Trim in a play-off at Longwood on the last Sunday in August. The south county outfit could have few complaints about the outcome as they were well beaten on a 3-11 to 1-7 scoreline. Kildalkey were never really in contention after being 1-3 to 3-4 in arrears at the interval. They improved slightly in the second half but Trim refused to relinquish their grip on proceedings and ran out deserving winners. What made the year especially frustrating for Kildalkey was their failure to beat Navan O'Mahony's in their final senior hurling championship group game. Had O'Mahony's - who themselves were out of contention - not salvaged an equalising goal deep into injury-time, the blue and whites would have went straight through to the semi-finals and Trim would have been out. "We're still haunted by that O'Mahony's goal," admits promising Kildalkey hurler Dan Fagan. "We more or less had that game won when O'Mahony's were awarded a free about 60 metres out. A high ball was sent in and somehow it ended up in the back of the net. We couldn't believe it because we had a semi-final place within our grasp," he adds. Kildalkey had the look of serious championship contenders after the first two rounds of the championship. After a narrow victory over Boardsmill in the opening round at Longwood, they emerged as comfortable winners over Dunboyne at Trim. In their next outing against Kiltale, Kildalkey leaked six goals but still managed a draw. But their unbeaten run came to an end when they lost to eventual champions Trim by two points in a tense contest at Athboy. Then came that aforementioned draw with O'Mahony's which set the scene for the important rematch with Trim. Fagan, who played both under 21 and senior hurling for Meath last season, recalls that Kildalkey went into the play-off in a confident frame of mind despite their earlier defeat to Trim. "We definitely fancied our chances," he says. "Trim might have beaten us narrowly in the group stages but we felt confident of reversing that result. But as it turned out, they were far hungrier on the day and nothing went right for us. It was very disappointing as we felt all year that we had a great chance of winning the championship after such a long wait." While accepting that patience is running thin among supporters, Fagan - who is also a noted footballer with Ballivor and was outstanding in their run to the intermediate final - hasn't lost hope of Kildalkey capturing the Jubilee Cup in the near future. "We have a few fellas who have been playing hurling for a long time now but I'm hopeful that they will stay on for another year or two and help bring the younger lads through. We have five or six lads around the 21 age mark and they need to be playing alongside experienced players." A member of the Kildalkey team that won the Under 21 'B' Championship at Killyon's expense last December, Dan is the latest player from the club to break into the Meath senior team. Having played at midfield for the county under 21s in the early part of last year, he received a surprise call-up to the senior panel last July. "I wasn't expecting it all, it came out of the blue," he explains. "I had played for the county all the way up through the ranks and it was great to be given a chance at senior level. I only joined the panel in July and within two months, I was lucky enough to win a All-Ireland Intermediate 'Open Section' Championship medal." Fagan was introduced as a substitute in the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship wins over Wicklow and Carlow and hopes to be still involved when the National League gets underway in February. "It was a big step-up from club hurling but I enjoyed it and I can only improve from playing with the county. Meath will be playing some of the top teams in the country in Division One of the National League next year and I'd love to be a part of the set-up," he says. It wasn't a bad year for Kildalkey at underage level with the club's promising batch of under 18s reaching the Minor 'A' final which they lost to Navan O'Mahony's by 6-6 to 1-13. Played at Trim the evening before the All-Ireland football final, the game was dominated for long periods by O'Mahony's but they still found it difficult to shake off what was a very determined Kildalkey challenge. Seeking their fourth minor title in as many years, the town side laid the foundations for victory in the opening quarter when goals from Barry Egan, Graham Macken and Shane McKeigue put them firmly in the driving seat. Damien Moran added a fourth to leave O'Mahony's 4-2 to 0-8 to the good at the interval. Kildalkey made a bright opening to the second half with top scorer Tony Fox scoring four points in quick succession. Fox, who shot eight points overall, was proving to be a real thorn in the side of the O'Mahony's defence at this stage and they were forced to make a number of positional changes in an effort to thwart the Kildalkey comeback. Eventually, the Navan men regained the upperhand and they made victory safe five minutes from the end when Derek Loughran netted their sixth goal. Kildalkey full back Tommy Masterson came forward to scored his side's only goal with time almost up but by then, O'Mahony's already had both hands on the Tony Donnelly/Joey Loughran Cup. However, despite the disappointment of that final defeat, optimism is high in the parish due to the quality of the young players at the club's disposal. When you then add the players like Dan Fagan as well, you can understand why Kildalkey are mentioned as serious Jubilee Cup contenders. The question now is when will the success come? Sooner rather than later is the feeling. Tweet

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