Want to finger a club which boasts a catchment area of rich potential, a burgeoning well of player numbers and the sort of work-in-progress off the field befitting All-Ireland club champions? Look no further than Ratoath GAA. One can readily imagine Ratoath putting a few well-powdered noses out of joint at the top echelons of Meath football in the not too distant future. Such is the potential and scope for development of the south Meath club that rivalling the likes of highly-vaunted neighbours such as Dunshaughlin is not a far fetching idea. Indeed, the ongoing developments of their headquarters fairly reflects the level of ambition and dedication inherent among the club's current hierarchy. Certainly, it's very much a case of all hands on deck down Fairyhouse way and, apparently, also only a matter of time before the Good Ship Ratoath pulls into the most prized ports Meath football has on offer. Making tracks to calmer, more suitable climes is something all concerned with the best interests of Ratoath GAA are working towards. It is noticeable that all the infra-structure which nominally complements the bid for silverware is being put in place. The re-seeding of the premier pitch, the installation of appropriate fencing and laying of new roadways and the development of a second pitch are all redolent of a club with plans to go places. Stone collectors take a bow! A new clubhouse is also in the pipeline which, according to club secretary Richard Quigley, will incorporate four dressing-rooms, a physio room, ref's room, bar and large function room and possibly a gym sometime in the future. A very go-ahead club, Ratoath is well-positioned financially to seek to achieve its ambitions with regard to facilities. In this respect, the very successful race day held by the club at Fairyhouse at the end of February last, the golf classic last August and its weekly lotto suitably embellished the coffers during 2001. That said, the hard-working committee and friends at Ratoath will be hoping that the progress that is obviously being made off the field of play will soon be complemented by success on the football and hurling fronts. In the short-term though, it appears that patience will be required of the Ratoath faithful as they await the delivery of some silverware from their adult crews. In this respect, it must be said, that the return in 2001 was less than what was hoped for. In truth it was a disappointing year overall on both the hurling and football fronts at adult level although the loss of some key players to the US (holidays) was a mitigating factor in the failure of both the footballers and hurlers to make it to the quarter-finals of their respective competitions. "We should have beaten Wolfe Tones," club footballer Brian Rooney insists. "We played very well in the first half but lost our way after half-time. "We always knew it was going to be difficult to beat them but we were still confident that we could sneak a win because we had been showing some good form in the championship up until that game. "It's a pity we didn't beat Wolfe Tones because it would have put us into the quarter-finals - the fourth year in a row we'd have reached that stage. At the start of the year we felt we were good enough to make it to the semi-finals at least but we didn't perform the way we should have." Preparations were good then? "Yeh, we couldn't have prepared any better. Training for the championship went well but I think our failure to make the most of the possession we won cost us dearly. "We had a problem all year with making our work out the field pay dividends in front of goal. It's a problem that we can rectify though with a bit more work on the training field and I'd be optimistic that with a good batch of young fellas coming through in the next year or two that we can go that bit further in the championship the next time around," the hard-working midfielder opined. At 32, Brian is one of the elder citizens of the Ratoath junior football team and, having played adult club football since he was 17, is arguably the most experienced player at the club these days. So is the club in need of more experience within its ranks? "Not necessarily. I don't think we're that far off the pace. The junior championship is a very tough competition to win, possibly the toughest competition in the county but there's a very even standard among the teams and any one of a number of teams could win the championship in any given year," adds Brian who would love to add to the medals he won as a minor with the St. Martins amalgamation side in times past. Interestingly, Brian does accept that the club's form in division four was poor and says that the threat of relegation should never have been an issue for Ratoath in 2001. "On our day, we're as good as any of the teams at junior level in the county but we need to be more efficient in front of goals and more consistent overall during the year. For instance, we lost a lot of games in the league when we really shouldn't have. We threw away the chance to win several games," Brian reminds us. There have been better times, more successful days down Ratoath way but Brian feels that the days like when the club got to the Junior A decider and the Division Four title in the same year in the early nineties could well return, sooner rather than later. "We have plenty of a good squad of players who are keen and committed. It wasn't unusual to see over twenty under 21 players training together during the year. The club has a lot of good young footballers coming up through the ranks and I'm very optimistic for the future well-being of the club." And one can fully appreciate just where Brian's optimism is derived from as the the club appears to be heading in the right direction, at least if the positive vibes mandating from the juvenile ranks are anything to go by. While patience will be required from those within the club anxiously waiting to see some success arrive at adult level, the promise being shown by some of Ratoath's up and coming young footballers offers great hope for the local faithful. For instance, the club is understandably proud of the fact that five of their number i.e. Keelan Fahy, Diarmuid Brennan, Donal Kirwan, Ken Fitzmaurice and Mark Reilly featured on the Meath squad which won the All-Ireland under 16 'B' hurling title during the year by defeating Carlow. On the football front meanwhile, the juvenile committee - under the chairmanship of John McMahon - has been doing outstanding work with youngsters from six years upwards and there are high hopes in particular for the current under 10s. All the other age groups have been making steady progress too while the under 17s and under 21s include several players who look likely to be ready to bolster the junior team in the coming year or two. Looks like better times lie ahead for the gaels of Ratoath! Tweet

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