Amazingly it is nearly 20 years since Walterstown last brought the coveted Keegan Cup out the road to Johnstown. But through 2001 a young Blacks selection continually placed down markers to say further glory days lay ahead. Before last October's SFC relegation play off between Navan O'Mahonys and Summerhill an interesting statistic was that the pair had shared 14 titles out of the previous 28 Keegan Cup triumphs. The former gained nine of their 16 overall successes during that period with the 'Hill celebrating after five finals. Of the ten clubs which lifted the coveted title since 1973, five of them were first time winners and as well as Summerhill, Walterstown chalked up five victories. The first of those came in 1978 when Christy Bowens had the honour of being the first player to lift the prized trophy on behalf of the Blacks. After losing out to O'Mahonys in 1979, Walterstown regained the title in 1980 and after against losing out to their Brews Hill rivals in '81, they bounced back to emerge as county champions in each of the next three years. However, then after those glory years, which also brought two Leinster titles and a couple of All-Ireland final appearances, Mick O'Brien's charges began to break up and the Blacks went down the slippery slope. But after a number of years in the senior wilderness, Walterstown have been working their way back up towards the summit and in 2001 they reached the last four of the SFC and went under by the smallest margin possible to Dunshaughlin in the second of the semi-finals. Ten years before that Walterstown reached the final only to lose out to Gaeil Colmcille, who took the title on a 1-12 to 1-6 final scoreline. There were four survivors of the losing side, Paul Browne, John McCarthy, Mark Farrelly and Ian Kearney, aboard for last October's penultimate round near miss when the holders scraped through by 1-11 to 2-7. One of the stars of the wonderful 1978 to '84 period, Ollie O'Brien, was at the helm for the 2001 campaign and certainly his charges did better than in the previous year in the display when losing to Kilmainhamwood in the last group game prompted a former player to describe what he had seen as "the worst witnessed in years." There are a few clubs in Meath who 'have no shortage of talented young footballers on the way up.' Of course, such does not guarantee success at senior level, - or even survival as O'Mahonys found out. Walterstown lifted the Delaney Cup in 1998 when defeating Dunderry in that year's MFC final and of that successful side, Gareth McGuinness, Karl Reynolds, Hugh Gribben, Charles McCarthy, Ronan Barry, Brian McCormack and Christy Reynolds all started the semi-final against Dunshaughlin. For the 2001 SFC Walterstown were drawn in the only five-team group and won three of their four games in the division with Summerhill holding them to level scoring in the other outing. Walterstown, who fell to Skryne at the penultimate hurdle in 1999, were quoted at 10/1 for ultimate success before the first ball were kicked last April but they had to line out without the suspended Paddy Reynolds for the initial outing against promoted St. Patrick's. Three of the Blacks' young hopefuls, Hugh Gibben, Christy Reynolds and Charles McCarthy, were on the Meath under 21 team which gained Leinster honours but selector Jack Gordon spoke of the frustration of trying to get all the players together on the build-up to the championship. "Still with so many good footballers to call on, a place in the closing stages of the SFC is a realistic target," remarked the former goalkeeper at the time. Ollie O'Brien was abroad on holidays at the time of the opening clash with the 2000 intermediate winners at Duleek and brother Mick took over as a decisive 2-11 to 0-6 victory was gained at the expense of opposition which also lacked the services of a county senior, Cormac Murphy. For that game Walterstown welcomed back Joey Farrelly, who missed the previous year's championship because he was in Australia, and Ronan Barry made his mark with six points, four from frees, and supplied the pass for Christy Reynolds to net the second goal. Donal Kennedy, better known as a defender, showed up well at centre forward and put his name on the first goal after his side led by 0-5 to 0-4 at the break. However, he was then was forced to retire with a shoulder injury which ruled him out for the rest of the campaign. Another former back whose transfer to attack worked well was Ian Kearney, who supplied the pass for Barry's goal. 'Walterstown take big step' was one of the headings after Trim were defeated by 3-5 to 1-8 at Dunsany a fortnight later. Ollie O'Brien was back and son Paddy netted the second goal. Christy Reynolds scored the first and the scoreboard read 2-3 to 0-2 at half time. He later set up Kearney whose low shot reaped goal number three. In that game it was a case of the team in black taking their scoring chances much better than wasteful Trim who accumulated 19 wides. The men in red and white had got on level terms (2-3 to 1-6) before Kearney earned a free which Barry sent between the uprights and then the former county panelist found the net. It was back to Dunsany for the Walterstown's third round tie in which Ronan Barry sent over 11 points in the 0-15 to 2-9 draw with Summerhill. The full forward's eleventh score, from a difficult free out of the hands, preserved the Blacks' unbeaten record. Ollie O'Brien and his assistants had their share of injury problems with Donal Kennedy, Gareth McGuinness, Charles McCarthy and Brian McCormack all ruled out the game against Summerhill. Still they were making light of the losses when leading by 0-14 to 1-6 going into the last quarter. 'Reynolds points way for Blacks' read one of the headlines after Walterstown became the seventh side to reach the quarter-finals, with a 0-13 to 1-6 victory over neighbours Seneschalstown. Christy Reynolds shot six points from play with five of them coming in the first half. Christy's better known brother Paddy was again 'out of bounds' and the Blacks recovered from an early Graham Geraghty scoring spell which yielded 1-1 to lead by 0-8 to 1-2 at the break. With Charles McCarthy and Ian Kearney kicking vital scores, Walterstown kept ahead in a game in which McCarthy and Geraghty both had penalty misses. The display in that Pairc Tailteann encounter was probably the Blacks' most impressive of the year and it raised hopes of bringing the Keegan Cup back to the club in the not too distant future. However, there was little sparkle from either side as Walterstown defeated Cortown by 0-9 to 0-8 in what was a dreadfully drab fourth quarter-final. The tie only came to life in the last few minutes and winners' netminder Ian Reilly deserved any slaps on the back after David Coldrick called an end to proceedings. Reilly, son of Sean, who was custodian during the clubs greatest era, made a crucial late stop from Gordon Codd, Ronan Barry also played a notable part in the victory, sending over six points, two from play. The winners finished with 15 against 13 after Cortown had two players dismissed in the closing seconds. Although Walterstown made the perfect start to the 'semi' against Dunshaughlin with an early goal from Christy Reynolds, their overall performance was rather patchy. The losers were guilty of missing a string of scoring chances with the usually Charles McCarthy the chief culprit. After 27 minutes McCarthy drove a penalty wide and after the change of ends the centre forward was off target from four frees. After falling eight points in arrears in the second period, Walterstown battled back strongly with a well struck goal by Joey Farrelly setting the comeback in motion. The Blacks sent over the last four scores with McCarthy (free), Brian McCormack and Christy Reynolds reducing the arrears before Paddy Reynolds lashed a free between the uprights for a point when three were needed. They ran out of time as the attempt to bridge the ten-year gap failed. After a year in which the Walterstown club lost stalwarts like Nicky Bowens, Richie Barry and Ciaran Browne, they certainly should not lose hope. They also lost their Division 1 League status, just two years after being beaten finalists. A late flourish which earned victories over Ballinlough and St. Patrick's was not enough to save them and the handicap of having to play so many games without county players proved a big burden. So did injuries to key players which reduced the options of the men along the sideline. Apart from those missing matches through injury or suspension, Paddy Woods did not figure much because of exam commitments and John Davis and Cillian Kennedy gave their first priority to rugby. While some people in Walterstown might argue that they got closer to the summit in '99 before slipping a bit the following year, whoever is at the helm in 2002 might have more of the key players more regularly available for training and games and that could give cause for renewed optimism. Christy senses Walterstown revival Once masters of all they surveyed on the Royal County's gaelic football landscape, Walterstown could quite accurately be described as a sleeping giant. With signs ominous that this great Leviathan is finally stirring from its slumber, club Secretary Christy Reynolds - who starred for The Blacks during their Golden Era in the 'seventies and 'eighties - tips Walterstown to regain the Keegan Cup within the next three years. If ever there was any doubting that Walterstown were moving in the right direction, their performance in the 2001 Meath SFC emphatically dispelled it. Beaten by the narrowest of margins by defending (and would-be) champions Dunshaughlin at the semi-final stage of the premier competition, Walterstown were decidedly unlucky not to go all the way. Considering the standard of football exhibited by the men in black during the course of the season gone by, it's surely only a matter of time before former glories are rekindled. Former midfielder and current Secretary Christy Reynolds is in agreement with this assessment: "While we were naturally disappointed to lose so narrowly in the semi-final, we feel that our form during the year augurs well for the future. We have a very promising team here at the moment, especially when you consider the calibre of player coming through from juvenile ranks. "In previous years, this team was probably just that little bit too young but that has been straightened out gradually and the players have matured into a strong unit. I think we'll win a senior championship within the next two to three years." Such a forecast must come as sweet music to the ears of all Walterstown supporters. Especially as it comes from a man who's no stranger to what it takes to go all the way (as a player, he won five county SFCs and two Leinster club championships). But is there a danger that Christy's getting carried away by the euphoria of one good year? No, actually: "I genuinely think we have the players. When you think about it, we only lost by one point to the team that went on to win the senior championship. Ollie O'Brien, Jack Gordon and Gerry McLoughlin did a great job with the team in a year that seemed to drag out forever. We had five players with the county U21s this year and were without them for training for most of the year but the team still gave a tremendous account of themselves." How does this current team compare to the one that terrorised opposition in Meath and beyond in the late 'seventies and early 'eighties? "I'd say the only real difference is that the present side is a little bit short of scoring power. But, apart from that, they're every bit as good." The Reynolds name is synonymous with Walterstown and Meath football, holding a special place in the record books with All-Ireland winners Pat and Paddy being the only father and son combination to have won All Star awards. Christy himself was one of four brothers on the team that reached All-Ireland club finals in 1981 and '84 while another brother joined them on the panel. Today, Christy is club Secretary; Paul and the legendary Pat are on the Finance Committee; and Ray is a former Treasurer. Between them, the Reynolds brothers of '70s and '80s fame (Gerry being the other brother) have nine sons on the current panel! Having already helped himself to an All-Ireland colleges medal with Gormanston in 1973, Christy played in his first county final in 1976 and his last in 1991, three years before hanging up the boots. That '76 SFC decider was Walterstown's first appearance on centrestage since 1968 and they were subjected to a humiliating sixteen-point drubbing by Summerhill. Two years later, however, they turned the tables in dramatic circumstances, pipping Summerhill by a point in the county final to claim the Keegan Cup for the very first time. A regular at midfield on the team, Christy went on to win five senior county medals in total, two Leinster club souvenirs and also played in two All-Ireland club finals. Unfortunately, they never quite managed to clear the final hurdle: "We were very disappointed not to win an All-Ireland club championship and I think that team was good enough to win one," he reflects. The first national final they played was the '81 decider against Cork champions St Finbarrs. Christy recalls: "A big bone of contention at the time was that the final was the first game where teams were asked to revert from the handpass back to the old boxed-style pass. All through the competition, right up to the semi-final, we'd been deploying the handpass and it was a skill we had more or less perfected." Then, all of a sudden, they were expected to play with different rules. Unusual circumstances also surrounded the club's second appearance in an All-Ireland club final three years later: "The semi-finals and final were played on the same weekend down in Athlone," Christy explains. "The semi-finals took place on the Saturday and we had to play the final on the Sunday. This was asking a lot of us as we had a bare panel of 17 lads. Eamonn Ward got sent off in the semi-final and Martin Barry picked up an injury. We were so short that we had to field a lad in the All-Ireland final who hadn't played a championship game for us all year." Such were his performances in the black jersey that Reynolds came to the attention of the county selectors in 1984 and '88. However, it's as a Walterstown player rather than a Meath one that he'll always be most fondly remembered. Since drawing a line under his playing days, Christy Reynolds has been heavily involved in the drive to strengthen the club's hand at juvenile level (he also acted as a selector to the senior team for a few years). Two-thousand-and-one was his first year as club Secretary. The former star player is delighted to report that the juvenile arm of the club is performing very well: "It's going really well," he relates proudly. "We reached the finals of the U13, U14, U15 and U17 leagues this year, winning the U14 and U15 competitions [the under 13 final hadn't been played at the time of writing]. "For years, Mick O'Brien was the only one putting any effort into developing the underage talent in Walterstown, so we decided it was time to put our heads together and give him some support. It has been going really well since - we have up to 50 youngsters down at the pitch training on Saturday mornings from spring right through to early winter. "Hughie McMahon and Ann McLoughlin have also started up girls underage football in the club and we're confident that will be a big success as well." What does Christy see as a realistic long-term objective for the club? "We're definitely good enough to win a Keegan Cup inside the next three years, provided the players give the commitment. We tend to lose quite a few lads to rugby but I think that situation might improve if we get a bit of success. "There are 400 new houses just after going up in Johnstown and, while we've only got one player from that so far, we're hoping to pick up a lot more as there's a huge amount of expansion and development going on in the area." Major progress is also being made in other areas outside the actual playing: "We have applied for planning permission to do a big renovation job on the clubhouse and have also applied to the national lottery for funding. "We have two new pitches - a senior training pitch and a junior pitch - drained and seeded and ready to be opened next spring and we're proposing to add a pitch-n-putt course and a tennis court. The old clubhouse will be revamped to include two new dressing-rooms, a referee's room, a function room and a bar." Looks like the local GAA club will remain the primary (and sole) focal point of the community for some time to come. Tweet

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