Pairc na nGael, Dunsany ... a huge addition to the GAA's facilities in Meath. Football and hurling clubs throughout the country celebrated the arrival of the new Millennium in many different ways...some won championships and others organised special events. It is arguable that Dunsany GFC celebrated in the most appropriate manner possible...by staging the Official Opening of their grounds...Pairc na nGael. The great occasion took place on May 15th and will certainly rank among the best 'openings' ever held in the Royal County. The game that marked the occasion was between the then reigning All-Ireland champions Meath, and their predecessors Galway. The Sam Maguire Cup was the day's most appropriate guest. While the concept of successive All-Ireland champions, successive 'Footballers of the Year', (Ja Fallon and Trevor Giles), successive Irish captains, (John McDermott and Trevor Giles) and a host of All-Stars playing in Dunsany would have been literally beyond the wildest dreams of the club's founders, the current committee is comprised of people who have shown remarkable bravery and foresight and, the success of the 'Official Opening' was a great tribute to their efforts. And fortune certainly favoured the brave. The weather was perfect and the timing of the game also worked out well...unfortunately, three weeks later, Meath lost their Leinster and All-Ireland titles. Long-term planning proved to be all important. Dunsany GFC only came into existence in 1963 and while success in terms of trophies and titles has proved elusive, survival has been the most noteworthy achievement. The club's first playing pitch was what was known locally as the 'Cricket Field', where the sound of leather on willow was particularly familiar up to the early 1960's. The 'Cricket Field' was a beautiful setting, the pitch was perfectly level but the dimensions were small. Nevertheless, the club was quite happy there until the owner, Lord Dunsany sent his gamekeeper to order the players out of it one evening in the early summer of 1965. The reason...the shouting was frightening the duck in the nearby 'Duckpond Wood'! An alternative venue was offered and, so it came to pass that the club moved to it's current location, known then as the 'Night Field'. Goalposts were hastily erected and several years later, a paling was erected around the playing area. Eventually, a pair of obsolete railway carriages were purchased for use as dressing rooms and the venue became a permanent base. The carriages gave way to portacabins but a feeling grew within the club that more modern facilities were badly needed...showers and toilets being the most obvious. The problem was that the pitch did not belong to the club and, as a result, it was not possible to erect a permanent structure. Noel Smyth was Secretary of the club in the mid-1990's and it was he who first investigated the possibility of acquiring the pitch on a Sporting Lease. The club fulfilled the necessary requirements...it had 'occupied' the ground for 30 years and Chairman Liam Ferguson pursued the matter with dogged determination. He met with equally dogged resistance but on July 9th,1997, Dunsany GFC legally secured it's 99-year lease, thus giving it the right to develop the grounds. It was a monumental day in the club's history and there were celebrations close to the Courthouse in Trim. Encouraged by Liam Ferguson's success, the Committee quickly set about drawing up plans and raising the necessary funds to finance them. Two separate sub-committees were formed, one for Finance and the other for Building. It was decided to hold a "20 GRAND Members' Draw" with the tickets costing £20 each for a first prize of £20,000. It was regarded as something of a gamble to offer a first prize of such value but the Draw exceeded all expectations making a healthy profit of £72,000...all within a year of winning the lease! The draw was launched at a 'turning of the sod' ceremony in May of 1998 and the building work got under way without delay. By this stage, Vinny Brennan had succeeded Liam Ferguson as Chairman and there was work for all as, gradually the building began to take shape. Mid-May 2000 was targeted as D-Day and although there were many hitches along the way, the venue was positively pristine for the great occasion. There was a festival atmosphere around the area in the days leading up to the big match and fingers were in a continuously crossed state that the weather would be fine. Prayers were answered and a huge crowd turned up to see two of the championship favourites in action. A special souvenir programme was produced for the occasion and St. Marys Silver Band, Navan, added to the sense of occasion. The ground were blessed by His Lordship the Bishop of Meath, Dr. Michael Smyth and the official opening was performed by the Chairman of Meath County Board Fintan Ginnitty. The platform party included officials of the County Board as well as the Minister for the Environment Mr. Noel Dempsey and the Chairman of Meath County Council Mr. Brian Fitzgerald. During the interval, presentations were made to the former Chairmen of the club or their representatives. The honour of scoring the first point fell to Tommy Dowd and Meath went on to beat Galway by three points, 0-20 to 1-14. Ronan Fitzsimons, a nephew of one of Dunsany's great stalwarts, Paddy 'Doc' Walsh, was Meath's top scorer with six points. It was decided to name the pitch Pairc na nGael, in honour of those who helped to found the club and who contributed to it's survival but who are no longer with us. Pairc na nGael includes a fine entrance, two excellent viewing banks, an electronic scoreboard, a new paling, car parking facilities for 200 cars, four dressing rooms, each with showers, a referee's room with shower and a spacious Members' Lounge. History was made on Friday June 9th when the first ever Senior Championship game took place at the venue. Trim and Navan O Mahonys were the teams in opposition with Trim coming out on top. Later there was Summerhill v Seneschalstown, Dunderry v Trim and Summerhill v Moynalvey. And the relegation play-off matches between Seneschalstown and Moynalvey, and O Mahonys and Blackhall Gaels were also played at the venue. There were also a number of Intermediate, Junior and Junior 'B' games. Dunsany is well located in terms of football strongholds and is easily accessible from all directions. And it is also popular with the Ladies for whom it has become something of a headquarters...not only at club, but also at county level. Meath played their Leinster Senior championship games against Longford and Louth there while the provincial Under-16 final against Dublin also took place at Pairc na nGael. And the county final between Seneschalstown and Summerhill was also played there. One of it's biggest advantages is that players, officials and supporters of opposing teams can meet after a game and enjoy a friendly get-together. Pairc na nGael has quickly established itself as one of the most popular venues in the county. Dunsany supporters were hoping that the club's magnificent achievement would be marked with a Junior championship success but it was not to be. Having reached the semi-finals in both 1998 and '99, there was every reason to believe that those experiences would stand to the team in the 2000 championship. The draw was not unkind and Dunsany were strongly fancied to emerge from a group that also included Gaeil Colmcille, Bellewstown, Ballinabrackey, Meath Hill and Nobber. The loss of Fintan Lawlor, who was seriously injured in a car accident in the Spring, was an enormous blow...thankfully he is now well on the road to recovery. The campaign got under way in Bective where Gaeil Colmcilee were well beaten on a 3-9 to 0-5 scoreline. Dunsany's half-time lead was just four points but, after the break, they outscored the Kellsmen by 3-2 to 0-2 with Mark Brennan emerging as top scorer with 2-2. Kevin Lawlor got the other goal and there were also impressive performances from Nicky Horan, Emmet Ferguson and Conor Power. It was a promising start but some cracks appeared in the second round when Nobber battled bravely for a draw. Winning ways were recovered at Walterstown in mid-June when Bellewstown's challenge was brushed aside on a 1-17 to 0-3 scoreline. It was on to Kilberry a week later where Meath Hill provided the opposition. Despite dominating throughout the opening half, Dunsany's lead at the break was a mere three points and although they continued to squander chances in the second half, they held out for a 0-12 to 0-7 victory. Jimmy McGuinness incurred the wrath of the referee and was sent off in an incident that turned out to have serious implications for the team's championship prospects. The victory meant that a place in the quarter-finals was assured and the subsequent defeat by Ballinabrackey in Summerhill meant that the 'Bracks qualified as Group winners while Dunsany went through as runners-up. Athboy had emerged as surprise contenders but Dunsany were warm favourites to qualify for a third successive semi-final. The game was played in Pairc Tailteann as curtain-raiser to the SFC quarter-final between Trim and Summerhill. It turned out to be a bitterly disappointing occasion for Dunsany who looked to be on the road to victory when they led by 1-5 to 0-3 at the interval. The Reds got away to the best possible start when Leon Maguire was fouled in the square after only five minutes...Anton O Neill made no mistake with the penalty and points from David Carolan and Mark Brennan helped them to a 1-2 to 0-1 lead midway through the first half. Donal Clynch, Nicky Horan and Carolan added points in the second quarter but, despite the five point lead, Dunsany's performance had been anything but convincing. And it all went horribly wrong after the break as further chances were squandered. Only one point was scored in the third quarter (Athboy) and a Tom Hanley goal levelled the match with ten minutes remaining. Dunsany were now under sustained pressure and Athboy took the lead for the first time with a pointed free before they grabbed a second goal to open up a four point gap. With virtually the last kick of the game, Mark Brennan scored Dunsany's only second half point. The final score was 2-6 to 1-6. The Dunsany team was; John Kenny, Anton O Neill, Declan Keating, Michael Cunningham, Paddy McGovern, Emmet Ferguson, Kevin Lawlor, Conor Power, Nicky Horan, Leon Maguire, David Carolan, Conor Brennan, Donal Clynch, Mark Brennan and Charles Keena. Subs used were Jack Smyth and Eddie O Brien. The Junior 'C' team enjoyed a good run with wins over Drumree, Ratoath and St. Pauls and although they lost out to Trim, they had done enough to qualify for a preliminary quarter-final clash with St. Ultans. Unfortunately, the Bohermeen-Martry men proved just a little too strong, emerging with a one point win, 0-11 to 1-7. Tweet

Most Read Stories