Gaeil Colmcille narrowly avoided relegation to the intermediate ranks for the second year running so they'll be hoping that it won't be a case of third time unlucky in 2001. Long serving forward Paul Smith should be fully recovered from a knee injury which restricted his involvement in the recent campaign to a mere supporter and is hoping to enjoy better fortunes in the year ahead. A knee injury and work commitments combined to prevent long serving Gaeil Colmcille forward Paul Smith from attending the SFC relegation play-off against Moynalvey in Walterstown, but, while not there in body, he was certainly there in spirit. Since first appearing in a Gaeil Colmcille jersey, 'Smiler', as he is popularly known, has been a regular on the Kells team sheet and one of the club's most consistent performers. There's no doubting that Gaeil Colmcille manager Martin Barry would have much preferred to have him in Walterstown for the play-off rather than down the big black hole in Tara Mines. In his absence, however, his club colleagues earned their senior survival thanks to a comprehensive 2-14 to 1-4 win. Needless to say, Paul was a relieved man when news of the end result filtered through. "It was a big relief," remarked Paul. "When I first started playing with Kells it was in the Intermediate championship and I wasn't looking forward to having to finish my playing career there. "From what I heard the lads played extremely well and it was a credit to them to win in such style and with such a big margin. There was a tremendous amount of pressure on them but they prepared well for that game and, thankfully, all the hard work paid off. "I must say that I was very worried. We've always struggled to beat Moynalvey in the past so I wasn't looking forward to playing them in such an important game. Luckily, everything came right in the end though." Why is it that Kells appear intent on playing russian roulette with their senior status each year? "We've found it very difficult to get a settled team and, as a result, we struggled, it's as simple as that. For example, both Derry Hunt and Tomas Shine were away this year in Australia. Derry's presence in midfield was a big loss while Tommy's scoring prowess up front was also badly missed. "A couple of the younger lads who came in at the beginning of the year, Simon Cahill and John Moore, also went away during the summer. We can't afford to be without players like that." Despite his own club's close shave with the trapdoor over the past two years, Paul is in favour of the relegation system which was introduced into the senior championship in 1999 by Coiste na Mí. "Relegation is a good idea, it keeps teams who were knocked out early on in the championship on their toes right up to the end. Ok, we've been involved in play-offs the last two years but we've only ourselves to blame for that. "I mightn't be inclined to say that though if we had lost to Moynalvey!," he added laughing. Paul's recuperation process has reached the light jogging stage and he hopes to be ready in time to commence training in January or February of next year. "The main aim now is to get more young lads involved with the senior team. Myself, and the likes of Eugene (McGillick) and Conor (Ferguson) aren't getting any younger so we have to try introduce some young talent into the senior panel and hope that they can make an impression in the years to come." The situation Gaeil Colmcille presently finds itself in is a far cry from the halcyon days of 1991 when the Keegan Cup was captured at the expense of Walterstown. Paul lined out in his familiar right-half-forward position on that memorable occasion. Ironically, Gaeil Colmcille's manager this year, Martin Barry, lined out with the Blacks that day and missed a penalty! "We held that in reserve just in case he got out of line at all. We never had to use it though." The 32 year old continued: "I don't remember too much of 1991 to tell you the truth as it seems such a long time ago now. I do remember Eugene (McGillick) having an absolute stormer in the final and he got the man-of-the-match award. As per usual I was a little bit inconspicuous that day! "We didn't enjoy the best of starts in the championship that year but due to the four games between Meath and Dublin the championship was delayed and we collectively made a conscious decision to give the remainder of the competition a real go and ended up winning it. It was a brilliant day for all the players and supporters of the club." As well as the senior souvenir, Paul's medal collection includes an intermediate medal, which was garnered in 1986 when Meath Hill were beaten in the final, a couple of All County Division 1 league medals and a couple of intermediate hurling medals. He also has a Leinster u-21 medal which he won in 1988 although he stresses he didn't play much of a part in securing that. "I was a sub on that team which was captained by Barry Ferguson but I was down around the 24, 25 mark. It was nothing to write home about," he remarked modestly. Paul, whose mother is a member of the Carry family from Drumbaragh and whose father played with Kells in his day, is pleased with the direction the club is taking away from the pitch. Optimism is high that they can get their act together in the coming years and, who knows, maybe even be back challenging strongly for Keegan Cup honours. "Aside from the difficulties on the pitch everything else is going very well within the club. Optimism is high that they can get their act together in the future and, who knows, maybe even be back challenging. There's a good camaraderie amongst the players and the people within the club. It's unfortunate that we've lost so many talented players but there's a good nucleus there so I'd like to think that we can threaten to win the Keegan cup again somewhere down the line." Gaeil Colmcille - Glory in the 60's Colum Cromwell looks back at the glory years of the Gaeil Colmcille club. Back in the early to mid 50's Kells Harps was one of the leading clubs in Meath. A modest Junior Championship success in '51 led to a Feis Cup victory and to two Senior Championship Final appearances in '54 and '55. Although favourites on both occasions they lost out to Skryne in '54 and St. Vincent's (Ardcath) a year later. Micéal Grace, Nobby Clarke, Sean Muldoon, Tommy Morris and the Flanagan brothers were household names in GAA circles. However, the '55 defeat was so unexpected that it took its toll and Kells slipped down the rankings. By the end of the 50's they were back in the Intermediate grade. Around the same time Drumbaragh, a Junior Club from just outside the town, with no great record of achievement took the amazing step of applying for 'promotion' to the Senior Grade. Even more amazing still, the County Board granted approval or at least didn't try to block the move. There may have been one or two transfers involved but not many. Unbelievably this newly promoted club reached the Senior Football Final in 1960. The championship was then on the KO system and had been dominated for the previous three years by O'Mahonys v Skryne finals - O'Mahonys winning all three. The fact that the big two were drawn against one another in the 1st round in 1960 was a help to everybody and Drumbaragh benefited most. In any event Drumbaragh didn't actually dethrone O'Mahonys in October 1960 but they did give a good account of themselves and continued to do so for the three following years. In the meantime Kells Harps reached the Intermediate Final of '63 where they lost narrowly to St. Pats (Stamullen). Somebody got the idea - wouldn't a combination of Kells and Drumbaragh make a great Senior Team! Negotiations began for an amalgamation. The usual problems arose - The Name, The Jerseys, Pitches, Selectors, Rights and Responsibilities; an additional one concerned Junior B club Kilmainham which was also based in Kells parish. After much to-ing and fro-ing the new club was formed and named Gaeil Colmcille or Colmcille Gaels. It was however no easy task as there were some dissensions. Not everyone in Drumbaragh wanted to be part of the new set up. Micéal Campbell and Paddy Tobin went to play with Ballinlough, Paddy (Paidín) Carry went to play with Dublin club Sean McDermotts (for whom former Meath greats Paddy O'Brien and Christo Hand had played in previous years). In addition new players arrived on the scene. The three McCormack brothers (Padraig, Sean and Larry) from near Kingscourt, two of whom had won All-Ireland Junior medals with Meath in 1962 were transferred from Kilmainhamwood while Mick O'Brien a teacher in Kells transferred from Walterstown. In their first year of '64 the championship was still on the KO system and among the favourites for the title were Kilbride. Winners of the '60 Junior and '62 Intermediate titles and surprisingly beaten in the semi-final in '63 by St. Vincent's (Ardcath), the Quinn/O'Sullivan combination from up on the Dublin border near Finglas and Blanchardstown were seen as the biggest danger to Champions O'Mahonys who had won the Keegan Cup for six of the previous seven years. The first round threw up two amazing results. O'Mahony's were shocked by Drumree while Skryne were trounced by Trim. By June there were only four clubs still in - Kilbride, Drumree, Trim and the new club from Kells, Gaeil Colmcille. However, there were other important things to be attended to. Meath disposed of Kildare and Louth to reach the Leinster Final for the first time since 1955 and the scene was set for a Dublin-Meath battle - the Dubs were the 1963 All-Ireland champions. An attempt was made to fix the club semi-finals before the Leinster final and after a lot of hot air at County Board meetings better sense prevailed and they were put on the back boiler for a while. Meath beat the Dubs to gain the Leinster title and went on to narrowly lose the All-Ireland semi-final to Galway. Now it was back to the club fare! The semi-final worked out as predicted. Kilbride were much too good for Trim while Drumree were no match for the new team from Kells causing legendary Drumree official Paddy (The Rah) Doyle to utter the immortal phrase, "How would we win and we playing the United Nations." Mind you there was an element of truth there for apart from the McCormacks and O'Brien, the Kells side also had the assistance of interprovincial star, Greg Hughes (Offaly) and a useful player from Longford, Phil Fay, both of whom were now living and working in Kells. In the final itself I acted as a linesman for Tommy Mooney (Ref) and have no great memory of anything unusual. However, in doing a bit of research for this article. I discovered that the match was described in the local press of the time as being over-robust with some 'shameful incidents' and the like. In fact Tommy was blamed for being over lenient. In any event Kilbride won by 1-8 to 0-8, the goal being scored by Pat Rooney. For the record the Gaeil Colmcille team which lost their first final was - Sean McCormack; Brian Caffrey, Joe Murphy, Dessy Reilly; Dick Connell, Harry Campbell, Robin Caffrey; Greg Hughes, Pat McGovern; Joe Lynch, Phil Fay, Larry McCormack; Padraig McCormack, Billy Rennicks, Mick O'Brien. Sub: Dick McInerney. In '65 the Gaels suffered a bit of a slump, surprisingly losing the Feis Cup final to Skryne and losing the senior semi-final badly to old rivals Kilbride. The final between Skryne and Kilbride was the most controversial one in Meath GAA history. In '66 Meath were once again on the Leinster and All Ireland trail and locally Kilbride (who beat Skryne in the first match) and Gaeil Colmcille were again proving themselves to be the leading two. The championship was now on a league system - two sections with winners meeting in the final. Meath won the Leinster and qualified to meet Galway in the All-Ireland final (the first time for 12 years). Amazingly the club final was ready by the time of the All-Ireland. In fact Senior, Intermediate and Junior Finals were all ready by the end of August and duly put on hold until after the 'Big Day'. That day ended in disappointment but of course the show must go on and Kilbride versus Kells was fixed for 9th October. The Kells men actually led by a point in the closing stages but a last minute surge by half back PJ Reilly brought the equaliser for Kilbride, so a draw match 1-7 each. County commitments held up the replay until 6th November with Tommy Collins (Athboy) in charge as he had been on the first day. This time the Gaels succeeded in scoring three goals (no mean achievement against Martin Quinn) but they still didn't win as they had only two points to supplement the goals. Final score 3-2 to 1-8, another draw. Tommy Hickey, Padraig McCormack and Micéal Campbell got the three goals while Murty O'Sullivan who had rather unusually missed quite a few frees did manage to point one for the equaliser. The big talking point was the brilliant midfield display of Joe Murphy despite the fact that his direct opponent was none other than Jack Quinn. There should have been extra time but in fact there wasn't and it was 27th November before episode three took place, with a change of referee. This time the man in charge was ex O'Mahonys player Dom Tighe who of course in later years became a resident and much respected business man in Kells town. In this second replay the Gaels had a great victory bringing the Keegan Cup to the town for the first time. In a low scoring final, 0-8 to 0-6 the leading scorer was Garda Jimmy Murray who pointed five frees. Jimmy, from Athlone, had played for Westmeath in the All-Ireland Minor Final of 1963. New referee Tighe ruled with an iron hand sending Harry Campbell and Murty O'Sullivan to the line in separate incidents. The victorious Kells side was: Tommy Smyth; Brian Caffrey, Vincent Cahill, Frank Ward; Harry Campbell, Phil Fay (Capt), Paddy Ward; Joe Murphy, Jimmy Murray; Larry McCormack, Greg Hughes, Dessy Ferguson; Tommy Hickey, Robin Caffrey, Micéal Campbell. You may note that Micéal Campbell who had in '64 opted out of the newly-formed club had by now come back into the fold to play a big part in the victory. Also aboard was well known Dublin player Dessy Ferguson who was resident in the Meath town for a few years at this stage while Sean McCormack , the Meath goalie in the All-Ireland, had departed from the club. In '67 Meath went all the way to win the All-Ireland without any Kells played aboard. This might seem surprising until you consider that the County Champions had amongst their ranks stars from Dublin, Offaly, Cavan, Westmeath and Longford. Of course, Greg and Dessy were "All Stars" in their own right even though the official All Stars had not been "invented" at the time. The Cavan man incidentally was Vincent Cahill who had previously spent a short spell with O'Mahonys. In any event Kells lost their title in '67 as Kilbride regained the Keegan Cup beating O'Mahonys in the final. On then to '68 and the most important news for Gaeil Colmcille was the return from "exile" of former Drumbaragh star Paddy (Paidin) Carry. Carry's arrival was a big bonus - a teak tough customer who, as the commentators would say, liked a challenge - and the harder it was the better. Kells duly reached the semi-final where their opponents were Skryne. Kilbride had been eliminated by dropping three points and the second semi-final was between O'Mahonys and Walterstown. You will hardly believe this, but both semi-finals had to be played three times with the result that although Meath were out of the championship in early July, and the race was down to four by early September, the 1968 Meath final wasn't played until March 1969. The first Kells/Skryne match in Pairc Tailteann in mid September ended in a draw 1-4 to 0-7. In the replay a week later Skryne dominated the exchanges but wasted many chances and eventually had to scrape the equaliser for another draw, 0-7 each. Just as in '66 there should have been extra time but there wasn't - apparently the teams agreed to leave it to a third day as the other semi-final was being fought out in a different arena i.e. County Board meetings and committees - (more of this anon). The third match took place in mid October and this time the Kells men had done their homework. Some shrewd positional changes and the re-emergence of veteran Dessy Ferguson made the difference and they beat the Tara men 2-7 to 1-5. "Snitchy" proved he had a little bit left in the tank when twice in the first half he supplied the cross-field pass which enabled Aidan Carry to score the all important goals. However, it would be some time before the Gaels would know their final opponents. In the first O'Mahonys/Waterstown match at Kells a melee erupted which resulted in the match being abandoned. Some suspensions ensued and it took two County Board Meetings and a special inquiry (maybe it was a tribunal!) before it was decided to refix the match at all. Eventually when it was fixed in November, a young Walterstown player, Finian Maguire, who had played just a few months previously, suffered a fatal illness and the replay had to be further postponed. Then when it did take place it ended in a draw. By now it was the end of November and a decision was made to have the third match played immediately but postpone the final until the spring time of '69. Walterstown duly won this second replay and qualified for their first ever Senior Final but we would have the Turkey and Santa Claus and Snow before the Keegan Cup would take its place on the Pairc Tailteann stand. The final in March '69 was an anti-climax as the boys from Kells ran away with it. Walterstown in their first final collapsed when the chips were down. Their best days would come in the years ahead. Final score 3-17 to 1-4. Leading scorer Dick McInerney 1-5. The Gaeil Colmcille team which won that second title was - Gerry McManus; Harry Campbell (Capt), Vincent Cahill, Gerry Lynch; Paddy Carry, Paddy Ward, John Griffin; Joe Murphy, Frank Ward; Tommy Hickey, Jimmy Murray, Aidan Carry; Des Ferguson, Greg Hughes, Dick McInerney. Note: (1) Since '66 the McCormack's had gone back to K'Wood (or was it Nobber?), Micéal Campbell had retired and Phil Fay the captain had switched allegiance to Dunderry where he now lived. Only four of the '68 team had played in the '64 final. (2) Paddy Carry made such an impression that he was on the Meath team for the '69 championship, in fact he was captain. Joe Murphy went on to play in the All-Ireland final of 1970. In 1969 Kells lost their crown. They were actually thrown out for not fulfilling the semi-final fixture against Kilbride but although reinstated by the Leinster Council, they were well beaten when eventually the match took place. Kilbride went on to win three-in-a-row while Gaeil Colmcille slipped down the ladder. The good times were over. Nevertheless it has to be said that the Kells team of the 60's was a formidable force and fully deserved their two Keegan Cup successes. There may have been an element of truth in the Rah Doyle's "United Nations" tag but the Carry's, Wards, Campbells, Caffreys etc were as Kells as you can get and were a match for the best. They also enjoyed wonderful support from wildly enthusiastic supporters. I had the pleasure of refereeing some of their matches and even though I didn't always please Mrs Maggie Lynch (RIP) (Gerry's mother) - in fact I never pleased her - I can still meet any of the players and have a good chat about days long gone - points scored or goals missed - hard knocks given and taken. Sadly the '68 winning captain Harry Campbell died some years ago while still a very young man (RIP). The rest of them are, as far as I know, hale and hearty. Great men! Great Days! Great Memories! P.S. The No 1 official of the Gaeil Colmcille club in those glory years was one Fintan Ginnity, later to become County Chairman, a position he has now held for 15 years. He wouldn't like if I didn't give him a mention! So I will. I was County Board Assistant Secretary then - the position Barney Allen now holds. Fintan nearly broke my heart and exhausted most of my patience in trying to get the fixtures made to suit him! Wonder does he remember?? Tweet

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