We look back at the proud record of Kilmessan GHC and those who brought it to prominence. When the Kilmessan club made the decision not to fulfill their Senior Hurling Final engagement on October 1st in this millennium year, it wasn't just a matter of any old club making a protest. For this was the club which over most of the 20th century kept the Hurling flag flying highest in a county known better for its football prowess. Twenty four times they have won the senior championship, up to recently one more than arch rivals Trim, so in fact the two of them have between them won approximately half of all the senior championships. Although Kilmessan actually won a Senior Football Championship in 1903, four years before their first Senior Hurling triumph, their record in the small ball game all through the century is indeed a proud one, winning the premier competition consistently from the early 20's right up to 1999. In addition the County Hurling Team whether graded senior, intermediate or junior has always had Kilmessan men to the fore from the days of Joey Loughran, Ike Madden and Willie (the Red) Smith in 1927 up to Nicky Horan, Paul Donnelly and Anton O'Neill today. In between came the Donnelly brothers Tony and Pat (Red), the Kanes, Paddy and Mick, Niall Collier, Dinny Donnelly, John Curtis, Bobby White, Sean Collier, Eugene O'Neill, Patsy McGovern and many more. The 30's and 40's were really glory days for the Kilmessan club with four senior titles spread through the 30's and six in succession 1943 to 1948. Joey Loughran, Tony and Pat Donnelly were ever present in these ten victories with Joey having already won his first in 1927 while still a teenager. The 50's was a lean period. In fact Kilmessan were regraded to Junior ranks (there was no Intermediate Hurling until 1960) and joined up with Oberstown and Ratoath to form a Divisional team called St Patricks in the senior hurling championship. In fact St Patricks were crowned champions in 1953 and 1954. When the Intermediate championship was created in 1960, Kilmessan were the first winners and this led to another glorious chapter with four senior titles in that decade. In these victories Kilmessan always had the assistance a few players from neighbouring parishes and indeed many of these were also well known footballers. In fact the full forward line of 1969 was made up of three players who had won All-Ireland Senior Football medals in '67, Paddy Mulvany, Matt Kerrigan and Jimmy Walsh from Skryne, Summerhill and Drumree. The early 70's brought a bit of a slump in fortunes but then came a three-in-a-row success between 1976 and 1978 with Eugene O'Neill, Cyril Maguire and Sean Horan much to the fore. The 80's proved a barren spell but 1990 changed all that when the Jubilee Cup again returned to one of Meath's tidiest villages. In the early 90's the pendulum swung back in Trim's direction but late in the decade Kilmessan added two more titles to the already impressive list, to go one ahead in the overall "race". Throughout the whole glorious period from the 30's to the present day one name dominates all others when Kilmessan's hurling prowess is discussed - the name is Donnelly. Tony, Pat and Bill in the 30's, Tony and Pat sill there in the 40's for the six in-a-row. Bill's son Dinny in the victories of the 60's - a little gap in the70's - followed by Dinny's sons Willie, Paul and Tony (and more recently David) in the 90's. At a rough guess the number of Donnelly family senior hurling championship medals is 30 or 31. It could even be one or two more and I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me that an older generation won some as far back as 1907. Incidentally young David achieved something in 1999 which didn't get the publicity it deserved. He won senior football and hurling medals in the same year (the football with Skryne). He thus emulated his granduncles who "did" the double on a few occasions Pat (the Red) did it in 1939, 1944, 1945, 1947, 1948, while Tony did it in 1939, 1947 and 1948. The 1939 double was with Kilmessan in both codes, the others involved Skryne. In 1965 Dinny (David's father) also "did" the magic double. Some records - some family! One cannot mention Tony Donnelly without also referring to Joey Loughran - the two shared in so many victories in both codes - ten Senior Hurling Championships side by side, the Football/Hurling Double in '39, two more Senior Football Championships in '36 and '42 (the latter with Donaghmore), the National Football League of 1933, the Leinster Senior Football Championship in 1939 and 1949, Railway Cup football '39, and finally the All-Ireland Junior Hurling title in 1948. Joey had already won another Junior Hurling All Ireland as a teenager back in 1927 and was approaching 40 when he won the second one. Both men died young. Tony was only 40 when he passed away in 1955 and Joey was only just over 50 when he died in 1960. In 1969 Kilmessan's Gaelic Park was officially opened and was of course named the Donnelly-Loughran Memorial Park in memory of its two greatest heroes. For the record Kilmessan's Senior Hurling Championship successes were gained in 1907, 1922, 1924, 1927, 1934, 1937-1939, 1943-1948, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1969, 1976-1978, 1990, 1997, 1999. Total 24. Tweet

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