The future of Rathkenny GFC appears to be in safe hands if their performances in the Under 14 grade this year is anything to go by. Here, the team's coach, John Martin, relives the successful campaign. With Rathkenny failing to make an impact in the Intermediate championship, the onus fell on the club's Under 14s to fly the black and red flag during 2000 and they duly obliged by capturing the championship and league double. 20 year old John Martin - the club's intermediate team goalkeeper - coached the all-conquering side and he was assisted by selectors Jim Elliott and William Downey. John says that the success this year didn't come as any surprise to him as this team's performances in the Under 12 and Under 13 competitions over the past couple of years gave a clear indication of the potential that existed within this particular batch. "I first became involved with this team in 1997 when they were Under 10. That year they won a tournament in Syddan and they then went on to win the Under 12 and Under 13 championships. "We had high expectations at the start of the year because we knew that, with a little bit of luck on our side, we could do very well. Thankfully that's the way things turned out and the team deserve every credit for that." The first leg of the double was completed with a 4-12 to 3-3 runaway success over St Cuthbert's in the Division 3 North FL decider at Carlanstown at the beginning of June. Despite conceding a goal early in the first half, the Geith-sponsored side went on to establish a 2-3 to 1-1 interval lead, with Colm Curtis and Adrian Hanratty grabbing the goals. Their opponents once again netted early in the second half but a goal from James Macken and points from Curtis (two), Hanratty, Amanda Timmons and Bobby Farrelly gave Rathkenny a comfortable 3-8 to 2-2 cushion at the three-quarter stage. Farrelly then rounded off the scoring in style with a goal to put the end result beyond any doubt. 'Keeper Eoin Elliott, Brian Meade, Ronan Martin (John's younger brother), Hanratty, Farrelly and Curtis caught the eye. John says it was the team's most complete all-round performance of the year. "We were surprised at how easy a win it turned out to be as St Cuthbert's had beaten us by a point in the group stages, they were the only team to beat us all year," revealed the youthful coach. "Everything just seemed to go right for us on the day, the team clicked and it was probably our best display, in both the league and championship, of the year." No sooner had the league final celebrations ended than John and his team were ensconced in preparations for the Division 2 championship decider against St Patrick's. Rathkenny claimed the scalps of Simonstown 'B', Ratoath and St Cuthbert's (in the semi-final by two points) en-route to the final showdown which was very much a journey into the unknown as they had never played the east-Meath outfit before. The signs were ominous when they trailed by four points - 0-8 to 1-1 - with ten minutes to play at Donore in early July. But Martin's charges, inspired by Colm Curtis and Adrian Hanratty, produced a comeback which Sean Boylan and his Meath team would have been proud of to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Both players converted frees to set the revival in motion and the same pair added points to draw level before Hanratty struck for the last point of the game to earn his team a memorable victory. Another convincing final win looked on the cards for Rathkenny when they got off to the perfect start with David Donegan's shot finding the net. But it soon became apparent that the Stamullen side weren't going to be beaten without a fight and they fought back to draw level - 1-0 to 0-3 - before the half-time whistle. Hanratty edged his team back in front on the resumption, but St Pats subsequently embarked on a purple patch which yielded five points and placed them firmly in the driving seat before Curtis and Hanratty combined to extinguish their aspirations in that late burst. Owen Elliott, Brian Meade, Tom Walsh and James Macken were others to impress for the winners. "That was as close a game as you could get but the lads stuck to their task and came good in the end," remarked John who has completed coaching courses at Foundation and Level One levels. "They never panicked and kept attacking and they got their rewards. It was over 20 years ago that the club last won an Under 14 championship so it was definitely a great achievement to finally win it." Given Rathkenny's first team's poor showing in the Intermediate championship in the past year, the club's supporters will be hoping that it won't be too long before a couple of this team are ready to make an impression at adult level. That's a good bit down the line though, John says that the Under 15 championship is next on the agenda. "That's definitely the plan anyway. There's no reason why this team can't go on to win Under 15, Under 16, Under 17 and minor titles if they stick together. "A big problem is keeping them interested but. Of the team I grew up playing with there's only about three or four still playing football. Other clubs experience the same drop out levels in their underage teams. I'd be hopeful that the success this team has enjoyed so far will encourage them to continue playing in the future." A man of many talents, John's GAA activities during 2000 were not solely confined to playing and coaching. He took up refereeing for the first time and already his curriculum vitae includes two Under 12 championship deciders, including the Division 1 final between Simonstown and Round Towers. His family boast strong links with the Rathkenny club. His father, Tommy, is the club's juvenile football chairman while his mother, Mary is treasurer of the Rathkenny ladies club. As well as the aforementioned Ronan, other brothers Emmett and Tomas line out with the club's Intermediate and Under 16 teams respectively. Sisters Elaine, Ashling and Ciara also don the black and red jersey of the local club. Enthusiasm counts for a lot in the GAA, and it's patently clear that John, his family and the Rathkenny Under 14s possess an abundance of it. The Rathkenny team which came from behind to claim the Under 14 Division 2 championship at the expense of St Pats was: O Elliott; D Taaffe, B Meade, R Martin; S Finney, C Curtis (0-2), T Walsh; J Macken, A Hanratty (0-4); S Carry, B Farrelly, D Donegan (1-0); S Lenehan, A Timmons, T Wogan. Subs - A Curtis for Wogan, F Reilly for Carry. Tweet

Most Read Stories