Moving on up?
December 31, 2000
St Brigid's of Ballinacree didn't enjoy the best of years in 2000 but according to Niall Hennessy the club's future outlook looks positive so don't be surprised to see them celebrating a Junior championship win in the not to distant future.
After suffering the indignation of relegation from the Intermediate ranks in 1999, St Brigid's gaels would have been hoping that their climb back up the ladder could commence almost immediately with a junior championship success in 2000.
Things didn't quite pan out according to plan though and another year in the junior ranks beckons for the north Meath club in 2001.
"It wasn't a good year for the club," acknowledges midfielder Niall Hennessy. "But the plan remains the same as it was at the beginning of this year. We have to try to put the disappointment of relegation last year behind us and rebuild for the future. Already there has been some very positive signs so we would be hopeful of winning the junior championship in the not too distant future."
One of the positive signs which Niall refers to was the injection of some fresh blood into the club's first team in the past twelve months. Add to that the fact that Niall, at just 26 years of age, is one of the team's elder statesmen and the light at the end of the tunnel becomes almost blinding.
"We're a very young team, we had seven or eight minors, all of whom would have contested a minor final with Oldcastle last year, playing. They showed plenty of promise which was very encouraging and the more games they play, the more experience they'll get and the better they'll become.
"Our U21s won their championship at the end of 1999, beating Curraha in the final, so all things considered you have to be very optimistic about our future prospects."
The Ballinacree's side report card for 2000 reads three wins and three defeats. The wins came at the expense of Drumbaragh, Dunhaughlin's seconds and An Gaeltacht while Kilbride, Curraha and Athboy were the thorns in their side.
Former Ulster and Cavan player, Paddy McNamee of nearby Ramor Utd, was the club coach while he was assisted by locals George Plunkett and Oliver Gilsenan.
"We weren't that far away in the three games we lost either," adds the club midfielder who points to the Athboy game as an example. "We only lost to them by a last minute pointed penalty which was the final kick of the game. If we had have had a bit of luck on our side who knows what might have happened."
Niall has been donning the sky blue of St Brigid's since he was just six years of age while he has been a regular on the adult teams since he was fifteen. His medal collection boasts Junior championship (1994) and U21 Division 3 (1993) souvenirs as well as a ACFL Division 4 runners-up memento (1994).
"We beat Baconstown in the Junior championship final. They got their revenge a couple of weeks later in the Division 4 league final but I suppose it's fair to say that our championship celebrations took their toll! That win was undoubtedly the highlight of my time with the club."
Niall didn't make the starting XV for that memorable triumph as he had been away in America and only made it home just prior to the quarter-final. It wasn't long however - 15 minutes to be exact - before he was thrown into the action at midfield.
"Winning the U21 was also another highlight. It was very satisfying from a family point of view as my eldest brother Ronan was captain of the team."
Indeed, there's a strong tradition of Hennessy family involvement with the St Brigid's club. The father of the house, Tom played with the club when it was founded in the sixties and has been involved with various teams at underage and adult levels in the past.
Niall's younger brother, Fergal has been the club's top scorer at Intermediate/Junior level these last two to three years and the centre forward, who's also the team's main freetaker, certainly knows where the posts are.
Unfortunately, Ronan no longer plays with the club. Work commitments forced him to move to Galway and that in turn forced him to switch his gaelic football allegiances to the Oranmore-Maree club in the Connacht county. St Brigid's loss was most definitely the Galway club's gain.
Off the field of play, St Brigid's have been busy raising funds to develop their facilities in recent years. All the hard work has certainly be worthwhile as they now boast an impressive facilities which includes a floodlit pitch. Plans are in the pipeline to hold an official opening in the coming year.
Niall, who, incidentally, works as an Accounts Executive, covering the Meath area, for Dublin based distribution firm, United Parcel Service (UPS), is still experiencing difficulty coming to terms with Meath's shock first round championship exit at the hands of Offaly.
The shock of the defeat was compounded further by the fact that the 26 year old's girlfriend, Ashling Bracken is from Tullamore!
"Needless to say I haven't been let forget that result," laughs the affable Hennessy. "Ashling's relations didn't waste any time in getting their hands on my phone number and giving me a bit of slagging."
What happened against the Faithful County? "It's difficult to know, a lot of people are saying that the hunger wasn't there and I would probably agree with that. Meath hit the ground running for the first twenty minutes but just got two points in that period and maybe the heart wasn't there for another tough battle.
"I think the Offaly crowd were more shocked than we were! It was just one of those things but I've no doubt that we'll be back next year and will give the All-Ireland a good shot."
No doubt Niall and all at St Brigid's will be giving the Junior championship a good shot next year too.
"We certainly will. It has been a privilege to put on the club jersey for the last fifteen to twenty years. There's a lot of good people involved in the club and we'll be going all out to get back to Intermediate status."
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