Appearances in the senior and junior finals, as well as underage success, bodes well for the future of Killyon. Frank Dempsey talks to Kit Mitchell about this year and next. Although the record books show Killyon won their first senior hurling championship in 1919 (some say it could have been 1918) there was always a tradition of hurling in the area. Although now one of the premier clubs in the county it is often overlooked that the establishment of its present position has really taken place over the last 31 years. It all started in 1968 when they won the Junior Hurling Championship. The first juvenile team in the club was fielded one year earlier in 1967. At the time the foresight of that move was probably lost on most people. But the then youthful Chairman of the club Kit Mitchell was looking to the future. When the Intermediate Hurling Championship was won in the '70s the followers began to realise that Killyon's youth policy was beginning to bear fruit. The big breakthrough came in 1979 when they won the Senior Championship. It was to be the first of a three in a row and in the intervening years they have won five county titles, the last in 1991. 1999 saw them reach the senior decider once again only to lose out to Kilmessan. Having also contested the Junior Hurling Final this year as well as the Junior II semi-final, they have established in a short 20 years a tradition that most clubs take generations to build. But all the hard work was not confined to the playing fields. In the late '70s and early '80s the old hall located at the pitch was converted into a fine community hall and dressing rooms. That has served the closely knit community in Killyon well in the intervening years. But progress continues. Currently work is underway on the preparation for a new pitch and new dressing room facilities. As we go to press the whole playing area has been stripped of topsoil, which has been stockpiled and the base level is ready for the replacement of the topsoil. The drainage is currently underway and the target for completion is 2001. Like every project undertaken by the club there are no half measures. The new pitch will be fenced off and lights will be provided for training. £25,000 has been spent so far and the projected total cost will be somewhere between £40,000 and £50,000. Silverware Winning no silverware at adult level doesn't unduly upset Kit Mitchell "We continue to do a lot of work at underage level under the guidance of Lar Tyrrell and that's where we enjoyed most of our success this year". Obviously Kit believes in having a strong concentration on the young players coming through. His enthusiasm for that remains vibrant. Let's look at the record, Killyon took the Under 11B when they defeated Kildalkey in the final and in the same age group also won the under 11 Ground Hurling Title. At under 14 level they reached the semi-final where they lost to Rathmolyon and in the rural section lost to Boardsmill by two points. Higher up the scale they reached the Under 16B semi-final losing by the narrowest of margins to Kildalkey. Although winning no silverware at adult level Kit retains his enthusiasm and sees a bright future ahead, "We reached the semi-final of the Junior III championship losing out after a replay to Ratoath perhaps a little unluckily." Although disappointed with going out at that stage Mitchell underlined his deep love for the game of hurling when he stated. "Although we lost that replay I was delighted to see Ratoath go on and win that championship. It's good to see them back on the hurling map." The junior championship saw the club make it to the final where they faced a youthful Navan O'Mahony's side. Although they lost to the town side, their contribution to what was one of the most exciting finals seen in this grade for years, can not be dismissed. Good Senior Run When the draw for the Senior Hurling Championship was made luck would have it that Killyon were drawn in probably the stronger of the two groups, which included near neighbours Longwood, Rathmolyon and Athboy and a lot of peoples favourites for the championship, Kilmessan and Trim. In spite of that a lot of shrewd observers reckoned that Killyon would be a dark horse in the group. And so it turned out. After the opening third rounds against Athboy, Longwood and Rathmolyon they remained unbeaten and looked forward to their fourth round match against Trim which eventually never took place. "We were very disappointed that the Trim match was not played. We had put in a lot of preparation for that particular game and after losing by only two points to them last year we were looking forward to turning the tables," states the club chairman. "Trim's problem with dual players was understandable but Killyon themselves were in a similar position because 11 of our team, like Trim, were involved that weekend in football with Clonard, Ballivor and Longwood" he concluded. The final round of their group was to be against the eventual champions Kilmessan. They lost by three points but were not overly disappointed as that game was only really to decide the order of finishing in the group and the semi-final pairings. In the semi-final they faced an 'up and coming' youthful Navan O'Mahony's side. These two sides produced what was to be some of the best hurling seen in the championship this year. Their first encounter finished in a draw and this scribe would put that match down as probably the most exciting of this year's campaign. But Killyon's experience and 'know how' was fully evident in the replayed semi-final when they overcame a spirited Navan side by 2-15 to 3-9. Yet again supporters of hurling were treated to another quality game that matched everything the drawn encounter had produced. The downside to this game for Killyon however, was that their main driving force Martin Massey received a knock that was to prevent him from playing in the final against Kilmessan. They fell at the final hurdle by 3-10 to 1-8 and the loss of Massey was probably the big difference between the sides. The Game The telling blow came when Nicky Horan struck two goals at crucial times, the first in the 27th minute of the opening half and one 20 minutes later at the end of the third quarter. Sandwiched in between was the third goal from Gerard O'Neill almost immediately after the restart. The biggest blow however to Killyon came before the game even started when Massey who was their top scorer with five goals and 27 points was declared unfit. That alone would have boosted Kilmessan's morale and so it turned out. The opening 25 minutes saw little between the sides. They were level at four points apiece at that stage until Horan struck for that all important first goal. Veteran Micky Ryan's goal in the 34th minute gave Killyon some hope but it wasn't to be. The sides continued to swap scores and Kilmessan kept their noses in front. Lets leave the last word to the Chairman, "We had a great years hurling at the club, there have been tremendous turn outs by the players and while we would not have hoped early in the year to lose the senior final, we had satisfactory innings and are looking forward with confidence to a secure future." The enthusiasm and ambition in this little outpost of hurling in South Meath burns as fiercely as ever. U11 Ground Hurling title for Killyon Killyon claimed the U11 ground hurling title in early November when they followed up their 3-0 to 1-0 semi-final win over Navan O'Mahonys with a thrilling 6-0 to 5-1 victory over Trim in a memorable decider. Simon McKeown, Ray Massey and Keith Keoghan bagged a goal each against the Navan men while Massey, Gerard Hannon (two each), Simon McNevin and David Raleigh weighed in with the scores in the final. Killyon - J. Connor; D. Kennedy, A. Feeney, E. Treacy, S. McNevin (1-0), K. Keoghan, D. Raleigh (1-0), D. McCormack, R. Massey (2-0), G. Hannon (2-0). Subs - M. Fitzsimons, D. Russell, F. Mahon. Tweet

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