Kilmainham's Under 21 success at the tail end of 1998 was due reward for the perseverence of the club. As well as being a morale booster, it paved the way for an excellent season in '99. If trophies were handed out at the end of every year for sheer persistence, the Kilmainham club would be regular recipients. They appear to glory in the title of the "smallest club in the county" and, in such circumstances, their victories are all the sweeter. In their case, survival itself is success...a far greater achievement than the regular winning of trophies by the bigger clubs. And when they manage to win a trophy, their celebrations are the stuff of legend. Who will forget the scenes that greeted their great Junior 3 championship victory in 1980 and the subsequent 'craic'? Being a small club can have it's advantages and Kilmainham's trick is to make maximum use of those advantages. The club is renowned for it's spirit and dogged survival instincts, and the fact that it's resources are drawn from a two mile stretch of road on the exit from Kells makes it unique in the county if not in the entire country. 1998 and 1999 have been good years for the red and blacks...a victory at under-age level in 1998 was a new high and supporters and officials can now face the future with a greater degree of confidence than heretofore. Further progress was made this year when the semi-final of the Junior 'B' Championship was reached. But first to that memorable Under-21 success last year. Walterstown was the venue in early December for what was arguably the most important victory in Kilmainham's history. Bellewston provided the opposition in the Under-21 'C' final and what a game it turned out to be. On several occasions, the Kells parishoners appeared to have the game wrapped up but they lacked the collective confidence to kill off their opponents' brave challenge. Kilmainham started impressively and looked to be in a different class to Bellewstown in the early stages. They adapted better to the difficult conditions and were soon four points ahead. Bobby O Rourke pointed two frees while Graham Walsh and David Farnan were also on target. With Barry Walsh dominating at centre field, the Kilmainham forwards enjoyed abundant possession and Bobby O Rourke stretched their lead to seven points with Bellewstown still to trouble the man on the scoreboard. Declan Nelson made a fine save but Bellewstown opened their account from the ensuing play and the men from the Hill started to come more into the game. Graham Walsh, who had moved to centre field to partner Barry Lynch, added two further points for Kilmainham but their half-time lead of five points, 0-9 to 0-4, was not as good as it should have been. By the threequarter stage, Bellewstown were on level terms and it would have taken a brave man to bet on a Kilmainham victory...they had let the initiative slip to the opposition who were now playing like winners. It was at this stage that the selectors earned their credits with a number of astute switches. The most important was the move of Tom Monaghan to the defence where his presence helped to alleviate the pressure. The pendulum appeared to be swinging back towards Kilmainham but they squandered much hard-earned possession before Barry Lynch fisted them into a one point lead as the game entered the closing stages. Graham Walsh missed a free and the outlook worsened when Stephen Duggan equalised for Bellewstown in the last minute. The tension was unbearable but there was still more drama to follow in injury time. And it was Bobby O Rourke who emerged as the hero with his last-gasp point making history as Kilmainham took their first under-age title on a 0-11 to 0-10 scoreline. The winning team, and scorers, was; Declan Nelson, Terry Reilly, Joe Gillespie, Padraig Black, Trevor Lynch, Paddy Hurley, Barry Lynch (0-1), Tom Monaghan, Davey Farnan (0-1), Bobby O Rourke (0-6), Fergal Black, Liam Quaile and Graham Walsh (0-3). Substitute; Derek Nelson. The 1999 Junior 'B' Championship got under way in mid-April and Kilmainham had a difficult first round task against Clonard. A 1-10 to 0-11 victory provided plenty of optimism for the Summer but a second round defeat by Longwood, 2-11 to 0-10, made life more difficult. The crunch game was against Dunderry who had beaten Longwood, and the red and blacks emerged with their championship ambitions intact thanks to a morale-boosting 1-10 to 1-9 victory. A walkover from Slane was followed by a win over Summerhill, enough to clinch a place in the semi-final. Parish rivals Drumbaragh provided the opposition in a game that drew a big crowd to Kells. But it failed to live up to expectations as Drumbaragh eventually came out on top on a 1-7 to 0-7 scoreline. Kilmainham led by 0-4 to 0-2 at the half-way stage but they had reason to rue a missed goal opportunity at the end of the first quarter when Gary Walsh failed to take advantage of a clear-cut chance. Peter Curran and Barry Lynch were the dominant players in the first half but the decisive score came with eight minutes remaining when Drumbaragh's Sean Forde finished a Noel Corcoran centre to the Kilmainham net. Boosted by the goal, Drumbaragh finished strongly en route to an outright championship victory. The Kilmainham team was; P Farrelly, P Hurley, T Lynch, J Curran, A Farrelly, P Curran (0-1), D Murphy, B Lynch (0-4), P Ward, P Black, D Farnan, J Gillespie, B O Rourke (0-1),T Nelson and G Walsh (0-1). Substitute; P Farrelly. Peter Curran brought further honour to the Kilmainham club by starring in Meath's Leinster Junior Championship success. He was also one of the team's outstanding players in the All-Ireland Final against Waterford. Tweet

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