St. Colmcille's failed to make an impression in this year's Intermediate championship but, according to club chairman and minor manager Finbarr Ronan, there is light at the end of the tunnel. A wealth of underage talent promises to propel the seaside club back amongst the elite of the Royal County club scene. St. Colmcille's came perilously close to relegation from the Intermediate grade in 1999 but, in the end, managed to hang in there by the skin of their teeth. It was too close for comfort for the Colmcille's faithful, particularly, when you consider, that as recently as 1996, they were battling it out against the likes of O'Mahony's, Skryne, Dunderry etc. in the senior grade. To make matters worse, their minors, earmarked as favourites for outright honours, exited the championship at the quarter-final stage with Summerhill advancing at their expense. Team manager Finbarr Ronan, who's also the club's hard-working chairman, doesn't hide his disappointment. "Not winning the Minor championship was my biggest regret of the year. We won the U17 Div. 1 title and qualified unbeaten for the knockout stages of the championship so we were fairly confident of going along way." Circumstances conspired against them explains Finbarr: "I, along with the team's assistant manager, Dave O'Brien, booked my holidays for June which is usually a shutdown period for the minor because of the Leaving Cert. "We were due home the night the Leaving finished and then heard we had been fixed to play that night. We couldn't fulfil the fixture and were nearly thrown out of the competition as a result. "As things turned out we had to play Summerhill in a quarter-final in early July when five of our team were on holidays. They beat us badly and that was the end of that. It was the biggest disappointment I've ever had but it has made us twice as determined to bounce back and win it in 2000. We've eleven of this year's team available so we'll give it a good shot." The underage conveyor belt has been in overdrive over Bettystown direction these past few years. The club provided a grand total of seven to this year's Meath U17 panel while they had three on the minor. Ronan Kelly will be pushing hard for inclusion on Paul Kenny's U21 side in the coming months while others like Enda Grogan (captain of this year's Meath juniors) and Colm Laverty would get on any senior team in the county. One of their most promising prospects is Finbarr's son Niall. A member of this year's Meath minor panel, he's eligible for the grade again next year and is considered by many to be a certain Meath senior for the future. However, he's also proven himself a more than capable rugby player and could have to make a decision as to which code he intends to pursue. "He's playing with Boyne RFC at the minute and has won an All-Ireland U16 medal. He was picked for the Leinster U18 team and they won the Inter-provincial competition. I'd like to see him playing with the county minors next year, he'll definitely be playing with our minors. After that it's up to himself what sport he wants to play, nobody is going to force him into making a decision." When Finbarr was 23 years of age he faced a similar situation. He had to choose between playing with the local St. Fechin's club in his native Louth or a burgeoning golf career. "I broke three fingers whilst training with St. Fechin's. I was a member of the Irish Youth Golf team at the time and I missed a trip to Spain as a result. After that I had to decide between the two." Golf got the vote but since then the wheel has turned full circle. Since crossing the river, from Baltray to Mornington, and getting involved with St. Colmcille's, Finbarr's golf has been forced to play second fiddle. "Being involved with the club is very time consuming so I only get to play the occasional game of golf. In saying that, I'm probably playing better now!," he laughs. Two years ago, Finbarr succeeded Pat O'Neill as chairman of the seaside club. Prior to that he had been chairman of the club's Minor board. Along with secretary Sean McEntee and treasurer Sam Madden he's guiding St. Colmcille's in the right direction. "The committee as a whole is working very well at the minute. There's a huge interest in the well being of the club amongst commitee members, and it's a genuine interest, people aren't just going through the motions. We've an excellent minor committee, Colm Hilliard is the chairman and Patsy McHugh is the secretary while Eimear Powell, Majella Hilliard and Patricia Reilly are doing great work with the underage girls football." Finbarr was a selector with the club's premier team last year but he decided to concentrate on the minors in '99. Former Louth and Longford player Richie Culhane was this year's coach and he was assisted by Dermot Hilliard and 'Jackser' Kavanagh. "We had a poor start in the Intermediate championship," recalls Finbarr. "As results went against us the interest level amongst the players began to drop. We had no points with three matches to go - we subsequently drew with Drumree, beat St. Ultans and drew with Castletown. We'd have struggled to maintain our Intermediate status were it not for the introduction of some of our minor players for the last few games. They really pulled us out of a hole in the championship. "In 1998 we won promotion to to Division 2 and we held our position there. In general we have a very young team, Neil Cooney would be the oldest at 28 years of age. "My greatest hope is that the young players we have here at the moment will continue to develop. In the past, too many players have failed to make the transition from underage football to adult and have fallen by the wayside as a result. We've an abundance of talent at our disposal at the moment. If we can keep the interest alive amongst these players then I've no doubt that we will soon become a major force to be reckoned with." Supporters of St. Colmcille's can rest safe in the knowledge that Finbarr Ronan and his committee will leave no stone unturned in their quest to bring senior football back to the club. U17 Div 1 crown for St. Colmcilles "There is no shortage of young talent in the club and I certainly believe that the future is bright" - that was long serving St. Colmcille stalwart Dermot Hilliard's assessment of the state of play in the seaside club when interviewed for Royal County 1999. The club's Under 17s certainly lived up to Dermot's expectations when they captured the 1998 Division 1 competition at the expense of Navan O'Mahony's, the dominant force in Meath underage football in the second half of this decade. Niall Kirby must surely be one of the talented young players which the St. Colmcille's intermediate manager was referring to. The full forward registered an impressive nine points on the scoreboard as the team in sky blue survived a determined onslaught in the closing stages from the Navan side to win on a scoreline of 0-12 to 1-6. The game, which was played in Curraha, was of an exceptionally high standard despite the inclement weather conditions and the signs were encouraging for St. Colmcille's from the moment when Fergal Daly put them in front after only two minutes. Kirby doubled his side's advantage five minutes later before a double strike from O'Mahony's brought them level. The 'man of the match' fired three more points before the break, while the team in blue and white stripes could only muster one. At the interval the scoreboard read; 0-5 to 0-3 in favour of the eventual winners. An exchange of points followed on the resumption with Eoin Sarsfield performing the honours for St. Colmcille's. But they looked in trouble when an O'Mahony's goal saw them trailing for the first time. Even more so when the opposition stretched their lead with a point a minute later. Kirby revived the seasiders' challenge with three pointed frees within a two minute spell and Brian McColgan restored their two point cushion. O'Mahony's did cancel one of those out but Kirby fired a brace late on to put the result beyond any doubt. St. Colmcille's - C. Duffy; N. Dunne, D. Dunne, B. Kelly; E. Kelly, J. McDonagh, E. Winters; N. Ronan, E. Sarsfield (0-1); B. McColgan (0-1), F. Daly (0-1), E. Boyle; M. Clerkin, N. Kirby (0-9), D. O'Brien. Ladies football at the seaside Ladies football at St Colmcilles has got off to a great start. Eimear Ferguson-Towell was appointed earlier this year as co-ordinator for girls football and with the help of Majella Hilliard has created great interest and enthusiasm in the sport. Their first training session took place at Pilltown GAA grounds in March with a turnout of over 60 girls ranging in age from 7 to 14. Word soon spread and numbers at training increased. St Colmcilles ran an adult coaching course where another lady, Patricia Reilly also qualified to help out with training. A girls U12 team was entered in the Community Games competition. The girls showed their talent and skills by reaching the County Final where they were beaten by Dunboyne. They also participated in the Meath U12 Championship, improving as each game went on. Further encouragement came their way with the selection of one of their players, Laura Tyndall, onto the Meath U12 panel in June. More football was given to the girls in the form of an U10 and U12 girls final at the clubs renowned Seaside League Finals in June. They made history in being the first all girls team in this competition. Eimear, Majella and all the coaches are delighted with the commitment and support they have received from players, their parents and St Colmcilles GFC. Long may it continue. Tweet

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