Royal County talks to St. Pats veteran Ivan Curran about another disappointing year for the Stamullen club and their prospects of gaining that elusive championship win in the not too distant future. The hard luck story of the nineties must be St. Pat's. Four times the Stamullen faithful have travelled to Navan on Intermediate final day this decade but on each occasion they've returned home empty handed. Long serving forward Ivan Curran has swallowed more bitter pills than most and, according to him, defeat never gets any easier to accept. "It will take a lot to recover from this year's defeat," remarks Ivan. "It was very rough on the lads, disappointing dosen't begin to describe it. But we have to pick ourselves up again and give it another try. It's hard to keep the interest up when you've nothing to show for it but what else can we do?" The St. Pats faithful won't thank us for reminding them of their loss at the hands of Syddan. Perennial favourites for Intermediate honours they've consistently flattered to deceive. After suffering the heartbreak of final defeat in 1991, '92, and '98, they looked, at half-time of this year's decider, like they were finally going to get their hands on the Mattie McDonnell Cup. They led by 1-7 to 0-3 having completely outclassed their opponents. However, as things transpired, missed opportunities in the first half and at the beginning of the second came back to haunt them. "Syddan were more fired up for the second half than we were. We're not used to being so far ahead at half-time and maybe we were a bit complacent in the second half. I'm not trying to take anything away from Syddan, they played very well in the second half and deserved to win in the end, but I still think we're a better team. We just didn't perform to our full potential in the second half. "We also had a bit of bad luck in the run up to the final. Paddy Rothwell was ruled out with injury while Daithi Whyte was involved in a car crash and was only able to come on a sub. The injury sustained by Cormac Murphy in the first half didn't help matters either. He was playing well at the time." The success of the two Cormacs and Meath this year will offer some consolation to St. Pat's supporters over the winter months. "The two boys winning the All-Irelands was a big boost to the club. I mean it's not every Intermediate club that can boast to having two All-Ireland winners on the team. Unfortunately, they couldn't finish off the year in style." This was Ivan's 20th year on the St. Pats first team but the good news for St. Pats supporters is that he's not looking for a nine inch nail just yet. "I must admit that this year took a lot out of me. I found it very hard at the end. I'm certainly going to continue with the training next year and probably play with the juniors. I love the bit of craic with the lads and I wouldn't know what to do with myself on Tuesday or Thursday nights." Neither would Ivan's three kids, Karena, Sarah and Shane, by all accounts. "A few of the players bring their kids down to training during the summer months and they also enjoy it. Sure the eldest, Karena, was as disappointed as anyone after the final. She wouldn't talk for a week after it!" According to the veteran full forward no finger of blame can be pointed in the direction of manager Christy Moore. "It has been great training under Christy for the last two years. He has a lot of experience having won an All-Ireland minor with Meath and reaching another final. He got promoted during the year and that put him under added pressure as it took up more of his time but he put in a lot of effort. At the end of the day it's up to the players on the pitch and unfortunately we didn't produce the goods when it mattered most." Silverware has been a scarce commodity for the affable Curran during his career. U14 and U17 medals are his sole reward for all his years in the white and green of the local club. His performances with St. Pats attracted the attention of the Meath minor selectors and he was a member of the team that won the 1980 Leinster title. He was centre forward on that team which also included Liam Hayes, Colm Coyle and Finian Murtagh but unfortunately a broken leg, sustained in a club game against Duleek, ruled him out of contention for the provincial decider against and the All-Ireland final defeat at the hands of Kerry. A couple of run outs with the Royal County seniors soon followed but work commitments - he runs a potato producing company with his father Jimmy called J & I Curran Potatoes - meant he wasn't able to dedicate sufficient time to training. It wasn't off the ground that he licked his talent for gaelic football. The aforementioned Jimmy won an All-Ireland minor souvenir with Mayo in 1953. Ivan is a first cousin of former Mayo and Railway Cup star JP Kean, while his uncle Martin has also been involved with the St. Pats club. No need to ask Ivan what his hopes for St. Pats' future are, but have they the character to bounce back? "We've a great bunch of lads here at the minute, five or six of them are U21. There's no doubt that they have the talent, it's just a matter of getting them mentally and tactically right for the big day." St. Pats will be joined in the Intermediate grade next year by Carnaross and Slane who were relegated from senior. They will pose stiff competition for the Pats along with the likes of Castletown and Ballivor. "There'll always be others teams knocking on the door and I'm sure Carnaross and Slane will be eager for a quick return to the senior but the Intermediate is a tough competition to win - I should know! - and they might be in for a bit of a shock. It is going to be difficult but we have to give it our best shot." Hopefully that shot will be good enough because few would begrudge St. Pats their long overdue Mattie McDonnell Cup success. Minor Hurling title for St. Pats St. Pat's minor hurlers captured the Minor HC 'C' title at the expense of Rathmolyon. The final was played in Kiltale and the Stamullen outfit emerged victorious on a scoreline of 2-9 to 2-5. The winners led throughout and were 0-6 to 0-4 ahead at the break. Darren Moore registered three points in that period and Shane Kirwan, JP Ryan and captain Ciaran Calvey were also on target. A goal from Darren Moore and points by Brian Kelly, Shane Kirwan and JP Ryan gave them a perfect start to the second half and they were eight points clear with 40 minutes played. To their credit, Rathmolyon did muster a revival and following two goals were only a point in arrears with three minutes remaining. Shane Kirwan put the issue beyond any doubt when firing his side's second goal a minute later. 'Keeper Mark Smith made some fine saves throughout while Ryan, James Kenna, Kirwan and Moore were others to catch the eye in what was an impressive all round team display. Manager Francis Courtney and selector Pat Ryan also deserve praise for their efforts in promoting the small ball game in east Meath. St. Pats - Mark Smith; Neil Stafford, Ciaran Calvey (0-1), Paddy Muldowney, JP Ryan (0-2), Brian Kelly (0-1), James Kenna, Shane Kirwan (1-2), Johnathon Monks, David Kirwan, Darren Moore (1-3). Subs - Colm Stafford, Colm Reilly, Colm Folan, Robert Genockey, Dara McGrath. Tweet

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