Dunsany juvenile football awoke from its slumber in 1998. Will that spell a revival in the adult team's fortunes? Royal County asked the questions. Under 14 manager and club vice-chairman, Mick Ryan, was only too willing to provide the answers. Attention all Royal County football followers. Lodge the names of Michael Collier, Kieran Lawlor, Mark Ryan and Sean Stephens into your memory bank because in the year just drawing to a close that talented Dunsany quartet sampled their first taste of intercounty action with the Meath Under 14s - and judging by their displays it should be the beginning of four long and profitable relationships with the green and gold jersey. On the club scene they encountered a year of mixed fortunes. The celebrations which greeted their Division 2 league success were prematurely cut short by preparations for the championship final a fortnight later. Dunboyne intervened to spoil what would have been a perfect year. Kilkenny native Mick Ryan, along with selectors Gabriel Kennedy and Martin Stephens, guided the Dunsany youngsters to both finals and reflecting back over the year that was he admits that they surpassed his wildest expectations. The 1997 Under 12 7-a-side blitz win in Pairc Tailteann had proven they had six or seven players who could mix it with the best in the county but the ease at which the fringe players fitted into the scheme of things surprised him. "At the start of the year I knew we would be very strong down the middle but I thought we would have trouble filling the wing positions. With the benefit of hindsight there was no need to worry at all because all the players gelled really well together. Everything worked according to plan." He continues: "They were a pleasure to look after, a very disciplined bunch which always did what they were told. We had prepared well - having started training in April - and the majority of the time there was a full turnout. The odd night there might have been one or two missing but they always had valid excuses. "Team-work was the key to the success. From one to fifteen they played as a team, worked hard for one another. That's the main reason we had such a good year." Let's get the championship campaign out of the way first as no one ever wants to finish on a sour note. I say that without wishing to cause offense because the facts of the matter are that the Dunsany Under 14 class of '98 carved a niche for themselves in the club's 35 year old history by becoming the first from the parish to contest the Under 14 championship proper decider. That's a cause for celebration. "It was the first time that we reached the Division 1 final which is extremely promising for the future," remarks Mick. "It shows that underage football in Dunsany is beginning to come strong. It's a small area so a lot of the time we're trying to scrape up the numbers. But we're coping well now and this year's performances certainly give us hope for the future." Where did it all go wrong against Dunboyne? "I'm not trying to take anything away from Dunboyne because they're a very good side, but the big pitch in Navan didn't agree with our small forwards," Mick replied. "We played Trim (who won the Under14 Division 1 league title at Dunboyne's expense) in the semi-final at Bective which suited them much better. The pitch certainly didn't help our cause. "We conceded three goals in the first half which was a killer blow. But to their credit the lads refused to throw in the towel and with Stephen Collier having an outstanding second half at midfield we cut their lead to six points. But then they got a goal which put the game out of our reach. The team dropped their heads and Dunboyne went on to win comfortably." The final result was Dunboyne 5-11 Dunsany 2-3. Two weeks earlier Mick Ryan's men had claimed the Division 2 league title courtesy of defeating Wolfe Tones in the decider. In a close encounter the team in red and white scraped through thanks mainly to their 'big men' producing the goods on the big occasion. "It was a tight game and we only won by a couple of points. They had a few nice players but our midfield duo of Michael Collier and Cathal Flaherty were superb. The half forwards Sean Stephens and Mark Ryan (Mick's son) also did their bit. "Defensively Stephen Clynch was as solid as a rock at centreback. He's a small man - but a great player. As is Kieran Lawlor who was outstanding at fullback and our goalkeeper, Paul Faherty, pulled off some crucial saves. Basically it was a great team performance which saw us through in the end." Mick Ryan's name may sound familiar to followers of underage football in the Royal County. The reason for that is as well as being vice-chairman of Dunsany he moonlights as chairman of the County Juvenile Board - 1998 marking his first foray into the world of administration at county board level. Meanwhile, Mick is eager to point out that he's not alone when it comes to catering for the underage scene in Dunsany. "Francis Collier does trojan work with the juveniles here and has been doing so for a long time before I got involved. There's also Tommy Brennan the local teacher in Dunsany N.S., and Joe Flynn who looks after the Under 10s. Their hard work and effort is beginning to bear fruit now." With men of that calibre looking after their best interests the young footballers of Dunsany can look forward to bigger and better days ahead. Certainly no stone will be left unturned. The history making Dunsany team which contested the championship final with Dunboyne was as follows; P. Faherty; D. Tinneny, K. Lawlor, P. King; J. Byrne, S. Clynch, P. Kennedy; M. Collier (1-2), C. Flaherty; M. Ryan (0-1), R. Donnelly, S. Stevens; K. Gaughran, P. Harney, M. Byrne. Sub - P. Cunningham (1-0) for Gaughran. Convincing Victory for Dunsany ladies It was a case of better late than never for Dunsany as they cruised past St Michael's to win the '97 SFL final replay by a scoreline of 4-19 to 1-5 last September, an entire year after their first final encounter finished all square. The Dunsany ladies had the better of the first half and two Sinead Browne goals gave them a 2-8 to 0-4 interval lead. The trend continued after the break and sparkling performances from half back Breda Dennehy, centre forward Christine O'Brien who knotched 10 points and diminutive full forward Browne saw Dunsany pull well clear. The winning Dunsany Side - S Coleman; J Cunningham, A Gorman, C O'Connell; B Dennehy, S Dixon, S Cusack; A.M Dennehy, A Donnelly; M Lucy (0-2), C O'Brien (1-10), K Ward (0-3), J Cusack, S Browne (4-1), L Tyrrell (0-3). Subs: F Lynch, M Cleary, J Boland and A Lynch. Division 5 title for Dunsany Dunsany gained compensation for their championship semi-final defeat by St. Mary's when they captured the Division 5 league title at the expense of Kilbride. Five points seperated the sides at the final whistle (0-13 to 0-8) and the team in red and white were fully deserving winners. The fact that the Foster Cup will take pride of place in the Dunsany trophy cabinet over the winter months should soften the blow of that championship semi-final defeat. With players of the calibre of Jimmy McGuinness, Anton O'Neill, Jack Smith, Nicky Horan and Jimmy Maguire, Dunsany were expected to go the whole way . . . never mind account for St. Marys with ease. But as events transpired Dunsany gaels were left to comtemplate another year of unfullfilled championship promise. It's in this context that the league win was a welcome boost, but when Jimmy McGuinness failed to appear at the throw-in Dunsany supporters must have been worried. The game was originally fixed for Dunshauglin but was switched to Bellewstown with the county man initially travelling to the former. McGuinness eventually joined the action and after dominating the first half scoring, they never looked back on their way to victory. It was 0-8 to 0-2 in favour of the eventual winners at the interval and this lead proved decisive as Kilbride never threatened to pull back the arrears. Could this be the catalyst for Junior championship glory in 1999? Who knows? But they've experienced that winning feeling and may be determined to sample more in the year ahead. The victorious Dunsany team was as follows; T. Crocock; P. McGovern, V. Brennan, B. Duffy; E. Ferguson, A. O'Neill, F. Lawlor; C. Power (0-1), J. Smith; G. O'Neill (0-2), C. Keena (0-1), M. Brennan (0-3); D. Carolan (0-4), J. Maguire (0-1), K. Lawlor (0-1). Sub - J. McGuinness Tweet

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