Curraha set their stall out to steady the ship after being relegated from the Intermediate Football Championship and losing their Div. 3 League status in 2004. Club secretary Paul O'Connor reviewed the year with John Loughran. Having lifted the Junior 'A' Football title in 2001, under the stewardship of former county great, Brian Stafford, and retained their IFC status the following year, many observers predicted a bright future for the club in the intermediate ranks. Those observers weren't ranting or raving about the club threatening to make the break through to senior, but they certainly weren't expecting Curraha to fall through the exit door in the space of two short years. But observing from a distance can fraught with danger. "We lost a number of key players over the last numbers of years. The likes of Nigel McDermott, Shane Keogh, Stephen Ronan and Liam Carroll all hung up their boots and many would contend they retired before their time. They probably felt they had done as much as they could for the club. "The departure of those lads was always going to leave a gap. We had hoped we might have been able to hang on in there and fight our corner in the intermediate grade, but sadly that wasn't the case," Paul opined. Having dropped down a grade in both league and championship the club set about re-establishing its credentials. "This year was all about re-establishing ourselves at Junior 'A' and preserving our status in Div. 4 in the league. We know the potential is there over the next few years to get back " Before a ball was kicked in anger in 2005, the east Meath outfit's chances were dealt a number of cruel blows. Robbie Hetherton, who picked up a serious knee injury in the relegation play-off against Donaghmore - Ashbourne in 2004 was ruled out for the year. Christopher Bermingham and Colm McManus opted to take a year out to travel to Australia, while brothers Eoin and Carroll opted to transfer to Donaghmore-Ashbourne and Fingal Ravens respectively. In the first round of the championship against Simonstown the club was dealt another blow, when Hetherton's younger brother Terry, picked up a serious shoulder injury, which ruled him out for the year. Meath minor star Michael Dowling, who picked up a serious injury in the run-up to the Royal's semi-final defeat at the hands of Offaly, also missed a considerable chunk of the year. But as the old saying goes, 'every cloud has a silver lining.' The emergence of 16-year Sean Mallon certainly fell into that category. Paul elaborated: "We were reluctant to play Sean at the start of the year, because of his age, but he came in, did extremely well and staked his claim for a place on the team." In recent years Curraha have been at the cutting edge of juvenile success in the county, but 2005 proved to be a quiet year with no silverware to show for a great deal of endeavour. Paul elaborated: "There was plenty of success at under 12 and under 14 level in the last few years, under the guidance of Pat Coyle, so this year was a quiet year in that respect." Pat managed to coach the under 16s (an amalgamation of Curraha and St. Vincent's) to the Div. 3 A final, but they went under to a strong Oldcastle outfit on the night," he added. "Curraha had a strong representation on that team, which bodes well for the future. Sean Prendiville, Paddy and Brian Marmion, Stephen Carey, Kevin Mallon, Mark Battersby and Gavin Coyle were all part of that set up," Paul recalled. To key to Curraha's future success at adult level, according to Paul, lies with their underage structure, which is in very good shape. "If we can get one or two players coming through from minor every year, we are hopeful that we will be in a position to challenge for Junior honours in a few year's time." The development of the likes Micheal Dowling, Sean Mallon and Terry Hetherton is proof positive that the juvenile conveyor belt is well oiled and up to the task of producing up and coming youngsters. "We are hoping to build the first team around the young talent that is coming through, but we will need to get two or three players coming through every year, in that respect," he commented. Indeed, the entire underage structure is firing on all cylinders. "Every team in the county has to rely on its youth structure and Curraha are no different in that respect. For the first time ever we had an under 8 team under the guidance of Pat Moriarty and Ray Toner, while the under 10 team did well in the East Meath tournament," Paul noted. That tournament included the likes of Donaghamore - Ashbourne, St. Colmcille's, St. Pat's Ardcath and Skryne. "The under 10s won three games, drew two, and lost two, so they gave a very good account of themselves," he noted. Further up the production line, the under 12s under the guidance of Ciaron McLarnon also put in a decent showing. "They were struggling at the start of the year to field a team, but Ciaron went out scouting around the parish and picked up a few players and they managed to get to the semi-final of the Div. 3 under 12 championship." Tony McEntee's under 14 team had difficult year in their grade, but Paul is hopeful they will put in a strong showing in 2006. "A lot of the team were only 13, so we are very hopeful that they will do well next year. There is lots of potential in that group of players," Paul remarked. Of the field the club is taking part in the new club development and planning programme. "That includes recruiting at every level, from underage players right through to adult players and committee members," he added. The development committee under the chairmanship of Pat Moriarty is seeking to raise the profile of the club within the parish. It is also seeking to improve the club's playing facilities. "Our present facilities have served the club well over the past 20 years. We will be running numerous major fund raisers over the next few years, with a view to upgrading our facilities. "We are looking to add a second pitch. One pitch isn't adequate to service 10 or 12 teams, so we are looking to acquire additional land. We are also planning to totally redevelop our clubhouse," he continued. The club fully realises if it is to compete with the likes of a number of bigger, local GAA clubs, it has to bring its facilities to a higher plain. "We have Donaghamore-Ashbourne on one side of us and Ratoath on the other. We need to progress and provide our players with the best facilities. Other sports are also strong in the area and you to compete with them also, but we are rising to the challenge," Paul confirmed. With a good crop of young players filtering through the ranks and ambitious plans in the pipeline of the field Curraha are certainly a club to watch out for in the next couple of years. MINOR REVIEW 2005 CURRAHA/ St. VINCENTS UNDER 15.: Our under 15 team did well in a very strong Division 3 A playing against the likes of Oldcastle,Wolfe Tones and Trim. Our first game against Walterstown ended in a defeat by 9 points , but never being despondent we fought on to reach the semi-final stages thanks to dedicated players and mentors alike. We meet a strong St. Cuthberts team in the semi-final and despite good performances from Mark Battersby, Neil Macken, Colin Hand, Stephen Carey and Niall Mc Kenna we were unsuccessful. UNDER 16: Our under 16 team were tremendous this year getting to the Div. 3 final and winning the Skryne under 16 tournament. Our path to the Div.3 final was hard fought, and the semi-final contest against Blackhall Gaels which we won by two points was a fantastic game.The final unfortunately was a anti-climax where Oldcastle lifted the cup by a controversial one point margin.A sad day for the GAA were the thoughts of our minor chairman as he watched the likes of Paddy and Brian Marmion, Gavin Coyle, Gerard Fox, Declan O'Sullivan and Mark Battersby play their hearts out. UNDER 17: Subsequent to the under 16 final our team was withdrawn due to a shortage of players. Minor : Our minor team played in Division 2A and despite two drawn matches with Dunderry and St. Pats we were unable to get by Clan na Gael to reach the quarter finals. However, the players contested a Dublin tournament where they gave a good account of themselves by reaching the final. County players: Curraha despite being a relatively small club supplied six players to both juvenile and minor county teams. Micheal Dowling - Meath minors 2005 Micheal gave a great contribution in the full back position in the defeat of Leinster favourites Kildare at Park Tailteann and unfortunately due to injury in a subsequent club match he had to sit out the counties one point defeat by Offally. Gavin Coyle - Meath Under 16. Representing his club well in matches played to date and are currently contesting the Leinster championship. Mark Battersby Stephen Carey. Meath Under 15. Mark and Stephen have given the county great assistance in winning the Louth tournament , Offaly tournament and the under 15 Leinsters to date. Kevin Mallon David Coyle. Meath under 14. Kevin and David continue the tradition of recent years of the Curraha club in supplying under age players to the county teams. Curraha underage review 2005 saw a very busy and successful year for the juvenile section of the club. The excellent foundations laid down at this level a few years ago by Pat Coyle continue to be built upon. The success of the U8/U10 juvenile coaching team led by Pat Moriarty, is clearly evident every Friday evening where upwards of 40 children religiously turn up for excellent coaching sessions. The U8/U10 teams have played over 20 games this year, the highlight being the success of the u10s at the St. Colmcille s blitz. The u12 team had an excellent campaign in the Division 3 League, reaching the semi-final where we lost to eventual winners, Moynalvey. The highlights of the year for this group were the play-off victory over Ballivor and our exciting victories over near neighbours, Ratoath and Donaghmore/Ashbourne. A special mention to U12 player John Walsh who has emigrated to France, but not before putting in several man of the match performances.  The U13 team played some great football during their Division 3 campaign. Even though the team was in the main, made up of u12 players, they were very competitive throughout. The highlight here was the great performance in Oldcastle when missing several key players. The U14s competed in the Division 2 League, and managed some great performances against the large urban clubs. The most entertaining clash was the championship game against Simonstown Gaels, where the result was in doubt, well into the second half. Tweet

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