A tough year
November 30, 2005
Despite relegation from the intermediate football ranks and an unsatisfactory exit from the senior hurling championship, all isn't bleak in Drumree according to PRO Macartan McGroder.
Seven years ago Drumree were on the crest of a wave with a JFC-JHC double plus victory in the inaugural Leinster Junior Football Club tournament. However, the wheel has turned 180 degrees with the club facing a return to the junior football ranks while their senior hurling status in the balance.
"It has been coming for a while. There has been a transition from the players who were quite successful winning a junior championship and then a Leinster junior club title. All clubs go through a transition and the only positive thing is that we have some good underage players coming through
"About seven or eight of the St Martin's team that were beaten in the minor final are from Drumree. They have been very successful through the underage ranks. There is definitely reason for optimism there," McGroder remarked
The previous year Drumree managed just one win from seven group outings, a four points success over Curraha, who were later demoted back to the Junior ranks they emerged from in the autumn of 2001.
Sean Walsh and Stephen Clare worked hard to keep things afloat but heads dropped after a heavy defeat by Drumconrath in the IFC opener. Their seventh and final (for now) IFC campaign got going on Tuesday, April 12 at Simonstown and county man John Cullinane was their only scorer in a 0-1 to 3-16 defeat at the north Navan venue.
An understrength Drumree - John Cullinane was among those unavailable - improved their scoring return seven fold in their next outing when doing a lot better against Oldcastle at Kilberry on Bank Holiday Monday, May 2 but still lost out by 0-7 to 0-12.
The following Saturday they faced Donaghmore/Ashbourne at Ratoath where a Niall McCarrick point and a David McMahon goal from a penalty kick boosted them to a 1-1 to 0-0 advantage early on. However they failed to add to that for the rest of the half and trailed 0-5 to 1-1 at the break.
Gavin Kilbane was their sole second-half scorer as they went down by 1-2 to 1-12. John Cullinane returned for the clash with Ballivor, also pointless losing their first three IFC fixtures, at Trim on Sunday, May 15.
Despite his efforts as well as those of Brendan Walsh and John Gilsenan, Drumree fell 0-0 to 0-6 behind early on, were 0-2 to 0-11 down at the break, before losing by 0-5 to 0-18.
Drumree shared 16 scores with Carnaross in the fifth round at Simonstown on Friday, June 10 but the Cavan border chalked up 3-5 to their 0-8, despite a five points contribution from David McMahon.
Their lack of scoring power was exposed against Nobber in round six at Bective in late July when McMahon (two) and John Cullinane were their only marksmen in the 0-3 to 1-15 defeat.
In the final group game against Castletown at Simonstown on Saturday, August 6, Drumree managed their best scoring return with 2-3 (John Brennan and David McMahon got the goals) but a 2-3 to 1-18 defeat was their lot.
Finishing six points adrift of Oldcastle in the IFC Group B table a relegation play-off with Slane - who finished bottom of the pile in the other section having lost all their matches, the dreaded relegation play-off was next up for the men in red and white hoops.
A George Troy goal gave them a 1-0 to 0-2 advantage midway through the opening half at Bective on Sunday, August 14 but not even a penalty save by Paul Gaughan from Declan Kearns or a goal from substitute Niall McCarrick could prevent Drumree from losing their IFC status on a 2-1 to 1-10 scoreline.
At the time of writing the fate of Drumree hurlers has yet to be decided, following their expulsion from the senior hurling championship. They may yet get a chance to retain their top flight status in a relegation play-off against either Longwood or Boardsmill, who shared the basement spot in the other group.
Drumree gained promotion in 2003 following an impressive win over Clann na nGael in the IHC decider and retained their senior status the following year without recourse to the relegation decider.
This time round they didn't play any games in the SHC after refusing to fulfil their opening fixture against promoted Clann na nGael, without county footballers, Caoimhín King and David Crimmins.
Billeted in a very difficult group with holders Kilmessan, last year's runners-up Trim, Dunboyne (runners-up in 2002 and 2003 as well as being beaten semi-finalists in 2004), Kildalkey as well the aforementioned Clann na nGael, that opening fixture could have taken on additional significance in terms of securing a third season in the top flight.
"On the hurling front a decision was made on principle and unfortunately the Hurling Board also hit other problems at the same time and resigned. The football board was making fixtures and unfortunately the second round went ahead without the Drumree situation being resolved," McGroder recalls.
"Drumree is a small club and to go out and play without Caoimhín King and David Crimmins would be very difficult for a club that is struggling to hold their senior status. They weren't stopped from playing but advised not to play," adds Hurling PRO, John Gilsenan
The club's grievance is understandable, they wouldn't have been asked to play a football championship game without county players less than a fortnight before an inter-county championship match.
Hurling team manager Seamus Wallace explained his position on the matter. "It was very unsatisfactory. Personally, I felt very let down over it. The fact of the matter was that the players weren't free to play. As a small club we were expected to line out without two of our best players for the first round of the championship.
"We wouldn't have the resources to overcome the absence of two of our best players. Both of those guys were good enough to make it onto the county hurling team.
"It's a problem that has been there for years and I would have thought that the Hurling Board would have stood up when the facts were there but football rules in the county and that's it.
"It was the players themselves who made the decision not to play. The players made the decision not to play without the lads. The lads themselves wanted to play hurling. A football team wouldn't have been expected to play.
"The players stood on a principle and rather than criticise them they have to be admired. They didn't get the backing from the rest of the county. At the end of the day, it should be about getting lads to play not stopping them."
"At the end of the day, the players are the last that's thought about by the powers that be. That's the way I'm reading it" , adds Wallace. Success at underage level with fellow parishioners Dunshaughlin under the banner of St Martin's bodes well to the future. The lads in red and black represented the county at the Feile na nOg and won the under 14 FC.
St Martin's beat Navan O'Mahonys by 4-13 to 2-13 in a high scoring Under 14 FC final after trailing by 1-3 to 1-8 at the break before going on to outscore their opponents by 3-10 to 1-5 in the second-half.
The St Martin's team was - M. McCarthy; S. Joyce, J. O'Brien, S. Connolly; C. O'Brien, S. Doyle (0-1), B. Jordan; E. Hagarty (0-4), C. Devereaux (0-3); E. Bowe (0-1), E. Staunton (1-1), J. Rattigan (0-1); F. Toolan (1-1), S. Clusker (1-0), N. Murphy (0-1). Sub - A. O'Brien (1-0) for Bowe.
David Wallace, Brian Coughlan, James Gaughan, Christopher Dixon, Stephen McGroder, John Coleman and John Coffey were part of the St Martin's squad that reached the MFC final where they fell to a very strong Summerhill side.
St Martin's opened brightly and posted the first score through David Devereaux before the holders assumed control to lead by 1-10 to 1-3 at the break and eventually retained the Delaney Cup on a 2-16 to 2-9 scoreline.
Emmet O'Callaghan, John Coleman and David McMahon were to the fore as Drumree opened brightly against Boardsmill in an Under 21 C first round clash at under lights at Skryne on Wednesday, October 12.
They led by 0-4 to 0-2 in the early stages but conceded a goal on the stroke of half-time to turn around 0-5 to 1-4 in arrears and eventually lost by 0-7 to 2-12. Despite that defeat, McGroder remains optimistic about the future of Drumree.
Most Read Stories