An eventful year on all fronts
November 30, 2005
Na Fianna's footballers had two objectives for the 2005 season - an improved league performance and a place in the knockout stage of the IFC. They achieved one of these with ease (pushing hard for promotion to Division One) but fell well short on the other score (managing just two wins in Group 2 of the intermediate championship). The hurlers, meanwhile, went all the way to the IHC final, only to be edged out by surprise packet Blackhall Gaels.
All things considered, 2005 was a decent year for the Baconstown/Enfield combination, who competed well at all levels in both codes - especially hurling - and also had a commendable year in ladies football and camogie.
Since its genesis in 2000, Na Fianna GF&HC has blossomed into one of the most vibrant GAA clubs in County Meath. The Enfield/Baconstown amalgam is a hive of activity like no other and, though honours won during the course of the year proved few and far between, the club contributed enormously to the '05 Royal County gaelic games season.
They fielded five adult teams between the small ball and the bigger one; the juvenile girls and boys acquitted themselves well in both codes; ladies football continued to go strong in the club; and camogie has also started up. Progressive is the name of the game and the team of trusty volunteers working away behind the scenes in the club have to be commended for the manner in which they are keeping things not just afloat but heading onwards and upwards.
The ladies are bringing great distinction to the club. They won the junior county championship in 2004 and went as far as the Leinster final. In '04, they continued to make steady progress, contesting the semi-final stage of the intermediate championship as well as a Feis Cup semi-final, so it looks like there's plenty more to come from this corner of Na Fianna.
Camogie has also been initiated at juvenile level, as well as a junior team, so some exciting developments are anticipated on that front, too.
Na Fianna's footballers have ups and downs like most clubs. There were three adult football teams in '05, contesting the intermediate, junior 'B' and junior 'C' championships.
In the IFC, the team (overseen by Colm Ratty from Navan O'Mahonys, with Tony Walsh and Michael Greaney as selectors) managed only two wins out of seven. Some of the defeats were of the narrow variety, others were more disappointing, but Na Fianna did at least retain their intermediate status. The first team fared much better in Division Two of the all-county league, and they were still in the hunt for promotion for most of the year, sitting near the summit of the Division Two table.
The junior 'B' team (managed by Charlie Loughlan) had an excellent year, reaching the quarter-final of their championship before coming unstuck against Boardsmill. And the junior Cs enjoyed their football, without ever getting too hung up on results!
Na Fianna fielded intermediate and junior hurling teams, managed by Mick Cole and Michael Bailey respectively. The juniors did very well in their first year. The intermediate team caused many to sit up and take heed when they went all the way to the final, but were pipped by Blackhall Gaels on a 0-13 to 0-12 scoreline. It was disappointing as Na Fianna had emphatically beaten the same opposition in an earlier round of the same competition.
The club had county representation in hurling from David Kirby (senior/U21) and Mark Coffey (U21). Ollie Lewis also featured on the Meath junior football panel for a while.
At juvenile level, Na Fianna were extremely active during the year, with boys and girls fielding at U8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16 and minor levels.
The U10s contested the Summerhill Tournament, with games against Blackhall Gaels, Dunsany and Moynalvey. All the matches were exciting and close, with the emphasis on enjoyment, developing basic skills and ensuring that as many children as possible were introduced to the national code at an early age. Sean Downey was in charge of the U10s and the panel consisted of 20 players. A new scoring method was used in U10 games this year - a goal was worth one point and a point was worth two points! You know it makes sense…
Thirty boys made up the U8 panel, and they played many matches during the year, including memorable tussles with neighbours Longwood, Summerhill, Trim, Boardsmill and Dunsany. Here, the mentors were Conor Ryan and Michael McDonnell.
The club's nursery is growing all the time, under the watchful eye of Tony Walsh, Brendan Flynn and John Cosgrave. This group takes part in fun games every Saturday morning at 12 noon, from mid-March until late September. Na Fianna's U8 and U10 mentors attended the County Board Go Games seminar in Walterstown and will introduce the Go Games at U12, 10 and 8 levels in the coming year.
The success enjoyed at U12 level in 2004 resulted in a difficult grading for the 2005 U12 panel, which competed in Division Two of the championship and came up against a succession of very strong teams in Walterstown, St Colmcille's, Wolfe Tones, Summerhill, Skryne, Clan Na Gael and Donaghmore-Ashbourne. Team mentors with the U12s were Mark Coffey and Anthony Kirby.
History was made in Na Fianna Hurling & Football Club in 2005 when the under 14 footballers (managed by Jim Queeney, with Pat Flynn as coach) became the first team from the club to compete in the Division 1 league and championship at under 14 level. The players acquitted themselves well in both competitions and reached the semi-final stage twice.
In the league, they defeated Trim, St Peter & Pauls, Round Towers, O Mahonys and St Martins. However, injury deprived them of a key player in the semi-final and they lost out to Ratoath,
In the championship, after a first-round walkover from Duleek, the team had a great win over Skryne.
However they came up against a strong O Mahonys side in the semi-final and had to settle for second best.
This panel of 27 players has ensured that the future for underage football in the club is bright. This age group have also contributed to the county scene, with key players John O Lone, Owen Murray & Harrison Silk forming the backbone of the under 14 team.
Martin Hanly, Diarmaid Fagan, Tony Healy and John McCloskey guided the U11 hurlers in the U11 'C' championship. An inexperienced squad, consisting mainly of 8-, 9- and 10-year-olds, met tough competition from strong opposition including St Martins, Ratoath, St Colmcille's, Blackhall Gaels, Dunboyne, Donaghmore-Ashbourne and Rathmolyon. Thanks to the encouragement of the mentors, the squad is continuing to train and develop.
Tony Walsh was part of the senior football management think-tank, along with Colm Ratty (coach) and Michael Greaney. "We had a good year in Division Two, which is a very competitive league," he notes. "We were nearly relegated at the end of 2004, when it went down to the very last game against Dunderry, and we were determined to avoid a repeat of that. We couldn't have asked more from them in the league."
Indeed, Na Fianna's performances were excellent in Division Two and they were in contention for a place in the division final as this text was being drafted.
"The league campaign went very well," Tony continues. "We enjoyed a particularly good spell in mid-July when we beat Ballivor and Walterstown within a week. We played fantastic football that night against Walterstown. We still had something to play for in September and you can't ask for much more than that."
Unfortunately, the championship was a different matter, with only two wins from seven outings. Na Fianna opened their IFC programme with defeat to Ratoath and bounced back with a victory over group whipping boys Slane, followed by defeat to Gaeil Colmcille and a win over St Colmcille's. That was as good as it got and successive defeats came at the hands of Syddan (1-11 to 1-9), Duleek (2-12 to 3-5) and Rathkenny (1-15 to 3-4).
"We underachieved big time," says Tony. "I feel we can do better than that in the intermediate championship. For some reason, we played better in the league, but hopefully we'll get it right next year. We have some good minors coming through and we can do a lot better in 2006. We know ourselves that four points is a poor return from seven games and I'm sure the players will do everything in their power to set the record straight next year."
David Doherty was over the intermediate hurling team along with co-selector Dermot Fagan and manager/trainer Mick Cole. They did superbly to reach the intermediate championship final only to lose by the narrowest possible margin to Blackhall Gaels. He notes: "We were hoping to go all the way. We threw it away in the semi-final in '04 and Mick felt we could win it this year. We've never been senior before but we think we can move up to that level."
The Na Fianna cause wasn't helped by the fact that they were forced to play much of the year without the services of team stalwarts Martin Hanly and Tony Healy as well as full back Brendan Flynn. They were also stunned by the sudden death of former player and colleague Donal Flynn, which cast a shadow over their whole season.
David is optimistic about the future: "I think Na Fianna could go senior in both codes. In hurling, we train young lads from U10 up and you can see the hurling in them even at that age, which is a great thing. I'm convinced we'll go senior. We have three or four lads who are coming close to the end of their careers but there's no crisis because there's some good young lads coming through too. We're in good hands."
NA FIANNA
LADIES GAA
GIRLS FOOTBALL.
Girls from age six to twelve attended training every Saturday in Baconstown and great improvements has been made in our younger player's skills and match performance.
U8s
Our nursery group/U8 coaching introduces the youngest players to the basics of football giving them an early start advantage. Many of our under 10s players this year have advanced from the nursery group/U8 of 2004.
U10s
The under 10s girls team won seven matches and drew one, out of all nine matches played in the championship and have done very well in reaching the quarter final in which they lost to Ratoath 2-10 to 1-06.
U12s
Our Under 12 girl's football team reached the final and has done exceptionally well in winning all eight championship matches in their group and were very unfortunate to loose in the final. The girls have had a very good season this year and it was only expected that the players first enjoy playing the sport while improve their skills, so is an added bonus and sense of achievement for the players to have won so many of their matches and reach the final.
CAMOGIE
Underage teams
Na Fianna introduced camogie into the club in 2005 and entered three teams into the championship at under ten, under twelve and at junior level. Twenty five young girls were registered at underage level from age six to twelve years old.
The under 12s team competed very well against opposing teams in the county. The girls showed that they are well able to compete with the other camogie teams in the county. They have made great progress and the match experiences will be an advantage to them in 2006.
Junior Team
Our junior team starting out with only twelve camogie players training but gaining extra as the weeks passed and entered a team into the championship. The team is very much at beginner's level with a mix of a few experienced players. The regular players are very willing to learn and enthusiastic about the game.
Although our team didn't have the winning formula great experiences was gained and skill level has improved with each match played. And above all it's been great fun for all the players involved. More players are always welcome to join our camogie club at all levels in 2006.
Na Fianna U14 & U16 Hurling
Training began in January with boys from both teams being brought together as a squad. Both teams competed in Division 2 in their respective competitions, but unfortunately won no silverware in 2005. However, the squad's coaches were encouraged by the fact that a young rising talent, Barry Slevin represented Na Fianna on the Meath U16 team that reached the All-Ireland "B" Final.
Ladies football
After a great year last year winning the Junior A championship, the ladies team made the move up to the intermediate championship. The team was confident of a good run in the Intermediate championship this year. With a strengthened team of new players and very skillful underage players coming through the team had every reason to be confident. Thus the team found themselves in a semi final clash against Donaghmore/ Ashbourne. Despite a great effort by the girls on the day Donaghmore/Ashbourne had more determination and skill and proved to be worthy winners on the day.
The Ladies team is competing in the Division 2 league which is still on going. Congratulations to the following players Marie Healy, Noeleen Boggan, Yvonne Slevin, Ashling Ennis and Lorraine Boggan who were called up to the Meath Junior Ladies panel this year.
U16 Ladies Report
Despite a disheartening campaign last year in the under sixteen-championship enthusiasm was high for this year's campaign. With the addition of new players the panel was quite strong this year and all were very eager to do well. Playing in the Division 2 of the championship the girls came up against teams such as Dunboyne, Boardsmill, Kells and Wolfe Tones. Beating all teams in the qualifying rounds the Na Fianna girls topped the group and earned themselves a semi-final position. Local rivals Boardsmill proved the opposition and a hard fought game was played in which the Na Fianna girls were victorious.
The Final took place in Athboy on the 9th October against Kells. The girls fought strong and hard for the duration of the game but Kells proved to be the stronger team on the day and were triumphant.
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