Tones comfortable at the top table
November 30, 2005
They say all good things must come to an end. And while Cormac Reilly's final whistle on September 10th did mark the end of an amazing few years for the GAA folk of Kilberry/Oristown, Brendan Boylan feels that Wolfe Tones proved enough in their first year back in the top flight to suggest that they may not be out of the limelight for very long.
Now, for most teams in their first year after a step to a higher grade, survival there would constitute the top priority and anything better than that would be considered a bonus.
However, Wolfe Tones are no ordinary team. What they have achieved in recent seasons has been quite incredible and those who follow the Meath scene have learned never to deem anything impossible where Tony Kearney's team are concerned.
Such was the emphatic manner in which they jumped two grades in two seasons that, whereas most promoted sides would automatically, right or wrongly, be condemned as relegation fodder, the Tones were rightly acknowledged as genuine contenders from day one.
Indeed, odds of 10/1 on outright success in the Keegan Cup seemed generous before the championships commenced.
It is not unheard of for strange results to crop up the first round of a competition but there was nothing at all strange about the way in which the purple and gold dispatched a fancied Walterstown side on their return to senior fare.
Cian Ward was to the fore on the scorching Sunday afternoon, amassing a personal tally of 2-7, which included a contender for goal of the season.
Much has been written about the wonder goal he scored in last years IFC semi final, though in ways this one was even better.
He had very little to space to work with but still managed to wriggle free of the attentions of the impressive Gareth McGuinness and blast past Alban Crosby on what would be regarded as his weaker left boot.
It's all very well, and entertaining, when a team is playing stylish and attractive football, but sometimes the best indicator of a great team is when they can dig out a result when things don't seem to be going their way.
Wolfe Tones entered their second round clash with outgoing champions Skryne minus the injured duo of Stephen Corrigan and Eoin Harrington.
Even though Corrigan did join the action late on, to be short two players of the quality of the two concerned would have been fatal to most teams, but then, Wolfe Tones are no ordinary team.
A pointed penalty from Ward with virtually the last kick of the game guaranteed a second win and condemned the outgoing kingpins to their second reversal on the bounce.
It was also a result which made many sit up and realise that Kearney's side were genuine and worthy contenders for the top prize in Meath football.
From the time the round-by-round fixtures for the championship became known, the one that stood out like a lighthouse was the third round meeting between last terms IFC winners and their nearest neighbour's Simonstown Gaels.
Local derbies usually don't need an extra helping of spice but this one had it by the bucket load. To add to the mix, the Kilberry outfit took to the field with ex Simonstown player David Nolan between the posts.
Colm O'Rourke's side went into the desperate for a win having only picked up one point from their opening two outings.
The side in blue and navy opened the sharper with new recruits Wayne McCarthy and Robbie Boyle looking lively until an outstanding Tones burst saw them race into a lead of 2-06 to 1-03 with Darren McGrath and Alan Fox hitting the net.
In the second period, the edge which the injured Ward gives their attack was sorely missed as the more experienced Simonstown side assumed control.
Though for all their experience, it was the introduction of their own teenage sensation, Shane O'Rourke that inspired them into life.
The son of the manager made a superb fetch seconds after being introduced and went on a solo run along the Pairc Tailteann stand before lofting over with his left peg. Then midfielder Shane O'Neill got a goal which ensured a 3-15 to 2-11 win for the beaten finalists of the past two years.
Round 4 saw the return of Tommy Dowd to championship football after a short lived retirement and it also proved the quality of the Tones side as they toppled perennial battlers Dunshaughlin and in pretty impressive fashion too. Though the thing that stood out most was the outstanding contribution of the 1996 All Ireland winning captain.
After falling 0-1 to 0-3 in arrears early on, a trademark flick from Meath's most famous oil distributor set Darren McGrath up to finish to the net.
Within seconds, the net was shaking at the other end however as Kevin Ward stole up from wing back to put Dunshaughlin back in front.
Dowd was up to his old tricks after resumption though, setting McGrath for another 'major' on a day when wing back Barry McGinn provided the main scoring threat outside of the aforementioned deadly duo in Ward's continued enforced absence from the side.
The fifth round brought a trip to the very impressive Carlanstown venue and a clash with a Kilmainhamwood side, who, although hovering near the bottom of the group, went into the game on something of a high after a surprise win over Simonstown on a day when a Ray Magee goal won the day.
Wolfe Tones seemed to be well in control of this fixture until 'Smoothie' again hit the net to guarantee an exciting climax.
The fixture in Carlanstown also marked Cian Ward's return to action as a second half sub and his four points were ultimately what guaranteed a 0-14 to 2-04 success for the SFC new boys.
It's often said football is a funny old game and if ever evidence of this were needed it occurred in a two week period towards the end of July.
When Wolfe Tones were cutting Kilmainhamwood down to size, having already disposed of Dunshaughlin, Charlie Redmond's side were dishing out an unmerciful 2-14 to 0-03 hammering to Seneschalstown.
It was extremely hard to fathom then what happened in Simonstown a week later.
With most predicting another heavy defeat for Padraig Coyle's side, there was quite a degree of surprise at the close nature of the first half, after which the Yellow Furze outfit led by a point, though nobody could have foreseen what transpired after the resumption.
Graham Geraghty, who had been having a quiet outing up to then, exploded into life and thus ensured that Tones would suffer a second championship defeat.
Alan Fox fired over a levelling point immediately after the restart but that was as good as it got as Geraghty grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck.
Though it must be said, his first major contribution to the game came about as a result of dithering on Tones part.
The former All-Ireland winning captain intercepted after some over elaboration in the Tones' defence and buried the ball to the net.
That seemed to rattle them quite a bit and when Cian Ward missed a few frees that you would normally put the mortgage on him to score - the initiative was firmly with Geraghty and company.
From there, himself and Joe Sheridan drove the Yellow Furze outfit to a 1-13 to 0-11 win.
The Tones entered their last round clash against St Patrick's knowing that, due to other results, both sides had already qualified and it was only a matter of deciding who finished first and second in the group.
The side in purple and gold led by 0-09 to 0-08 at the interval and with Cian Ward back in top form and scoring freely they looked to be going to claim the spoils.
Though in a game that was end to end from start to finish, it was the Stamullen side that sneaked a 1-12 to 1-11 win when the very impressive Barry Campbell fired over late on.
While there was no obvious damage done, it must have been a dent to the confidence of Kearney and his side to have lost two games on the bounce after going unbeaten for the best part of three years in championship fare.
It certainly seemed that way in the early stages of their quarter-final against Blackhall Gaels as Mark Crampton and Sean Whelan had the 2003 winners two points to the good before the Tones raised a flag.
Not surprisingly, it was a Cian Ward free that did the trick and indeed that inspired his side to go on into a 0-06 to 0-03 lead with Niall McLoughlin, Eoin Harrington and Alan Fox among the scorers as Tommy Dowd caused no end of problems.
However, Gordon Ward's men went on to dominate the rest of the half as Crampton and Whelan propelled them into an interval advantage of 0-08 to 0-06.
Points from Fox and John Tiernan had the sides level fairly quickly on the resumption.
It went point for point for the next while until, after more great work by Dowd; Darren McGrath curled over from an acute angle to put Wolfe Tones back in front.
It was at that point that a small degree of inexperience showed as the Tones tended to overuse the ball when a direct route may have borne fruit.
At the other end, Crampton and Whelan got the scores which were ultimately decisive despite Cian Ward closing the scoring.
And so, the journey ended, not just this year's, but one the most remarkable success stories ever seen - for the time being anyway.
Heaney predicts Tones hurling revival
Owen Heaney has been to the forefront of Wolfe Tones hurling club since it was formed 30 years ago. And while this season failed to yield any silverware, he expects the good times to return sooner rather than later.
Such has been Wolfe Tones' success on the football field over the past couple of years that the club's hurling team have hardly had a look in.
The footballers' meteoric rise has coincided with a lean period for their hurling counterparts, who were disappointed not to have progressed beyond the group stages of this year's intermediate championship. However, there is no shortage of optimism in Wolfe Tones hurling circles according to club stalwart and current team selector Owen Heaney.
"The football team has enjoyed tremendous success recently and everyone in the area is very proud of them," he says.
"There has always been great interest in football and I'm delighted the senior team is doing so well. We're going through a transitional phase in hurling at the moment, but I'm confident that we can get back to winning ways in the next year or two. We have an excellent underage structure from under 11 upwards and we have a lot of good people working hard at promoting the game."
Owen, who is a founder-member of the Wolfe Tones hurling club and served as chairman for 10 years, has no problem admitting that hurling plays second fiddle to football in the Oristown parish.
"I'm not decrying football or anything like that, but we are totally dependant on dual players and that's the reality of the situation. We usually have our best runs when the Tones, Castletown and Rathkenny are knocked out of the championship early. Hurling is all about first touch and constant practice, but because football is so strong, we aren't always able to prepare as well as we would like."
Under the management of club chairman Aidan Jordan, secretary Derek Halligan and Heaney, Wolfe Tones had hoped to at least emulate last year's achievement of reaching the intermediate championship semi-final. However, they struggled to find consistency and failed to make the knock-out stages.
"Our target was to come out of the group and then hopefully try to make amends for last year when we were beaten narrowly by Athboy in the semi-final. But our form was patchy and we were disappointed not to have reached the knock-out stages.
"If we had qualified for the semi-finals, I think we could have gone on to win the championship because all of our dual players would have been available to us at that stage. But it wasn't to be and maybe another year in the intermediate ranks mightn't be such a bad thing. We have a lot of good players around the 17 or 18 age mark and they mightn't be ready for senior hurling just yet," he adds.
Heaney has had a lifelong passion for hurling and has been to the forefront of the Wolfe Tones club since its formation 30 years ago. A brother of Fr Sean Heaney - the former Offaly county board chairman - he played in three junior championship finals with Wilkinstown, all of which ended in defeat.
The Wilkinstown club had been founded by Sean McManus (father of former Meath football star Enda) among others in the early 1950s, but without an underage structure, it eventually folded and there wasn't hurling played in the area again until the Wolfe Tones club was formed in 1975.
By placing a strong emphasis on its underage section, Wolfe Tones soon began to reap the benefits. Under 14 and under 16 championships were annexed before a major breakthrough was achieved in 1986 when the Tones won their first minor championship. Many of the players who were involved in that success went on to feature on the junior and intermediate championship winning teams of 1989 and '92 respectively.
"We coached the young players from day one and that effort paid off when we beat Kilmessan in the 1989 junior championship final. Three years later, we defeated Longwood after a replay to win our first intermediate title. Nearly all of that team had tasted success in the underage ranks and, in fact, 12 of the 15 that started the final had represented Meath at some level or another," Owen recalls.
1993 was the Tones' debut season in the senior ranks and they surpassed all expectations by reaching the final. However, there was disappointment when they suffered a controversial defeat to Rathmolyon who were also appearing in their first senior decider.
"We adjusted to the pace of senior hurling quicker than anyone could have expected and surprised everyone by reaching the final at our first attempt. But a few highly contentious decisions went against us and Rathmolyon edged us out," he ruefully reflects.
The Tones competed well at senior level for several years after that before they were relegated back to the intermediate grade in 2001. They bounced back to capture their second intermediate title at Kilskyre's expense the following year, but survived just one season in the top flight and have been operating at intermediate level for the past two years.
Owen says: "This was our second year back in the intermediate championship and much of that time has been spent rebuilding the team. I wouldn't be too despondent about what happened this year because we have a young team that is still gelling together. It will take time and patience before we can start talking about playing senior hurling again."
Heaney, who stepped down as chairman last year and is a brother of the current treasurer Brian, is proud of what Wolfe Tones have achieved in their relatively short history and has nothing but praise for those who continue to work tirelessly for the club's cause at juvenile level.
"For a club that is just 30 years old, we have achieved an awful lot. We have won every championship with the exception of a senior, which remains the ultimate goal for us.
"I'm very happy with our underage structure which is as good as any in the county. We don't have a lot of manpower, but the people we do have working with the youngsters are doing a fantastic job.
"People like our first club chairman Tom McKeon, his son Tom Jnr, Robert O'Kelly-Lynch, Derek Halligan, Helen Sheppard, Maureen Harrington and my own son Dermot deserve great credit for the work they are doing. Without them, the club wouldn't be able to survive", he concludes.
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