Oldcastle's victory in the Under 16 Football League Division 3 final augurs well for the North Meath club, according to team manager Harry Taggart. Oldcastle may have disappointed in the 2005 intermediate football championship, but it was by no means a poor year for the North Meath club. On a Tuesday evening in early August at Martry, Oldcastle under 16s reaped Division 3 football league honours following a dramatic 0-9 to 1-5 victory over St. Vincent's/Curraha. It was a case of third time lucky for the Blues who had lost a Division 4 final to Na Fianna in 2003 and the Division 3 decider to Drumconrath/Meath Hill last year. "Our perseverance finally paid off," says under 16 manager Harry Taggart. "I was especially pleased for our captain Barry Curran, who had played in all three finals. Six of the lads had played in the 2004 final, so this success was no more than they deserved. "Most of them had also tasted defeat in the under 15 league final against Clonard/Ballinabrackey last year, so they certainly weren't lacking motivation this year. They showed a fierce hunger throughout the campaign and nothing was going to stop them in their bid to make amends for the disappointments of the previous two years." He continues: "These lads have been together since they were under 10s and they won a league title as under 12s. This was another important step in their development and hopefully they will have a lot more success to look forward to in the next few years." Under the management of Taggart and his co-selectors Liam McPartland and Dermot Hawden, Oldcastle easily qualified from a group that included Inny Gaels, Carnaross, Ballivor, Drumconrath/Meath Hill, Bective and St. Michael's. "We beat our neighbours Inny Gaels in our first match and we had a smooth run to the knock-out stages after that. We ran up big scores in most of the group matches which meant that our tails were up going into the quarter-final," Taggart recalls. Oldcastle maintained their impressive form against Ratoath in their quarter-final clash at Kells. The result was never in doubt with the North Meath side emerging as comfortable 2-16 to 1-7 winners. Paddy Coakley top-scored with 0-7, while the Oldcastle goals were scored by Darren Hawden and Dermot Coakley. Nicky Galligan, Tom Lynch and Paddy Rahill were also among the scorers. Dunboyne's 'B' team provided Oldcastle with their first big test in the semi-final. The game took place a short time after Dunboyne's first team had won the county championship, so there was no shortage of confidence in their camp. But Oldcastle set the tempo from the start and goals from Paddy Rahill (two) and Darren Hawden had given them a commanding lead before a late rally from the Dublin-border side left just a goal between the sides, 3-8 to 2-8, at the final whistle. That set the scene for a showdown with St. Vincent's/Curraha in the final. The first half was tight with little to choose between the sides. Oldcastle registered the first two points, but relinquished the lead when St. Vincent's/Curraha converted a penalty midway through the first half. Oldcastle quickly restored parity before the combination side tagged on a brace of points. The Blues, however, replied with two points of their own to go into half-time on level terms, 0-5 to 1-2. With Ger Fox dictating matters from centre back, St. Vincent's/Curraha opened up a three-point lead on the restart. But following a series of switches, Oldcastle rallied and whittled down the deficit. They managed to get on level terms courtesy of brilliant displays from Cian McPartland and Barry Curran, and some excellent finishing from Paddy Coakley. The final seemed destined for extra-time until substitute Vincent Cadden - who was unable to start due an injury he picked up in the quarter-final against Ratoath - landed the winning point to give the North Meath side victory by the narrowest of margins. Afterwards, Oldcastle's inspirational captain Barry Curran, who also captained Meath in this year's Gerry Reilly Memorial Tournament, received the Division 3 cup from Eddie O'Reilly, PRO of the Meath minor football committee. "It was a really tough game which could have gone either way. We looked to be in trouble when we fell three points in arrears, but it was then that the lads showed their never-say-die attitude and we scored the last four points to win by one." Harry, who is a native of Derry and has been involved with Oldcastle for the past three years, was hugely relieved to see his second half positional changes having the desired effect. "If we hadn't made those changes, the result might have gone the other way. We were in trouble at the time and something had to be done to change the pattern of the game. We moved Barry Curran from centre back to centre forward, Darren Hawden from wing forward to centre back and Paddy Rahill from centre forward out to midfield. We took a big gamble, but thankfully the changes paid off for us," he says. With about half of this year's panel eligible for the grade again next year, Taggart is expecting Oldcastle to move up to Division 2. "I'd be very surprised if the club decides not to compete in Division 2 next year. Half of this year's panel will be there again and they will be joined by players from this year's under 15 team that also had a very good season. So we should have another strong side." Harry believes that most of his successful under 16 team have the potential to make it at senior level if they are prepared to give the necessary commitment. "If these lads stick at it, they will make it. They are very good footballers who have received expert coaching since they were under 10s and they showed this year that they have the desire to be successful. "It's inevitable that some players will be lost to the club, but hopefully the number will be small and most of them will still be playing for Oldcastle in 10 years' time. While a Division 3 title wouldn't mean a lot to some of the bigger teams, it meant a great deal to Oldcastle and hopefully it will lead to a successful period for the club," he concludes. The Oldcastle team and substitutes that captured the Under 16 Football League Division 3 title was: Sean Fox; Cian McPartland, John Shortt; Colm Caffrey (0-1), Barry Curran (0-1), Matthew Cadden; Tom Lynch, Patrick Coakley (0-5); Paddy Gilsenan, Paddy Rahill, Darren Hawden; Nicky Galligan (0-1), Dermot Coakley. Subs: Vincent Cadden (0-1) for D Coakley, Anthony Lynch, Gerard Reilly, Niall Shortt, Michael Foley and Conor McHugh. Oldcastle tournament goes from strength to strength For many of the current stars of the Meath, Westmeath, Dublin and Cavan senior football teams, the Gerry Reilly Memorial under 16 football tournament played an important part in their development. Here, tournament organiser Leo Halpin reflects on a successful first 17 years for the popular Oldcastle tournament which continues to go from strength to strength. Few GAA tournaments arouse the same passion and interest as the Gerry Reilly Memorial under 16 football tournament which has been the breeding ground for many of the biggest names in football over the course of its 17-year history. Trevor Giles, Ollie Murphy, Dessie Dolan, Denis Glennon, Nicholas Walsh, Michael Lyng, Alan Brogan, Barry Cahill and Bryan Cullen are just some of the star names who launched their inter-county football careers at the prestigious Oldcastle tournament which is contested by Meath, Westmeath, Cavan and Dublin each year. The tournament attracts big crowds to Gilson Park every summer and supporters can always be guaranteed exciting matches that are devoid of the cynicism which is often associated with games at senior level. "It's pure football, there's none of the pulling and dragging you tend to get in senior matches," says Leo Halpin, who is the chief organiser of the tournament. "This year marked our 17th anniversary and it's a tribute to the four competing counties, the referees and their officials, and our own club members that the tournament continues to go from strength to strength. "Our sponsors, Martin Shortt Auctioneers, and Peter and Patricia Caffrey of Interior Creations Ltd, who sponsor the 'Man of the Match' award, have also played a big part in the tournament's success. A special word also to the Meath minor board PRO Eddie Reilly, who does a great job with the PR side of things and ensures that our games get plenty of coverage in the local and national media." Leo is extremely proud of the fact that the tournament has and continues to be a showcase for future stars of the GAA. "It's great to see lads who played in our tournament going on to do so well at senior level. Trevor Giles is probably the best example of this. He went on to win every honour in the game with Meath and won the 'Player of the Year' award twice. The likes of Ollie Murphy and Dessie Dolan have also enjoyed great success since playing here. "We also take a lot of satisfaction from the fact that we've had all the top referees officiating here. Pat McEnaney, John Bannon, Seamus McCormack, Brian Crowe, Joe McQuillan and David Coldrick have refereed many of our games over the years. This year's final was refereed by Pat Fox from Westmeath, who's well on his way to becoming one of the top referees in the country." The tournament remembers the late Gerry Reilly, who died tragically in December 1987 at 15 years of age, and he had already proved himself to be a great footballer with huge potential to go on to great heights in the game. The cup which is presented to the winning team each year was donated by Gerry's parents, Al (also deceased) and Claire. "I was over the Oldcastle under 16 team the year Gerry was tragically killed," Leo recalls. "He was a tremendous prospect and I've no doubt he would have gone on to play senior inter-county football for many years. We reached the county under 16 final the following year and I'm sure we would have beaten Simonstown if we had Gerry in our side. "As a way of remembering Gerry, we started an under 16 football tournament which we named after him. I spoke to Pat O'Neill, who was the then Meath minor board chairman, and he thought it was a great idea, especially as there were very few competitions like it at the time. "Initially, there was just Meath and Cavan, and the first final was refereed by Michael Greenan, who's now one of the top officials on the Ulster Council. Westmeath and Dublin entered the following year and we've since had requests from a lot of other counties to get involved. But we've decided to restrict it to four teams. If we had any more, there would be a lot more organising involved and we've enough on our plate as it is." Meath were in the augural winners of the Gerry Reilly Cup in 1989 and they were successful again in 1991, '95, '96, 2002 and 2003. Westmeath have also won the tournament six times in 1990, '92, '94, '99, 2000 and 2001. Cavan's title wins came in 1997, 2004 and 2005, while Dublin were victorious in 1993 and '98. "Meath and Westmeath top the roll of honour with six wins each, but of the two, I think Westmeath have benefited more from the successes. They've won All-Ireland minor and under 21 titles on the back of their Gerry Reilly Cup wins and most of the team that won the Leinster senior championship last year would have played in our tournament," Halpin explains. This year's tournament was among the best yet with Cavan capturing their third title after a replay victory over Meath. On July 24, the teams fought out a thrilling 1-14 to 1-14 draw. The sides were level on 0-2 each before Martin Dunne scored a goal to put Cavan in the driving seat. The home side replied with points from Brian Sheridan and Eric Callaghan and they had gained equality before another Dunne point gave Cavan a 1-7 to 0-9 lead at the break. The exchanges remained close in the second half but a Cavan victory looked likely when they opened up a three-point lead with time almost up. However, Meath showed tremendous spirit to snatch an equalizing goal through Brian Sheridan. The replay was equally exciting with a strong second half performance by Cavan paving the way for the injury-time scores that gave them a 1-17 to 1-15 victory. Killian Sheridan opened the scoring for Cavan with a long range free. Indeed his free-taking was to play a major part in their success as he notched 0-8 from placed balls, including a penalty. Brian Sheridan equalised with a free before Eugene Keating's point restored Cavan's lead. Two Aaron Newman points had Meath ahead for the first time, before Martin Dunne reduced the gap between the sides. Meath got completely on top then with points from team captain and Oldcastle clubman Barry Curran, Brian Sheridan and Kenneth Darby before a quick free by Graham Reilly to Sheridan was finished to the Cavan net. Meath then led by 1-8 to 0-3 and seemed to on course for a comfortable win. Cavan added four points from Sheridan (three) and Conor Smith to Meath's three points (Kenneth Darby, Graham Reilly and Brian Sheridan) to leave seven, 1-11 to 0-7, between the sides at the interval. Another Meath point on the re-start stretched their lead, but then Cavan started to get well into the game after Conor Smith's goal. Cavan scored five points on the trot to level the tie. Graham Reilly regained the lead for Meath with a point and Killian Sheridan converted a '45' to make it all square again. Brian Sheridan put Meath ahead again and they continued to make chances, but did not capitalize on them. Cavan, on the other hand, took their chances and gained the lead in injury-time when a draw looked the more likely. Leo reveals that plans are being made for the staging of a new competition which would see the finalists of the Gerry Reilly and Ted Webb under 16 tournaments pitted against one another. "The Ted Webb Cup is another successful under 16 tournament which is run in Connacht each year and we are currently looking into the possibility of their two finalists playing our two finalists at some stage next year. We envisage having two semi-finals with the winners going on to play each other in the final." For the record, the Cavan and Meath teams which met in this year's Gerry Reilly Memorial under 16 football tournament final replay were: Cavan - Christopher Tully; Kieran Greenan, James McEnroe, Declan McKiernan; Joshua Hayes, Niall Guri, Thomas Reilly; Killian Sheridan (0-8), Rory Dunne; Adrian Cole, Eugene Keating (0-1), Hugh Briody; Martin Dunne (0-3), Conor Smith (1-2), Brendan Fitzpatrick (0-2). Sub: Daniel Graham (0-1) for Briody Meath - Gerrard Crehan; Kevin Walsh, Ciaran Malone, Andrew Collins; David Morgan (0-1), David Maguire, Eoin Woods; John Broderick (0-1), Graham Reilly (0-2); Brian Sheridan (1-6), Eric Callaghan, Aaoran Newman (0-2); Barry Curran (0-1), Kenneth Darby (0-2), Paul Kelly. Subs: Ciaran Ellis for Morgan, Bobby Lyons for Darby, Gavin Coyle for Kelly. Tweet

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