St. Colmcille's are expected to be among the leading contenders for intermediate football championship honours in 2006 after reaching their first semi-final in many years this season. Veteran full forward Mickey Conlon believes that with greater consistency, they could be operating at senior level before long. One of the most improved teams in this year's intermediate football championship was undoubtedly St. Colmcille's. After failing to make it beyond the group stages in 2004, the Seasiders confounded their critics by reaching the semi-finals this season where they lost to the eventual champions Duleek. This year's exciting run coincided with the return of former Monaghan player Mickey Conlon to the club colours. The 38-year-old full forward had a marvellous campaign with his haul of 1-7 in the surprise quarter-final win over Carnaross being especially memorable. "I played with St. Colmcille's in 2003, then went back to my native Rockcorry in 2004, before returning to play with Colmcille's this year," he explains. "I was happy with the way things went for me this year and it's great to be a part of a team that is clearly going places. The team made great strides this year and that's a tribute to the effort the lads put in and the influence of our manager Declan Smyth. Declan is a great motivator and organiser, and he has instilled a belief in us that we can compete with the best in the intermediate championship. "Having reached the last four this year, our next goal must be to win the championship outright. We have something to build on now and I think the squad of players we have at our disposal is good enough to play in the senior ranks." Conlon, who has been living in Laytown for the past three years and whose son James played for the St. Colmcille's under 8 team this year, recalls how a good start to the Division 2 league campaign laid the foundations for the club's best championship run in a number of years. "We played very well in our first few league matches and that ensured that confidence was high going into the championship. We had a good bit of momentum behind us and that carried through into the latter stages of the championship," he reflects. Under the management of Smyth, who previously managed Louth, and his co-selectors Brendan Beakey and Gerry Lawlor, St. Colmcille's fought out a thrilling draw with Gaeil Colmcille in their Group A championship opener. Gaeil Colmcille, who had just been relegated from the senior ranks, looked to be cruising to victory when leading by 11 points at one stage. But the Seasiders staged a remarkable fightback which culminated in Sean Collier scoring a dramatic equalizing goal with the last kick of the game. Buoyed by that comeback, the Blues recorded a fine 2-11 to 2-9 win over Syddan, but they were brought crashing back down to earth when succumbing to Na Fianna by 1-9 to 1-14 in their third outing. However, St. Colmcille's put that disappointment behind them when they ended Rathkenny's unbeaten start to the championship with an impressive 2-13 to 0-7 victory at Simonstown. Smyth's charges were dominant in every sector and a 12th minute goal helped them to a commanding 1-10 to 0-4 lead at the break. Scores were at a premium in the third quarter, but St. Colmcille's finished with a flourish to seal an emphatic win. St. Colmcille's maintained winning ways against Ratoath (0-11 to 0-3) and Slane (0-11 to 1-3) to assure themselves of a place in the knock-out stages before facing Duleek in their final group match. But a 0-7 to 2-5 defeat to their East Meath rivals saw St. Colmcille's knocked from top of Group A to fourth place which left them facing a difficult quarter-final tie against Carnaross, who had finished top of Group B. The Seasiders went into the game as underdogs, but they made light of that tag and, after producing a storming finish to force extra-time, went on to triumph by 2-13 to 0-14 in an absorbing clash at Seneschalstown. Carnaross looked to be heading for the last four when they led by 0-12 to 0-8 with time almost up, but substitute John McKenna pulled a goal back for St Colmcille's before Mickey Conlon landed a late free to leave it 1-9 to 0-12 at full-time. Then with the sides still deadlocked nearing the end of the first period of extra time, Conlon added a goal and a point to put his side 2-11 to 0-13 ahead heading into the final ten minutes of action. In the final minutes St Colmcille's outscored the favourites by 0-2 to 0-1 and fully deserved their success despite trailing for most of normal time. Conlon, who gave a man of the match display, opened the scoring and his side led twice in the early stages but with Ollie Murphy and John L McGee leading the way Carnaross responded to take a 0-6 to 0-3 advantage into the break. The 'Cilles had the margin down to the minimum twice in the third quarter but Carnaross were able to reassert themselves every time they were threatened. McGee cut in from along the end line to fire over a great point to leave it 0-10 to 0-7 in the 47th minute but it was noticeable that Ollie Murphy was having less of an influence as time wore on. He did, however, fire over a free to make it 0-12 to 0-8 nine minutes later but Carnaross, who lost to Duleek in last year's semi-final, were made to rue some bad wides late on. Full back Paul Collier and midfielders Enda Grogan and David Sheeran were others to impress for St Colmcille's in the latter stages as they outscored Carnaross by 1-4 to 0-2 in the additional 20 minutes. That victory set the scene for a semi-final rematch with Duleek at Pairc Tailteann. But once again the Barney Rock-managed Duleek team held the edge and emerged as 1-7 to 0-5 winners of what was a poor spectacle. Duleek effectively won the match during the opening period when, despite playing against a strong breeze, they built up a 1-4 to 0-4 interval lead. A mini scoring burst in the final 10 minutes helped to put daylight between the sides at the end. St. Colmcille's might have made a better match of it had they taken two scoring opportunities in the first eight minutes of the second half, but county minor star Ciaran Kelly shot wide when well placed and David Sheeran had a shot saved by Duleek goalkeeper Ricky Nolan. Added to that, Kelly had a close range free saved by Nolan who fielded the ball just above his crossbar when his side were leading by 1-4 to 0-5. The sides were level early on, but Duleek were never headed after Peter Curran pointed in the 11th minute. A Colin Duignan goal separated the teams at the break and Duleek went on to extend their lead before the end after St. Colmcille's had managed just one point in the second half. "We were very disappointed with our performance in the semi-final," Conlon says. "We felt going into the game that we could avenge our earlier defeat to Duleek, but we failed to perform and couldn't really have any complaints about the outcome. "What made it even more disappointing was the fact that we had played so well against Carnaross in the quarter-final. We showed great battling qualities in that game and I thought our defence were excellent in curbing the twin threat of Ollie Murphy and John L McGee." Mickey intends to play out the remainder of his career with the Seasiders and has his sights firmly fixed on helping them achieve senior status. "The club hasn't won an intermediate championship since 1988, so we're overdue another title win at this stage," he says. "There has been a tremendous amount of work done with the underage over the past few years and that work is already beginning to pay off. What I felt we were missing this year was consistency, especially in the league where we ended up in relegation trouble after an encouraging start. With greater consistency, I'm convinced that we can win the championship. "The intermediate championship in Meath is very similar to Monaghan in that is wide open for any team to win. The likes of Syddan, Carnaross, Nobber and ourselves will all fancy our chances next year, but another team could come from nowhere to win it. Duleek were a real thorn in our side this year, but now that they've gone up to senior, I think we have a better chance of winning the intermediate." Adult football review Overall we have seen a marked improvement in the competitiveness of our adult team football in all competitions. The introduction of Declan Smyth as coach, who is an ex Louth manager, along with the managerial skills of Brendan Beakey, who captained the club in his playing days, have formed a great partnership and created a revived spirit in the club. This has been evidenced over the year with a semi final appearance in the intermediate championship only to lose out to the winners Duleek in a match that was not beyond winning. Also on the same day of the semi final the Junior C team were playing in the final against a strong Donaghmore/Ashbourne outfit and after playing against the wind in the first half we were always struggling to gain the upper hand. This was the first championship final appearance in exactly 10 years and hopefully a lot of the younger players will have gained much needed experience from the older players on the team and can go on to break into the intermediate side. The intermediate team has been strengthened by some of our Meath county players at underage level, notably Mark Whearty U21 and Ciaran Kelly U18 along with some more senior players who have all intercounty experience at different ages Caman Hall Meath All-Ireland Medal winner, Enda Grogan U21 & Junior winner for Meath, Shane Black Louth U18 Representative, Micky Conlon Monaghan Senior Player and two representatives on this years Junior losing All-Ireland team, Ian Mullen and Ron Kelly are all in our squad. Along with these, other players that have intercounty experience include Brian Kelly, Nigel Woods Eoin Sarsfield and John Mc Kenna. In the league competitions the A League team took their eye off the ball and while concentrating on the championship lost a couple of vital games by the smallest of margins and so were well out of contention midway through the league. The B league team on the other hand have not been beaten all year and contest the final of Div 2. Overall the foundations are there to continue where we left off this year and our biggest challenge over the next couple of year will be to keep our up and coming intercounty players together and nuture and encourage them into the adult set up and give them all the support that they need. With the new development work that has taken place over the last year at our facilities in Piltown under the directorship of Denis Maher and his team, the club will be able for the first time in there history be able to play and train on a floodlight pitch. This has injected a new lease of life into the club and to show the community what professional facilities we have for an amateur sports body. It is a much needed facility which has been welcomed by the community and we hope it will encourage young and old players to continue to be part of our club. In this day and age the bar has been raised by all those competing in all Gaelic games and we hope with the help of Declan Smyth and Brendan Beakey along with the new facilities that our club is in the right position to contest a few more finals over the next few years. This year our club took part in the Meath Development programme and I think it was a shock to some people to see the level of work, commitment and free time that people  are contributing these days to the running of a football club and this will also be a major challenge over the next few years to our club. So after a fine year of football two finals and a semi final the future look bright for St. Colmcilles, along with the fine underage structure that has been put in place over the years we are finally seeing the rewards with successful underage teams and a number of players representing Meath at all age levels: U18 Ciaran Kelly, U16 Graham Reilly, Eoin Woods, Kevin Walsh, John Levins, Donal O'Sullivan, U15 Dominic McDowell, U14 Cathal Hilliard, James Nealon, this will ensure that if these players can be kept playing football along with the other players of the club that we will be contesting the senior championship  within 7-8 years. Funtasia Super Leagues The second annual Funtasia sponsored super leagues took centre stage at St Colmcille's during the summer with the grand finals day taking place on Sunday 4th September. The five rounds in the football festival involved over 120 boys and girls aged between 6 and 12 playing in an environment of fun and teamwork. About 200 adults and other supporters came out for the super finals day, which was played in glorious late summer weather. Returning to the finals themselves, 2005 will be remembered as Connacht's year with the three teams representing that province claiming the Section 1, 2 and 3 cups. For Tom Reilly, captain of the Connacht Senior team it was a very happy day. He had been on the losing team a year earlier but this year was the star of the final and was a very proud young man stepping up to take the Funtasia Cup. Meanwhile, David O'Byrne proved a very lucky captain as he led his team to the Section 2 title for the second year in a row.  If David captains the team to success next year then he might even have to keep the cup! In the academy final, the cup was destined for Grange Rath as the two finalists were captained by two star players and great friends from the estate in Jamie and Charlie. The day belonged to Jamie but Charlie has recently been spotted on the green in Grange Rath training for next year! Medals and trophies were presented by some of our own players who are involved with the various Meath teams.  They also posed for pictures with all the teams and passed on some tips and advice to the players, although we believe that they were actually picking up the tips such was the talent on show in the competition.  The Meath players who attended on the day were: - James Nealon and Cathal Hilliard (Meath U14's) - Donal O'Sullivan, John Levins, Kevin Walsh and Graham Reilly (Meath U16's) - Mark Whearty (Meath U21's) - Ian Mullen and Ronan Kelly (Meath Juniors) Unfortunately Meath U16 and minor stars Eoin Woods and Ciaran Kelly were unable to come along on the day due to unforeseen circumstances. Funtasia 2005 proved to be even bigger than the wonderful 2004 competition and plans are already in place to make Funtasia 2006 bigger, better and even more fun! Successful days like this are due to the support and hard work of many people.  To this end the club would like to extend its sincere thanks to sponsors Funtasia and to Glanbia and Boyne Valley Foods who supplied refreshments for all the players (and even some supporters!).  Sincere thanks too to Ruth, Enda and Rachel Murphy who managed the shop on the day and all referees and team managers.  However a special mention has to be given to club secretary Brendan Kindlon for all his work in ensuring the success of the day. Supplied by St. Colmcille s GAA club Underage review In April '05 Peter O'Halloran, Meath juvenile secretary advised our U14 squad that they had been selected to represent Meath in an U14 Feile competition in Wicklow and St Colmcilles were honoured to do so. The competition was to take place in Killtegan on the 25th June. So a number of events were arranged to raise money to fund the trip and to get a new kit for the players. The competition was done on a Blitz format with four teams in the group, with one coming out of it. When the Colmcilles team arrived on the morning in Kiltegan they found out who they were playing. It turned out the opposing three teams were all within a half hour drive of the event. The Cilles straight away had to play the Heath of Laois. The games were fifteen minutes a side. The 'Cilles were only off the bus after a two and a half hour drive and were stiff and sore. As half time approached they were 12 points down. Fifteen minutes into the second half they started to find their feet and with the midfield of C Hilliard and E Jones winning ball and the forwards getting scores especially K Garland (capt) with time nearly up the margin was down to a goal and only for a mix up with the forwards going for the one ball they would have levelled but it wasn't to be. The other two teams Kiltegan, Wicklow Rathville Carlow were no match for the Cilles but they were no match for the Heath either and they went through to the final which they won with ease. All the teams taking part marched through Baltinglass to the pitch at the end of the town where they received medals and the Cilles boys carried the Meath flag with pride. I would like to thank the Meath Juvenile Board for selecting St Colmcilles to the great bunch of people who supported the team vocally and financially and the Cilles U10 team who also travelled up to Wicklow to cheer on the lads and beat their Wicklow counterparts in a challenge. U14 panel - C Quinn, C Hilliard, J Nealon, T Trinder, D Levins, B Brennan, S Rooney, E Jones, C Hilliard, A Garland, K Garland, P Kavanagh, M Myles, G Power, D Magher, M Heannesy, D Carthy, D Regan, G O'Donoghue, A Brady, G Morgan, P Crickley, G Brown, D Flanaghan, D McGill, D Beakey, K O'Brien. U15s On writing this down St Colmcilles U15s are our last underage team left in action for 2005. Playing in Division 2 they are on their way to a semi-final spot with 4 wins out of 6. Beating Blackhall Gaels, Na Fianna, Seneschalstown and Skryne in the first 4 games. They then were defeated by Ashbourne and Clann na Gael. With one game left against Bective, a semi-final spot beckons and if the Cilles lads can find their early form they could win this competition out. U15 panel - D Myler, E Jones, J Nealon, TJ Dixon, I O'Brien, F McCloskey, B Brennan, J Morgan, D McDonnell (capt), K Garland, C Hilliard, C Pentony, B Gavin, P Moore, D Meagher, D Carthy, A Garland, K Dowling, G O'Donoghue, G O'Sullivan, S O'Neill, K Hilliard. Tweet

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