James Kelly's company Ashwood Homes sponsors Ballivor football club and Kildalkey hurling club. Kildalkey played Killyon in the Meath senior hurling final this year. Intense rivalry can become the name of the game. Gaelic games are an excellent way of integrating local communities and bonding parish spirit. Whenever a team is playing in a county final, the talk of the parish in the buildup will be of the match on Sunday. Locals will flock to a GAA ground when their friends and neigbours are involved in a final and when it's against your local rivals and neighbours, the rivalry is ever better. For the supporters of teams such as Armagh and Tyrone, the proximity of the counties to each other meant that on the field of play, there was always more than victory at stake; it involved getting one over their parish neighbours. The traditional Up for the Match programme before this year's All-Ireland football final typified how backgrounds can create family rivalries. One woman interviewed during the programme was from Kerry; her husband was a Tyrone man. For the 70 minutes during the All-Ireland final, they, and other friends from rivalling counties would put friendships aside and cheer on the players from their own community. Kildalkey played Killyon in the Meath senior hurling final this year. Kildalkey progressed to the final by virtue of a 2-9 to 0-14 victory over Kiltale. Having been in the doldrums for two decades, they ousted Kiltale, who had won the championship for the last two years. Nicky and Michael Potterton's goals proved the difference. Mark Gannon's handsome contribution of 1-6 coupled with an excellent performance from goalkeeper Stephen Quinn helping Killyon to a 3-12 to 1-14 win in the other semi-final against Kilmessan. Unfortunately, the final didn't go to plan for Kildalkey as their neighbours won out in a closely fought game. Ballivor is located between the two parishes with only around eight miles separating the two finalists. With both places so close to each other, players from both teams will be well accustomed to each other. A number of them play football with each other so it made for an intriguing tussle. For one man who attended the final, it was something different. He may be familiar with some of the Killyon players as his company is based in Ballivor but given that Ashwood Homes is one of the sponsors of the Kildalkey team, it is that side who supported on the day of the final. James Kelly, who recently began a development at Moy View (Kildalkey) and Parkstown (Ballivor), a project which he says himself, "he is well on with" is originally from Mayo. He played some football as a young player but, he explains, the social side of things caught up with him after. Both were incompatible. "I played underage football with the Achill club up as far as minor but it didn't go down well with the partying after that! That was when I stopped. I haven't that much time for matches now though I try to get to them as often as I can." His company is based in Ballivor though he does contract work in other places such as Mayo and Wexford. It is difficult for him now to keep in touch with football through his work commitments but he still tries to keep updated as much as possible. The company is presently going from strength to strength. A few years ago they developed 50 four-five bedroom family homes outside Trim and with work now continuing in Moy View and Parkstown area, the company is progressing well. Sponsoring the Meath Senior football league from 2003 to 2004 also helped the company's progression. He goes to Mayo matches whenever he can and also watches football in Meath as often as possible. "We'd see a bit of the football in Meath and we were at the Meath senior hurling final." Such is their proximity that both Kildalkey and Killyon have tried to obtain the services of the same players. James has experienced this as his son has started playing football with Ballivor but both hurling managers are looking for him. "My young fellow is starting to play underage football with Ballivor. Pat O'Halloran is the manager of Kildalkey and the Killyon manager is also trying to get him," he says. The quality of some of the matches he has seen involving Ballivor has impressed him. The club defeated Navan O'Mahony's in the 2002 county intermediate final but were unable to remain in the top division the following year. This year they lost to Syddan in the quarter-final of the championship but he is happy with their application and believes that things are looking good for the future. "Ballivor didn't manage to do well this year. There may have been a hangover from the year before but hopefully they will be back next year. They have impressed me and there are some good lads there. We'll be back again though we will be looking for a strong commitment again next year," he said. Killyon and Kildalkey's clash epitomised the true spirit of parish rivalry in the GAA. Tweet

Most Read Stories