Inniskeen Grattans are a club that have the coming year to look forward to more than most. As of January 2, 2009 their new state-of-the-art facilities at Kednaminscha will be "up and running", according to field committee treasurer Brendan Meegan, which will see them boast one of the top GAA grounds in the country. While Inniskeen haven't exactly been challenging for honours at senior level since their promotion to the high rank two years ago, they've certainly been able to splash out on their new home grounds, which feature three brand new Prunty pitches. At the start of 2008, the club's senior footballers entered into the new season with the priority of maintaining their senior status, so as they would be welcoming the county's top club sides to their impressive new base the following year. Managed by local figure Gerard Hoey, the players took to the first task of establishing league safety and seeing where things went from there. "Our ambitions would have been to stay up senior again and try and maybe push for a place in the top four of the league," says team selector Joey Hoey. "Training had been going well under Gerard right up to the first game and I think a lot of the players would have been out to impress in the first game." It hadn't quite gone to plan though. A heavy defeat at home to Scotstown on the opening day of the league wasn't the start Hoey and his players had hoped for. Further defeats had followed, before they were eventually off the mark with a surprise win over Latton in April. In the absence of Mattie Keenan, who had jetted off to the US for the year, and key forward Paul Meegan, who was ruled out for most of the playing season having had surgery on both of his knees, it was up to the others to step up to the plate and make sure that their club still remained in the top tier for 2009. Hoey was not let down. Jordan and Pat Meegan would each have immense years for the club, as would young Anthony Keenan. However, the real star of the show for Inniskeen in '08, to help them towards 15 league points, was Ronan Meegan. Knowing that he was to be without his key score-getter for the majority of the year, Hoey turned to the other Meegan in his attack, whom he could safely trust in. After the win over Latton, it was Ronan Meegan that helped spearhead the Grattans' hindered front line to vital wins over Magheracloone, Monaghan Harps, Carrickmacross and Latton once again over the course of the league campaign, which saw Hoey's charges register the necessary table points for safety, and when all was said and done Inniskeen were just five points off a place in the top four, which would have saw them into the Monaghan SFL semi-finals. By the time the championship had come around the club's supporters' worst fears, in regards to league safety, were firmly put the rest. Come June, Inniskeen were facing a test that they had already passed a few weeks prior - Latton O'Rahilly's. The circumstances were different though. This was championship, and Latton were under new the new management of Meath man David Nelson, who had already proven himself with Navan O'Mahonys in the Meath SFC and was looking to impress in his first year at the Farney County. Hoey and his players travelled to Castleblayney with the intentions of causing an upset against one of the championship contenders, and almost pulled it off. "It was a very good game," recalls Joey Hoey, "we had plenty of goal chances to win it the first day but we didn't take them, and fair play to Latton they came back strong to draw the game." Had the Grattans been that bit more clinical in front of goal that day in 'Blayney who's to say what could have happened. For Joey Hoey, he believes that the game demonstrated just how open things were for teams in this past year's SFC. "I think the first game shows how open the championship was this year," he says. "We could have easily beaten Latton that day, and they were the ones that went on to win it, winning against some good teams on the way." Indeed. The following week again in 'Blayney the two teams meet and it was the favourites that prevailed on a convincing score-line of 3-11 to 1-5, with Eoin Lennon and co to the fore. "They beat us comprehensively in the replay the next week in 'Blayney and their big players stood to them that day," admitted Hoey. Inniskeen went crashing into the 'backdoor' to meet Doohamlet, while their conquers went onto much bigger and better things. Having trounced Monaghan Harps and Clontibret in the league, Doohamlet weren't to be taken lightly in the qualifiers. Both teams knew that if they lost here that their season was effectively over. It was Doohamlet that took full advantage of a team still licking their wounds from the defeat to Latton. "They beat us by two or three points and they were just more up for it then we were on the day, I thought," said Hoey. "There's always disappointment after you go out of the championship. It keeps the whole thing going really, once you're out and you have nothing to play for in the league your year's over." And it was over from the seniors' point of view for another year after that defeat, but one of the great features of the Inniskeen Grattans club is that they have much more to offer each year in the GAA's aspects and all hope for silverware for the club did not end with the senior team's early exit from the county SFC. If all else fails, you should always have something in reserve - and that's exactly what Inniskeen could turn to. Following a successful league campaign in Division Two, the Grattans' second string booked their way into the competition's decider in mid-August against Monaghan Harps. With Seamus Callan and Sean O'Connor at the helm, the players were going into their club's first final at adult level, fully focused on the task at hand. The two sides played out an absorbing draw before they meet again on a damp Friday evening at Blackhill, where the Inniskeen reserve did their club proud to collect a first piece of silverware for '08. Between the horrendous rain showers there was a brief glimmer of summer excitement at Blackhill, when Inniskeen defeated Monaghan Harps in a tough and highly competitive replay. From the opening five minutes Inniskeen had set out their stall with five unanswered points and from there to the end Monaghan Harps were always playing catch up. The Harps did make a strong and resurgent comeback in the second quarter and before the break came back to within a point of the leaders, but they never managed to eclipse the Grattans who, in the opening stages of the second half, kicked on again to reassert their control of the game to open up a four points lead. Monaghan Harps, however, continued to press hard with David Hughes in the middle of the field carrying the fight to Inniskeen and helping the Harps string together some fine moves. It was Inniskeen tough that held the edge helped by the switching of Paudge McKenna to full-forward giving them an impressive height advantage and causing a lot of problems for the Harps defence. The last quarter proved to be a ding doing affair as both sides threw their all into this game which sat on a knife edge until Stephen Callan pointed five minutes from the end to give Inniskeen some light relief as they went three in front. In spite of the Monaghan town side tenaciously and determinedly fighting back they were unable to turn this one around and Inniskeen ran out overall deserving winners on a score-line of 0-11 to 0-8 to take the Hugh Brady Cup. Inniskeen (Reserve Division Two final replay v Monaghan Harps): Jonathan Tavey; PJ Boyle, Raymond Lennon, Andrew Meegan; Alan Ryan, Anthony Keenan, Stephen Callan (0-1); Gavin Dooley, Paudge McKenna (0-1); Jarlath McGeeney (0-1, 1f), Robbie Lorenz (0-4, 3f), Martin Murphy (0-1); Christopher McGeough (0-1), Gerard McArdle (0-1), Tommie Mulholland (0-1). Subs: Joe Butler for T Mulholland, Martin Mulholland for M Murphy. Perhaps it wasn't the first preference of titles for the club, but nonetheless it still showed promising signs for the future. "It was nice to get a bit of silverware at the end of the year," Hoey admitted. "A lot of the lads on that team would be young players on the fringe of the senior so hopefully they will be there pushing next year." An exit from the championship to Castleblayney at the semi-final stage in the weeks ahead saw Inniskeen's seconds conclude what turned out to be a constructive season, and by the end of it all they could boast more titles than the rest. The Under 21's, who captured the Kerley Cup in '07, were competing in Division Two for this year, and while they did register their first win of the campaign in the second tier against Toome, they made an early exit in their next outing and their season was quickly over at that. Meanwhile, the club's Ladies footballers stretched their term all the way to October, where they reached the Junior Football League semi-finals. In the last four, they faced the might of Ulster finalists Truagh, and while they trailed by a margin of nine points early in the second-half, the Grattans brought the game back level coming into the closing stages. However, they were sucker-punched in injury-time and went down by the narrowest of margins, 0-19 to 3-9, which saw their season come to a disappointing end. Down among the underage football ranks the club's Under 14's caught the eye during the summer months and reached the Division Two league final. In the decider they travelled to Donaghmoyne to take on the challenge of Magheracloone and finished up second best. After an even first-half, Inniskeen's opponents struck two killer goals early at the restart, which proved too much to come back from for the young Grattans, despite their best efforts. However, with many of the players available again next year, a surge towards underage success at some level looks likely for the club in '09. From a football perspective, 2008 ends there for Inniskeen, but let's not forget the small ball game. The club's senior hurlers enjoyed a long season, but at the end of it all there was no joy as they lost out to Monaghan Harps by just two points in the Monaghan Senior Hurling League final at Aughnamullen in December. After winning their respective semi-final win, the Grattans had to wait a total of 10 weeks before the final came about, and when they did, they matched a Harps side that defeated Carrickmacross the week before pound for pound, but the concession of goals proved Inniskeen's undoing in the end. The club's key football forward Paul Meegan had returned from injury to play a prominent role at half-back, but a sharper Harps side struck for three goals in the first-half, which gave them a four-point advantage at the break. Michael Lennon, Ronan Meegan and David McGahon were doing the damage up front for the Grattans and, along with Paul Meegan, helped contribute the team's respectable tally of 0-15 in the wintery conditions, but it was a fortuitous goal from Harps defender Robbie Healy that proved too much to overcome in the end. Inniskeen (Monaghan SHL final v Monaghan Harps): Niall Lennon; Barry McArdle, Paddy Dooley, PJ Boyle; Paul Meegan (0-3, 3f), Sean Brennan, Richie Nash; Philip Brooks, TJ Byrne; Martin Murphy, Gerard Ruddy, Michael Lennon (0-7, 1 pen, 4f); Ronan Meegan (0-2, 1f), David McGahon (0-2), Gerry Boylan. Subs: Padraig Mulhollan, Gareth Conlon. After the game a disappointed Brendan Meegan condemned the long wait his side had to endure before playing the final. "It was 10 weeks last Thursday night, September 18 since we won our semi-final so the long layoff would have affected us, definitely," said the Inniskeen manager. "We gave it our all, we did our best but we are disappointed and I know the players are very disappointed themselves." With that, Inniskeen's season had ended on a low note. All that was left now for the club was the New Year to look forward to and the switching on of the lights of their new 3,000,000 euro facilities in Kednaminscha. Almost five years ago now, the club had decided to purchase 17-and-a-half acres of land, in an area where famous local poet Patrick Kavanagh went to school, and go to work, as field committee treasurer Brendan Meegan explains. "We started in 2004 and have been basically working on it ever since," said Meegan. "We purchased the land in Kednaminscha a landmark area where Patrick Kavanagh would have went to school. "On the grounds there are three new Prunty pitches, fully lit, and seated stands on each, for which the capacity for the main pitch is between 5,500 and 6,000. We have state-of-the-art dressing rooms with ice baths fitted in each and car parking space for 350 cars within the grounds. "So far we have spent 3,000,000 on the new development," he revealed. The blatant question to ask after that is - how can a club like Inniskeen afford to splash out such a large amount of money for these facilities, especially with the economic climate in the current state it's in? "We were lucky enough to get our old pitch sold for 2.2 million in the good times," Meegan explains. Relentless work has gone in from all club members since, particularly from the 10 members of the field committee. Now, all those late nights of organising and meetings are set to pay-off on January 2nd. "It's up and running as of '09," he said. "We will have an official opening, but it's probably something we will be looking into once we have our complex built. "Apart from the pitches we wanted to keep work with the pitch as local as possible," explains Meegan. "About 90 per cent of it is done by people from Inniskeen. Pat Boylan has been our builder during the project and we've purchased our own motor and generator, which cuts many outside costs in the long term. "The official switching on of the lights will take place on January 2nd at the new grounds when Monaghan take on Louth in a challenge match, which is kind of a test run before we host the Dr McKenna Cup match between Monaghan and Down on the 14th." So, by mid-January most in Monaghan GAA circles should have their verdicts established, but by the end of next year, after Inniskeen have welcomed all of the county's senior clubs to the new Grattan Park, their fantastic new grounds should be receiving rave reviews across the county. Tweet

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