Out of the Woods
November 30, 2001
While they may have been quiet in 2001, Donaghmoyne are ticking along quite nicely, as prodigious attacker Rory Woods informs Gerry Robinson.
There was little out of the ordinary to report on the Donaghmoyne front in 2001 as the Fontenoys neither disgraced themselves nor covered themselves in glory.
Looking back upon the season from the point of view that 'no news is good news' one can deduce that it was a decent year for the club.
Donaghmoyne did at times display signs of improvement and it wouldn't require an outrageous stretch of the imagination to assert that they're moving in the right direction. With further improvement and a little more consistency next year, they shouldn't be too far off the winning mark.
So, can Donaghmoyne negotiate the choppy waters of Monaghan senior football and return with ship intact and treasure in tow? Certainly, any club with talent like Rory Woods at its disposal is far more likely to sail than drift.
The Donaghmoyne attacker is one of the county's most exciting prospects and is looking forward to some successful times with both club and county.
Casting his mind back over the 2001 innings endured by Donaghmoyne, he comments: "It was an uneventful enough year for the club but I still think we gathered some experience which might stand us in good stead in the long run. With the introduction of the back door, we had a good few matches in the championship for a change, which won't have done us any harm whatsoever."
And, of course, it wasn't as if the draw for the premier competition did the Donaghmoyne men any favours: "That's true," Rory agrees. "We could have done with an easier path to the final. It's been a few years now since we got to a championship semi-final and we were disappointed to miss out on a place in the last four again."
The story of Donaghmoyne's season went something like this: beaten in the first round by a Castleblayney Faughs side on course for yet another county SFC heist (despite a shock defeat at the hands of Latton); back door victories over town sides Carrickmacross Emmetts and Emyvale; a very disappointing quarter-final defeat to Truagh Gaels.
Everything was going well up until the meeting with the Truagh men. That was a defeat which left a bitter taste lingering in the Fontenoys' mouths: "We were very disappointed with how that one went," confirms the team's dangerous full forward. "It was just a bad day all around. We never got into our stride and were well beaten in the end."
It was a fitting enough climax to a year in which circumstances seemed to prevent Donaghmoyne from even coming close to building a head of steam. As Rory Woods explains: "We got off to a poor start in the league and were playing catch-up for most of the year. In the early part of the year, we got a lot of games away from home due to the Foot & Mouth restrictions.
"The Foot & Mouth kept us away from Donaghmoyne altogether and our away form was poor. Our home form, on the other hand, was very good. We only won one game away from home all year, while our only defeat at home was against Clontibret - and that was only by a point.
"Our league form really kept us in it and we almost managed to get to the knock-out stages. We could have made the semi-finals of the Division One league only we slipped up in our final two games against Carrickmacross and Inniskeen which was very disappointing."
Still, there was no harm done. With such poor away form, the Fontenoys could easily have found themselves locked in a relegation dogfight. "It was a really competitive competition and it was tight all year long. It was one of those situations where every point was crucial and a win or a loss here or there could have made a major difference. If we'd lost a few more games, we could've gone down; if we'd won a few more, we could have made the semi-finals!"
There is certainly no cause for despondency, panic buttons or alarm calls down Donaghmoyne way just yet. After all: "We played a lot better last year than we did in 2000 and we're hoping for a similar level of improvement next year. If we continue to improve, we'll be there or thereabouts."
One of the most encouraging things going in Donaghmoyne's favour is the nice blend in the team. Their age profile is nothing if not evenly-balanced. "We're lucky to have a lot of men with an abundance of experience. A player like Noel Marron is priceless and we have many others here who are vastly experienced when it comes to senior club football. We also have five or six under 21s, and three or four in their early 20s, so it's a young team but we're not exactly relying on youth like some other sides. We have a good core of strong, experienced campaigners, which is something I think you need if you have any serious ambitions of winning senior honours."
Rory Woods's development into a top class footballer is very much in keeping with his pedigree. His father Anthony played with the club for years and is now manager of the senior team, while he is also a nephew of none other than the legendary former Castleblayney and Monaghan footballer Eugene 'Nudie' Hughes.
He broke onto the Donaghmoyne first team at the age of 17 and 2001 marked his fourth year therein. Honours collected with the club thus far have been limited to a Flanagan Cup and a Kerley Cup with the under 21s, as they plundered Division Three and Division Two titles. He also went close in a few minor campaigns but encountered little joy ultimately at that level.
He is fully determined to win more silverware with his local team: "I'm hoping to add to my medal collection with the club," he reveals. "Hopefully a few more strong players will come through from the underage ranks and make us even stronger. I know there are some very good minors coming through at the moment, so hopefully that'll work out for us.
"It's important for the team that we win something soon. When you win things it gives the club a boost and gives everyone a lift. The signs are encouraging, though. Our junior team won a league final this year against Sean McDermotts and we also got to the senior B final. Both those teams consisted predominantly of young players and they'll have learned a great deal from playing in those competitions."
A former county minor, Rory has played on the county under 21 team for each of the past two seasons and is already in training for his third campaign with the Monaghan U21s.
The under 21s have been highly impressive in recent years: "We came up against a strong Tyrone team twice. We ran them close in 2001 and should have beat them, but the year before they were just too good. We had a good team this year and thought we had Tyrone beat in Ballybay, but the greater experience of their players told in the end and kept them going.
"Hopefully this year we'll make a breakthrough. We have a lot of senior county players involved again and Seamus McEneaney is still in charge so we should do well. We take the county U21 thing very seriously. It may not get a lot of media coverage, but we go out and give it everything. A lot of the lads know they might never get an opportunity of playing for Monaghan again, so they give it all they have."
Rory is also involved with the seniors. How will they do next summer and in the years to follow? "Our minors are just after getting to an Ulster final and our under 21s pushed a good Tyrone team all the way, so the footballers are here in the county. It's just a matter of getting the best out of them at senior level.
"The talent is in the county if everything can be gelled together. We badly need some success to give the county a lift. Monaghan had a good team back in the 'eighties but nobody my age remembers much about that. I can't remember seeing Monaghan in an Ulster final and it's time we did something to change that."
Donaghmoyne's McHugh Cup win
Donaghmoyne's future is well-assured if the talent displayed by the club's under 14 crew in 2001 is anything to go by.
The latest crop of young stars to emerge from the ranks of the Fontenoys were a joy to behold during the year with their highly impressive performances culiminating in success in the McHugh Cup competition.
Victory over a gallant Ballybay in the final was no more than the young Donaghmoyne players deserved as they had well and truly proven to be the best squad among their peers in division two.
Played on August 2nd last, the final had all the makings of being a close and titanic struggle but on the day, Ballybay were simply no match for Donaghmoyne. In the end the Fontenoys weren't at all flattered by their 3-10 to 0-4 win.
In what was a truly first class display, the win was very much the result of a supreme team effort with some excellent scores thrown in for good measure.
The first half was an evenly matched affair with the combattants level on two separate occasions. However that was as good as it got for the Pearse Brothers as Donaghmoyne slowly but surely took command in most sectors of the field.
Two snap goals by the winners-elect mid-way through the opening half proved to be the launching pad for Donaghmoyne as they catapulted the Fontenoys into a decisive eight point lead at the interval.
The second half saw Donaghmoyne take total control once early pressure from Ballybay was resisted with some stout defending. Displaying great team-work and no little skill, the Fontenoys proceeded to add on 1-6 to fully embellish a tremendously impressive performance.
The victorious Donaghmoyne team, and scorers, that featured against Ballybay in the McHugh Cup final was as follows:
Gerard Martin, Seamus Markey, Stephen Martin, Kieran McGarrell, Damien Murnaghan, Anthony Meehan, Martin Finnegan (1-2), James Ward, Tommy Carolan, Mairead McGeough, Rory Woods (0-6), Paddy McEnaney (0-1), Paul Finnegan, Garry Dixon (2-1).
Subs; David Flynn, Niall McKeown, Linda Martin, Fergal Murray, Martin McEnaney, Keith Duffy, Conal Finnegan, Martin Rooney.
Hugh Brady Cup
The Donaghmoyne faithful were out in force in Cremartin at the tail end of October to witness the club's reserve league side overcome Sean MacDiarmada by 0-10 to 1-6 in the final of the Hugh Brady Cup.
Played in near-perfect conditions, the game was a hard-fought affair and the destination of the spoils was in doubt right up the end of a fascinating duel between two evenly matched sides.
Donaghmoyne had to come from behind to land the silverware though. The scene was set from the second minute when Sean MacDiarmada leapt into an early lead by converting a penalty.
The Threemilehouse-based side continued to hold sway thereafter but their forwards were wide of the target on several occasions due to the pressure the Donaghmoyne backs forced on them.
Seans' period of dominance was then matched by Donaghmoyne as the play became more open and fluid. A few wides ensued though before Raymond Marron found the target with a neat point from a free in the 11th minute. A point shortly afterwards by his team-mate Stanley Wilson added to the Donaghmoyne momentum.
Both teams exchanged points in quick succession thereafter before Seans' appeared to be catapulted into pole position with the awarding of a second penalty to them. However, the losers-elect failed to convert their second penalty as Patrick Caulfield in the Donaghmoyne goal made a brilliant save to deny Seans' Damian Larkin a goal.
Play proceeded to swing from end to end for the remainder of the half with Gary Larkin's free being cancelled soon after by a point from Francis Markey. At the interval, it was all to play for with the scores level at Donaghmoyne 0-5, Sean MacDiarmada 1-2.
Donaghmoyne started the second half in more sprightly fashion, notching the first two points on the restart from placed ball situations excellently put away by Michael McMahon.
Some good work later by Stanley Wilson saw Donaghmoyne come back into it though with Wilson feeding the ball to Paul Wynne for another valuable point as Donaghmoyne threatened to run away with things.
It wasn't until the 40th minute that Seans opened their second half account with a point but the Fontenoys hit back straight away to lengthen their lead to three points after a fine point by Francis Markey.
The tempo of the game rose significantly as the finishing line approached but both sets of forwards found it hard to register a score. Johnnie McCormack did manage to break the deadlock though with a fine point for Seans and then another converted free for the challengers increased the tension noticeably.
Seans pushed forward but a series of wides was all that resulted. At the other end, Joe Finnegan added to Donaghmoyne hopes with an efficiently taken point. And even though Seans added another point from a free, there was to be no denying the Fontenoys the cup.
The following is the Donaghmoyne team, subs and scorers, that featured against Sean MacDiarmada in the Hugh Brady Cup final:
Patrick Caulfield; Paul Wynne (0-1), Liam Finnegan, Niall Kelly, John Corrigan, Peter Finnegan, Kieran Daly, Joe Finnegan (0-1), Raymond Marron (0-1), Francis Markey (0-2), Joey Burns, Paddy Martin, Stanley Wilson (0-1), Glen McGarrell, Michael McMahon (0-4).
Sub used; Bernard Kelly.
Donaghmoyne sweep to Ulster title win
Demonstrating the sort of passion and skill which was to power them all the way to an historic provincial title win in 2001, the Donaghmoyne ladies proved themselves to be a class apart in Monaghan intermediate football circles by sweeping to a 4-15 to 2-7 win over Carrickmacross in the county decider in Killanny last August.
Inspired by a 2-8 personal tally by Louise Ruddy, the Fontenoys never looked likely to miss out on the silverware and with Carrick under-performing on the day, the game adopted a predictable pattern from an early stage.
In Donaghmoyne's very first attack, Lisa Kingham pointed on the run. A procession of attacks then followed with the aforementioned Ruddy notching four and Majella Woods chipping in with another three pointer.
A Linda Farrely converted free was Carrick's solitary response as Donaghmoyne continued to hold all the aces with Lisa Kingham's fine goal minutes later and another major from Majella Woods helping to catapult the champions-elect to an emphatic 2-10 to 0-1 half-time lead.
Carrick, to their credit, played much better on the restart although it was Donaghmoyne who opened the scoring in the second half with a goal, a score which was followed by two successful frees.
Carrick added further points and broke through for a rather fortuitous goal as the game entered the third quarter. Just when the Emmets thought they were right back in the hunt though, player of the match Ruddy was on hand to notch an opportunist goal. The challengers never gave up the ghost thereafter but a late, late goal was just a mere consolation.
After their impressive showing in the Monaghan championship, Donaghmoyne were immediately installed as one of the favourites to land the Ulster title. In the team's first outing of the provincial championship, they came up against near-neighbours Crossamaglen in Donaghmoyne in early October.
Playing controlled, composed and intelligent football, the Fontenoys romped into the provincial semi-final with an impressive 5-8 to 1-3 win over the Armagh champions.
The game was played in poor conditions which made life difficult for all the players but once again Louise Ruddy proved to be in inspirational form, notching 3-4 over the course of the hour.
Ironically, it was Cross who started the best but after the aforementioned Ruddy bagged two goals inside the opening quarter, there was always only going to be one winner.
Powered forward by the impressive Amanda Casey from midfield, Donaghmoyne got through for a third goal from player of the match Ruddy in the 17th minute, helping the Monaghan champions to a comfortable 5-4 to 0-2 half-time lead.
The second half turned out to be a low-scoring affair with Cross coming much more into the game. There was to be no denying Donaghmoyne a place in the semi-final though.
The following week Donaghmoyne duly secured their place in the provincial decider with a hard-earned though deserved 0-14 to 1-9 victory over a strong Glen side at the Donaghmoyne venue.
As the scoreline suggests, Donaghmoyne had to work very hard to secure the spoils and it needed a storming finish in the final eight minutes, which yielded five points, to edge them through.
In poor playing conditions, both sides attempted to play open, fast football. Glen began brightly and were two points to the good in the opening minutes before Donaghmoyne got into their stride and recorded seven unanswered points in a flurry of activity.
However, Glen came fighting back and notched a goal and a brace of points to level matters. It was nip and tuck from there to the interval. At half-time the teams couldn't be separated but within minutes of the restart, Glen edged into a 1-9 to 0-9 lead after a hat-trick of points.
Donaghmoyne were in no mood though to let Glen coast to victory and, instead, the Monaghan champions rolled up their sleeves and scores from Catherine McGinley, substitute Sheila Burns and a couple of points from Catherine McGinley and Louise Ruddy to seal Donaghmoyne's passage into the final.
In their first year competing at intermediate level, Donaghmoyne met Mulllahoran from Cavan and promptly made history by lifting the title on foot of a 4-14 to 2-7 victory.
Played in St. Tiernach's Park, Clones, Donaghmoyne added to their junior provincial win of 2000 in fine style with Louise Ruddy once again the team's outstanding player in notching 2-10 over the hour.
Louise was supported though by a great team effort which helped see the Monaghan champions race into a 2-6 to 1-3 lead by half-time, the aforementioned Donaghmoyne top scorer netting just before half-time to add to her major scored midway through the half.
Mullahoran needed to score early in the second half to keep sight of their opponents but, instead, it was Donaghmoyne who shone best and when a quick free by Catherine McGinley found the hard-working Angela Lennon in space, the provider turned finisher to rifle in Donaghmoyne's third goal of the match.
From then on it was mostly defensive duties for the Cavan champions as Donaghmoyne grew in confidence. Eventually it was left to Majella Woods to score goal number four for Donaghmoyne.
Thereafter a 4-4 to 1-11 win over St. Vals of Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final clinched a place in the decider for the Fontenoys.
The never-say-die spirit of Donaghmoyne was very much to the fore with goals by Majella Woods and Catherine McGinley to the fore. Six unanswered points by St. Vals pegged the Monaghan ladies back but a second goal by Catherine McGinley put Donaghmoyne on their way and when Catherine McGinley got through for her hat-trick it was all over for the Cork ladies.
For the second year in succession, Donaghmoyne were to lose out in an All-Ireland decider. In 2000, the national junior title eluded the Fontenoys. In 2001 the All-Ireland intermediate final proved a bridge too far. What's the betting though that this coming year will see the Donaghmoyne ladies make it third time lucky!
For the record, the following is the Donaghmoyne team, subs and scorers, which featured in the Ulster final win over Mullahoran:
Anne-Marie Burns, Joanne Geoghegan, Geraldine Coleman, Niamh Lynch, Carmel McMahon, Brianian Kingham, Una McMahon, Amanda Casey, Angela Lennon, Aine Gilsenan, Laura Burns (0-1), Joanne Courtney, Majella Woods (1-1), Louise Ruddy (2-10), Catherine McGinley (1-2). Subs used: Fiona Courtney, Michelle Grimes, Lisa Kingham, Sheila Burns, Deirdre Kelly.
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