The prospect of Fr. Dalton's fielding at adult level again continues to increase thanks to the success of the club's underage alliance with Southern Gaels. The success of the Fr. Dalton's /Southern Gaels underage amalgamation has raised hopes of an adult hurling team reforming in Ballymore. In October, the south county amalgamation captured the under 14 'B' championship for the second time in three years following a comfortable victory over Cullion. On the same day, the under 12 side almost made it a magnificent double but were forced to give second best to St. Brigid's in their 'A' championship final replay. "Our underage section is going really well," says Fr Dalton's/Southern Gaels juvenile club vice-chairman Eamonn Farrell. "It was the third year in-a-row that the under 14 team tasted championship success, while the under 12s were unlucky to lose their final to St. Brigid's after a replay. On top of that, we were able to field an under 16 team once again and while they didn't reach a county final, they performed very well and what was also encouraging is that most of them are underage again this year," he adds. The issue of clubs merging may be a thorny subject in Westmeath GAA circles, but the concept has clearly been embraced by and Fr Dalton's and Southern Gaels. Since joining forces at underage level a few years ago, both clubs have seen their fortunes revived. In 2002, a first under 14 'B' title was secured and that was followed by success in the under 14 'A' championship 12 months later. Also in 2003, the Ballymore/Athlone combination contested the under 16 'B' final which they lost to Ringtown after a replay. Under the guidance of Donie Glynn, Fergal Ormsby and Kevin Jordan, the Fr Dalton's/Southern Gaels under 14 team overcame St. Brigid's in the 'B' semi-final to qualify for a showdown with Cullion on October 2 at Shandonagh. The south county outfit were slow to settle and fell behind to an early goal from Cullion midfielder Adrian Gilmore. But after Kenneth Kincaid had opened their account from a free, Fr Dalton's/Southern Gaels took the lead when Ronan Farrell finished to the net after Brian Finnerty's initial shot had been blocked. With John Gilligan in top form at midfield, the Ballymore/Athlone side went from strength to strength as the half wore on and took a 1-4 to 1-0 lead into the interval thanks to further points from Sean Egan, Kincaid and Finnerty. Early in the second half, Gilligan came to the southerners' rescue when he made a goal-line clearance to keep their four-point lead intact. Following that let-off, Sam Whooley scored a clever point and the same player added a second goal moments later to give Fr Dalton's/Southern Gaels a 2-5 to 0-1 victory. The under 12 team, which was managed by Mick Kincaid, Martin Carey and Fergal Ormsby, recorded wins over Brownstown and Delvin to qualify for the 'A' final where St. Brigid's provided the opposition. A fourth minute goal from Lee Moran gave Fr Dalton's/Southern Gaels a dream start and, after Ciaran Daly and Daniel Qualter added points to stretch their lead, James Connaughton and John Warburton scored goals in quick succession to leave the combination side perched on a 3-2 to 0-1 lead at the break. There appeared to be no way back for St. Brigids but, to their credit, they staged a tremendous second half fight back to earn a replay. Two goals from Sean Deegan and another from Aaron Byrne had reduced the deficit to the minimum before Jamie Gonoud sent over the equalizing point, the teams finishing on 3-2 apiece. Amazingly, neither side managed to score in the first half of the replay which was played as a curtain-raiser to the under 14 'B' final at Shandonagh. Fr Dalton's /Southern Gaels suffered a major blow just after the restart when centre back Trevor English was forced to retire with a hand injury. To compound matters, St. Brigid's fired over three unanswered points and they looked set for victory until Colin Barrett forced extra-time with an equalizing goal five minutes from the end. In the first period of extra-time, Gonoud and Sean O'Kelly-Lynch exchanged scores before a Jake Byrne goal restored St. Brigid's three-point advantage. The combination side tried desperately to close the gap in the second period but their hopes faded when Conor Slevin scored a second St. Brigid's goal to help them to a 2-5 to 1-2 victory. With their underage section clearly thriving, Fr. Dalton's hope to be in a position to reform an adult club before the end of the decade. "Ultimately, our aim is to be able to field an adult team again," says under 14 team mentor Donie Glynn. "We have a good crop of young players at the moment, but a lot can happen over the next few years. Having said that, I'd be hopeful that most of these lads will still be playing hurling into their twenties." Tweet

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