Milltownpass have the potential to not only win the intermediate championship but to become a force at senior level in the coming years according to club stalwart Jay Faulkner. For Milltownpass, 2003 was just like any other year really. Some impressive performances in the group stages saw them qualify for the quarter-final. But when faced with a knock-out situation, their form sadly deserted them and they exited the championship with a whimper. "For some reason, we haven't performed in the big games these past few years," sighs club stalwart Jay Faulkner. "We seem to play our best football in the group stages and save our poorest performances for the knock-out stages. It's frustrating to think that we haven't reached an intermediate final in the last five years. We've certainly had enough chances to do so." In four of the past five years, Milltownpass have figured at the business-end of the intermediate championship and if you include their replay against Tang in 2002, they have appeared in four semi-finals during that time. Under the management of Mick Mulroy, Mick Flanagan and Faulkner, last year's campaign opened with a 1-7 to 2-7 defeat to neighbours Killucan. But they bounced back in impressive fashion with three straight wins over Bunbrosna (2-5 to 1-6), Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall (2-14 to 0-7) and Tang (1-15 to 1-10). Their fifth outing resulted in a 0-6 to 2-10 defeat to Shandonagh, but they still qualified for the quarter-final by virtue of a walkover they received from St. Loman's. However, their hopes of reaching another semi-final were ended when they succumbed to Maryland by 0-12 to 0-7 at Cusack Park. Maryland played some spellbinding football in the first half with points from Richie Browne, David Martin, David Reynolds, Ollie Moran and Damien Reynolds giving them a 0-7 to 0-1 advantage at half-time. On the restart, points from Damien Reynolds and Martin extended Maryland's lead before Milltownpass rallied with three points in quick succession. However, further points from Browne and Martin sealed a comfortable victory for the south county outfit. "Our performance against Maryland was very disappointing - I don't think we did ourselves justice," Faulkner reflects. "Our form had been a bit topsy-turvy before that, but we were still confident of beating Maryland. In the two previous years, we qualified automatically for the semi-finals and when we were beaten, lads were saying we would have been better off had we played a quarter-final beforehand. But it didn't seem to make much difference last year." In the league, Milltownpass took the scalps of senior clubs Athlone and St. Malachy's and also drew with eventual Division 2 winners Tubberclair. But defeats to the likes of Ballynacargy and Tang put paid to their promotion hopes. "The wins over Athlone and St. Malachy's showed what we're capable of. But our form wasn't consistent enough and we slipped up against teams we would have expected to beat," Faulkner says. At underage level, Milltownpass joined forces with St. Mary's to reach the minor Division 2 final. However, the concession of a late goal resulted in a 1-7 to 2-7 defeat to Castledaly. Milltownpass/St. Mary's got off to a dream start when Andy Devine finished an early attack to the net. Paul Larkin and Michael Gavin replied with points for Castledaly before Robbie Kenny put the losers two clear. However, Castledaly then reeled off three points without reply to hold a slender 0-5 to 1-1 lead at the interval. On the restart, Dermot Faulkner restored parity for Milltownpass/St. Mary's, but Paul Kelly then took centre stage by scoring 1-1 for Castledaly. With 14 minutes remaining, Castledaly led by 1-7 to 1-3, but the combination side refused to throw in the towel and four points without reply from Kenny had the sides on level terms as the final ticked into injury-time. A replay looked to be on the cards until the final attack of the game culminated in Paul Kelly scoring the winning goal for Castledaly three minutes into injury-time. Needless to say, Milltownpass/St. Mary's were devastated at the final whistle. Faulkner is optimistic about the future and believes the young talent currently at Milltownpass' disposal is as good as the club has ever produced. "If these lads can be kept together, Milltownpass could become a force at senior level within the next five years," he claims. "The likes of Stephen and Hughie Burke, Andy Devine, Darragh O'Connor, Kevin Reid, Damien Loran, the Reillys - Ned, Paddy and Vincent - and my own two lads, Seamus and Dermot, have a lot to offer and hopefully will have big futures ahead of them. "Most of them have played for the St. Joseph's (Rochfortbridge) college team and have excelled at that level. We also have Kevin Burke coming back into form this year and that can only be a good thing." Faulkner is recognised as one of Milltownpass greatest servants, having played with the club since its formation in 1977 (he had played with Coralstown/Kinnegad for two years prior to then). Milltownpass' progress in those early years was astonishing with junior and intermediate championships being annexed in 1980 and '81. In 1984, the club captured both the Feis Cup and senior league titles. They also appeared in three senior championship semi-finals in 1983, '85 and '87, losing to Moate (after a replay), St. Malachy's and Tubberclair respectively. "If we had one more good forward, I'm convinced we would have won a senior championship. We had great players like Frank Wright, Joe and Padraig Grennan, Mick and Dermot Treacy, Mick and Billy Flanagan, Mick Gleeson, Seamus Coyne, Joe and Richard Gorman and Jim Whelehan, but unfortunately the big prize eluded us," he recalls. Now 47, Faulkner continues to line out for the Milltownpass juniors and the St. Brigid's hurlers. During his career with St. Brigid's, he won two intermediate championship medals in 1995 and 2000 and also played in the 1984 senior championship final against Raharney. He is currently vice-chairman of the club and is joined on the executive by his daughter Carol who was recently elected secretary. Jay notes that 2004 is a big year for Milltownpass both on and off the field: "The club has just bought an 18-acre site 200 yards from the existing pitch on the Rochfortbridge side of the village and we hope to develop a new pitch on it within the next two years. It's going to cost a lot of money, but our lotto has been very successful, thanks largely to the input of John Joe Brady. "As far as the playing side of things are concerned, our aim is to reach the knock-out stages and see how things go after that. Jim Whelahan has just been appointed manager and, alongside selectors Eamon Gorman, Jim O'Connor and Sean Moran, will be hoping to bring the glory days back to Milltownpass." Tweet

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