Following another disastrous year in the junior ranks, St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham have stepped up their efforts at underage level. Underage assistant secretary and registrar Patricia Brady is happy to report that the enthusiasm of the young players would appear to have no bounds. St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham had the unenviable distinction of being the whipping boys of last year's junior football championship. The county's youngest club endured a disastrous campaign, losing four games and failing to field in the other four. They lost their opening game to Milltown by 0-1 to 1-14 and were then walloped by St. Joseph's on a 4-21 to 0-5 scoreline. Their most spirited performance of the campaign came against Delvin at Bunbrosna on May 12 when they went down to a 0-7 to 2-7 defeat. St. Paul's inflicted a 3-8 to 1-3 defeat on them at The Downs on May 29. That proved to be their last championship outing of the year as they subsequently conceded walkovers to Bunbrosna, Caulry, Loughnavalley and Ballycomoyle. "It wasn't a good year for the juniors," admits St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham underage assistant secretary and registrar Patricia Brady. "They had hoped to do better but it wasn't to be. Hopefully, they can improve this year. I think the only way is up at this stage," she offers. In an effort to revive their fortunes at adult level, the club is currently embarking on a major underage development programme. The emphasis is being placed on the youth in the hope that St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham will become a force to be reckoned with in the junior championship. "We have recognised the fact that there hasn't been enough young players coming through into the adult team and we are now trying to remedy the problem. The fellas that are there at the moment can't keep going forever. There has to be a constant flow of young players, otherwise the club will have no future," the Dublin native explains. Within the past year, St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham have stepped up their underage drive considerably. In Multyfarnham, underage secretary Michael Ferrick and Sean Kelly have taken on the responsiblity of coaching the youngsters. Lisryan man Jimmy Brady (no relation to Patricia) is undertaking a similar task in Streete. "I'm not all that familiar with what's going on in Multyfarnham but down our end (Streete), Jimmy Brady is doing tremendous work. He has a great way with the youngsters and the enthusiasm is fantastic. "He could have anything up to 60 kids down training at any one time. I think the success of the Westmeath team has also given the whole thing a huge lift. "We have a new multi-purpose pitch in Streete which was purchased by the people of the parish. We hope to secure lotto funding to build a sports complex on the site. When everything is finished, it should be a great facility," she adds. St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham don't have any silverware to show for their underage efforts just yet but they did succeed in reaching the final of last year's under 14 'C' football championship. However, they were forced to give second best to a strong Ballycomoyle team. Played at Whitehall on October 27, the final was dominated for long periods by Ballycomoyle, although St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham did have their moments. The Longford-border outfit created a number of good chances in the first half but a failure to capitalize on any of them left them 0-0 to 1-5 in arrears at the interval. On the resumption, St. Fintan's/Multy scored two quick points per Leo Blake and Emmet Ferrick. But any hopes of a revival were dashed when Ballycomoyle hit back with three goals in quick succession. In the final quarter, Michael Savage was brought down for a penalty which Leo Blake converted. There was still enough time for Ballycomoyle to add a fifth goal and they ended up running out comfortable winners by 5-7 to 1-2. Patricia, whose son Max played in the under 14 final (her younger son James also plays), reveals that there are almost as many girls interested in playing football as boys in the Streete and Multyfarnham areas. It's not surprising then that the recently formed Clann Gaels ladies football club has proven to be a wonderful success. "There is a great interest among the girls. The Clann Gaels club, which also takes in players from Bunbrosna, was set up to cater for the growing interest in ladies football," she notes. Clann Gaels qualified for the ladies minor football final last November, only to be defeated by Garrycastle. The Longford-border side got off to a great start but Garrycastle gradually improved and finished up as 3-11 to 4-6 winners. The Clann Gaels goalscorers were Miriam Kearney, Anne McDonnell and Aisling Carey (two). Multyfarnham may not be regarded as a hurling stronghold but there is no shortage of young hurling talent in the area as evidenced by the achievement of St. Cremin's National School in winning the Cumann na mBunscol 'C' hurling final last June. A last minute goal from Emmet Ferrick gave the Multyfarnham school a dramatic 2-2 to 2-1 victory over Taughmon National School. The successful St. Cremin's team was managed by John O'Reilly. "It was a great achievement, especially when consider that Multyfarnham isn't a hurling area. Whether it's football or hurling, it's great to have the youngsters interested," says Patricia. St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham will obviously be hoping for a major improvement in this year's junior championshp under the management of local man Brendan Coughlan. One feels that the emergence of some new talent can't come quickly enough for the north county outfit. The St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham team which contested the under 14 'C' championship final was: Henry Reilly; Conor Murtagh, Robert Galligan, Cyril McCarthy; Shane Casserly, Stephen Moran, James Sullivan; Leo Blake (1-1), Thomas Duffy; Emmet Ferrick (0-1), Michael Savage, Max Brady; William Garry, Linda Blake, Andrew Burke. Subs used: Geraldine Corcoran and Stephen Ledwith. The Multyfarnham National School team which triumphed in the Cumann na mBunscol 'C' hurling final was: Willie Garry, Paul Flynn, Henry Reilly, Joseph Nagle, Patrick Reilly, Damien Golden, Emmet Ferrick, Stephen Moran, Conor Murtagh, Barry O'Meara. Rest of panel: Sam Ethell, Andrew Boyhan, Stephen Darby, Thomas Brennan, Blaine Burke. The Clann Gaels team which finished runners-up in the ladies minor football final was: Carmel Farrell; Chrissy Foley, Emily Beglan, Caroline Finnan; Anne-Marie Browne, Helena Farrell, Avril Whitney; Miriam Kearney (1-0), Denise Duignan; Roisin Brennan (0-1), Aisling Carey (2-1), Emma Nally; Sarah Tormey, Anne McDonnell (1-3), Linda Kincaid. Subs used: Fiona McCabe (0-1) and Elaine O'Reilly. Tweet

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