One of the surprise successes of the year was that of St. Malachy's in the intermediate football championship. Here, we review their march to glory. The underdog had its day at Cusack Park on October 14 last when St. Malachy's caused a major shock by defeating Rosemount in the intermediate football championship final. Supporters of the Castletown-Geoghegan based club could hardly contain their delight as Malachy's produced a magnificent display to win their first championship since 1981 when Athlone were their victims in the senior final. St. Malachy's only previous intermediate championship triumph came at the expense of Tyrrellspass in 1975. At the outset of the year, few would have given St. Malachy's much hope of claiming the Peter Geraghty Memorial Cup. Traditionally, hurling has taken priority in the area and it could be argued that Castletown-Geoghegan's failure to qualify for the knock-out stages of the senior hurling championship had a positive effect on St. Malachy's last season. In many ways, St. Malachy's victory was retribution for their defeat to Ballymore in the 1998 intermediate final. The red and blacks had been hot favourites on that occasion to book their ticket to senior status but lost on a 0-9 to 0-6 scoreline, registering a galling 13 wides in the process. They had the appearance of a team still licking their wounds in the campaigns of 1999 and 2000 but last season, they improved beyond all recognition to capture what is one of the most coveted titles in Westmeath GAA. St. Malachy's success was made all the more remarkable by the fact that so many newcomers had been introduced to their side. The 1998 team was backboned by players such as Paddy Corcoran, Peter Dalton, Ollie Kirby, Peter Corcoran and Kieran Kirby, yet not one of them was available for selection last year due to a variety of reasons. In their absence, youngsters like Andre Bouabbse, Adrian Austin, Barry Whelan and Ronan Whelan slotted in without a hitch, while former St. Loman's and Westmeath midfielder Christy McDonagh provided both experience and leadership from midfield. Others such as Alan Mangan, Ronan Corcoran, Pat Clarke and Tommy Carey took on greater responsibility and certainly didn't let anybody down. Under the guidance of player/trainer Frankie Wright and his co-selectors Fabian McLavin, Noel Geraghty and Sean Mangan, St. Malachy's defeated Milltownpass by 1-12 to 1-8 in their opening game of the championship. Their next outing resulted in a 1-13 to 0-10 victory over Athlone and that was followed by a 2-10 to 1-13 win over newly-promoted Killucan. Rosemount were next up for the red and blacks in what was a dress rehearsal for the final. After a keenly contested game, the sides finished level on 1-9 each. Malachy's moved a step closer to the knock-out stages when they walloped Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall by 5-12 to 1-3. They were on course for a semi-final spot until their neighbours Ballinagore defeated them by two points, 0-12 to 1-7, in the final group game. That defeat meant that St. Malachy's had to settle for a quarter-final joust with Shandonagh. The sides finished level on 0-12 each but Malachy's were handsome winners of the replay, with Ian Corrigan's goal helping them to a 1-13 to 0-7 victory. Frankie Wright's charges renewed acquaintances with Milltownpass in the semi-final at Shandonagh on September 29. St. Malachy's were favoured by a stiff breeze in the first half but only held a two-point lead, 0-6 to 1-1, at the interval. A pointed free from Alan Mangan increased St. Malachy's advantage on the restart but a fisted goal by Kieran Wright soon had Milltownpass on level terms. The signs looked encouraging for Milltownpass at this stage and when a brace of Tommy Kelly points gave them the lead, it seemed that Malachy's were heading for defeat. But the character of the team then came to the fore. Minor star Ronan Whelan scored a crucial goal to regain a two-point lead. Milltownpass quickly replied with a point to reduce the deficit to the minimum but a point from Christy McDonagh and a late goal from Alan Mangan secured a 2-9 to 2-4 win for the Castletown-Geoghegan men. And so to the final. Despite holding Rosemount to a draw in an earlier round, St. Malachy's went in as firm underdogs. With a wealth of senior experience in their side, Rosemount appeared to hold all the aces but a gutsy and highly-motivated St. Malachy's had other ideas. Points from Colm Geoghegan and Mangan gave St. Malachy's the early edge but Rosemount responded impressively to lead by 0-4 to 0-2 after 10 minutes. By the 18th minute, the score read 0-7 to 0-3 in favour of the black and ambers. St. Malachy's were now entering a crucial period but by half-time, they had battled back to within a point (0-7 to 0-6) thanks to scores from McDonagh, Mangan and Pat Clarke. Within 10 seconds of the restart, Mangan had restored parity for the underdogs. Rosemount responded by taking a two-point lead but with the hugely influential Christy McDonagh dominating the midfield exchanges, Malachy's began to take control. Ian Corrigan and Adrian Austin both shot points to restore parity after 21 minutes. Malachy's could now sense that Rosemount were rattled and they went for the jugular. A great point from centre forward Mangan had edged the black and reds in front before man of the match McDonagh created the chance for substitute Johnny Corcoran to fire home the winning goal. In the end, Malachy's had four points to spare, 1-11 to 0-10, and the fact that they had managed to hold Rosemount scoreless for the last 20 minutes made them thoroughly deserving winners. Afterwards, the Chairman of the Football Board Denis Coyne presented the silverware to St. Malachy's captain and vice-captain, Joe Fagan and Alan Mangan. The victory was immediately dedicated to the late Johnny Garvin, a legend of the GAA in Castletown-Geoghegan, who would have been thrilled with the determination and steely resolve that was displayed by what is a young and potentially great St. Malachy's team. The St. Malachy's team which captured the intermediate football championship was: Gary Jackson; Johnny Tuite, Ronan Corcoran, Andre Bouabbse; Adrian Austin (0-1), Willie Corcoran, Barry Whelan; Christy McDonagh (0-1), Tommy Carey; Ian Corrigan (0-1), Alan Mangan (0-3), Derek Gallagher (0-2); Ronan Whelan, Colm Geoghegan (0-1), Pat Clarke (0-2). Subs used: Frankie Wright, Johnny Corcoran (1-0) and Joe Fagan. St. Malachy's add Intermediate Cup St. Malachy's completed a wonderful year when they added the Intermediate Cup to the intermediate championship with a 1-10 to 0-10 victory over the holders Ballymore in an entertaining final at Springfield last November. Psychologically, it was a very important win for the Castletown-Geoghegan outfit who had lost to the same opposition in the 1998 intermediate championship decider. A Derek Gallagher goal on the stroke of half-time proved to be the difference between the teams on this occasion. Gallagher finished to the net after latching onto a pass from Ronan Whelan. That goal gave St. Malachy's a 1-5 to 0-5 lead at the interval and was the launching pad for their success. Ballymore reduced the deficit to two points with less than 10 minutes remaining before that man Gallagher sealed victory for St. Malachy's with a late point. To add to Ballymore's woes, they had full back Ollie McKnight dismissed in the closing stages. Afterwards, St. Malachy's captain Joe Fagan received the Intermediate Cup from Tom Farrell, Westmeath Leinster Council delegate and son of the late Tom Farrell snr, whom the cup was named after. The St. Malachy's team was: Conor Daly; Johnny Tuite, Ronan Corcoran, Andre Bouabbse; Adrian Austin, Willie Corcoran, Barry Whelan; Christy McDonagh, Tommy Carey; Ian Corrigan, Colm Geoghegan (0-2), Derek Gallagher (1-2); Ronan Whelan (0-1), Alan Mangan (0-4), Pat Clarke (0-1). Subs used: Alo Geoghegan and Frankie Wright. Tweet

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