Cullion suffered a set back in this year's intermediate championship when they lost to neighbours Crookedwood in the final. Although their minor side also failed in the decider, the future looks bright for the maroon and whites according to club chairman Pat Gaffney. Pat has been a lifelong member of Cullion hurling club and spent many years in charge of their finances as his role of treasurer required. However, Pat has just completed his first year as chairman and revealed that he thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Cullion have failed to make it back to the senior grade since their relegation in 2002. A defeat to Delvin in the 2003 intermediate decider and further defeat this year has left the club in something of a quandary, although contesting the minor final as part of an amalgamation team with Crookedwood is a step in the right direction. Former referee Terry O'Dowd took charge of the intermediate side for the 2005 championship and along with selectors John Bourke and Sean Connelly, the club had a very experienced management team at their disposal. O'Dowd and his colleagues had a small squad to work from as many of their players work or are at college in Dublin. The majority of rural clubs are in the same boat, but Cullion have to battle on many fronts just to organise training. "It can be difficult getting all the lads training together. A lot of them are away during the week and that just leaves the weekend, when there are usually matches on in either hurling or football," said Pat. The Mullingar-border outfit still possess some of the most talented hurlers in the county and the likes of Robbie and Philip Galvin, Frank Shaw and Colin Whyte would walk on to any side in the county. The fact that Cullion had to go through this year's campaign without the impressive Whyte was a huge blow to the small club and although Pat would not put that down as the main reason for their defeat in the final, he felt it played a major part. "Colin was a big loss for us this year. He decided to go to America and has been playing out there. He has been one of our best forwards in the last few years, and although if he was there for the final, he would have been a great help, you cannot use that as an excuse," said Pat. The Cullion chairman admitted that confidence was high going into the final especially after their well merited semi-final win over championship favourites Brownstown and Pat admitted that there was huge disappointment within the club, following the defeat. "It was very disappointing to lose. Crookedwood got three goals in the space of a few minutes at the start of the second half and it was hard for us to come back, although we finished very strong. Credit must go to the 'wood though, they deserved their victory after coming so close in recent years," added Pat. Some of Cullion's bigger players failed to reach the standard that they have set themselves over the years and Pat revealed that captain Philip Galvin had other pressing matters on his mind. "Philip was outstanding in the semi-final win over Brownstown. But things did just not go his way in the final. The fact that he was getting married the following Friday had an impact on his performance and that is understandable as who wouldn't be the same in that case," stressed Pat. "Things just didn't go right for a lot of the lads on the day. That's the way hurling goes and you just have to take the good with the bad. Hopefully, we can bounce back next year." Being situated on the outskirts of Mullingar and having Clonkill and Crookedwood as near neighbours, it is hard for Cullion to attract new talent and Pat admitted that the fact there is no Primary School in the area has not helped their cause in promoting the game. "We pay into a Primary School fund which costs us roughly Eur1,800, but it does not really benefit the club as there is no school in the area. A lot of the younger lads around here choose football as their preferred sport, while the parents also seem more interested in football," said Pat. "If we could get more of the parents involved in the hurling, it would help us bring lads through as we have very small numbers to choose from at all levels. The work at underage level is always left to the same people like Gerry Gillen, who has done an amazing amount of work down through the years. Only for the likes of Gerry we would be in serious trouble." The fruits of Gerry Gillen's work almost paid dividend this year as he helped guide the club to the minor final. Cullion amalgamated with Crookedwood to form Cu Chulainn for this competition and the young charges combined well to reach the decider. In the final, Clonkill were the opposition and as expected a tough entertaining contest was the outcome. The Loughegar outfit got off to the perfect start when they scored two goals in the opening ten minutes and Cu Chulainn never really recovered, despite battling throughout. Clonkill lead by eight points at half time, but the amalgamation side fought back and closed the gap to four points at one stage, but ultimately, the green and golds held out for a six-point win, 2-9 0-9. The most pleasing factor for Cullion was that all their scores in the final came from their own clubmen with Thomas Gillen leading the way by scoring seven points, which included a magnificent line ball midway through the first half. "We had six players on the starting 15. Brian O'Dowd, James Clarke, Darren Price, Thomas Gillen, Jamie Shaw and Daniel Bourke all played very well, while Damien Golden came on and scored a point. "It was a shame we couldn't have won our first minor title since 1972, but it was good to get to the final again. These lads are the future of the club and will play a big part in the side next year," he said. "This club has seen some bad times and good, but the one thing is that we always managed to field a team. Even during the sixties when emigration was at its peak in this country, we managed to keep going, while some other clubs were forced to disband. So we have a good record in that respect and there is no need to worry as we will always have a team." Cullion suffered further heartache at adult level when they were defeated in the Junior B semi-final by Crookedwood. Even though the maroon and whites could call on a number of their intermediate side, the 'wood triumphed by a point in a close contest. With the year drawing to a close and all competitions almost completed, Pat reflected on the campaign and admitted that the emergence of the minor players was the highlight of the year. "We definitely have the players to win the intermediate championship. It will be tough again next year, but with the young lads coming through Cullion's return to the senior ranks may not be too far away," concluded Pat. Tweet

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