In recent times, St Oliver Plunkett's have emerged as serious contenders for the senior hurling championship. However, the club have failed to deliver on their true potential, although outgoing club secretary Conleth McCormack believes it may not be too long before that elusive first title is won. Plunkett's could be described as something of an enigma. They possess some of the most talented hurlers in the county and on their day are a match for any team in the senior grade as they have proven over the last few years. Nonetheless, this has not stopped them from dicing with relegation and the 2005 campaign saw their return to the top flight after a one-year absence. Even though, two years previously, the town team were involved in some classic matches against the likes of Lough Lene Gaels, Castlepollard and Clonkill, relegation was the outcome of a fruitless year. Over the last decade, the club have had their fair share of success at underage level, although Conleth revealed that those victories have dried up considerably in the last couple of years. "We have had a few barren years at underage level now. This goes back to a few years ago when we struggled to field a team at under-12 and we are still finding it hard to make up the numbers in that group," said Conleth. "However, there are plenty of young lads coming through at an earlier age and the under-12 and under-14 sides are relatively strong. Despite the housing boom in the town, the club have not really benefited from the population increase yet as most of the people that have moved in are families with very young children. So it could be a few years before they start to come through," he added. The club secretary also revealed that with three top football teams in or near the town, plus the distractions of rugby and soccer, it is hard for a relatively small club like Plunkett's to maintain the interest among the younger players. "We have Mullingar Shamrocks, The Down's and St Loman's all within a couple of mile radius and if these sides are doing well, it makes it difficult for us to keep the interest levels high. Throw in the fact that young lads now rate soccer and rugby as high as the GAA and you are left with a big problem." St Oliver Plunkett's are a proud club and are willing to try anything to promote the game of hurling in the town and Conleth revealed that promotion through the schools has been most successful. "Teaching the basic skills of hurling in the schools has really helped the club develop. This means that the kids are showing an interest from a young age and we rely on that," stressed Conleth. Having defeated Crookedwood in last year's intermediate final after a replay, Plunkett's set out to maintain their status in the senior championship for 2006. Once again Seamus Qualter was at the helm. "Seamus has done a magnificent job during his time with the club and our main aim in the championship was to consolidate our position in the top flight. Too many times, we have been relegated when we should have stayed up comfortably and fortunately that was achieved this year, although we were disappointed with the way we went out," added Conleth. "We stayed up safely and the pressure was off when we qualified for the quarterfinal, that was why we thought we should have done a lot better. When you are in a relegation playoff, it is 50/50 as either team has a good chance of staying up." Plunkett's began their campaign with a match against neighbours Clonkill. The sides have had many close battles in recent years and although the town team looked impressive during the first half and were well on top in the game, the Loughegar outfit's experience shone through as the game wore on, leaving Plunkett's pondering what might have been. "The lads regrouped after the Clonkill match, we were disappointed to lose, but knew there was plenty of time to get the campaign back on track. There is a determined bunch of lads in this club, who want to do well." The town team showed just how determined they were in their next outing as their display against Raharney was nothing less than exceptional. The Deelsiders were hammered by 5-14 to 0-10, but it would not be the last time that the sides met in the championship. At the start of the championship, Cork native Shane O'Sullivan joined the club. Shane had spent the previous few years living in Co. Monaghan where he played hurling for the Farney County, while he also represented the Rebels at minor level. The fact that he played for Cork at any level is an indication of the talent that the forward possesses and this was evident when he scored 3-1 in the easy win over Raharney. Qualter's charges easily saw off the challenge of relegation candidates Delvin and Ringtown to leave them with six points from their opening four matches and already their status in the senior grade was virtually assured for another year. "The lads turned things around after the Clonkill game and the forwards clocked up some impressive scores. We were very confident of doing well in the championship after that, but the break and a few injuries didn't help our cause," pointed out Conleth. Plunkett's kept up their impressive run with a four-point victory over defending champions Castletown-Geoghegan. However, Westmeath's prolonged run in the Christy Ring Cup which resulted in the Lake County winning the inaugural competition, brought a halt to the county championship for a number of weeks. During this time, 'find of the year' Shane Sullivan broke his leg while training with the Westmeath hurlers and with three players involved with the county team, Noel and Greg Gavin and Dermot Curley along with Seamus Qualter, who had taken over as manager from Tom Ryan, it was a difficult period for the club with regards training and challenge matches. "It was very hard to keep the momentum going during that time. Any challenges we played were usually without the county lads and this meant we never had a full strength team out. Another blow to us was when Shane broke his leg, he was a massive loss, but thankfully he should be back full fit for this year's championship," he said. When the championship resumed, it was no surprise to see the saints suffer a heavy defeat as Lough Lene Gaels ran out easy winners on a scoreline of 2-14 to 1-7. Eventual champions Castlepollard were the last group match opponents and Plunkett's will rue a number of missed chances in this game as Pollard held on for a narrow two-point win. "The defeat to Castlepollard was bitterly disappointing as we had the chances to win the match and were just as good as them throughout. There was only a couple of points in it at the end, but we were still in the championship and that was the main thing." The draw for the quaterfinals meant that Plunkett's would once again face Raharney. Even without Shane O'Sullivan and Seanie Maguire, who was also injured, confidence was high that a place in the last four could be secured. With the likes of Noel Gavin, Peter Collins, Tony Gavin, Greg Gavin, Dermot Curley, Seanie O'Leary and Michael Curley in their side, Plunkett's possess the talent to win their first senior hurling title and many believed that 2005 was to be their year. However, you can never take the likes of Raharney for granted and the Deelsiders exacted revenge on the town team for their heavy defeat in the group stages by securing a 2-13 to 2-9 victory, which ended St Oliver Plunkett's interest in the championship. "The quarterfinal was disappointing as like in the Pollard game, we felt that we were as good if not better than Raharney. Certainly we will not fear anyone next year. Plunkett's have the players to go all the way and I believe we can do that in the next few years," concluded Conleth. \ Tweet

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