The Bailieboro Shamrocks haven't enjoyed the most fruitful of times on the underage front in recent times. However success at Under 12 Roinn A level in 2001 suggests there is rich potential on hand to be tapped into. Kevin Carney reports. Team-manager Paul Kelly is in no doubt but that the Bailieboro Shamrocks under 12 squad was the best on the scene in Cavan last year. And those au fait with the results which emerged in Roinn A during 2001 couldn't really argue with him on that score. The importance of the club's achievement in winning the Roinn A title isn't played down by the aforementioned mentor either. Indeed, if anything, when Kelly talks about it being something in the region of 16 years since a similar title was annexed by the club, one can readily appreciate just where he's coming from. Indeed, the record books confirm that the last time the Shamrocks hauled in a blue riband under 12 title, the likes of current club senior Aidan Connolly was in his element. "The club needs to be winning underage competitions on a regular basis. It's very important for the development of football in the town. You can't beat winning to stir an interest in football among the young fellas," Kelly enthuses. Like many winning troupes, the success of Bailieboro Shamrocks' under 12 outfit in 2001 had its genesis on the training field or, in the Reds' case last year, the local hall where in early spring the assembled panel were drilled in the basic skills of the game. "We normally start training the young fellas in mid-January when we'd concentrate on getting them to think about their positions on the field, what their jobs on the team are and, of course, the basic skills such as lifting the ball on their toe, kick-passing and running onto the ball." The outgoing Bailieboro under 12 panel were well tutored and sported a proven pedigree at under 10 level when they notched up many wins in various challenge matches. Meanwhile at competitive level in 2000, they showed the kind of potential their mentors knew they possessed by reaching the under 12 county decider in 2000, only to lose out to Lurgan by a single point. Ironically, it was also Lurgan who played the role of party-poopers at under 13 level in 2001 when Bailieboro again reached the final but went under to their counterparts from Lurgan by just three points. Assisted by selectors, Seamus Sheridan and Peadar Clerkin, team-manager Kelly was reasonably confident about the chances of their charges making good for previous disappointments as the 2001 season gathered pace. A good win in the Kingscourt tournament over the host team and thereafter victory in the final over crack Navan club Simonstown Gaels heightened expectations within the Reds' camp. Ironically Bailieboro had only four members of the 2000 team to work with in 2001 and Kelly and co. knew that their charges would have to play to the optimum level of their ability to make an impression in the league. An opening win in the league in Terry Coyle Park against Cavan Gaels raised morale among the troops though. The high of the opening win though was tempered before long though by defeat next time out to Kingscourt. "It was a bit of a come down for us losing to Kingscourt after playing so well to beat the Gaels. Although Kingscourt played well on the day, we had a few players missing for the game for various reasons so we weren't that annoyed about losing, especially when it was only the lads' second game of the competition." The Kingscourt setback was to be Bailieboro's only one of the league. Wins thereafter over Castlerahan, Belturbet and Ramor plus Crosserlough left the Reds preparing for a semi-final tussle with old foes Castlerahan in a match which was fixed for Virginia in mid-June. "We had beaten Castlerahan by about eight or nine points in Bailieboro just a week before the semi-final so they knew a lot about us and we knew what to expect from them. "There was a bit of a danger about our lads becoming complacent and things were very tight between us for nearly three-quarters of the game. They gave as good as they got for all that time. "It was obvious that the Castlerahan lads had been well coached but we began to play some very good football in the last 20 minutes or so to open up a gap and luckily enough we did enough to edge our way into the final." And so to the decider at Breffni Park and a clash with a hotly-fancied Cavan Gaels side. So how did the Bailieboro supremo rate the county town side? "Once you're playing Cavan Gaels at underage level, you know you're going to be in for a tough match and that's the way it worked out. "We had them watched in the run-up to the final and we had a fair idea of how strong they were, especially in certain sectors of the field. We felt though that if we played as well as we had in most of the games we had played in during the year, we would be hard to beat." And so it proved with the Shamrocks coming good against the Gaels by 1-13 to 2-6 in a match which proved to be a great advertisement for the underage game in Cavan. Traditionally slow-starters, the would-be champions were up to their old tricks once again as the final gathered pace even though star attacker Killian Sheridan pointed a free to get the Reds off to a steady start. After nine minutes, the Gaels were back on level terms through Martin Duane but then just moments later the same player dribbled through heart of the Bailieboro defence to shoot soccer-style past Paul O'Reilly in the Bailieboro goal to put the county town side very much in the driving seat. Another goal a few minutes later by the Gaels saw the Reds threading deep water as they trailed by 0-4 to 2-2. The relocation of Fergal Tackney helped steady the Bailieboro team thereafter though and like true champions the Reds proceeded to hang in there. Thereafter a point by Sean Cooney and a goal by Aaron Kelly left matters at a knife edge as the interval approached. Although the Gaels had their fair share of possession, stout defending by the Bailieboro defence served to thwart the county town side while at the other end of the field, Niall Kelly showed a fine sense of opportunism in the 24th minute to reduce his side's deficit to two points, 1-4 to 2-2, by half-time. The commencement of the second half saw Bailieboro up the ante with some fine attacking play and points from Michael Sheridan and Niall Kelly put the east Cavan lads into a lead they would never subsequently relinquish. Bailieboro had a firm grip on the exchanges at this juncture but the Gaels never gave up the fight and hit back with a brace of points by Martin Dunne to level the scores with 11 minutes of the second half played. With many fine individual contests taking place around the field, the pace of the game was unrelenting and the exchanges sporting and excellently contested as the large crowd feasted on the fare being served up. Bailieboro continued to look the more likely winners as the game entered the final quarter and a fine run by Killian Sheridan ended with the same player pointing to give the Reds the lead once more. Another excellent point from the outstanding Sheridan compounded the Gaels' difficulties. Bailieboro had their eyes firmly fixed on the winning post at this stage and as the Gaels defence backtracked, the Shamrocks demonstrated tremendous marksmanship with Niall Kelly and Killian Sheridan (two) tagging on some lovely points to leave their opponents trailing by five points with time moving on. The Gaels needed a goal to wrestle their way back into the match and they very nearly grabbed a lifeline but Bailieboro netminder Paul O'Reilly made a brilliant save, albeit at the expense of a point, after Martin Dunne fired in a piledriver which seemed to have goal written all over it. From the kick-out, Bailieboro raced up the field and Niall Kelly restored his side's five point lead in stylish fashion. Young Kelly's point was to be the veritable icing on the cake. Although the Gaels finished the scoring a minute later with a point, nothing could take the gloss of Bailieboro's excellently crafted victory. Roll on the Under 14 championship! The Bailieboro team, and sub, which overcame Cavan Gaels by 1-13 to 2-6 in the 2001 Under 12 Roinn A league final lined out as follows: Paul O'Reilly; Peter Clerkin, Paul O'Reilly, Terry O'Reilly; Thomas Ormiston, Sean O'Reilly, Ronan Dunne; Killian Sheridan, Luke Sheridan; Niall Kelly, Fergal Tackney, Jack Halligan; Aaron Kelly, Michael Sheridan, Niall O'Reilly. Sub used; J. Kiernan. Roy of hope From a Bailieborough perspective, 2001 is a difficult year to assess. Preparations were meticulous; the machine was well-oiled and firing on all cylinders. Yet, it stalled unexpectedly and inexplicably at the quarter-final stage of the championship. Roy Brennan is at pains to put his finger on where it all went away for the Shamrocks. No prizes for guessing the low point in Bailieborough's season: the 1-12 to 0-12 defeat at the hands of Lacken in an ill-fated SFC quarter-final replay came as a major disappointment to the town side. By their own admission, they had been flying in pre-season training and hopes were high that a first senior crown in six years might have been on the cards. But it wasn't to be. High points? Well, the under 12s had a tremendous season. And the junior team won their championship. With regards to the senior team, the return to fitness and full strength of attacking ace Roy Brennan (who commuted over and back from London all season) has to be a major plus. Looking back over the season, the Bailieborough dynamo is somewhat bemused, however: "It was a year of mixed emotions," he declares. "The obvious impetus went into the senior championship and the team was quietly confident of perhaps realising a potential which has, in many ways, been unfulfilled. "We haven't really had a steady flow of underage players coming through onto the senior panel in recent years and that has been critical. But this year saw a number of young players emerging, which is becoming a necessity rather than a bonus. Cavan Gaels' dominance this year reinforces this and their structure is a basis for other clubs to follow. "With promising young players such as David Rooney, Noel O'Callaghan, Robert Mulhall, Ronan Olwill, Padraig Brennan, Damien Lynch and Andrew Coleman at our disposal, our future should be bright and I am confident of these players' progression within the senior squad. "Bearing in mind also the success we enjoyed at U12 level in 2001 and the fact that a number of our young players look like stars of the future for both Bailieborough and Cavan, I'm confident the hard work of our underage committee is going to pay dividends. Current senior players Gerry Sheridan, Adrian Lambe, John Donnellan and Aidan Connolly have done a lot for the underage down the years and more recently Paul O'Dowd and Finbar Clarke have also got involved with the U21s. These players have all had underage success themselves and they understand the importance of putting something back in. Another man who was involved with the underage players in the club for years is Jimmy Clarke ... he made an enormous contribution. There's no doubting that in 2001 Bailieborough had as strong and capable a senior panel as they've had in many years. In preparation, they left no stone unturned and it's difficult to see what more they could possibly have done. "A huge commitment and dedication was shown by the whole panel," Roy concurs. "We had players travelling from Dublin three nights a week and the club also paid to have myself and Adrian Larkin flown over from London on a weekly basis, so the determination is plain to see. "When we beat Belturbet in our first game, we thought we were on our way. The preparations went excellently and we had some great challenges against the likes of Skryne and Dunshaughlin in Meath and St Brigid's of Blanchardstown, so we thought we were in for a really big season. "After the quarter-final defeat to Lacken, it was difficult to see where it all went wrong. Our preparations were second to none, with the fresh approach brought to the team by Philip Phelan, whose energy and enthusiasm combined with Mattie Kerrigan's know-how and wealth of experience had us playing a brand of football that suits us. "So what went wrong? Perhaps the Three Wise Men of Bailieboro will work it out over a few pints! It's hard to pinpoint but hindsight is a wonderful thing and the injuries to Brian O'Callaghan and Michael Murtagh were crucial. Complacency is also something which affects us all at some point. Nobody likes to admit to it but, if we were to be honest, we'd have to admit that it may have been a factor. But fair play to Lacken: they saw their opportunity and they took it." Drawing something more positive from the year, Roy alludes to the club's success in the junior B championship. "In many ways, our senior team could learn from them," he says. "Their mental approach to the campaign has to be commended and the work of Peter Connolly and Adrian Lambe should be recognised. Their victory over Ramor in the final at Kingscourt was something the club needed. Any success generates enthusiasm and hopefully this can act as a springboard for this year." What is the objective for 2002? "Every coming year is a transition year for each club in that fresh players and new ideas must be tested. This year is no different for Bailieborough and if the principles of work ethic and commitment continue to be applied, this team may realise its potential. A number of hard-working officials have ensured the correct balance within the club and the progressive nature of the club is exemplified by the fact that we have an excellent website - bailieboroughshamrocks.com - which is run by Paul O'Donnell, John Halton, Ronan O'Callaghan and Ciaran Galligan. It's now up to each player to do his part." Now back in full stride after missing the best part of two years with a bad shoulder injury ("It's only in the past 12-18 months that I'm getting back to the level I was at before the injury"), Roy Brennan was part of the last Bailieborough side to win the Cavan senior football championship, back in 1995. That team went on to contest the Ulster club final against Mullaghbawn in Clones when, after a rallying fightback, they were ultimately undone by one of Pat McEnaney's more dubious refereeing decisions, the Corduff man very harshly ruling out the Cavan champions' late equalising 'goal'. That game and in particular its controversial climax have entered into Cavan and Ulster GAA folklore . . . all fine and well except that the Baileborough men were really hard done by on arguably the club's biggest day ever. It's a bitter pill to swallow and the fact that they've been struggling to get out of Cavan since has compounded their woes. As well as injury, Roy's (intercounty, in particular) career has also been disrupted somewhat by his studies. He has just finished a three-year course studying Sports Rehabilitation in London and is now qualified to set up his own clinic specialising in sports physiotherapy, which he plans to do at some point in the future. Last season, he conducted a bit of a juggling act to keep his football career up and running. "I was flying over and back quite a lot last year and I was also trying to get my thesis written up. I have to admit it was tough going at times but it worked out and I got through both in the end so everything worked out great," notes the man who is currently managing the family-owned pub on Bailieborough's Main Street. Winner of minor, under 21 and senior league and championship honours in the club colours, Roy also tasted success at county level in the form of a Father Manning Cup (U16) medal and an Ulster U21 championship souvenir (in 1996 - Cavan went on to play Kerry in the All-Ireland final). A combination of injury and studying abroad has put Roy Brennan's senior intercounty career on hold but there's every chance the Bailieborough man will still emerge as a key figure in the Breffni County's premier set-up. He notes: "I haven't been able to give a definite commitment and I haven't played with the seniors since the injury. Anyway, it's only recently that I've regained the physical strength necessary to play at that level. I'm back to full fitness now and I'm here in Bailieborough full-time again, so who knows..." Junior business Bailieboro's footballers collected their second piece of silverware of 2001 when they accounted for Ramor United in the final of the Junior 'B' Championship title at O'Raghallaigh Park, Kingscourt on the October Bank Holiday Monday. The Shamrocks impressed as they led from pillar to post, exerting pressure on their opponents right from the opening whistle with half-forward Kellegher getting the winners-elect up and running with a fine early point. Bailieboro continued to dictate the pace and they duly increased their lead with a point following a nice move involving centre-half forward Gary Millar. Millar's neat pass in the 12th minute was collected by Gerry Brennan who cooly slotted the ball over the bar. There was no let-up in the pressure on the Ramor defence as the end of the first quarter approached as half-back Oliver Clerkin galloped forward to add another point to Bailieboro's tally. Play gradually became more evenly contested as the second quarter gathered pace. The dismissal of a Bailieboro defender though seemed to offer Ramor a window of opportunity and, initially, United appeared poised to capitalise on the situation. However, a low, hard shot by Martin Lynch rebounded off the Bailieboro upright, denying the losers-elect a valuable leg-up. Defending a 0-4 to 0-0 lead on the restart, Bailieboro proceeded to make light of their numerical disadvantage, opening the scoring in the second half with a point from Sean O'Sullivan in the 34th minute. Ramor then belatedly opened their account one minute later but Bailieboro were in no mood to allow their opponents to grab a foothold in the match as they responded immediately with a point from Declan O'Sullivan. An air of inevitability continued to waft over proceedings and, even allowing for Bailieboro's ascendancy, the dismissal thereafter of a Ramor defender left no-one in doubt that the Shamrocks were on their way to victory. Final score: Bailieboro 0-7 Ramor Utd 0-2 The following is the Bailieboro team, and subs, that featured against Ramor Utd: S. Gregory; T. Gregory, D. Rooney, M. Clynch; O. Clerkin, B. Keegan, P. Cooney; G. McCormack, G. Brennan; K. Kellegher, G. Miller, D. Lynch; D. Sullivan, K. Clarke, S. O'Sullivan. Subs used; S. Lynch, L. McIntyre. Tweet

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