Nineteen-year-old Francis McCullough was arguably Naomh Mairtin's most potent attacker in 2003. Some achievement considering that county stars JP Rooney and Nicky McDonnell also ply their trade in the Monasterboice forward line! Since the new championship structure was introduced, Naomh Mairtin have reached the knock-out stage of the SFC every year without fail. It was business as usual in 2003 as the Blue & Whites again marched through to the last eight. But there's the rub. For some reason, the semi-final stage is invariably proving a bridge too far and yet again in '03 the Monasterboice outfit came a cropper in the first round of the knock-outs. It's a frustrating state of affairs and one the club is anxious to address. Of course, emerging from the initial group stage of the premier competition is a worthy achievement in itself, but the Mairtins now want to take their challenge a step further. They almost cast the monkey from their collective backs in 2003, giving as good as they got in a pulsating quarter-final clash with St Marys. It was a game that could have gone either way and justice was probably done when the sides finished all square. Unfortunately for the Mairtins, they gave a below-par display in the replay and the penultimate round eluded them again. In light of the fact that the Mairtins genuinely believed a Joe Ward Cup final place was within their grasp, the replay defeat was a thoroughly anti-climactic end to their promising campaign. But there were a number of sources of encouragement, not least of which was the stellar form of young attacker Francis McCullough. Francie's haul of 1-5 in nine minutes in the Group D play-off victory over Glyde Rangers was one of the highlights of the Wee County GAA year and typified his priceless contribution over the course of the season. Reflecting on the events of 2003, Francie notes: "We've been reaching the quarter-finals every year and I suppose you could say getting to a replay is a slight step forward, but realistically we're not happy about losing another quarter-final. We have to make the breakthrough and reach a semi-final and then push it on from there." The Mairtins believed they were going to make that breakthrough in '03. They were in a confident frame of mind prior to their quarter-final and a place in the county decider looked imminently achievable. "We fancied ourselves going into the quarter-final because it was wide open," Francie admits. "We're never afraid of Ardee and we were really up for it but we started poorly and were six points down at half time. Nicky [McDonnell] had been out but came on as a sub and got three late points to earn us a replay. We had all the momentum at that stage and if the game had lasted another two minutes we'd probably have beaten them. "In the replay, we started slowly again and the Marys got well ahead in the first half. We thought we might come at them in the second half again, the way we did the first day, but they had their homework done and kept our forwards quiet. We never got into the game at all. "It was disappointing because the path had opened up for a place in the final. The Brides had beaten the Blues in their quarter-final the night before the replay and we felt that if we could get over the Marys then we'd also have a good chance of beating the Brides. "We didn't expect the year to end so suddenly. For the first year since I came onto the team there was a genuine belief amongst the players that we could make a major impression in the championship. Getting knocked out of the championship was a big blow and really knocked us back - our league form was terrible after that." The Mairtins were in Group D of the Louth SFC. They kicked off with a 1-9 to 1-5 defeat of Roche Emmets at Castlebellingham on Thursday June 12th. It was the first game of the senior championship and Francie McCullough hit 1-1 for the winners. Ten days later at the same venue, Kilkerley were beaten by four points, 1-10 to 0-9. County minor Mark McCormack scored the goal and Eddie Martin gave an inspirational display at full back, holding Shane Lennon to a single point from play. Naomh Mairtin knew they'd be in the last eight if they beat Glyde in their final group outing but the Tallanstown men came out on top, 1-10 to 1-7, at Dunleer on July 12th. The same two sides met in a play-off at Ardee eight days later to determine who would finish top of the group. After trailing for most of the game, the Mairtins stole the show with a late surge. Francie McCullough was their outstanding performer with 1-5 between the 49th and 58th minutes. Francie was also the team's top scorer in both quarter-finals against the Marys. The drawn game took place at Dunleer on August 9th and two Alan Doherty goals ensured the Deesiders of a second bite at the cherry, 2-8 to 1-11. It all went wrong in the replay at the same venue the following weekend: only Francie (0-3), JP (0-2) and Nicky (0-1) scored for the Monasterboice men who capitulated meekly to a 1-11 to 0-6 defeat. Defeat left the Mairtins pondering what could have been. Certainly, Lady Luck didn't smile favourably upon them during their championship odyssey: Nicky McDonnell had only just recovered from injury when he was struck down by appendicitis, while superb young prospect Mark McCormack also missed much of the championship due to an injury sustained while on duty with the county minors (in the drawn Leinster MFC semi-final against Dublin). Francie McCullough missed the early part of the season as he was in the States on a soccer scholarship, but quickly got into the swing of things after returning before the commencement of the SFC. The 19-year-old was one of the team's key figures and is looking forward to many more seasons in the club colours: "I was happy with the way things worked out from a personal point of view. I had only played once in the league before the championship game against Roche but when I got 1-1 it settled me and things took off from there. We had a few injury problems and when Nicky was ruled out I played at centre forward, which was an enjoyable experience." Beating Roche was certainly an encouraging start to Naomh Mairtins' championship campaign: "Our preparations weren't ideal as a lot of our lads were at college, but we were pleased to get the win under our belts and we also came good in the end in the second game against Kilkerley." The first chink appeared in Naomh Mairtin's armour during the third group game: "We played Glyde Rangers and it was a must-win game for them. They were under a lot of pressure to produce the goods and we were sitting in a nice position at the top of the table. We went into the game complacently and paid the price. We seemed to think it was just a matter of turning up for that game... ...but when we got the second go at Glyde in the play-off the following week, we made no mistake. We were well up for it because they had taught us a lesson in the first game." The play-off was without doubt Francie's best performance of the year. He scored 1-6 in total, including 1-5 in a devastating nine-minute last-quarter spell. "They were well ahead with about 15 minutes remaining but fair play to the manager [Declan Smith] who made three changes which turned the game in our favour. He brought JP out from full forward and put me in and the switch worked wonders. JP got some good possession and picked me out for the scores. "We were delighted with that win because we were under-strength ... we hadn't got Nicky for the game and Mark [McCormack] was struggling with injury." Former county boss Smith was in his second year in charge of the Monasterboice men. In 2002, he also steered them to the knock-out stage of the championship and oversaw their promotion to Division 1A. Francie is full of praise for the manager: "He brought a lot of young lads through this year and deserves a lot of credit for that. It had been a while since any new blood came through but Declan was brave enough to give the lads a chance. Ronan Gillard, Kenneth Lambe and Patrick Sullivan all came through and gave good accounts of themselves in their first year playing senior football." Though you wouldn't guess it from his performances, it was also Francis McCullough's first year playing senior championship. He joined the team after returning from a one-year soccer scholarship in the United States, with an option to return for another year. Does this mean Francie's football career could be a short one? "Hopefully not. I really enjoyed the GAA when I came back this year. I missed it so much when I was away. It's a game I love and I get a great buzz out of playing for the Mairtins. The belief that we could win a senior championship was there this year and I'm still sure we can do it. And when Naomh Mairtin do collect the Joe Ward Cup I want to be a part of it! "We have the players. Our forwards tend to get all the plaudits but there's much more to this team than dangerous forwards. Eddie Martin is a tower of strength at full back and he never has a bad game - he holds everything together at the back. Ronan Gillard is a class act at corner back and the three McDonnells are wonderful servants to the club. James, Paul and Nicholas are great footballers and their work rates and attitudes are excellent. With men like that around, we should be challenging for major honours." Is 2004 a big year for Naomh Mairtin? Is the moment of truth on the horizon? "It's a massive year because we have a good few lads around the 30 mark and if we can get a big year out of them it will push us on. We've proved that we can reach the quarter-finals, now we have to take it a step further. It's vital that we move forward rather than slip back, so next year we'll be going all out for a semi-final place at least." Tweet

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