The playing season of 2002 is one the Irelanders might like to forget ... due to poor results, suspensions and at times indifference to training sessions by a number of the club's players. For those reasons alone and also for the matter of restoring pride in the "green & blacks" it is vital that 2002 becomes a watershed within the Club. All Club members will agree that while we never had it so bad on the playing field at adult level (as results go) there are some signs that given hope - however faint - that as long as a pulse remains the body is still alive. It would be simple to write a blunt overview of the problems that the teams encountered during the year but such an exercise might offend the innocent and anyway the players who failed with regards attending training/coaching sessions got caught up in disciplinary situations and those who basically didn't put in the effort all know the true facts themselves. Clubs can have lean times on the playing field and let all Irelanders hope that the forthcoming AGM will go a long way in getting the Club moving forward on the field again. In other areas the Club can reflect on a brighter overview of its activities. The new buildings, which are due for completion at the end of November, will increase capacity to four large dressing rooms with en-suite shower-rooms; kitchen; referees changing room; garage with storage area; Public toilets; Laundry room and Meeting room/Office. It is envisaged that the under-roof accommodation will be utilised fully for storage purposes. A feature of the new layout is that should in the near future the Committee decide to expand the building it will be just a matter of raising the roof. A new entrance is installed with better parking facilities and the existing parking area will be dug-up and incorporated into the juvenile playing facilities. It would be envisaged to enclose the main playing area prior to the new playing season and upgrade the current lighting system. Under the stewardship of chairman Enda Murray all the above improvements will become a reality within the next few months. His business acumen allowed the Club obtain funding from a number of sources and he encouraged all Committee members just by leading by example, be it selling lines, flags or the variety of fund-raising efforts made during the past year. Enda was capably assisted by Tony Hande who acted as Secretary / Coach / Liaison officer during the year and who placed his well-known business premises at the disposal of the Club during 2002. Treasurer, Peter O'Donoghue, also assisted Enda in the quest for seeking funds and still managed to tog out on occasions for the juniors. Two former chairmen of the club, Gerry Nixon and Pat Hamilton were to the fore in generating funding and P.R.O Yvonne Lawrence proved to be efficient in her brief during the year. The other Committee members who assisted greatly include Fr. John Mulligan S.M, Ryan Moran, John McArdle, Fintan Watters, Derek, Gary and Adrian O'Donoghue, Shane McGuinness and the evergreen Leo Burns. Club-members, Michael McArdle and Pat Hamilton serve as County Board Officials at Minor and Senior Board level respectively. Pat Bailey and Paul McArdle worked diligently at juvenile level [see separate article] and they with all the juvenile committee members deserve tremendous credit for their valuable contributions. On the coalface itself, Ben Casey kept the grounds immaculately and the playing gear well groomed during the year and we hope his loss to the club will be of a temporary nature. Many of the units who used the field over the years commented on Ben's genial nature at all times and certainly never were truer words spoken. Other plans successfully concluded for the new season include individual kit/playing gear sponsorship for each team in 2003 competitions. The Club Committee hopes to unveil their new style gear at their Annual Presentation, along with a range of leisure gear for Club members. It would seem that based on the success of the juvenile trips to Croke Park that a number of the adults are keen to revive the "weekend-away trip" and that is under active consideration at the moment. A big recruitment drive is currently underway to entice former players and officials to become involved in the Club without tying them down for the year but merely utilising their skills and time when the need arises and hopefully this will encourage them to participate fully in future years. While the years ahead might look long and lean it is a proven fact that the Club were there before and succeeded in hauling themselves back into the big time. The challenge is there; the question remains are the individuals there to face up to it. In this writers opinion we have the people, we have the tradition and we have the bottle. We may be down in Junior, but we certainly are not out and the only way left is up! We hope to celebrate 2004 (120 years of history) in style ... lets build towards that in 2003. Eire Óg U-12 Eire Og U-12 had a very successful year, winning the Drogheda Independent U-12 Blitz at Ardee in June and runners-up in an U-12 Blitz organised by St. Patrick's GFC. The nursery unit of Eire Óg, Seatown/Cluan Enda competed in Cumann Peil na nOg at U-12, U-11 and U-10 grades. The U-121s were beaten in semi-finals of the league and championship while at the time of going to print, the U-111s are due to play in a League final against the Quay. Dundalk Young Irelands GFC would like to give a special word of thanks to Kieran Maguire, Joe McDonald, Willie Newberry, Paul McCourt, Adrian O'Donoghue and Joe Hoey for looking after all Cumann Peil na nOg teams. As we all know, the greatest players all started at U-10 level and the club would encourage adults in Seatown/Cluan Enda to lend a hand and keep this great tradition alive in these areas. Anyone interested should make contact with Joe Mc Donald (Seatown) or Kieran Maguire (Cluan Enda). Eire Óg U-14 & U-13 The younger members of Eire Óg enjoyed a very successful year reaching the Semi-Final of both the U-13 and the U-14 All-County Championships. Although there was no silverware to show for their efforts, the mentors of these teams seen enough promise to indicate the future looks bright for these young lads. At U-14 level, the panel started training in February to prepare for the group stages of the U-14 League. Following a shaky start with two losses, the team won four games on the trot to qualify for Division 2 of the All-County League. The team again won four and lost two and finally bowed out to Newtown Blues in an exciting Semi-Final replay. Christopher McCormack and Peter Nixon matured greatly during the League while Shane Green and Derek Maguire were top scorers. However it was in the Championship that this team illustrated their true potential. During the year Barry Piper, Derek Maguire and Mark Savage represented the club on the Louth U-14 team with Mark Savage playing an important role in Louth1s U-14 Tuft Cup victory. The U-13's came together in August with two friendly games in preparation for the start of the U-13 All-County Section A. In a difficult group, Eire Óg lost the first game to Clan na Gael but followed up with victories over Cooley and Sean O'Mahonys. On a wet October evening in Termonfeckin, Eire Óg overcame St. Fechins in the Quarter-Final, however St. Furseys with two second half goals won a keenly contested Semi-Final. Sean Newberry, Garret Herr, Niall Fergus and Barry Piper shone during these games with Shane Greene again proving himself a very skilful forward. U-14 and U-13 panels: Stephen Duffy, Mark Savage, Craig Connolly, Christopher Scully, Shane Murphy, Christopher McCormack, Sean Murray, Craig Mc Kenna, Shane Greene, Barry Piper, Derek Maguire, Peter & Conor Nixon, Garrett Herr, Gavin Coleman, Colin Farrell, Niall Fergus, Peter & Joseph Flynn, David Lally, Sean Newberry, Shane O'Carroll, Sean McCourt, Robert Agnew, Kevin Keelan, Sean Lavery, Garrett Meade, Daniel McAreavey, Richard Shaw, Stephen Kearney, Stefan Parkin, Glen Duffy, Ciaran Murray and Stephen Mc Mahon. Trips to Croke Park In 2002, Dundalk Young Irelands GFC arranged two trips to Croke Park for their juvenile teams. Sunday, 25th August was a special day for the U-12 and U-14 teams of Young Irelands GFC who made the journey to Croke Park for the All-Ireland Football semi-final between Kerry and Cork. The day began with the group of 40 boys and eight adults departing from the Seatown/Cluan Enda area eagerly awaiting the first ever meeting of the two great Munster rivals at the All-Ireland semi-final stage. On arrival in Dublin, flags and headbands were purchased (some Kerry, but mostly Cork colours as they will come in handy for future Louth games) before taking up seats in Croke Park on the Canal End. Following the game, the group commenced their return journey home. After a stopover at McDonald's in Drogheda, the boys arrived back to Dundalk tired, but excited having seen the biggest Gaelic Football game of their lives. A second trip was organised to the International Rules game on 20th October. A group of 45 U-16 & U-14's accompanied by nine adults made the journey. Although the weather was not as kind as the previous trip, it was again a very enjoyable and worthwhile exercise. It was a terrific experience for the boys to witness the experience of 71,000 at Croke Park. Éire Óg would like to thank the parents for their co-operation and support on the organisation of these trips. Everyone involved had a great time and are hoping that there will be many more to come. Tweet

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