Pride of place in Monasterboice in Year 2001 went to the club's U16s who finished the year with a 100% winning record. Gerry Robinson reports Arguably the highlight of Naomh Mairtin's year came when the club's remarkable under 16s demonstrated maturity beyond their years to win the Doyle Family U16 B championship with a 2-11 to 2-8 victory over Roche Emmets at Dowdallshill on Saturday July 21st. Despite a slow start, the young Mairtins finished powerfully to run out deserved winners of a competition they had at one stage considered not even entering due to the relative youth of their players. In the county final, the entire team covered themselves in glory with gutsy displays, although special mention must go to Patrick Halligan and Mark McCormack who contributed 1-4 and 0-4 respectively. The Monasterboice lads trailed by three points (2-4 to 1-4) at half time but showed their true worth in the second half when opening up a five point lead with time almost up. Closing minute points from Roche proved too little too late and it was the Mairtins who celebrated an excellent victory. They had still trailed in the 42nd minute but Padraig McDonagh then scored their second goal from close range to set them on the road to glory. It could all have been so different, as Paddy Halligan - part of the team's management triumvirate - explains: "We were absolutely delighted with how things turned out, especially considering that we hadn't even expected to field a team at one point, because they were so young. We had a squad of 21, with all but three of them eligible again next year. So, basically, it was an U15 team. A lot of them were only 14 and there were even a few 13-year-olds. "I felt they were a bit too young and didn't want to risk putting football out of their heads for good by throwing them in at the deep end against bigger and stronger lads. So I sat down and had a chat with Gerry Connor one day and he was of the opinion that we should give it a go. He suggested putting a team into the B competition, which we did. We started the year without having any idea how strong we were going to be. "We played the preliminary round against the Treacys and just about managed to get over them. From there on, we made steady progress. "We beat the Brides convincingly at home and then had a six or seven point victory over the Joes in Dunleer, which set us up very nicely for the final against Roche in Dowdallshill. "We got off to a dreadful start and conceded a goal and three points inside the first ten minutes. We were three points down at half time but turned it right around in the second half. They got two late points, both of which could have gone under the crossbar, but we held on for a great win and all credit is due to the lads. "They're an excellent little team with great forwards and a great spirit. I've had this group of lads since they were eight so you could say I've dragged them up by the bootlaces! They're a lovely bunch of lads, with the right attitude. We started out in the Drogheda leagues and then played in the mid-Louth leagues from U14 level up." Looking back at 2001, Paddy says that "all in all, it was a terrific year. The biggest disappointment was that we entered them into the mid-Louth U16 league and the County Board then decided in its wisdom to scrap the competition. "That was a big blow to the team. It left them with nothing else to do for the rest of the year - all they had were the four championship games. Mark McCormack also plays for the minors so he got a few games but for the rest of them they had virtually no competitive football all year outside of the championship." Naomh Mairtin had two U14s and one U15 involved with the Louth Development Squad last season, which isn't many considering the success they enjoyed in the U16 competition. But, as Paddy points out: "It's hard to get the young lads to turn up for the Louth squads. There was a time when lads would walk 20 miles over broken glass in their bare feet to wear a county jersey but those days are gone." The Naomh Mairtin U16s started training on the beach in April, then took a break of about four weeks and got back into it in June. "They're very fit young lads and you'd get tired just looking at them," Paddy quips. What does the future hold for Paddy and his young charges? "I'm confident they'll go well next year again in the U16 A championship and then I hope to bring them through to minor. We have some great wee players if we can get them to stick together. I'm very happy with them and who knows what they might achieve. There are certainly some players in there who'll wear the county colours." Paddy took charge of the team in conjunction with his son Brian (trainer) and Mick Fanning, a Wexford native who retired from his post as a Garda in Drogheda in September 2000. Mick's son Michael was centre half back on the U16 team, at the rare old age of 14, while Paddy's son Patrick was full forward, and returned a whopping 1-4 in the county final. Afterwards, Patrick McDonagh accepted the cup on behalf of his team-mates. And they all smiled. Naomh Mairtin - 2001 Louth U16 B Football Champions: C Brannigan; J Roddy, M Lynch, K Healy; E Briscoe, M Fanning, C Brodigan; G Mooney, E Rice (0-2); F Leonard, M McCormack (0-4), P McDonagh (1-1); G Fahy, P Halligan (1-4), D Fahy. Sub: P Berrill. Tweet

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