Having been the standard-bearers in Louth hurling for many years, to go through the 2000 season without a trophy was a somewhat unusual situation for the Naomh Moninne club, writes Eunan Whyte. However, this year things have been on the up for the Dundalk side and once again they have had some silverware to celebrate after clinching the Louth Senior League title - their first trophy in two years. Winning the Tom Rice Cup brought to an end a relatively successful year on the field of play that saw Moninne compete well, but were unfortunate to miss out in both the Louth Championship and the Armagh League. Chairman, John O'Flaherty believes it was a just reward for the efforts put in at the club after what was a difficult start to the campaign. "Like everyone else, we went through a period of uncertainty at the beginning of the year with the foot-and-mouth outbreak. As a result, our first outing was an Armagh League relegation play-off left over from last season. Fortunately for us we came through that game and retained our Division 1 status." That result was the catalyst for an impressive run in this year's competition with Moninne in contention right up to the final games. "I suppose it went better than we expected because at the start of the season we had a tight squad and many players were working or studying in Dublin. However, there was great commitment shown despite some long trips and we scored some good away wins to stay in the hunt. One of the best victories was undoubtedly away to Tyrone side, Carrickmore, who are one of the toughest sides in the league. As a result, we were in contention right up to the end, but a defeat away to Keady ended our chances. Overall it is great to be competing in that league as you get the experience of playing different teams every week", continued John. That successful run put the Dundalk side in optimistic mood going into the Louth Championship, although they knew they faced an uphill task against holders, Knockbridge in the semi-final. That game was played at Dundalk Gaels and proved to be an entertaining affair before the Knockbridge men just came through in the end on a scoreline of 3-11 to 1-14. Moninne competed well in the first half but a Sean Byrne goal had them trailing by 1-6 to 0-5 at the beak. However, they came out in determined mood for the second half and a point from Barry Murphy was followed by a John Kennedy goal to put the sides level. Moninne were in a good position to challenge at that stage, but Knockbridge fired in two more goals to end their hopes despite good displays from Eddie McArdle, Diarmuid Murphy, Seamus Cahill, Mark Fanning and Collins Connolly. Scorers: Diarmuid Murphy (0-5), Collins Connolly (0-4), John Kennedy (1-0), Liam Morrissey (0-2), Eddie McArdle, Barry Murphy, Gerry Connolly 0-1 each. The team lined out as follows: Padraig Mulholland, Mark Fanning, Seamus Cahill, John O'Flaherty, James Coburn, Barry Murphy, Diarmuid Murphy, Collins Connolly, Eddie McArdle, Gerry Connolly, Joe Kennedy, Padraig Murphy, Alan Moore, John Kennedy, Liam Morrissey. Subs: Robbie Kearney for A. Moore, Gerry Brennan for L. Morrissey. "Although we had beaten them a couple of times earlier in the season, the championship is always different. Unfortunately things just didn't go our way on the night and we lost out. "It was disappointing as the championship is the one we really want. It would be great to get into Leinster and maybe get the scalp of one of the big teams. That is ultimately our aim as it would be a great boost, not only for ourselves, but also for Louth hurling", added O'Flaherty. While success eluded Moninne in Armagh and the Louth Championship, there was consolation in the Louth League which saw them come out on top following a 0-12 to 0-6 victory over Wolfe Tones in the final. The win was achieved thanks to a terrific second half performance from the Dundalk side following an eventful first half that ended with the sides all square. Only two points separated the teams with 18 minutes remaining, but Moninne added four vital points during that spell while also holding their Drogheda rivals scoreless. Early frees from Collins Connolly and Diarmuid Murphy had Moninne on their way, but they failed to build on that good start and by the break Tones had hit back to level at three points apiece. Again the Dundalk men were quickest off the mark in the second period and soon stretched their lead to 0-8 to 0-4. Again Tones hit back with two scores, but this time Moninne were in no mood to let their advantage slip and they went on to record a welcome success. Scorers: Diarmuid Murphy (0-5), Collins Connolly (0-3), Seamus Spreight, Joe Kennedy, Eddie McArdle, Padraig Murphy 0-1 each. The line-out was as follows: Padraig Mulholland, Denis Byrne, Kieran Somers, John O'Flaherty, Micheal Lively, James Coburn, Diarmuid Murphy, Collins Connolly, Barry Murphy, Seamus Spreight, Padraig Murphy, Joe Kennedy, John Murphy, Gerry Brennan, Gerry Connolly, Subs: Eddie McArdle for G. Connolly, Liam Morrissey for G. Brennan, Niall Coburn for S. Spreight, Mark Fanning for D. Byrne. Afterwards Louth County Board Chairman Terry Maher presented the Paddy Rice Cup to the winning captain Joe Kennedy a proud Tipperary man on the back of his county's success in the All Ireland Final the previous week. "It was great to win something and that really rounded the season off for us", stated O'Flaherty, who hopes that victory will be a springboard to further success next year. Another highlight for the Chairman this year is the fact that the improvement in the senior ranks has also been mirrored at juvenile level. "It is great to report that the juvenile section has gone from strength to strength this season. I suppose we did let it lapse a bit when Knockbridge was still part of the club, but in the last couple of years we have made a big effort to recruit players in the town. "We now have good numbers at U-12 and U-14 level and at those age groups we are getting closer to Pearse Og and Knockbridge. The U-16 team has also been going well, while it was great to see that we entered a team in the Minor Championship for the first time in a few years. "Although we have no honours to show for our efforts the U-11 and U-12 teams came close to winning their respective blitz competitions", continued John. The Chairman was loud in his praise of Alan Moore (who has since left for a teaching post abroad), Paul Drumm and John Murphy for their efforts in reviving the fortunes of the juvenile section of the club. John also praised the work of his committee and members who worked hard over the year, contributing to what was a relatively successful season. He also thanked Dowdallshill GFC for the use of their facilities during the season, which will come to a conclusion with the annual Colm Geary Memorial Cup game which will be played against Waterford Shamrocks. Account of Naomh Moninne Juvenile Teams activities in 2001 Training for the juvenile teams continued throughout the year at the Friary field in Dundalk on Monday evenings and in Fatima on Saturday mornings under the guidance of trainers; Alan Moore, John Murphy, Paul Drumm and also with the assistance of other club members Maurice Murphy, Patsy Mulholland, Brian Brady, Tim Murphy, Padraig Mulholland and John O'Flaherty. Our first competitive outing of the year saw our U14 side travel to Termonfeckin on Thursday 26th of April to take on the home side in the Feile na nGael competition. Failure to take scoring opportunities saw Moninne lose this match by 4-3 to 0-2. The club competed in the Louth Minor hurling championship for the first time since 1998 when they took on Collon in a preliminary round match away on Wednesday 29th of August. Collon were competing in the competition for the very first time and it was the greater ability to take their scores that saw the homeside come out on top by 1-5 to 0-2 to go onto face Termonfeckin in the quarter finals. Moninne had good performances on that evening from goalkeeper James Connolly, Ken Coleman, Christopher Lennon, Stephen Rafferty, Ian McSorley, Sean and Liam McCaffrey and Thomas Cooney. The club then last the services of Alan Moore who worked tirelessly with juveniles before he emigrated to Saudi Arabia to take up a teaching position. The club look forward to his return sometime in 2002. At under 12 level the club took part in the O'Broinn Shield, which took the format of a blitz at Roche on Saturday the 15th of September. The team performed terrifically winning three matches to qualify for the 'A' final. Results: Naomh Moninne 1-2, Knockbridge 0-1, Naomh Moninne 2-1 Termonfeckin 0-0 Naomh Moninne 2-0 Collon 0-0 In the final they came up against a stronger Pearse Og team who ran out worthy winners by 5-3 to 1-1. Naomh Moninne under 12 panel: Andrew Mackin, Sean Fields, Sean Newberry, Bernard McConnon, Colin Clarke, James Byrne, David Maloney, Gerard Fields, Ian Mostyn, Dean Carolan, Niall McConnon, Gavin Donnelly, James McGuirk, Oisin Drumm, Michael McDonnell, Brian McDonnell, Brian McKeown. A fortnight later on Saturday 29th September the Under 11 team travelled to Knockbridge to compete in another blitz for the McCreesh Shield. They suffered a defeat in their opening match to the home side, but they followed that up with victories over the eventual winners Pearse Og and the Collon/Termonfeckin combination. Results: Naomh Moninne 1-1 Knockbridge 3-1; Naomh Moninne 1-4 Pearse Og 0-3; Naomh Moninne 2-2 Collon/Termonfeckin 1-2 Unfortunately, they missed out on a place in the final on scoring difference. In this competition Moninne had great performances from Donal Rafferty, Niall McConnon, Gerard Fields (goalkeeper), James Byrne, Oisin Drumm and Michael McDonnell. On Wednesday 10th October the under 14 team took on Knockbridge in the semi-final of the U14 championship. In an exciting match played in Knockbridge, Moninne lead by one point with less than one minute left, however two late points saw Knockbridge win by 0-7 to 1-2 to qualify to play Termonfeckin in the final. Naomh Moninne scorers were Colin Clarke (1-0), Niall McConnon (0-1), Stephen Ryan (0-1). Naomh Moninne team: James Connolly, Jun Wye Lam, Seamus Drumm, Jamie Cosgrove, Donal Rafferty, Christopher Lennon, Thomas Cooney, Ian McSorley, Andrew Mackin, Stephen Ryan, Shane Dillon, Eva Mackin, Niall McConnon, Bernard McConnon, Colin Clarke. Sub: James Byrne for Colin Clarke. Finally the Under 16 team also took part in the Under 16 championship. Maurice Murphy, PRO Naomh Moninne Tweet

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