Congratulations to all who helped make 2006 a very successful year for the club. The senior team made history by reaching the Leinster junior club hurling final by beating Ballinamere of Offaly, Laois intermediate champions Ballyfin, and Our Lady's Island of Wexford. At the time of writing, they had yet to contest the provincial decider - one of the biggest days in Knockbridge HC's history. The Leinster final against Danesford of Kilkenny had been scheduled for Louth village on Sunday December 3 and 'Wee County 2006' went to the printers a few days earlier. Winning the senior championship was again the main aim of the club for 2006. Great credit must go to the squad of dedicated and hard working players and also to mentors Gerry Dunne, Aidan Kerrigan and Aidan Costelloe. The club this year again entered a junior team, only to be pipped in the championship final by defending champions Mattock Rangers. Great credit must go to the junior players and their mentors, Shane Darcy, Trevor Hilliard and Paddy Murphy for the large number of players at training and on match days. The club also reached the final of the Louth senior hurling league and the junior league. Both finals had yet to be played at the time of writing. Congratulations to the minors who, early in the year, secured the 2005 championship, beating St Fechins in the final in early March and also winning the 2006 title by beating Naomh Moninne in September. The club also won their seventh U14 Feile title in a row this year - which must be a national record? Knockbridge also reached the final of the U16 championship only to be narrowly beaten by Mattock Rangers on St Kevins' pitch in early October. Senior Hurling Championship Congratulations to the senior hurlers who, on Sunday October 15 at Pairc Mochta, completed back-to-back Louth senior hurling championship successes. Dermot Plunkett lifted the Paddy Kelly Cup as Knockbridge were crowned champions for the fifth time in seven years after a hard earned victory over Pearse Og on a score of 1-14 to 2-8. Knockbridge were beaten by Pearse Og in the first round by a late Shane Callan goal in the Gaels pitch on August 12. In the second round, two weeks later, Knockbridge easily accounted for Naomh Moninne, 1-19 to 1-9. In Round Three, Knockbridge beat the Wolf Tones on Saturday August 26 in Castlebellingham. In a three-way play-off, in Haggardstown, on Sunday September 17, Knockbridge beat Pearse Og by 3-8 to 1-2 to reach the final against Pearse Og who saw off the challenge of Wolf Tones in the second play-off game at The Grove. Senior Hurling Final Knockbridge edged out their old rivals Pearse Og on a score of l-l4 to 2-8 at Louth village on October l5. This clinched two Louth senior titles in a row and their fifth in the short and illustrious eight years since the founding of the club. They approached the Leinster Club Championship with a certain degree of confidence, but at the same time knew a step-up in performance was needed. With the aid of the breeze in the first half in the county final, they went in at the break leading by a comfortable 1-11 to l-4. The Knockbridge goal came from a rasping ground shot from Trevor Hilliard after he was set up by a lovely goalmouth cross by David Kettle. The Pearse Og goal came from Mattie Boland. The Knockbridge side made full use of the elements in the first half with Ronan Byrne rock solid in defence and also Trevor Hilliard and Eddie Quigley scoring early points. Referee Jim O'Rourke of Monaghan was busy with the whistle and all of Pearse Og's points in the first half came from the accurate free taking of Gerard Smith. Further Knockbridge points came from Shane Fennell and Paul Donohue. The score of the match came from David Dunne in the 24th minute. He gained possession by a tackle on an opposing player then set off on a solo run and from 50 yards with a backhand strike he bisected the posts. With the wind at their backs in the second half, Pearse Og were a transformed side and Smith's '65' got them off to the start they wanted. Donnach Callan scored two points in quick succession and Knockbridge began to look vulnerable. Eddie Quigley stopped the rot in the l4th minute with a well taken point. A point from the sideline by Mattie Boland and a goal from Mark Rafferty left the minimum margin between the sides going into injury time. The puck-out from Stephen Smith was fielded by David Dunne and his handpass sent Donal McNally scorching upfield and, with a backhand strike, he sent the sliothar over for a two-point margin. With time ticking away Man of the Match Ronan Byrne pointed a long-range free with deadly accuracy and sent Dermot Plunkett up to lift the Paddy Kelly Cup for the fifth time. Scorers for Knockbridge: Trevor Hilliard l-l, Ronan Byrne 0-4 (3f), Eddie Quigley 0-3, David Dunne 0-3 (2f), Shane Fennell, Paul Donohue and Donal McNally 0-l each. Scorers Pearse Og: Gerard Smith O-5, 4f Mattie Boland l-l, Mark Rafferty l-O, Donach Callan O-2. Knockbridge team : Brendan McNally, Tony Teefey (Brian Dunne, 56mins), Dermot Plunkett, Niall Byrne, Conor Kerrigan, Ronan Byrne (Man of the Match), Adrian Wallace, David Dunne, Ray Kelly, Trevor Hilliard, Shane Kennedy (Shane Kerrigan 34mins), Shane Fennell, Paul Donohue (Donal McNally 5l mins), David Kettle (Michael London 54 mins), Eddie Quigley. Commentary: Afterwards relief was etched all over David Dunne's face: "l am delighted for the team as we made it very hard for ourselves in that second half. Pearse Og really put it up to us and in fairness we were very lucky to come away with that win today. We always knew it was going to be tougher than the last time we played them so we are just delighted to get the win. "I suppose the wind did make a big difference, but it is as much in your head as anything else. Playing against the wind you're always going to have to tighten up. We tended to sit back and invite the other team on to us. We talked about it at half time and then we went out and did the opposite. 'That second-half performance would not be good enough in Leinster. We trained really hard for this match and we should have tagged on four or five early points in the second half but that never happened. However, we are confident going into Leinster and are looking forward to it although it is a big step up. There is no point in kidding ourselves but we have a good chance and we will give it a good lash." Man of the Match award: Jimmy Lally of Lally's Superstore presented Ronan Byrne with a 'Man of the Match' award and afterwards Ronan said that next year the club was aiming for the three-in-a-row. "We have a young enough team and we will be going all out next year. This is a brilliant result and we needed the title this year but Pearse Og gave us a hell of a game, by far the toughest game I've played in for a few years. The strong wind made it difficult for both sides." As regards the free taking, he said: "I'll take them if I get them. We've had a great run in the championship this year, and next year we'll give it another good crack". Leinster Club Championship Win The senior hurlers had only three weeks to recover after winning the county final before beating the Offaly intermediate side Ballinamere by 0-12 to 0-10 on Sunday 5th of November in Pairc Mochta, Louth village. This was arguably the biggest scalp claimed by Knockbridge in Leinster when compared alongside Trim of Meath, Clonguish of Longford, and Naomh Eoin of Carlow. It looked a tricky assignment for Knockbridge taking on a team from one of the traditional strong hurling counties, but they set about their task in the best possible way notching up the first three points by way of two David Dunne frees and an excellent sideline cut by Trevor Hilliard. After a good first half, Knockbridge led at the break by 0-7 to 0-2. A wonderful goal-line save from a point-blank shot by Brendan McNally stemmed the early tide from the Offaly men. A long-range free by Martin Og Buggy got Ballinamere off the mark in the l4th minute. With the Knockbridge backs and midfield dominant, the abundant ball supply to the forwards resulted in further points from Ray Kelly, Shane Kennedy, and David Kettle. Ballinamere restarted at a much faster pace when Buggy played the ball into Alan Scully who fired smartly over the bar. They kept on the pressure and there were further points from Kevin Weir , Christy Carew and Paul McNally. Sensing the game was slipping away, Trevor Hilliard picked up a poor Ballinamere clearance and struck over a point to leave the score 0-l2 to 0- 9. Eoin Flanagan then scored the last Ballinamee point with a tight angle shot from the right sideline. Knockbridge at the end had to defend in numbers. Buggy dropped a '65 short in the dying moments but it was expertly fielded by David Dunne who soloed away and cleared to clinch a place in the quarter-final against Laois intermediate champions, Ballyfin. There were excellent performances from David Dunne (Man of the Match) Adrian Wallace, Dermot Plunkett, Tony Teefy, Ray Kelly, Conor and Shane Kerrigan, Trevor Hilliard, Ronan Byrne, Shane Kennedy, Niall Byrne, Shane Fennell, and Brendan McNally. Knockbridge: Brendan McNally, Tony Teefy, Dermot Plunkett, Niall Byrne, Conor Kerrigan, Ronan Byrne, Adrian Wallace, David Dunne (0-4, 4f), Ray Kelly (0-1), Trevor Hilliard (0-2), Shane Kerrigan (0-1), Shane Fennell (0-1), Shane Kennedy (0-2), David Kettle (0-l),Eddie Quigley. Subs: Paul Donoghue for Eddie Quigley 44 min, Donal Mc Nally for David Kettle, 5O mins, Paul Dunne for Shane Kennedy, 58 mins, Garret Corcoran, B. Dunne, Oisin Quigley, Mick Londun, Conal O hUallachain, Kevin Mc Nally, Padraig Kieran, Graham Smith, Diarmuid Duffy. Leinster quarter-final win Knockbridge settled early and a pointed free from Ronan Byrne on eight minutes and a point from full forward Shane Kennedy got the reds off to a great start. Ballyfinn took the lead with their first score, a goal after 20 minutes, when JJ McHugh got possession inside the defence giving Brendan McNally no chance. Ballyfin then added further points by Duff, McGill and Lowry. Knockbridge weathered the storm and got their final score of the half with a pointed free from David Dunne from out near the right sideline, to leave them trailing by 1-3 to 0-3 at the break. On the restart Dunne and Lowry traded frees and shortly after Dunne hit two great points to reduce the margin to the minimum. Midfielder Dermot McGill gave Ballyfin a two-point cushion with a long-range free. Ray Kelly then converted two frees and a '65' to level the score, 0-8 to 1-5 with five minutes to go. Then Trevor Hilliard, with sublime skill, put over one of his trademark sideline cuts from all of 35 yards to give Knockbridge the lead. With time running out, Shane Fennell burst through to rifle in a goal after one of his typical solo runs. Immediately Ballyfin replied with a goal after a crowded goalmouth scramble. A hectic finish saw Knockbridge hold out for a historic and deserved win. The backs were solid throughout with solid performances from all seven players. The midfield pair of David Dunne (Man of the Match) and Ray Kelly dominated for long periods. Up front, scores were hard to come by with the tight marking and tenacious Ballyfin defence. However, Shane Kennedy and Shane Fennell and Trevor Hilliard eventually got through for the vital scores. Knockbridge advanced to play Our Lady's Island, the Wexford junior champions, on November 19 away, a game they would also win to progress to a historic Leinster final appearance on December 3. Knockbridge : Brendan McNally, Tony Teefy, Dermot Plunkett, Niall Byrne, Conor Kerrigan, Ronan Byrne, Adrian Wallace, David Dunne, Ray Kelly, Trevor Hilliard, Shane Kerrigan, Shane Fennell, David Kettle, Shane Kennedy, Eddie Quigley, Subs: Paul Donohoe for S Kerrigan, 13 mins; Michael Lunden for D Kettle, 37 mins; Paul Dunne for E Quigley, 53 mins; Donal McNally for M Lunden, 59 mins; Paudie Kieran for P Donohoe,62 mins; Brian Dunne, Diarmuid Duffy, Gareth Corcoran, Conal O hUallachain, Oisin Quigley, Graeme Smyth. Junior hurlers pipped at post Mattock Rangers retained the Maurice Murphy Cup and the junior hurling championship when they defeated Knockbridge by a slender two-point margin at Ardee on 10/09/06 with a final score line of 4-6 to 2-10. Three Collon goals in the first half helped them to stay ahead for most of the game and lead by 3 - 2 to 1 - 5 at half time. They didn't get it all their own way though as Knockbridge went ahead in the second half when they got their second goal scored by Gerard McKeown with ten minutes left. Gerard immediately put them three ahead but unfortunately for the reds that was to be our last score. Mattock got their fourth goal to level the game and then added two final points to earn their win. Knockbridge scorers; Gerard McKeown 1-3 (1 x 65); Brendan Corbett 0-5 (5f); Mark Wallace 1-0; David Kettle 0-2. Knockbridge team; James King, Graham Smith, Rory Kelly, Andrew Cumiskey, Noel Callan, Paul Mackin, Philip McGovern, Paudi Kierans, Gavan Kane. Mark Wallace, David Kettle, Gerard McKeown, Oisin Quigley, Brendan Corbett, Eamonn Pettigrew. Substitutes: Mark Hoey for Eamonn Pettigrew, Colm McNally for Oisin Quigley Louth senior hurling Knockbridge had a substantial representation of senior players on the Louth panel again this year. Players involved included: Shane D'Arcy, Shane Fennell, Shane Kennedy, David and Paul Dunne, Ronan, Niall and Sean Byrne, and Trevor Hilliard. Competition started with the Keogh Cup in January when Louth were beaten by Athlone IT at Roche Emmets' grounds. Louth commenced the National Hurling League in February with a game against Leitrim. Subsequent games saw Louth play Sligo, Donegal, Monaghan and Fermanagh before eventually going down to a strong Armagh side in the semi-final in Castleblayney. Louth got their Nicky Rackard campaign off to a great start with a win over Leitrim in Ballinamore. A subsequent win over Cavan and a defeat to Armagh saw Louth through to a play-off with Sligo. Louth advanced only to be eventually defeated by Longford away in the quarter-final. Knockbridge were well represented on the management team also, with selector Aidan Costelloe. DJ Carey School of Hurling A total of eight of the U15 Knockbridge hurlers were part of the Louth Development Squad that attended the DJ Carey School of Excellence in St Kieran's College, Kilkenny for a week in mid-July. The players received excellent coaching and training from well-known hurlers and managers including DJ Carey, Peter Barry, Henry Shefflin, Brian Cody and Paudie Butler. Knockbridge players who attended included, Stephen Hoey, Ricky McKeown, Gerry McKeown, Aidan Morris, Aidan McNally, Cathal McKenna, Gareth Hall and Conor Deane. Many thanks to the Louth mentors for the week: Aidan Kerrigan, Paddy Murphy, Tony and Audrey Corcoran, Tom Ryan, Joey Callan and Miceal O Broin, all of whom did a great job looking after the Louth panel for the week. U-14 Feile champions This year the Ul4 hurlers won the county Feile title for a record seven in a row. The team then traveled to the All-Ireland Feile which this year was held in Cork. Knockbridge were hosted in North Cork by Kanturk H.C. In the first match Knockbridge had a historic win by beating their illustrious hosts in Round One. In Round Two they also had a good win over Cork side Buttervant. However, Knockbridge missed the play-offs by failing narrowly against Donegal side Micheal McCartaigh. Knockbridge Feile Team for 'O6 : Oisin Kirk, Kevin Hearty, Gareth Hall, Thomas Muckian, Ricki McKeown, Conor Deane, Aidan Morris, Daire McKiernan, Aidan McNally, Steven Kettle, Cathal McKenna, Liam O'Leary, James Costelloe, Michael Keane, Laurence Steen, Stephen Kilcoyne, Jonathan Connolly and Robert Wallace. Mentors: Derek Kettle, Aidan Costelloe, Eugene Deane and Donal Murphy. Minor Hurling 2005 The Knockbridge U18 hurlers were the first team of the year to win a trophy when on the 5th March, the minors won the 2005 championship. They beat Naomh Moninne by 4-8 to 5-2 in a match where Moninne staged a great second-half comeback with a brace of goals. For the village side, Dara Herr and Barry Piper dominated midfield for long periods. They were ably assisted by Mark Hoey at full back and Ruairi Kirk at center half. Also good in defence were Liam Woods (captain), Phillip McGovern and Stephen O'Callaghan. The movement of Conor Stein to the half forward line in the second half meant more play was going through to David Kettle and Kevin McNally isolated in the full-forward line. This front pair of forwards added a sequence of scores to edge out Moninne at the final whistle. The cup was presented to Liam Woods by Coiste Iomana chairman, Joey Callan, who thanked all those involved -mentors and players - for their great commitment to the team both this year and last. Knockbridge U18 Team '05: James King, Phillip McGovern, Mark Hoey, Mark Devine, Stephen O'Callaghan, Ruairi Kirk, Liam Woods (capt), Barry Piper, Dara Herr, Chris Bellew, Peter Brennan, Mark Wallace, Kevin McNally, David Kettle and Conor Stein, Barry McCloskey, Frank Mc Geeney, Chris Scully, Shane Doran, Niall Meegan, Gavin Kerrigan, Chris Berrils. Minor Hurling 2006 The U18 squad did the double when they overcame Naomh Moninne in the 2006 final at the Grove on 30th September. One of the notable features of this game was the cloudburst and consequent downpour shortly after half time that resulted in the players getting soaked to the skin and also some spectators as the sheets of rain poured down from the stand roof. The match was tightly contested despite the terrible weather conditions. Knockbridge took an early lead with Gavin Kerrigan taking advantage of a David Kettle cross and firing past James Connolly in the Moninne goal from close range. Kerrigan added another goal to his tally soon after, guiding the ball into the bottom corner from a tight angle. David Kettle and Kevin McNally added a brace of points before half time. Darren O'Hanrahan and Stephen Ryan got on the scoreboard for Moninne. In the second half Knockbridge continued to excel with Kevin McNally adding to his tally of points. Dara Herr began to dominate proceedings in midfield whilst captain Philip McGovern and Mark Hoey were steadfast at the back. Moninne always looked dangerous especially from frees with Stephen Ryan capitalising at every opportunity. The introduction of Frank McGeeney to the Knockbridge defence bolstered the back line and in the end Knockbridge ran out comfortable winners Coiste Iomana chairman Joey Callan presented the cup to team captain Philip McGovern. Philip congratulated his team-mates and thanked Moninne for a very competitive game. He also had great praise for team mentors Derek Kettle and Shane Darcy. Knockbridge minors '06: James King, Stephen O Callaghan, Phillip McGovern Niall Meegan, Frankie McGeeney Sam Fairman, Niall Mackin, Dara Herr, Gerry McKeown, Kevin McNally, Peter Brennan, Mark Hoey, Gavin Kerrigan, David Kettle, Mark Devine, Ricky McKeown, Ken Thornton, Daire McKiernan Knockbridge Under 16 hurling Knockbridge opened their campaign with a merited 6-8 to 1-5 win over Collon in Ardee in May. Playing top quality hurling the 'Invincibles' raced into a 3-2 to 0-2 interval lead. Knockbridge maintained the upper hand in the second half to run out convincing winners. Scorers: Gavin Kerrigan 5-3, Niall Mackin 1-1, Stephen Hoey 0-3, Gerry Mc Keown 0-1. Next Knockbridge defeated Termonfeckin on a 6-12 to 2-4 scoreline played on a beautiful evening at the end of June in DkIT. Every member of the team played superbly with scores coming from Gavin Kerrigan 3-4, Stephen Hoey 2-0, Cormac Bellew 1-0, Gerry McKeown 0-3, Peter Brennan 0-2, Greg Kehoe 0-1. Knockbridge defeated Moninne to qualify for a place in the final against Collon. Fielding nine of the team that won the minor title a few weeks previously, the reigning U16 champions were hot favourites to retain their crown. In a hard-fought final, Collon defeated the champions on a 2-6 to 0-11 scoreline, to record a fully deserved win. Knockbridge U16s '06: James King, Frank McGeeney, Sean Cairns, Kenneth Thornton, Peter Brennan, Cathal Bellew, Aidan Morris, David Deane, Stephen Hoey, Cormac Bellew, Greg Kehoe, Niall Mackin, Shane Doran, Gavin Kerrigan (captain), Christopher Berrils, Jamie McAvinney, Ricky McKeown, Michael Keane, Richard McGuinness, Andrew McGuinness, Alan Meegan, Andrew Kane, Daire McKiernan, Padraig Gallagher, Ciaran Duffy, Fergal Duffy. Louth U16 hurling The panel was assembled at the end of March and held 16 Saturday training sessions in preparation for the Leinster Blitz and the Roinn 'C' All-Ireland championship 2006. Knockbridge supplied excellent hurlers to the pane lin Gavin Kerrigan, Frank McGeeney, Peter Brennan, Gerry McKeown, Niall Mackin, David Dean, Greg Kehoe, James King, Kenneth Thornton, Aidan Morris, Ricky McKeown and Stephen Hoey. In the Leinster Blitz, Louth showed the results of excellent preparation in recording wins over Wicklow (2-7 to 0-2) and over Longford by 2-4 to 1-4. A measure of the standard reached can be gauged from the team's display against Laois, losing narrowly and unluckily on a 0-6 to 1-5 scoreline In the All Ireland Roinn 'C' championship, Louth played Armagh and South Down. In a great contest played at Haggardstown on the 28th June, Louth lost to Armagh on a 2-12 to 1-10 scoreline, with great effort being put in by James King, Frank McGeeney, Gerry McKeown(0-2), Niall Mackin, Ricky McKeown, Gavin Kerrigan (0-7), Aidan Morris (1-0), Stephen Hoey, Andrew Kane, Michael Keane. Louth defeated South Down by 2-10 to 1-8 in another excellent match played in Newry on 19th July. Knockbridge players who took part were James King (0-2), Frank McGeeney, Kenneth Thornton, Gerry McKeown (0-2), Aidan Morris, Niall Mackin, Gavin Kerrigan (1-5), Greg Kehoe, David Deane. Mentors: Aidan Kerrigan, Tom Ryan and Paddy Murphy McCreesh Shield This U11 championship has been sponsored by Kevin and Peggy McCreesh and the family since 1986. This year proved to be a very enjoyable and worthwhile exercise for the clubs taking part. The blitz was held in Termonfeckin in beautiful autumn sunshine on Saturday the 21st of September. Great credit must be extended to Naomh Fechin mentors Mark Stevenson and Tom Ryan. A total of five teams played in the blitz. The Knockbridge side won two matches, drew one and lost one. The team lost out narrowly for a place in the final. The eventual winners were the home side, Naomh Fechin who beat Naomh Moninne by 4-2 to 1-2. Mrs Peggy McCreesh on behalf of the McCreesh family presented the shield to the winning captain, Patrick Lynch and then presented each team with a varied selection of complimentary refreshments. Great credit must go to the mentors on the day, Gerry Dunne, Derek Kettle and Eugene Deane. Knockbridge U11 team: Dara McGee, Conor Walsh, Conor Belton, Jack O'Brien, Jonathan Connolly, Ronan and Neil Mullholland, Ronan E Molloy, Patrick Wallace, Paul and Phillip Tynan, Ronan Bailey, Ciaran Deane, Donal O'Leary and Liam Molloy. Poc Fada Paul Dunne made history being the first Louth man to win the All Ireland Poc Fada na hEireann competition held in Annaverna on August 4th 2003. This year the Louth qualifiers were held in St Mary's, Ardee in June. Pearse Og goalie, Stephen Smith qualified to represent Louth, followed by Conal Byrne and Brian Dunne of Knockbridge Stephen subsequently competed in the Leinster qualifiers in the Curragh and finally represented Louth on Annaverna in August. Sincere Thanks: Finally a sincere word of thanks is due to the following who gave invaluable help to the club and the various teams during what has been a fabulous year on the playing field. Knockbridge Hurling Club officers and committee would like to thank St.Brides GFC for all their help and for the use of their facilities during the year. Also to Glyde Rangers GFC, St Pats, St Mochtas, Young Irelands, DkIT and Kilkerley. Special thanks to Lorcan O'hUallachain and Brian McDonnell for their invaluable help in the use of the school grounds for training and for all their help with school hurling competitions. Great credit is due to Aidan Kerrigan, Shane Darcy and Derek Kettle, Paddy Murphy, Gerry Dunne and Ronan McNally who have done a wonderful job in coaching the underage squads both at club and county level. A special word of thanks is due to Noel and Delores McNally and the family for their help with meetings. Thanks to the members of the ladies committee for their help with refreshments etc. To Derek Kettle and John Byrne for their expert work with hurley repairs and their support with training ; also Niall Byrne, Brian Dunne and Shane Darcy for their invaluable help with the first aid; also John Byrne and for all his help at County Board level, club flags, hurleys, glues etc. A special word of appreciation to Gerry Quigley and family, especially 'Bud', for the high sliothar recovery rate. Thanks to the following for their great help on match days: Paddy Farrell, John Byrne, Fintan Wynne, Seamus Moore and Noel, Brendan and Gerry McNally Thanks also to the many people who helped with fundraising, especially Ann Byrne for her organisation of the annual Poker Classic, to Frank and Teresa Carney for their annual Table Quiz and Ann Dunne, Bernadette Kettle, Brendan, Kathleen and Dolores McNally for all their help. Thanks also to Brian Brady and family for the use of their premises on flag days. Thanks also to the many sponsors whose invaluable financial help is much appreciated. Thanks to the players for their great loyalty and support throughout the year. The club is looking forward to the continued support of everyone involved for the coming year in an effort to build on the great success of the last eight years. - Shane Darcy (on behalf of Knockbridge Hurling Club) Tweet

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