St Nicholas are one of the youngest clubs in Louth football but next season they will be hoping to mark an important milestone in their history by bringing silverware back to their Drogheda base. In 2008 the club will celebrate 30 years in existence and during that time have seen some fine players pass through their ranks while also enjoying their fair share of success on the field of play. While the feats of the past are proudly remembered at the Rathmullen club, the focus is very much on the future as they hope to see the current crop of promising players mature into a side capable of challenging for the top honours in Louth football. Current vice-chairman, Fintan McCarthy, is one man who has seen it all. A founder member of the club in 1978, he has seen the many ups and downs in that time, but is confident that that there is a bright future at the club. Fintan has been heavily involved with the juvenile end of the club in recent years and having seen a number of imported successes this year, he is confident that St Nicholas will be a force to be reckoned with in the near future. As always the challenge for clubs is to ensure that those promising players stay with the club and continue to form the backbone of the adult team over the coming years. "Although we didn't have an outstanding year at adult level, we did very well in the under-age football and that has given us great encouragement for the future. "In the last couple of years we have fielded amalgamated teams with Wolfe Tones but they decided to go it alone this season. As a result we went on our own and competed in the B divisions. It turned out to be a successful move for us as we won the U-14 B league which was a big achievement for our club," explained Fintan. "We also performed very well in the U-16 competitions and thanks to some very impressive displays we won the B Championship and again we were delighted with that. "What was more encouraging from our point of view is that a lot of those players also lined out with the U-18 side and we also went on to win the Minor B Championship. "It really was fantastic to come out on top in those competitions and shows the players that they have the ability to compete and win. Our aim is to build on those victories and hopefully the players can develop further and push for even more honours in the future." Fintan believes that the success is the reward for a big effort that was put in and is hoping that the club will continue to benefit. "A lot of work has been put in over the past number of years at juvenile level and it is great to see that being rewarded. We undoubtedly have a lot of potential and hopefully everyone will continue to work hard and ensure that potential is realised. "One of our main difficulties is trying to keep lads with the club when they go from juvenile to adult football. Drogheda is a big town and there is lots of competition from other sports so it is always a challenge to keep players so it is important that we try to make progress on the field in the coming years." Although the current juvenile teams will not reach their peak at adult level for a number of years, Fintan is optimistic that the immediate future is also bright despite the fact that the team did not enjoy a very successful campaign in 2007. "I am one of the founder members of the club and I suppose every year you go into the start of the season with the same hopes and ambitions. "With the restructuring of the league, we were back to junior football this year and we had high hopes of challenging for promotion either through the league or the championship. "We thought with the experience of intermediate football we would do well and although we started well in the league our challenge faded and towards the end we were out of contention. "The Junior Championship was more competitive this year and again we were hoping to be in the running but unfortunately our challenge didn't materialise. After a slow start we didn't do enough and our interest ended before the knock-out stages." St Nicholas started their Junior Championship campaign on April 21st when they faced the eventual champions, Young Irelands. The Drogheda men went into the game with high hopes of picking up two points but it was Young Irelands who put down a marker for the remainder of the years as they came out on top with an impressive 1-12 to 2-5 victory. As a result, the Rathmullen side found themselves under pressure to remain in contention in their next outing. Once again their task wasn't easy as they faced a Glen Emmets side who were running into some good form. The game played at the GAA Grounds in Drogheda on April 29th proved to be a very close affair and despite the fact that the Nicks turned in an improved display, they ended up on the losing side once again. In a high scoring contest the Tullyallen men emerged with a 3-8 to 1-13 win. It wasn't looking promising for St Nicholas at that stage particularly as they faced one of the competition's favourites, St Mochtas, in the next round. However, the Drogheda side showed their worth and this time came out on top by 1-12 to 2-7. Next up were a Naomh Fionnbarra side also battling to stay in the running for a place in the knock-out stages. After another close contest, the sides couldn't be separated in a game that finished 1-6 apiece. As a result, St Nicholas needed to win their last game against Dowdallshill to stay in the competition and they did so when one of their best displays of the season saw them score a 1-14 to 4-3 success. That meant the two teams had to meet in a play-off a week later to decide who went through to the quarter-final. Again there was little between the teams, but on this occasion the Nicks couldn't repeat their form of the first day and went out of the Junior Championship after losing by 0-7 to 0-5. Despite this disappointment, Fintan points out that there was one major positive from the 2007 campaign. "One of the main highlights to come out of the season was undoubtedly the fact that Paddy O'Boyle was called up to train with the Louth senior squad. Unfortunately he injured his ankle but hopefully it will work out for him as it is a great boost for the club and sets an example to the rest of the players." Off the field of play, St Nicholas have made great efforts in recent years and Fintan points out that those facilities will help to attract players. "We have done a good lot of development on the pitch over recent years and we are now enjoying the benefits of that. After buying the field we were playing on, we did a lot of work such as building a perimeter wall and extending the dressing-rooms. "It is great to have such facilities and we will be hoping to do more work in the future such as putting in a gym room to help lads keep fit over the winter months." Tweet

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