Stabannon Parnells found themselves in unfamiliar territory at the beginning of the 2007 season as the Mid Louth club who had been the undisputed kings of Louth football in the 1990s when they won four Senior Championships, had to prepare themselves for a season in junior football. Not surprisingly, all involved in the club were determined to make their stay in the junior ranks as short as possible, but despite coming close to championship success, they were unable to reclaim their place in the intermediate grade. However, according to chairman, Paddy McCartney, the club are very much looking forward to a bright future. Although disappointed not to have won promotion this year, he points to the fact that many players have experience at a higher grade and with a number of the younger members of the panel helping the club win the Junior 2B Championship, there are many reasons to be optimistic. "It was a big disappointment for the club to be relegated to junior at the end of 2006. We were still playing Intermediate football up to December last year when we lost the relegation play-off to Sean McDermotts. It was very late in the season so we barely had time to take it in and before we knew it the draw for the championship was made and the season was upon us," revealed the chairman. "Despite the disappointment of going down we still thought we could do something. Unfortunately we didn't manage to achieve our aims as we went very close in the championship semi-final, while a very bad start to the league cost us dear in the end." Undoubtedly the biggest disappointment of the season was the loss to Young Irelands in the Junior Championship semi-final when Stabannon let slip what appeared to be a match-winning lead. "We all felt we threw it away that day and were very disappointed not to have reached the final where we felt we would have had a good chance. Young Irelands were down to 14 men and we were seven points up going into the closing stages when it all fell apart. "Maybe it was a case of being too confident at that stage but we seemed to stop playing and missed a lot of chances before they came back to win by a point. It is hard when a game starts to go away from you as no matter what we did, we just couldn't get back into it. "We still had a chance to rescue the match in the dying minutes but couldn't manage to find the point that would have given us a draw," explained Paddy. "It was very tough to take that defeat as it was a big chance for us to get straight back out of junior football, but it just didn't happen on the day." It was as similar story in the Division 3 league as Paddy points out the club were left to reflect on what might have been, as a slow start meant they were unable to bridge the early deficit despite some good wins later in the season. "Our first game of the year was on St Patrick's weekend against Naomh Fionnbarra and having lost that we were then beaten by Wolfe Tones in a game we really should have won. That meant we were four points down and facing a mountain to climb as it was always going to be difficult to claw that back. "It left us in the situation that we couldn't afford to lose any more games but despite this had a good run and gave ourselves a slim chance. However, it came too late and in the end our challenge faded." Although missing out on promotion was another disappointment, Paddy feels there was much encouragement to be gained from the fact that Stabannon were able to compete with the top teams. "I think in the end we realised we were good enough to win but probably left it a bit too late. We got great commitment over the summer and team manager John Prendergast really kept the players going. Hopefully they will all be able to step it up a level next year and the players will be spurred on by the fact that they got so close this season. "There is no doubt that it is going to be tough once again especially as there are a lot of local derbies, particularly with the likes of St Kevins coming back down which will make it a lot harder. "After a year in the grade we know the standard now and we will give it a good go next season. We know we will be there or thereabouts and our aim is to get back up and play at the highest standard possible." One of the main reasons the club has to be optimistic is the fact that a lot of the younger members of the panel were involved in the Junior 2B Championship victory over Oliver Plunketts in what was undoubtedly the highlight of the club's year. While nine of the St Michaels minor panel were involved in that squad, it was some of the more experienced players who grabbed the headlines on the day. "It was great win for us because there was a such a good mix of young and old players. There were the likes of Brendan McConnon and Nicholas Butterly, while Pat Butterly was kicking points from all angles in Ardee that day and proved what a great player he is by winning the Man of the Match award. "It is a great benefit to the young lads when they experience winning a trophy so hopefully that will stand to them next year." At underage level, Stabannon combine with Kilsaran parish colleagues O'Connells as St Michaels, and the club were greatly encouraged by some of the impressive performances over the season. The minor team won the Division 3 league and went very close to causing a major upset in the championship when they were narrowly beaten by eventual champions, Geraldines, in the opening round, as the chairman explained. "We were seven points up at half-time but they are a really good team and came back at us, but there was some consolation in the fact that we came back to win the B section of the championship for teams knocked out in the first round. "We had nine players on that combined team so there are a lot of players to come through to adult football." Off the field of play, the club are continuing to progress and the chairman paid tribute to the efforts of those who work so hard for the club. "The new dressingrooms are completed but there is always plenty of work to do in order to maintain the standard of the pitch and the facilities. The committee is doing a lot of great work promoting the lotto which is an important part of running the club." Tweet

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