Wicklow native Con O'Neill earned his managerial stripes under Colm O'Rourke as a selector on the Simonstown team that reached two SFC finals in 2003 and 2004 but he now calls Dunderry home and, after taking over the reigns of the local club's intermediate side in 2008, was bitterly disappointed when, for the second year running, they exited the IFC at the quarter-final stage. By Shane O'Brien. Shortly six months after Con O'Neill moved the short distance from Navan to Dunderry, Barry Callaghan knocked on his door inviting him to become a selector with Dunderry's intermediate football team. That was the end of 2006 and having taken the 1996 All-Ireland medalist up on his offer, he was promoted to manager when Callaghan's tenure ended following defeat to Castletown in the knock-out stages of that year's championship. Objective number one for O'Neill, the selectors and players at the start of 2008 was to go, at least, one step further than the previous year's quarter-final exit but Ballinlough put paid to that when finishing with two points to spare over the black and white's in a last eight clash in Bohermeen in September. 1-8 to 0-9 was the end scoreline as Dunderry were left to regret a poor opening which surrendered the early initiative to Peadar Byrne and co. and left them playing catch-up for the remainder of the contest. "It was a big disappointment," admitted O'Neill. "We had high hopes going into the game even though we were short a couple of our forwards for different reasons. After the hurt of last year though, losing the quarter-final to Castletown, there seemed to be a strong determination amongst the players to progress from that. "We didn't show up for the first half of the game against Castletown in 2007 and the same can be said for this year. We were made to pay the price for a poor start against Ballinlough." O'Neill, who played alongside Wicklow's only ever All Star Kevin O'Brien with his home club Baltinglass, pointed to a lack of natural scoring forwards as Dunderry's achilles heel but also conceded that most other clubs are in the same boat. "We were trying to make forwards out of backs which, in fairness to the players in question, was a bit unfair really. They weren't lacking skillwise but I'd say we lacked forward know-how in the quarter-final, our movement was poor. "We weren't conceding much at the back, just seven or eight points in most games, which meant the backs were doing their job but up front we struggled to find scores which, I know, is a common complaint with most teams. "I would have to give our forwards credit though for putting in a lot of the work further up the field, getting tackles in and preventing opposing teams from setting up quick counter attacks which helped our backs get organised." Dunderry's prospects of negotiating the Ballinlough hurdle wasn't helped by the absence of Kevin Dowd, who received a long-term suspension following a sending-off in the group win over Clann na nGael, Anthony Kane (holidays) and Darren Murtagh, a talented young forward who missed out on the entire year due to a back injury. The HSE employee isn't in the business of making excuses, however, and lauds the commitment of his players during the course of the year. "Overall, I'd say the commitment of the players this year was very good. There was very few nights that we didn't have good attendances at training and if they weren't able to make training more often than not they had good excuses. "I also heard through the grapevine that some of them were doing a bit extra on their own so the hunger was definitely there. We had no problem in that respect." O'Neill also hailed the input of his three selectors, Keith Callaghan, Stephen O'Rourke and Christy Coogan. "I'd say between the three of them they only missed about two to three sessions during the whole year. Their commitment was incredible." Dunderry topped Group C with three wins from a possible four - an opening round defeat against Carnaross was the only blot on their qualifying record. They claimed the scalps of Gaeil Colmcille, Clann na nGael and Ballivor. "The loss to Carnaross was obviously a bad start to the championship but there was definitely a marked improvement in training after that defeat, lads really knuckled down. The Carnaross game was the kick in the back-side we needed to get us going and that came from the players moreso than the management. "They realised that they had to work harder if they wanted to make an impression in the championship and, in fairness to them, they did." Next up was eventual semi-finalists Gaeil Colmcille. "I thought Gaeil Colmcille were the best team we played in the championship, we were a couple of points down at half-time, maybe three, came back and won the second half really well without setting the world on fire. "Clann na nGael in the next round was a big local derby and there was a lot of talk locally leading into that one but we one it really well." A final group win over bottom-of-the-table secured their place at the top of the table. "Ballivor was a strange game, they were going into the relegation battle regardless of the result and they found it hard to get a team together. "Throw-in was delayed by about twenty minutes and they got a few scores early on but we weathered the storm and won the second half comprehensively. We won by eleven points in the end." Looking ahead to next year, despite the disappointment of two quarter-final defeats in-a-row, Con is still optimistic that the present batch of players has what it takes to engineer a return to the senior ranks. "It's a young panel, age profile wise it's a nice panel to be working with. There's four or five teenagers involved, the same number around the 22/23 mark and a couple then in their late twenties. There's a good mixture of experience and youth. "The objective next year would have to be the same again. We have to try and pick up as many points as possible in the league while, in the championship, the first job would be to make it through the quarter-finals and try to take it on from there. Any improvement on reaching the quarter-final stages would be considered progress. " On a personal level, Con has been taken aback by the open arms policy that locals operate in Dunderry to newcomers. Since moving there in May 2006, he and his family, wife Marie and children, Orla and Oisin, have had no problems settling in. "Everyone has made us feel really welcome since moving here, not just me but the entire family. The sense of community is very important here where we celebrate the good days together and get over the bad days together. " Finally, no annual review of GAA activities in Dunderry would be complete without mention of the main event of the club's year - the official opening of its new clubhouse. The occasion was marked by a senior football challenge between Meath and Mayo on Sunday, May 11th. "It was a big occasion for the club with a big turnout on what was a lovely evening weather wise. It was one of the highlights of the year for Dunderry," concluded O'Neill. Tweet

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