Once again it was a case of so near and yet so far for Kildalkey as they failed to lay their SHC final bogey with Kilmessan outpointing them in the replay, having gone tantalisingly close to getting their hands on the elusive Jubilee Cup seven days earlier. Kildalkey hurling folk are probably fed up listening to rewinds of the story of 1951 when they 'won' the title for the only time, Kilmessan fielding late for the scheduled final in Trim and the championship being subsequently awarded at a meeting. In 2008 Pat O'Halloran's charges gained a lot of admirers with their displays and in nine games played they won six and the other three resulted in a draw with and two defeats to Kilmessan. Wins over Rathmolyon and Trim in the group stages stamped them as serious contenders and their most impressive display came in the semi-final against holders Kiltale which they won by 1-14 to 1-8. Noel Kirby accumulated a scoring total of 0-64 in the nine games and in the opening outing against Rathmolyon at Boardsmill he put over eight points as a 0-17 to 0-14 victory was secured. Although Mickey Cole raised the white flag a dozen times, the fact that Kildalkey had eight scorers compared to three for their opponents' three was a crucial factor. The Blues were in the lead for most of an enjoyable encounter and they were ahead by 0-9 to 0-8 at the halfway stage. Although the 2006 champions edged to the front on 42 minutes, Kildalkey outscored them by 0-6 to 0-2 after that, The sides were level four times in the second period and after Kirby regained the lead with his seventh successful free, Padraig Keogh and Dan Fagan completed the winning total. A return of 13 points was not unlucky for Noel Kirby in the second round as local rivals Clann na nGael were outscored by 1-21 to 1-7 in the second round clash in Longwood. It was 1-10 to 1-6 at the break and team captain Sean Heavey contributed 1-3 for the winners. Following the 1-12 to 0-12 victory over Trim at Boardsmill, Kildalkey looked assured of qualifying for the last six. They trailed by four points midway through the first half and were behind by 0-6 to 0-7 at the break. The arrears could have been more but for two fine saves by 'keeper Gary McNally. Trim kept ahead in the third quarter but were to finish with 13 players on the pitch after referee Fergus Smith issued two straight red cards. The first of them came just after substitute Nick Fitzgerald had netted the goal which would separate the sides at the end, following an assist by Noel Kirby on 49 minutes. Although the men in red and white got back on level terms, Kildalkey replied with points from Sean Heavey and Kirby (free and 65) before the opposition had their second man dismissed in the last seconds. Kildalkey showed first class point-taking form when defeating Killyon by 0-26 to 0-7 for a fourth success with Noel Kirby again putting over 13 points in the side's third outing at Boardsmill. They had reached double figures before the 20-minute mark and it was 0-13 to 0-5 at the break. By the time Killyon scored in the second period after 27 minutes, their rampant opponents had 25 points on the board and six others besides Kirby scored for them with Tony Fox, Enda Keogh and Sean Heavey hitting three points each. A semi-final place was the prize on offer when Kildalkey met Kilmessan at Longwood in round five with the losers getting a quarter-final spot. Pat O'Halloran's men forfeited their unbeaten record in the 0-10 to 1-11 defeat after also trailing by four points (0-5 to 1-6 ) at the break. Kildalkey were back in Boardsmill for their quarter-final and they retained their unbeaten 2005 record at the venue when outpointing Navan O'Mahonys by 0-12 to 0-7. The winners were not at their best and led by 0-7 to 0-4 at the break. Three points from play by Sean Heavey and Padraig Geoghegan were vital ingredients for reaching the last four for the second successive year. The display served up in the 1-14 to 1-8 semi-final victory over Kiltale was probably Kildalkey's best of 2008. When the sides met at the quarter-final stage the previous year Kiltale won after extra-time and the losers were left to regret hitting bagful of wides. Two more additional periods were on the cards when the men in blue and white held a slender minimum margin lead inside the last five minutes but they then added five points without reply to complete an impressive afternoon's work. Kildalkey were fully committed to the task in hand from the word go and were always in the lead after Noel Kirby's opening score from a 65 after five minutes. That was soon followed by a Padraig Geoghegan goal with the corner forward blasting to the net following a pass from Sean Heavey and the eventual winners held a 1-8 to 1-4 advantage at the break. After scoring two points from play, Sean Heavey was forced to retire with a shoulder injury and did not resume. After Ger Geoghegan increased the lead immediately after the restart, Kildalkey went 23 minutes until their next score as their lead was pared down to one point. But they weathered the storm with two Padraig Geoghegan points getting them back on the right track. The number 15 was very prominent in that closing onslaught and after Maurice Keogh got on target, Geoghegan set up Noel Kirby for his sixth score before bringing his own total to 1-4 as a final place was clinched for the first time since 2005. The two final clashes had a similar pattern with Kildalkey appearing to have shot their bolt at the interval both days after failing to gain an advantage when playing with the breeze in their favour but storming back strongly in the second half of each encounter. They trailed by 0-4 to 1-2 at the halfway stage in the drawn tie which spoiled by rain and wind but were much more determined in the second half with a Kirby free in the opening minute after the restart having the sides level for the third time. After Kilmessan went into a 1-5 to 0-5 lead but the sides were on equal terms on 48 minutes when Padraig Keogh netted after an attempt by Tony Fox was blocked out by 'keeper Mark Brennan. When Padraig Geoghegan followed up with a point Kildalkey were ahead for the first time since the early stages. When Kirby gave them the lead with a free from a difficult position on the left after 57 minutes, Kildalkey supporters must have felt that the lost wait was about to end. The slender advantage was held under added time when substitute Charlie Keena shot over to bring the sides back to the county ground seven days later. In the replay after they were level four times in the opening 17 minutes with the standard a good bit higher than the previous week before Kilmessan took control to lead by 0-8 to 0-4 at the break. Kildalkey held their opponents scoreless for 18 minutes in the second half as points from Noel Kirby (free), Tony Fox and inspiring centre back Enda Keogh brought them right back into contention but that's where their scoring burst ended and they could have few complaints as Kilmessan pushed on to win by 0-13 to 0-8. Despite the final fence fall, it was a good year for Kildalkey but will have to do it all again and a little bit better in 2009 if the ever-widening gap is to be bridged. The Kildalkey team in the 2008 M. Donnelly SHC final replay was : G. McNally; E. Potterton, S. Forde, D. Lahart; S. Corrigan, E. Keogh, M. Doran; T. Fox, P. Keogh; C. Dunne, M. Keogh. N. Kirby; P. Geoghegan, S. Heavey, D. Fagan. Subs - D. Brady for Dunne, N. Fitzgerald for Fagan, G. Kelly for M. Keogh, G. Geoghegan for Brady, p. Potterton for Heavey. There was some consolation for the SHC final defeat when Kildalkey collected the JHC 2 title with a replay victory over Killyon at Boardsmill, having had to score a goal and a point in added time to secure the draw in the initial clash at the same venue. After defeating Clann na nGael by double scores (1-11 to 0-7) in their semi-final at Trim. in which David Brady scored 1-5, Kildalkey trailed by 0-5 to 1-6 at the halfway stage in the first instalment of the final, having been in arrears by eight points at one stage in the first period. The deficit had been pared down to the minimum going into the last quarter and the side in blue and white was nearly made regret hitting eight wides in the second period. After Killyon netted their second goal a fifth point and fourth from a free by Brady looked no more than a consolation score until substitute Gary Kelly finished to the net for a late leveller as it finished 1-10 to 2-7. Senior team manager Pat O'Halloran was a wing forward on Kildalkey's junior side while Sean Kealey, a member of Meath's All-Ireland B winning side back in 1993, was at centre forward and scored 1-2 in the 2-13 to 2-7 replay victory as Pascal Carr's charges gained possession of the Mattie O'Brien Cup. With Karl Leavy also finding the net for them in the first half, Kildalkey led by 2-6 to 1-3 at the break and they were well on the way to the title when lea\ding by eight points eight minutes after the restart. Although the deficit was halved, the Blues finished well with Derek Doran putting over his third point from play of the second period and captain Padraig Corrigan driving a 65 between the uprights. The Kildalkey team and scorers in the 2008 JHC 2 final replay : T. Masterson; J. D. Flynn, S. Dunne, R. Geoghegan; P. Corrigan (0-2), P. Potterton, C. Ward; M. Potterton, K. Leavy (1-0); D. Doran (0-3), S. Kealey (1-2), P. O'Halloran, A. McNally, G. Kelly (0-1),. D. Brady (0-5). Subs - K. Murray for McNally, T. Smith for Ward, C. Kane for O'Halloran. Tweet

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