Wolfe Tones' hopes of winning the Senior Football Championship for the second time in three years faltered at the semi-final hurdle when Summerhill avenged an earlier group defeat to qualify for their first decider since 1990. It was almost being taken for granted that this year's battle for the Keegan Cup would produce a repeat of the final two years ago when Tones defeated Navan O'Mahonys. The Brews Hill side kept their end of the bargain when beating Blackhall Gaels in the first semi-final on the last Saturday of September, but Tones failed to join them when a fresher Summerhill team beat them the following day. When the draws for the championship were made one fixture stood out from the rest in a very tough group A - a first round meeting of O'Mahonys and Tones. Also in the section were Summerhill, Rathkenny, Skryne and reigning champions Seneschalstown who had surprised everybody by claiming the title in 2007. By contrast, Wolfe Tones failed to negotiate the group stages last year, but there was an obvious determination to do a great deal better this term. Cian Ward amassed some phenomenal scoring tallies in this year's championship - topped by his contribution of 4-4 in the quarter-final against Duleek/Bellewstown - and his enormous importance to the Tones' cause was apparent from the word go when his injury time point earned a draw (1-11 each) in the group opener against O'Mahonys at Simonstown. Ward scored 10 points overall, but it was O'Mahonys who made by far the more productive start when a David Bray goal helped them to push into a 1-2 to 0-0 lead after seven minutes. Niall McLoughlin's goal helped Tones to recover and trail by only 1-5 to 1-6 at the break and that set the scene for an absorbing second half. Tones scored the first three points after the turnaround to move ahead, but O'Mahonys got moving again and led by the minimum as the game went into injury time. That's when Ward brought his scoring tally into double figures and earned a draw. Ward's tally of nine points in the second round against wasteful Summerhill at Dunsany was hugely important in a 2-13 to 1-10 victory. Stephen Sheppard and John Tiernan scored first half goals for Tones, but Summerhill led by 1-9 to 2-4 at the interval. Stephen Kennedy, who was later to play a huge role when the sides met in the semi-final, netted for the 'Hill in that period and was also very impressive in this match, notching 1-6. He stretched Summerhill's lead on the restart, but they failed to score again as they wasted chance after chance and Tones reeled off nine unanswered points to achieve a victory that kept their qualification hopes well on track. Rathkenny provided stern resistance to Wolfe Tones when the teams met in the third round of group games at Castletown, but with Ward notching a valuable haul of six points Tones won by 0-13 to 0-9. Some of his scores were majestic efforts, but it also took a solid team performance to see them through. Tones led by 0-6 to 0-3 at the interval and were still three ahead (0-8 to 0-5) at the three-quarter stage. Rathkenny refused to let them get away, however, and Tones relied on injury time points from Paul Byrne and Sheppard to guarantee victory. It may have been the longest day of the year when Tones played Seneschalstown in the fourth round at Pairc Tailteann, but the weather was vile and it was necessary to turn the lights on in the first half because of the darkness. Therefore, it was a credit to both sets of players that they were able to produce a very enjoyable contest. A 1-12 to 1-7 victory for Tones meant they were through to the last eight, while the defeat effectively ended Seneschalstown's hopes of holding onto the Keegan Cup. Ward again scored six points, but it was an Alan Fox goal which helped the winners to lead by 1-5 to 0-3 at the break. The sun appeared in the second half and Joe Sheridan boosted Seneschalstown's cause with a brilliant goal to keep them in the hunt. However, Ward kept things comfortable for Tones when he scored two magnificent points in the closing stages to leave five between the teams when the final whistle sounded. After a lengthy break, the championship action resumed for Tones against Skryne at Pairc Tailteann and they looked set for a runaway victory when they started at a furious pace and pushed clear by 0-8 to 0-3. But Skryne finished the first half in devastating fashion with 2-1 in the space of 90 seconds and led by 2-4 to 0-8 at the break. Tones were back in front within three minutes of the restart when John Tiernan goaled, but otherwise the third quarter was a troubled spell for them as Barry McGinn was sent off and Ward missed frees that he would normally convert. Skryne were ahead by 2-7 to 1-8 with 20 minutes remaining, but a goal from Darren McGrath steadied Tones and Ward notched the last two points to seal victory on a 2-12 to 2-9 score line. Wolfe Tones had reached the quarter-finals comfortably by dropping just one point in that draw with Navan O'Mahonys and were hot favourites to get past Duleek/Bellewstown when the knockout action commenced. They won a high scoring contest by 4-7 to 1-11 at Pairc Tailteann, with Ward contributing an amazing 4-4. It might have been an even more impressive tally as he missed a penalty after three minutes when Ricky Nolan saved, but he soon found the net twice (the first time from a penalty) as Tones opened up a 2-2 to 0-0 lead. At that stage it appeared to be only a matter of how much they would win by, but they failed to maintain the momentum and were ahead by 2-3 to 0-4 at the interval. However, with Ward bringing his goals total to four they were clear at 4-3 to 0-6 nearing the end of the third quarter. Duleek/Bellewstown finished the match with 1-2, but the outcome was beyond any doubt at that stage. A very poor showing in the first half cost Wolfe Tones when they lost to Summerhill by 2-8 to 1-14 in the semi-final. The 'Hill looked impressive in that period as Rory Donnelly's goal helped them to open up a 1-8 to 0-5 lead at the interval and with Tones struggling to gain any momentum they looked to be in serious trouble. Goalkeeper David Nolan came to their rescue when he saved from Paul Larkin two minutes after the restart, but they took advantage of that let-off as goals from Ward and Sheppard helped them to edge ahead by the minimum with 20 minutes remaining. Suddenly, from a position where they looked almost dead and buried, they could be fancied to go on and win. Former Meath player Mark O'Reilly grew in stature as a hugely entertaining contest wore on and he steadied Summerhill with a point, before they added three more from frees to push ahead again. Barry McGinn and Niall McLoughlin cut the deficit to the minimum, but Kennedy scored the last two points of the game from frees in injury time to seal the win for the 'Hill. Tones had seen how good a player Kennedy was during the group meeting of the teams. This time he contributed nine points and Donnelly rowed in with 1-3 in another influential showing. The losers were left to rue that poor first half display, but when they did get back into the contest and took the lead they were unable to finish the job. Ward finished with a personal tally of 1-6, including four points from frees, but the supply of ball to the Tones' attacking ace just wasn't consistently good enough. Of course, Summerhill have to take a lot of the credit for that. The Wolfe Tones team in the semi-final was - D Nolan; R Brady, C McLoughlin, A McKeown; B McGinn (0-1), E Harrington, S Sheppard (1-0); S Corrigan, G Beggy; A Fox, D McGrath, N McLoughlin (0-1); P Byrne, J Tiernan, C Ward (1-6). Subs - C Martin for Brady, M Coleman for Beggy, M McKeever for Byrne. JUNIOR D TRIUMPH When Wolfe Tones lost to Clann na nGael by 14 points in the opening round of the Junior D FC at Martry last May, nobody could have predicted that approximately four months later they would defeat the same opposition in the final at Pairc Tailteann. Tommy Dowd wasn't playing when the Athboy/An Gaeltacht combination inflicted a 3-15 to 1-7 defeat in the group stages, but the former All-Ireland-winning captain was in the thick of the action when Tones won the decider by 1-16 to 1-8. The success meant that the club had won the six adult football titles - SFC, IFC, JFC, Junior B, Junior C and Junior D - in the space of six years. That's a truly remarkable statistic. Tony Kearney was also manager of this team, which was the club's third string, and once they negotiated the divisional campaign they defeated Gaeil Colmcille by 2-9 to 1-5 in the quarter-finals and Dunsany by 3-10 to 0-9 at the penultimate hurdle. Dowd contributed 1-3 in the opening half of a very entertaining final and that helped Tones to lead by 1-9 to 1-6 at the interval. Eanna Harrington and Aidan McKeever both scored two points in that period and Mark McKeever and Alan Callaghan also got their names on the score sheet. Tones limited Clann na nGael to just two further points in the second period and added seven themselves to be well clear at the end. It was a proud moment for team captain Declan County when he accepted the Dickser Dunne Memorial Cup. The Wolfe Tones team in the final was - D Browne; A Browne, T McKeever, D Feeney; C McMahon, D County, M McKeever (0-1); C Crahan, P Fitzpatrick; D O'Sullivan, E Harrington (0-2), A Callaghan (0-3); C Shaw (0-1), T Dowd (1-5), A McKeever (0-3). Sub - A Cahill(0-1) for A Browne. JUNIORS REACH LAST EIGHT The Wolfe Tones second string was attempting to add the JFC title to the Junior B and Junior C crowns won in the previous two years and, while they did top their group and reach the knockout stages, they were eliminated from the title race at the quarter-final stage by Ratoath. The Tones enjoyed a 100 per cent winning record in group A thanks to victories over Bective (0-11 to 1-5), St Mary's (2-14 to 1-5), Simonstown Gaels (1-17 to 1-7), Dunboyne (1-13 to 0-10), Kilmainham (2-8 to 1-10) and Drumbaragh (2-15 to 1-16) and that left them sitting on top of the pile with a maximum 12 points, ahead of fellow qualifiers Kilmainham on 10. However, they faltered at the first hurdle when the knockout action commenced, with Ratoath winning by 2-8 to 1-8 at Seneschalstown. Kevin McKeever gave Tones a big boost with an early goal, but Ratoath recovered to lead by 1-5 to 1-2 at the break. Tones suffered a double injury blow in the second period when Joey McKeown and Kevin McKeever were forced to retire and the latter was replaced by Tommy Dowd who had played a starring role in the Junior D final victory the previous evening. There was still that three point margin separating the teams at the finish. The Wolfe Tones team against Ratoath was - T Browne; D Cassidy, D Coleman (0-1), A McKeever; P Caffrey, C Martin, P Reilly; J McKeown, D Browne; A Oakes (0-1), C Breslin, M Coleman (0-3); S Power (0-2), K McKeever (1-0), R McDonnell. Subs - A Callaghan (0-1) for Breslin, M McKeever for Reilly, J Tolan for McKeown, T Dowd for K McKeever, E Harrington for McDonnell. Pinch yourself; just to be sure The success enjoyed by Wolfe Tones in recent years has been nothing less than extraordinary. But where did this phenomenal story begin? How has a hitherto small junior club managed to scale such dizzy heights to such devastating effect? Royal County 2008 caught up with club stalwart Michael Carr to chart the rise and rise of Wolfe Tones GFC. Though it has taken many hands to bring Wolfe Tones to where they are today, Michael Carr acknowledges the massive contributions of two men in particular when reflecting upon the origins of his club's impressive rise to prominence. Without the inputs of Christy Shaw and Tony Kearney, he reckons the outcome could have been considerably less spectacular: "The seeds were sown when a man called Christy Shaw came to live in the locality. About 20 years ago, Christy started going up to the football field in Gibbstown on a Saturday morning and he brought four or five kids from the area with him. One or two extra kids joined each year and it all took off from there. It all starts with the underage and Christy is still involved today, so we're hoping that the players will continue to come through. "Tony Kearney joined as manager in 2000 and he enjoyed success in his first year when we won the U21 'B' championship. The following year, we won the U21 'A'. It's very difficult to keep track, but I think we've won either 19 or 20 major trophies since Tony took over nine seasons ago. "In '01, we also got to the final of the junior 'A' championship but we were beaten after a replay by Curraha. In '02, we lost the quarter-final to Nobber, but then in '03 we won it. Looking back, the defeat to Curraha was probably a blessing in disguise, as it allowed the team some space to mature and then in '03 we went on to win the Leinster junior title and the All-Ireland final against Carbery Rangers in Cremartin. "In '04, we won the Meath intermediate and went on to win the Leinster final before Christmas only to be narrowly beaten by Pomeroy in the All-Ireland semi-final. We then took the step up to senior football and managed to consolidate our position in the first year, losing a quarter-final to Blackhall Gaels. In 2006, we won the senior championship. During that time, we managed to win a few league titles as well, so it was an incredible spell of success." Without putting too fine a point on it, scooping the junior, intermediate and senior championships within the space of four seasons represented an utterly remarkable accomplishment, the likes of which we will probably never witness in Meath again. For a club to rise so steeply in such a short timeframe was totally astonishing, so much so that it's easy to forget how far the Tones have come. The success has continued unabated with a 'C' JFC in 2006, a 'B' JFC in 2007 and the third team garnered the 'D' JFC crown in 2008. Commenting on the latter victory, Michael notes: "That was a great source of satisfaction to the club as it made us the first in the county to have won all the adult competition in Meath - and we did it inside six years. We received a special award for that this year and everybody in Wolfe Tones is very proud of it. It was our first year to enter the junior 'D' and it worked out well. The games provide an opportunity to younger players in the club to make their mark." Michael admits that the journey has been beyond his wildest dreams: "You couldn't dream it. I never thought we would have this kind of success. You wouldn't even contemplate dreaming of winning the Keegan Cup," concedes the man who was a founding member of the club back in the mid seventies. The current secretary played in those early days and has consistently been involved in a variety of capacities ever since. Paying tribute to others who have made a difference along the road, he says: "Sean Power was a huge driving force when he came in. Others who played a big part are Tony McDonnell, Peter Fox, Paddy Diamond and Donal McKeever, while Fr Bannon and Benny Gartland, who was chairman of the minor board, were prominent in the early days." So, has the club peaked now? Are the glory days behind them or is there more to come? "We don't intend to look at it that way. You are all the time trying to improve, irrespective of what you have won. You must enjoy your success, but the day you stop trying to raise the bar is the day you will start going back. That's one of the things about Tony Kearney - he always kept driving the team forward. We only lost three games this year - one in the championship and two in the league, including the final, which we lost by a point to Blackhall Gaels. In other years, that would have been seen as a major achievement and you'd celebrate for a week!" Michael is adamant that the focus should remain very much on underage development. "We have three adult teams now and we field at every grade from U11 through to U21 in football and hurling, with approximately three coaches involved with each team. We have fields in Kilberry and Gibbstown and it's a job in itself trying to allocate a pitch for all the training sessions and matches. We also have a strong ladies section and it's all go, seven days a week. There's a lot of extra work for everybody now but you enjoy it and it's a nice problem to have." What's the target for 2009? "Our focus will always be on our underage and we can never forget that. You're always trying to bring more lads on and give them opportunities. That's the reason we put in a third team in 2008. Even though we've enjoyed tremendous success at adult level, for me the most satisfying thing is the way our underage is being maintained and looked after. We are determined to keep the focus there and we are blessed to have three primary schools in the parish, with the principals in all three offering tremendous support towards the club. We suffered in the past because we didn't have a solid platform at underage level, so we're determined not to let that happen again." The success of the club has given the entire community a huge boost and Wolfe Tones have a superb base of support from their parishioners. For the future, Michael Carr says they will focus on the here and now and keep things going. "It's not easy to win a senior championship in Meath but I definitely think there is another one in this team. We have Cian Ward and Eoghan Harrington on the county team and Stephen Sheppard and Niall McLoughlin have also played for the county. Those guys have vast experience and the rest of the team look up to them and learn from them." When I spoke to Michael in early November, the club was preparing for three more finals in the space of a week. Even so late in the year, he was still attending two or three games a week. "That's nothing compared to the work Tony Kearney put in," he shrugs. "He has done it consistently for eight years - nine seasons - that stretched through from January to December. That's some mileage, it's an extraordinary amount of time to spend out on the pitch. "Sean Power passed away in January and he's going to be very hard to replace. He was chairman for all our championship successes and he is a huge loss to Wolfe Tones. But we have to carry on. Young Seanie was top scorer in the 'B' league final and that shows the great strength of character we have in this club." There's every possibility that further chapters remain to be penned in this extraordinary tale. Tweet

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