The Dunderry club can look back on a mixed 2004. Their senior footballers and senior hurlers both found themselves embroiled in relegation play-offs with the latter dropping down to intermediate ranks. They also celebrated a modest success when becoming the second holders of the Junior D FC with a final victory over neighbours Trim. Although Sean Kelly's charges finished up as joint bottom team in Group B of the SFC, they still turned in some encouraging displays and, while starting off with two defeats, they scored 1-11 and 0-14 in those games, totals that would have won a few ties. Dunderry have slipped down the senior football ratings in Meath since the SFC triumph of 1995 and last April they set out on a Keegan Cup campaign for the first time in a number of years without the services of their greatest ever player, Tommy Dowd, who had transferred to Wolfe Tones. Time waits for nobody and two other stalwart clubmen, John Brady and Sean Kelly, were finishing out their long careers as junior players. In one SFC preview it was suggested that Dunderry lacked leadership on the pitch and would be doing well to get beyond the quarter-final stage. But they were still tipped to reach the last eight and around that time Dunderry AFC, mainly made up of local Gaelic footballers, reached the last two in the Meath and District League's Challenge Cup competition. Serving two masters was hardly an ideal preparation for the SFC and such dual allegiances prompted manager Kelly to 'walk away' before the clash with Summerhill to decide who would finish at the bottom of their division. Only Keith Callaghan of the starting 15 in the 1995 Keegan Cup decider started in the opening clash with Seneschalstown, but two more, Barry Callaghan and Stephen O'Rourke, came on as substitutes. Dunderry lost by 1-11 to 2-12 with Trevor Conaty sending over seven points, three from play, in a value for money opener. They were back at Pairc Tailteann nine days later when losing on a similar looking scoreline as Kilmainhamwood left with a brace of points after a 2-11 to 0-14 win. That was two days after the Dunderry soccer side had lost their big game and six players started both matches. That was hardly the ideal preparation and was a minus for Sean Kelly as he tried to get the best out of his charges. Dunderry had Barry Callaghan back for the game against the 'Wood but while showing some touches of his class, the All-Ireland winner continued to be hampered by injuries. 'Conaty points way to Dunderry delight' was the headline in one local weekly after the 0-10 to 1-5 win over St Patrick's in a scrappy third round clash at Walterstown. Trevor Conaty sent over five points and it was surely more relief than delight as Dunderry picked up their first SFC points. They made it two wins on the trot with a 0-9 to 0-7 win over Summerhill at Dunsany with Ivan McCormack raising the white flag five times but then there were three defeats in a row. There were defeats at the hands of Walterstown, Cortown and Blackhall Gaels and after that bad run; they were tipped to lose to Summerhill in a play-off to decide the bottom team in the division. Again the clash with soccer reared its head and, with Sean Kelly not fully happy with the commitment of some of the players, Billy Bligh was in charge along the sideline. The team responded well to Bligh, making a brave recovery after being 0-0 to 1-6 in arrears after 15 minutes in Trim. It was 1-10 apiece at the end of the hour and Dunderry had cause for mild celebrations when the board read 1-14 to 1-12 after extra time. After failing to score in the first period of extra time, Dunderry hit four points in a row. Stephen O'Rourke hit a spectacular score from the left, Ivan McCormack (two) and Trevor Conaty kicked frees between the uprights as they finished the campaign strongly after the slow start in the last game. Dunderry seemed set to reach the final of the Division 2 League. They needed just two points from their last two games but they again lost to Cortown in a game which they led by nine points, conceding three goals in the closing stages. That was followed by a shock loss to Na Fianna in Enfield and they finished third, two points below Castletown with Wolfe Tones the table toppers. Dunderry became the second outright winners of the Junior Football D FC when defeating Trim in the final at Kilmessan, having overcome a well fancied Dunsany side by two points, 1-12 to 2-7, in the penultimate round. As a result of that win, Dunderry went into the decider as favourites and they did not disappoint. It was a clash of the neighbours' third teams and 'D-light for Dunderry' was the heading in one of the local papers after the 3-6 to 0-9 victory. Billy Bligh was in charge of the winning side and he could call on three of the 1995 SFC winning team, Philip Cahill, Mick Molloy and Sean Kelly. When Dunderry started the second half against the breeze with a 1-4 to 2-4 deficit, their prospects did not look great. But goals from teenager Bob Doherty and the experienced Tommy Leavy, who was the team captain, put them well on the way to collecting the Dickser Dunne Cup. Doherty netted in style with ten minutes to go and near the end of the hour Leavy slotted a penalty to the net to give his side an eight points cushion. The Dunderry team which won the JFC D title was : T. J. Garry; Stephen Bateson, Michael Martin, Thomas Garry; David Stephens, Philip Cahill, Mick Molloy; Sean Kelly, Bob Doherty; Sean Fitzsimons, Eoin McCormack, Cathal Coogan; Stephen Brennan, Tommy Leavy, Paidi Brady. Subs - Aaron Newman for Bateson, Andrew Coogan for Brennan, Fergal Moran for Martin, Michael O'Rourke for Cathal Coogan. Billy Bligh was a selector with the senior football team and had Pete Conaty, Kevin Keavaney and Timmy Kennedy as his fellow selectors with the successful junior D winning side. "It was great to win it, we had a fine win over a well fancied Dunsany side at the semi-final stage and the lads did very well again when getting the better of local rivals Trim in the final," said the victorious manager. "We fielded a typical junior team with a few former seniors and some up and coming young lads. Youngsters like Bob Doherty, Aaron Newman and Andrew Coogan are players for the future. The team gelled together well and it's nice to be able to look back on a title success at the end of the year," added Bligh. The man who figured briefly at the end of the 1970 All-Ireland SFC final was disappointed that Dunderry did not reach the closing stages of the race for the Keegan Cup after a promising start. "We scored 14 points in both of the first two games but no return from either game. I suppose players lining out in both Gaelic football and soccer around that time did not help. It's hard to serve two masters but we won't have that problem in April 2005," he said. "After winning three under 21 titles in a row, it is disappointing that we are not doing better at senior level. The lads worked hard this year but it seems that even more is needed with each passing year. Holidays can disrupt things with players away for a couple of weeks at different times, before that used to happen just in August," added Bligh. After 14 years in the senior hurling ranks during which they reached the SHC final in 2001 only to lose to Trim in a replay in Athboy, Dunderry dropped down to the intermediate grade when losing a relegation play-off to Boardsmill last September. Although Tommy Garry's side contained played who had represented the county at senior level like Kevin Dowd, Ivan McCormack, Keith Callaghan and veteran Philip Cahill, Dunderry had slipped down a bit since the exciting year of 2001. They only managed one win from seven outings and lost twice to first year seniors Drumree. A 2-9 to 2-22 defeat to Dunboyne at Trim set the tone for the rest of the programme and after a 1-9 to 4-9 loss to Drumree in Kilmessan, there was a bit of an improvement in the third round. Holders Kilmessan were the opponents in Trim and Dunderry put up a more respectable showing as the Jubilee Cup custodians won with seven points to spare on a 0-15 to 1-5 scoreline. The losers could have been closer at the finish with a little more sharpness in attack. That was followed by an 0-11 to 1-6 success over Longwood in Athboy on the first Sunday of July with late points from Ivan McCormack and Kevin Dowd ending Longwood's title hopes. However, Dunderry failed to keep up the good work and their poor form returned when Navan O'Mahonys beat them by 2-15 to 0-9. After leading by 0-9 to 0-6 at the break, they failed to register in the second half. The second clash with Drumree saw the 2003 intermediate winners record a 0-11 to 1-6 win. Kevin Dowd scored 1-2 in that tie but Ivan McCormack failed to raise a flag. Dunderry's senior hurling goose was cooked when losing by 2-7 to 1-17 at Trim. They were in trouble when trailing by 11 points at the break and two late goals by Keith Callaghan was not enough to keep them in the top grade. Getting to the closing stages of the SFC, working their way back to the top flight of the Football Leagues and making a strong impression in the IHC will be the main targets for Dunderry in 2005 Tweet

Most Read Stories