Five years after their exciting victory in the Meath Junior Football Championship, Curraha celebrated a more modest triumph last October when taking Division 5 FL title with a final win over Drumree at Dunshaughlin. The club's second annexation of the JFC in 2001 (the previous outright success was recorded in 1976) was at the expense of a team on the way up. The beaten finalists were Wolfe Tones and they haven't lost much since then while Curraha's stay in the intermediate ranks only lasted three seasons, losing to neighbours Donaghmore/Ashbourne in a relegation play-off in 2004. This year they missed out on qualifying for the knockout stages of the JFC but they enjoyed a good run in the Division 5 League. Only seven teams participated in that competition which was played on a double round system before the finalists were known. Curraha won 11 of their 12 games in the league section. They lost to Drumree before defeating them twice, the second time by 0-7 to 0-4 in the final. The league campaign began on February 19th when Curraha made the trip to Boardsmill and recorded a 1-10 to 1-2 victory. They led by 0-7 to 1-1 at the break and the experienced Ian McManus top scored with 1-3. A week later they had their first home outing of the year when defeating Clonee opponents St Paul's by 1-9 to 1-4, having been ahead by 1-3 to 0-4 at the break despite playing against the strong breeze in the first half. The winners had seven scorers with substitute Joe Doyle netting the goal. Curraha did not have their third Division 5 outing until May 7th when a home 0-16 to 0-11 win was recorded over Bellewstown. Ian McManus was again the main marksman with five points and midfielders Noel Keogh and Colm McManus and Locky Keogh up front were others to impress. There were three league outings for Curraha in June and three more wins. There was a Friday evening trip to Clonard and a narrow 1-11 to 0-13 victory with Ian McManus and Locky Keogh sending over four points each. That was followed by a second win over Boardsmill with the visitors losing by 0-12 to 1-6 as Ian McManus maintained his fine scoring form with a contribution of seven points. There was another minimum margin win when St Paul's were defeated by 1-10 to 1-9 at Clonee with a goal from Noel Keogh after 30 seconds setting Curraha on the right route. Then it was seven up for Curraha as they scored a comfortable 2-20 to 0-7 home win over Killallon. Eight of the winners' players got on target and Joe Doyle grabbed 2-1. It looked as if Bellewstown were going to end Curraha's winning streak when the home side led by 2-5 to 0-3 in a mid July clash. However, the visitors rallied in the second period and goals from Joe Doyle and Cormac Fleming as well as eight points from Ian McManus helped them carve out a narrow 2-13 to 3-8 win. Four days later came the only defeat in 13 league outings. That was at Drumree where the home side won by 1-12 to 1-9 after being ahead by 0-8 to 0-3 at the interval. A couple of weeks later Curraha got back on the winning trail with an easy home 2-10 to 0-4 victory over Clonard, Ian McManus helping himself to 2-3. A place in the final was booked as well as promotion back to Division 4 with the runaway 5-15 to 2-1 win over Killallon at Ballinlough. In a farcical encounter Curraha led by 4-6 to 0-0 at the break and nine of the winners' players scored. There was a 'trailer' for the final when Curraha scored a home 2-8 to 1-5 over Drumree after tailing by 0-2 to 1-4 at the break. Mark Jackson netted both of the winners' goals and his side upped their game in the second half. The final was a scrappy affair with only three scores in the first half as Drumree led by 0-2 to 0-1 despite having Christy Doyle sent off on receipt of a second yellow card after 20 minutes. Despite being at a numerical disadvantage, Drumree kept with their opponents for most of the second period and were ahead by 0-4 to 0-3 before Curraha added four points. Again Ian McManus top scored with four points and Sean Mallon, Chris Bermingham, Colm McManus and David Dunne also impressed for the winners. The Curraha team which won the Division 5 FL title was : P. Moriarty; C. Bermingham, S. Dardis, T. Hetherton; S. Morgan, S. Mallon, B. Doyle; P. Hetherton, N. Keogh; M. Jackson, S. McDermott, D. Dunne; C. McManus, I. McManus, L. Keogh. Subs - S. Keogh for Jackson, J Doyle for McDermott, D. Weldon for P. Hetherton, D. Hanley for N. Keogh,: M. McKeown, C. Fleming, D. Farrell, C. Hickey, R. Mooney, P. Canning, G. Dowling. In the JFC Curraha won three of their six games, losing twice and drawing once. They also received walk over from Dunderry who opted out after losing their first three games. Curraha were left with an uphill struggle after the third round as they had only one point on the table. Their first three games were all against teams from the Kells area and they got off to a bad start when losing by 0-6 to 2-7 to Gaeil Colmcille at Bective. There was an even bigger defeat in round two when Kilmainham inflicted a 1-15 to 1-4 hammering at Skryne. Curraha did better in their next outing when a late scoring spurt earned them a 1-7 to 0-10 draw with Drumbaragh at Kilberry. A goal from substitute Joe Doyle and a point from Noel Keogh enabled them to take away something from the tie. They had three points on the table after a fortunate 2-7 to 1-9 win over Summerhill at Dunsany. A converted free by Ian McManus with the last kick of the game was decisive. Earlier the centre forward had netted two penalty kicks and he finished up with 2-4. Curraha turned in their best display of the 2006 JFC when defeating Longwood, semi-finalists in each of the last two campaigns, by 3-11 to 1-14 at Kilmainham. Ian McManus again top scored with 1-6 and Locky Keogh and substitute Darren Weldon also found the net. That was followed by a concluding 1-8 to 0-6 win over Navan O'Mahonys at Skryne with Ian McManus once more well on form, again contributing 1-6. Other results in the seventh round meant that they missed out on a place in the closing stages but the players could feel pleased at the fine recovery after a disappointing start. In five years Wolfe Tones have climbed up from being JFC beaten finalists to SFC winners while the team which left them disappointed in 2001 are struggling two grades lower. It is interesting to note that the five JFC winners between 1997 and 2001 were all soon relegated from the intermediate ranks. Former club chairman Cormac Keogh was manage of the team for the first year and can be pleased with the modest success. Dublin-native Greg Walsh, who lives in the parish, was coach and selector while Joe Doyle doubled as a player and selector. Players like Stephen Morgan, the 2006 captain, Noel Keogh, Seamus Dardis, Paul Hetherton and Ian McManus, who were all there for 2001 glory year, provided the experience for the latest success. McManus was part of Meath's Leinster junior victory last summer and Sean Mallon was on the Royal County provincial winning minor squad. Although Curraha is one of the smallest clubs in Meath, they can take pride in the achievements of their players. Long-serving secretary Michael Kelly pointed out that there are only 228 houses in the parish and a total of 750 people. "There are clubs all around us - like Skryne, Duleek, St Vincent's, Ratoath and Seneschalstown. It can be very difficult to hold on to players, especially the better ones," said Kelly. John McDermott was the most notable export in recent years. Michael Kelly is one of the busiest workers on behalf of the GAA in Meath. Originally from Santry, he arrived in Curraha in 1983 and was secretary from that year to 2004. Then after a year out of the position, he was back in it this year. He is also a member of the county disciplinary committee, a regular steward at Pairc Tailteann and one of referee Seamus McCormack's panel of umpires. "It was good to get back up to Division 4 in the league after being relegated the previous year. We weren't far away from qualifying for the knockout stages of the JFC and hopefully progress can be made in that as well as giving good account of ourselves in the higher division of the league," said the club secretary. Joe McDermott Park is Curraha's home but according to Kelly, a big development plan is round the corner. "We need more ground for pitches, at the moment we have a second pitch which was given to us by Snail Box proprietor Philip Foster," he said. "We have a number of sponsors with Largo Food who make Perri Crisps the main benefactors," added the secretary. Curraha will be hoping to serve up some crisp football in 2007 and if they do, they could make a stronger challenge for another JFC title. Minor review Under 15 Our under 15 team are doing very well this year and to date are unbeaten, and have secured a place in the semi-finals of Division 2. This year the team are under the guidance of Tony McEntee and Tony Dowling of Curraha and Frank McNulty and Ambrose O'Sullivan of St. Vincent's. Under 16 It was another great year for our under 16 team winning the Division 3A competition against the backdrop of the bitter disappointment of the 2005 final. The final against Dunsany in Ratoath saw a great display of young football by both teams and the game was played in great spirit. This team had both championship and league wins under their belts at under 12 and 14. All the players trained hard under the guidance of Pat Coyle and Ambrose O'Sullivan and produced tremendous football for the final. Selection for man of the match proved very difficult for Declan McCann (sponsor of the prize) with the decision going to Stephen Carey. Goalkeeper Anthony Dowling produced some fantastic saves and along with a captains role from Mark Battersby and tremendous display by Donal McCarty and Niall McKenna the Curraha/St Vincent's team lifted the cup. Minor A poor start to the year by their own standards saw the minor team knocked out by Na Fianna in the league. However, this team has bounced back and at the time of writing were in the semi-finals of the championship. Unfortunately at the end of the season this team is broken up with the respective players returning to their senior clubs. County players Curraha has yet again produced some fantastic county players for all age groups from 14 to minor. Sean Mallon carried the club name to great distinction with his part in the Meath minor team who reached the All-Ireland semi-finals against the subsequent winners Roscommon. Mark Battersby is flying the flag on the U16 Meath team which beaten both Kildare and Dublin in the Leinster FT. Kevin Mallon along with Anthony Dowling and David Coyle played under 15 while Phelim Dowling played his part in the U14's. Curraha Juveniles Another busy year for the kids from Curraha, the headlines:- - U14s go points crazy on their way to championship semi final - U13s shock some big guns in Division 3 - U10s take the trophy home from Laytown - U8s are the clubs top trainers in 2006 - arrival of modern training equipment from Lifestyle Sports - Liam Hogan and Patrick Coyle qualify as Juvenile referees The U8s and U10s are the foundation of our club, and we are delighted to report on the progress made by these children. Their devotion to the coaching sessions run by Pat Moriarty and his team of Paul O'Connor, Niamh Mooney and Tomás Keogh is really bearing fruit with the U8s and U10s holding their own with some very surprising company. The continued high attendance throughout the year is testament to the high standard of coaching being delivered by Pat and his team. Congratulations to Patrick and Liam who delivered a very high standard of refereeing in the games played at these age groups. The juvenile section has really benefited from the equipment provided by Tony McEntee of Lifestyle Sports. It has allowed the U12/14 coaches, Gerry Collins, Ciaran McLarnon and Tony to vary the training from week to week. Our U14s endured a tough time in the Division 3 League, however they still managed to be very competitive in all of their matches. They were a different proposition in the championship, dispatching Oldcastle, and then Syddan in some style, notching up 7-39 over the two matches only to fall at the semi-final stage to a very good Ballinlough outfit. We had only five players at the right age, Phelim Dowling, Ruairi McEntee, Liam Hogan, Patrick Coyle and Sean Laffey. All five attended the Meath county development squad and manager Dermot Rooney commented that although we had only five players at the age, "they are five real good ones". The U13s were all "battle hardened" during the U14 campaign and despite several key players being unavailable for the first three matches, Curraha turned in magnificent performances in beating Gaeil Colmcille, Carnaross and Drumcondrath/Meath Hill and narrowly missed out on a semi final spot going down to Oldcastle in a play-off. The key players at this age group were Ciaran O'Hanrahan, Aaron McDonnell, Jack Hogan, Ultan Henson, Clodagh Laffey and Neil Shortall. Neil, Ciaran and Aaron are part of the Meath development squad for this age group. Fielding only four players at the right age for U12, Curraha again proved extremely competitive and were really unlucky to lose to St Pat's by a single point in Division 3. Conleth McLarnon, Danny Battersby, and Seamus Hogan all took part in the Meath Development training over the summer. Other key players on this team were Cathy Collins, John Mangan, James McEntee, David Toner, Evan McGovern, Donal McDermott and Gary O'Brien. This team really benefited from the extra matches provided by the Fair Play League during the summer, and we want to thank county secretary Peter O'Halloran for persevering with this innovation. Congratulations to Clodagh Laffey and Lauren Canavan on winning county U14 camogie medals. Also to Conleth McLarnon and Seamus Hogan on representing the Meath U12 hurlers in Kilkenny during the summer, and to Aaron McDonnell and Ciaran O'Hanrahan who represented the U13s in Laois. Match reports, results, fixtures, and photographs all found on our web site at www.currahagfc.com The last word goes to our two schools, Cushinstown NS and Curragha NS and to the work being done in developing the football and hurling skills of the children in the area. Thanks to Pat Dunphy and Chris Cowley for their efforts in this regard. At the time of writing, Curraha are preparing for a Cumann na mBunscoil football semi-final against Boyerstown. Curraha GAA wish them well. Congratulations to Orla McDonnell, Clodagh Laffey and Lauren Canavan on winning county u14 camogie medals. Also to Conleth McLarnon and Seamus Hogan on representing the Meath u12 hurlers in Kilkenny during the summer, and to Aaron McDonnell and Ciaran O'Hanrahan who represented the u13s in Laois. Tweet

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