Forty years ago this year, Killallon competed in the junior 'A' football championship final against Summerhill and although the men from North Meath were unfortunately beaten on that faithful day in October, the club marked the 40th anniversary of the match with a function held in The Old Darnley Lodge Hotel. Killallon have just completed their second year since being re-established for the first time since the early eighties. However the club are steeped in tradition and were a major force to be reckoned with during the sixties and early seventies and Club Secretary Chris Geraghty believes the club will once again be as strong. The club has been represented at county level with the Fagan brothers Jack and Jimmy lining out for the Royals at various stages and were part of the side that reached the All-Ireland final the same year, along with Tom Muldoon, who also donned the colours of neighbouring club Ballinlough for many years. Having made their way to the junior final, Killallon went into the match as underdogs against a very experienced Summerhill side that included a young man called Mattie Kerrigan, who we all know went on to represent Meath for many years to come. The final itself was fixed for Sunday, October 15th in Athboy and a large crowd turned out to witness an entertaining contest, between two sides desperate for success. The North Meath side made a terrific start to the match and were the first to score when the dynamic Jack Fagan pointed from play after good work by his midfield partner Pat Carroll. Summerhill replied soon after and edged in front with their second point of the match; however this was to be the last score of the half as both defences came out on top. For Killallon Sean Smith was steady in goals, while in front of him Tom Muldoon showed all his experience when thwarting a number of Summerhill attacks. A youthful Seamus Renehan was a rock at corner back, while Tommy Geraghty held the defence together from the centre back position. At half time the game was still very much there for the taking, although Killallon will have rued a number of missed chances during the opening 30 minutes, which would eventually cost them dearly in this final. The second half saw Summerhill get a grip on the match and although they began to pull away from their opponents, there was no way that Killallon were going to give up this game without a fight. Muldoon was brought out to midfield to try and stop the influence of Kerrigan in the middle of the park and this had an effect on the pattern of play as the Killallon forwards saw a lot more of the ball following the switch. Some flowing moves involving Jack Fagan, Joe Clinton and Jimmy Fagan yielded some real good scoring chances, but whether it was a case of nerves or just misfortune, the Killallon forwards had not got their shoot boots on that day. However, they did manage one more score when substitute Padraig Geraghty fired over a point midway through the half to give them a small glimmer of hope. As Summerhill made sure of their chances, it was frustrating for their opponents' supporters to see their team waste so many glorious opportunities, but alas it was not to be as Kerrigan and his teammates ran out winners on a scoreline of 0-11 to 0-2. The scoreline certainly does not reflect how close the match really was as if Killallon had taken their chances, a first junior title would certainly have been heading North. Nonetheless, Killallon won a lot of support that day due to the way they played the match in such a good sporting manner and for the fighting spirit they showed throughout the match, even when Summerhill began to pull away. On the day, players like Sean Smith, Seamus Renehan, Tom Muldoon, Tom Briody, Tommy Geraghty, Jack Fagan and Jimmy Fagan battled hard throughout the match. For the record the Killallon starting XV that day was: S Smith; C Clinton, T Muldoon, S Renehan; T Briody, T Geraghty, V Shea; Jack Fagan, P Carroll, T Fagan, Jimmy Fagan, J Clinton, N Reilly, M Corcoran, J Smith. There was no finals reached in 2006, but Killallon did show a marked improvement in their performances, especially in the championship, where it could be said that maybe they should have done better. Last year, the club secured one victory in the championship and that came against Drumbaragh and this year they repeated that result against the same opposition. "We had high hopes of reaching the knockout stages this year, but a number of injuries to key players really hampered our progress," said Chris. "We have a panel of 21 or 22 and to lose five players during the year was a big blow and that left the lads very disheartened and we had to try and get it through to them that they were still good enough to go through. "We were five points up against Moylagh at half time, but James Beggan had to go off after he broke some teeth and we never recovered from that," added Chris. Having narrowly lost to Moylagh in their opening match by three points, gave the side a renewed confidence and hope that they were making progress and the performance against Drumbaragh went some way to compounding that fact. Terence Fagan and his cousin Seamus lead the way with exceptional performances, while midfielder Niall Geraghty really caught the eye with some magnificent fielding. At the back, Barry Reilly had to leave the fray early through injury, but Pa Baugh moved from the centre into the full back berth with considerable ease. The game could have went either way and when Geraghty was forced off through injury, which would subsequently end his year, it looked as if Killallon could lose their way, but the fact that these players have been together for two years means that they have built a strong bond and they showed great character to hold on for a five-point win, 1-11 to 0-9. The injury to Niall Geraghty and the long term loss of Philip Davis also through injury left Killallon going into their last match against St Brigid's understrength. And this was to prove fatal as the Ballinacree outfit ran out comfortable winners, but there were many positives for Killallon to take from their campaign. The fact that the only lost to Moylagh by three points was satisfying, and when they same side went on to win the junior 'D' championship, it left the Killallon players wondering what might have been. Even though they suffered the wooden spoon in the league, their performances compared to last year showed a marked improvement and Chris is confident that they can look ahead to next year with genuine optimism. "Most of the injured lads came back towards the end of the year and hopefully we can get an outside manager in, and build a solid squad for the new campaign, because the lads are already raring to go." Tweet

Most Read Stories