After going close to reaching the decider the previous year, Kiltale endured a difficult 2006 Senior Hurling Championship campaign and instead of challenging for the Jubilee Cup they diced with death for much of the campaign. It was only when they drew with Kildalkey in the final round of group matches that they knew for certain they would hold onto their top grade status. It was all so different in the 2005 championship when Kiltale emerged from their section and then lost narrowly to Kildalkey at the semi-final stage. Not reaching the final represented a big disappointment for a club that has to look all the way back to 1983 for its last SHC triumph, but that was a very promising campaign and they could justifiably look forward to this year's competition with high hopes. Kiltale, managed by one of the finest hurlers ever to represent club and county, Paddy Kelly, were drawn in Group A along with Clann na nGael, who were to struggle and end up pointless at the bottom of the division, the previous year's beaten finalists Kildalkey, reigning champions Killyon, Kilmessan, who have been the dominant force in Meath hurling in recent times, and Navan O'Mahonys. It had all the appearances of a very tough and competitive section and when Kiltale headed out on the championship adventure with an opening round match against O'Mahonys at Kilmessan they were mindful of the importance of a positive start to get a couple of precious points in the bag and give themselves a confidence boost. However, the game brought one of two narrow defeats for Kiltale in the group as the men from Brews Hill won by two points on a 1-10 to 0-11 score line in a match that turned into something of a shootout between two of the top marksmen in Royal County hurling - Kiltale's Peter Durnin and O'Mahonys' Ciaran Dunphy. Both players scored nine points for their teams, but in the end it was the only goal of the tie that proved most significant for the town side. But things looked quite good for Kiltale in the first half as they recovered from a slow start to move into a double scores (0-8 to 0-4) half-time advantage. Durnin scored six points while aided by the wind in that period, but O'Mahonys battled back in the second half and the goal they had been threatening to get arrived 11 minutes from the end of normal time when highly influential substitute Derek Loughran netted. They enjoyed the better of the exchanges from there to the finish to shade the verdict. When Kiltale made the short journey to Trim for a second round outing against champions Killyon they were more than aware of the importance of the fixture. A victory would reignite their challenge to make it to the business end of the title race, but a defeat would do the very opposite and plunge them into relegation trouble at an early stage of the championship. Killyon were in the same position after also losing first time out. The end result was another narrow defeat on an identical score line to that against O'Mahonys (0-11 to 1-10). Killyon moved into a 0-7 to 0-6 interval lead, but PJ Walsh levelled for Kiltale on the restart. However, the crucial goal went to the Hill of Down side when Calvin Ryan netted early in the final quarter and that was sufficient to propel them to victory. Kilmessan were shaping very well in the early stages of the championship and they maintained their impressive form in the third round at Trim when they scored a runaway 3-11 to 1-2 victory over Kiltale to leave the losers pointless at the bottom of the table along with Clann na nGael. That made the fourth round match between the struggling sides at Kildalkey vitally important in terms of survival and Kiltale secured their only win of the group campaign when they scored by the minimum margin (0-14 to 1-10) to give themselves a serious chance of avoiding a battle against the drop. Durnin scored eight points over the hour and his accuracy helped Kiltale to a 0-9 to 0-5 interval advantage. The lead extended to 0-12 to 0-5 early in the second half and Kiltale were looking good, but Clann na nGael battled back and scored five points in quick succession to get within two. But points from Paul Garvey and Willie Byrne settled Kiltale again, before Clann na nGael replied with a goal that was nothing more than a consolation score that came too late to matter. Kiltale knew a draw would be enough from their final group outing against Kildalkey to be sure of avoiding a relegation play-off and that's exactly how it turned out as it finished Kiltale 1-14, Kildalkey 2-11 at Longwood. The draw was also enough to secure Kildalkey another semi-final place, but it looked as if Kiltale would earn their second win of the campaign when they opened up a three-point lead early on with scores from Philip Garvey, Durnin, who scored 1-8 overall, and Willie Byrne and then pushed into a 1-9 to 0-7 interval advantage. A highlight of that period was a brilliant goal from Durnin who again proved his importance to the team. Durnin stretched the lead with a point after the change of ends, but Kildalkey hit back with a brace of goals and they helped them to push three points clear. However, Kiltale responded well to the challenge and two points from Durnin and one by substitute Eddie Potterton earned them a share of the spoils. At the final whistle Kiltale knew they were safe, but as it transpired they would have survived if they had lost as Clann na nGael were beaten by O'Mahonys in their last group game and finished pointless at the bottom. UNDER-AGE GLORY Kiltale demonstrated just how much work they are doing at under-age level when they won the Under-13 and Under-14 Hurling Championships this year. There was plenty of young Kiltale talent on show when they won the under-13 crown at Kilmessan, beating Trim by 1-10 to 1-8 after extra-time in the final. With Cillian O'Sullivan helping himself to 1-3, Kiltale moved into a strong position at the interval, but the town side took over after the change of ends and looked likely to take the title when they led by a point with the end of normal time approaching. However, up popped Kiltale captain James Kelly to slot over a spectacular point and force the game to extra-time (1-7 each). And it was Kiltale who did the brunt of the scoring in the added time as they notched three further points to win by two. Jack Regan, Cathal McCabe, Kelly, Sean Burke, Fergal McCabe and O'Sullivan, who finished with a personal tally of 1-5, were particularly impressive for Kiltale. The Kiltale team in the final was - D. Curran; T. Forde, S. Browne, J. Regan; A. Forde, N. Harper, C. Reilly; J. Kelly (0-4), S. Burke (0-1); D. Brennan, R. Fagan, C. Egan; F. McCabe, P. O'Sullivan, C. O'Sullivan (1-5). Subs - C. McCabe for P. O'Sullivan, C. O'Malley for Harper, E. Ryan for Egan, K. Ryan for Fagan. The thrill of that triumph had barely set in when Kiltale beat neighbours Kilmessan by 1-7 to 1-3 in the final to clinch the Under-14 Championship. Kiltale made a very promising start and a goal from top-scorer Cillian O'Sullivan, a son of former Walterstown and Meath footballer Frank, boosted them to a 1-3 to 0-0 advantage. Kilmessan recovered and were only three points (1-1 to 1-4) in arrears at the interval, but Kiltale shaded the second period by 0-3 to 0-2 to win by four points and make it a wonderful under-13 and 14 double for the club. William Harnan, a son of former Meath football defender Liam, captained the team from centre half-forward and contributed a point in the final. The Kiltale team in the final was - T. Regan; S. Browne, S. Dunleavy, C. McCabe; T. Forde, C. Garvey, A. Forde; T. Mahady, S. Burke; D. Brennan (0-1), W. Harnan (0-1), J. Kelly (0-1); N. Madden, S. Egan, C. O'Sullivan (1-4). Subs - S. Masterson, Helen Lawless, Stephanie Thompson, D. Duffy, C. O'Malley, C. Egan, J. Regan, F. McCabe. It was a double triumph that brought an enormous amount of satisfaction to Kiltale and was reward for a huge amount of dedicated work in the club. "Winning the Under-13 and 14 Championships was a great boost and we would hope to give the minor a real go too," said Paddy Kelly. "Without doubt there is a lot of good work being done at under-age level in Kiltale. It's just great to see it paying off like this. "We won the Minor A Championship last year and were beaten in the Under-13A and Under-16A finals. We reached last year's Under-21 final which was played this year and lost to Dunboyne. We will have much the same team this year, so we would have to be hopeful there. Overall, we would have to be very hopeful for the future. It looks bright. "It was a great week or so winning the under-13 and 14 finals. There's a lot to look forward to because the under-13s will represent Meath in the under-14 Feile next year." UNDER-21s GO CLOSE The immediate future for Kiltale looked very bright indeed when they defeated neighbours Kilmessan in a very entertaining 2005 Under-21 HC semi-final during the summer and though they lost the final to Dunboyne, who were retaining that particular trophy, the achievement in reaching the decider was highly encouraging with the future in mind. Dunboyne looked set for a comfortable final victory when they led by 1-7 to 0-4 at the interval at Trim, but with Durnin proving a constant threat a Kiltale comeback couldn't be ruled out completely. He contributed eight points to the cause, but Kiltale failed to get the goal they so badly needed and the St. Peter's lads were four points clear at the finish as it ended 1-10 to 0-9. The Kiltale team in the final was - S. McGann; I. Douglas, D. Donoghue, A. Donnelly; TJ Lynch, P. Donoghue, W. Mahady; Paul Garvey, A. Brien; P. Durnin (0-8), P. Rispin, T. Kane; J. Weldon (0-1), S. Kennedy, Philip Garvey. Subs - S. Ryan for Kennedy, P. Mahady for Brien. Tweet

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