When Clann na nGael captured the Meath JFC title on the first Sunday of October last, the success was only the third for a team from the Athboy parish. Fifty years earlier the name Athboy went on the championship roll of honour and in 1969 Martinstown won outright honours. The area has had much more hurling triumphs than victories in the big ball game down the decades and the Clann na nGael club has been in operation since 2003 when Athboy and An Gaeltacht from Rath Cairn amalgamated. There was a strong Seneschalstown influence in the annexation of the Matthew Ginnity Cup with Graham Geraghty, who had been living in the area throwing his lot with the locals after giving such sterling service to the Yellow Furze club since his underage years in the '80s. When Seneschalstown gained SFC honours in 1994 Geraghty was one of the top players along with captain Padraig Coyle. Thirteen years down the road the pair shared in another county success with manager Coyle guiding them to the title and the presence of Geraghty on the pitch being a critical factor. The long-serving Meath player was reunited with another veteran, Tom Hanley, the pair having been on the Meath minor and under 21 teams which tasted All-Ireland glory in 1990 and 1993. Another playing survivor from those successes, Cathal Sheridan, was in opposition in the 2007 JFC decider when Clann na nGael just got the better of Moynalvey, by 1-7 to 1-6, in an encounter that never reached its potential for the Pairc Tailteann neutrals. Clann na nGael had won seven games and lost one (to Longwood) on the way to the decider. The campaign began with a 1-10 to 0-7 win over Boardsmill at Kildalkey and while there was six points between the sides at the finish, the winners could not relax until Michael Priest netted the goal in the last seconds. The Athboy side led by 0-7 to 0-4 at the break and were forced to switch Graham Geraghty from full forward to midfield. Joe McDonagh showed up well in attack with a contribution of four points. 'Clann na nGael recover for a crucial victory' was one newspaper heading following the 0-11 to 0-8 success over Moylagh in a Tuesday evening tussle in Kilskyre. The match report was spot on in suggesting that, while there was a long way to go in the title race, Padraig Coyle's men were starting to get on a roll with a second successive win. They trailed by 0-4 to 0-6 at the break but Geraghty was again moved out the pitch and his side began to function better. Netminder Paul Flood made a number of crucial saves and points from Gary Woods and Priest in the closing stages ensured a second success. Priest took the scoring honours with six points. It was three wins from as many outings when St Mary's were overcome by 0-13 to 0-7 in a Friday evening clash at Kilberry. It was 0-7 to 0-3 in favour of Clann na nGael at the break and Woods pointed five times for the winners with Graham Geraghty getting on target twice. Curraha did not present the men from Athboy many problems in the fourth round encounter at Dunsany with 2-15 to 1-3 being the final score and the poor losers only managing one score, their goal in the second half, from play. Ciaran Smith and Geraghty grabbed the winners' goals and Woods put over seven points. On the Tuesday evening that Graham Geraghty returned to the Meath squad following his controversial spell in exile, his club side went down to their only JFC defeat of the campaign when Longwood defeated them by 0-12 to 1-6 at Pairc Tailteann. Geraghty shot four points but his side was wasteful in the first half they hit eight wides and were on level terms (0-3 each) at the break. Ciaran Smith's goal early in the second half pushed them into a three points defeat and even though Gavin Browne and Jamie Shaw also showed up well, they finished up on the wrong end of the final scores. Clann na nGael got back on the title trail with a 2-22 to 0-3 demolition of Drumree at Summerhill. Even though not figuring among the winners' eight scorers, Graham Geraghty was still an inspiring force. Ciaran Smith was the top scorer with 1-4, Joe McDonagh got six points and Benny Murray netted the other goal. Meath Hill provided stiffer opposition in the quarter-final at Simonstown which finished 0-11 to 0-7 after the eventual winners led by 0-7 to 0-2 at the break. Michael Priest, Joe McDonagh sent over three points each and. Mattie Mullen, Brian Duffy and Tomas Carrigy also impressed. Clann na nGael had to battle hard for their 0-12 to 1-6 semi-final success over St Brigid's at Kilskyre with points from Jamie Shaw, Shane McAnarney and Gary Woods in the last five minutes giving them the three points margin. There was not much between the sides throughout and after Coyle's charges went two points in arrears in the early stages, they got themselves more into the game to lead by 0-5 to 0-3 at the break. The winning total was shared by seven players, six of them putting over one point and Gary Woods kicking six. Clann na nGael were slow starters in the final, taking 13 minutes to get on the board with influential midfielder Michael Priest raising their first flag. However, the picture was not looking bright for them when they trailed by 0-1 to 1-4 after 23 minutes. They had conceded the goal on the quarter hour mark. However, the Athboy outfit got a turn of good luck after 25 minutes when a speculative dropping ball from Priest was helped over the line by Moynalvey netminder Ollie Regan. With Gary Woods slotting over the first of his four converted frees, the deficit was down to two points (1-2 to 1-4) at the break. Eight minutes after the restart Clann na nGael were on level terms. Geraghty punched a delivery from Ciaran Smith over the bar and then Woods equalised. Although Cathal Sheridan edged Moynalvey back ahead, their opponents were gaining the upper hand. After Woods left them all square again, Smith came close to finding the net when punching a ball sent in by Geraghty against the bar. Clann na nGael went into the lead for the first time on 50 minutes when the county forward was fouled and Woods made it 1-6 to 1-5 When Sheridan pointed from play in the next attack suspicions were growing that the sides would have to do it all again. But then Priest struck a good score from the left which turned out to be a winner. Although listed at full back, Tom Hanley was operating around midfield and played big part in the success. So did team captain Shane McAnarney at centre back and Priest at centrefield. Geraghty had a quiet enough final although he was the winners' only forward to score from play. After the final whistle both Padraig Coyle and Shane McAnarney were both keen to pay tribute to former managers Mattie McCabe and Mick Mellett with the pair having laid a good bit of the ground work for the triumph. McCabe, a former playing colleague with Coyle and Geraghty, had been with Athboy in the early part of the decade and Mellett, a speedy wing forward on Meath's All-Ireland winning team of 1967, was in charge of the Clanns last year. Coyle also gave warm praise to the experienced trio of Geraghty, Hanley and Benny Murray, who was in his first year with the club, after soldiering for so long with his native Trim. While acknowledging that the final was not an exciting spectacle, the winning manager said: "We didn't perform to our best but we got a lucky goal and then did better in the second half to get the right result." McAnarney praised the efforts of the two former Seneschalstown players, saying of Coyle, "he drilled into us never to give in." About Geraghty, the captain remarked, "he was a great asset to us, he brings a different dimension to the team, it's great to have him and he has worked wonders for the team this year." The Clann na nGael team, which won the 2007 Lynch's Pharmacy JFC was : Paul Flood; Matthew Mullen, Tom Hanley, Anthony Farrell; Tomas Carrigy; Shane McAnarney, Brian Duffy; Jamie Shaw, Michael Priest; Joe McDonagh, Graham Geraghty, Gary Woods; Ciaran Smith, Mikey Timmons, Benny Murray. Subs - Darren Kelly for Duffy, Anthony Farrell for Timmons. Also on panel were - Darren Griffin, Alan Brown, Gavin Brown, John Sheehan, Paul Ennis, Brian McGovern, Alan Healy, Stiofan Mellett. Manager - Padraig Coyle; selectors - Brian O'Connor, Sean Carrigy, Padraig Joyce. Clann na nGael also took the B FL Division 5 title with a 2-11 to 0-8 final victory over Gaeil Colmcille at Dunderry. Boosted by goals from Damien Tuite and John Sheehan, they led by 2-8 to 0-4 at the break. Brian Quirke and David Williams were in impressive form at midfield and Paul Ennis shot five points. The winning team was : D. O Griofa; S O Mealoid, F. Fagan, P. Seoighe; A. Farrell, A. Healy, B. Quirke, D. Williams; B. Duffy; K. Kelly, P. Ennis, J. Sheehan; D. Tuite, M. Timmons, J. Daly. Subs - D. Kelly for Quirke, D. Molloy for Timmons, T. Wallace for Tuite, C. Quinn for Sheehan. mmeath Clann na nGael hurlers back with the big boys After being well used to feasting at the top table of Meath hurling for a number of decades, caman swingers from Athboy have endured mixed fortunes in recent years but they will be back among the big boys in 2008 after the IHC title went to the parish for the third time in seven years. Athboy gained the Tommy Kane Cup in 2001 and on the last Sunday of October last Clann na nGael took the title for the second time in three years with a final victory over Gaeil Colmcille at Pairc Tailteann in a game which was the curtain-raiser to the SHC decider. Athboy are in third place on the Meath SHC roll of honour below Kilmessan and Trim with nine titles but have not lifted the Jubilee Cup since 1972. The 1920s was a very good period for them as they took SHC honours four times in that decade, in 1924, '26, '28 and '29. After that the title was not annexed again until 1966 and the fine team of that era went on to win out three years in succession. A number of fine hurlers wore the green jerseys around that time and the1970 and '72 titles were added. The1972 final was not played until the spring of the following year with Kilmessan being defeated in an exciting encounter at Pairc Tailteann. But then as Boardsmill, Kilmessan, Killyon, Kiltale and Navan O'Mahonys enjoyed seasons in the sun and Trim got back to the top of the tree after 27 years, Athboy became one of the annual also rans. After being relegated from senior ranks in 2006, Clann na nGael brought in a new manager, Westmeath man Frank Aughey from Turin, who took over from Eddie Priest, with Brendan Fitzsimons and Christopher Leavy the selectors. Seven teams took part in the IHC with all of them meeting each before the top four advanced to the semi-finals. In the group stages Clann na nGael lost in their first and last outings but the four wins in between enabled them to advance to the last four. As well as the locals, Clann Na nGael had two players from strong hurling counties in full back Pat Shore from Kilkenny and centre forward Gearoid Breathnach from Waterford. Also Benny Murray, who had won eight SHC medals with Trim, transferred to the club. But they got off to a losing start with neighbours Dunderry defeating them by 2-9 to 0-7 at Kildalkey. Dunderry had been beaten by Donaghmore/Ashbourne in the opening round in which Clann na nGael were idle but after the sides were level (0-5 each) at the break, two goals in the second half meant woe for Aughey's charges. But they recovered from that early setback to go on a bit of a winning streak. That started at Kilskyre with a 3-10 to 2-7 win over Gaeil Colmcille. They did not know that day that the sides would meet in the final a few months later. The Clanns led by 1-7 to 0-4 at the break in that game. They were back in Kildalkey for their third round test and chalked up their second win when outpointing Longwood by 0-13 to 0-11. The Athboy side held a narrow 0-6 to 0-5 lead at the interval and after going into a double scores 0-10 to 0-5 advantage in the second period, they held out for another two points with Benny Murray raising the white flag six times. That was followed by a 1-9 to 0-6 success over Wolfe Tones, who were subsequently relegated to the junior ranks. The winning run was taken another stage further with a 2-6 to 1-7 win over Kilskyre at Kildalkey with Barry Doherty and Barry Higgins netting the goals. That win put Clann na nGael into the last four although their subsequent 0-4 to 3-14 defeat by Donaghmore/Ashbourne not make good reading for them; they recovered to win the two games in the home straight. Donaghmore/Ashbourne were favourites for outright honours but they fell to Gaeil Colmcille at the semi-final stage. Clann na nGael's IHC semi-final and final were quite contrasting contests with 31 scores being registered in the penultimate round tie and just 10 in the decider. The semi-final tussle was between the previous two teams to be relegated from senior ranks and the Athboy side got the better of Longwood by 2-16 to 2-11. Although there was no shortage of scores in the Pairc Tailteann clash which followed the two SHC semi-finals, the Athboy side were generally in control after starting better than their opponents and were able to respond with scores whenever their superiority was threatened. With Barry Doherty, Benny Murray and Trevor Matthews prominent in attack, .they led by 0-8 to 0-3 after 21 minutes. But then a long ball from Longwood midfielder Karl Ennis deceived 'keeper Vinny Doyle for a goal which left only the minimum margin (0-9 to 1-5) in it at the break. Michael Burke had the sides level for the first time immediately after the restart but six minutes into the second period Clann na nGael netted their first goal with Barry Doherty the scorer following good work by Gearoid Breathnach. Michael Healy had the sides level from a free for the third and final time towards the end of the third quarter. However, that was quickly replied to with Breatnach shooting over the bar and then substitute David Geraghty belted the sliothar to the net after a scoring attempt by Barry Higgins was blocked down. There was a goal between the sides before Clann na nGael finished the stronger with late points from centre back Gary Mangan and Doherty leaving five between the sides when Martin Bartley blew the final whistle. Scores were much scarcer in the final played in unpleasant conditions with Clann na nGael outpointing their Kells opponents by 0-6 to 0-4 in a game in which the losers did not trouble the men with the flags in the second period after leading by 0-4 to 0-2 at the break. The conditions were wet and windy, especially during the first half, and while the respective defences did well, it was a poor match. But the Athboy club hardly minded too much as they secured their place back in the top ranks. Only four of the 10 scores were sent over from play with Benny Murray hitting four points, three off frees, for the winners. The 'man of the match' award went to Clann na nGael goalkeeper Vinny Doyle who brought one a few crucial saves, notably one from Niall Flanagan early in the second half. With central defenders Pat Shore and Gary Mangan solid and Darren Heaney and Matthew Mullen showing up well at midfield, Clann na nGael had the better of the second period. They hit over their first score from play nine minutes after the restart with Gearoid Breathnach reducing the deficit following a pass from Trevor Matthews. Then converted frees by Murray drew them level and edged them into the lead. There was only one score in the last quarter and came near the hour mark with Barry Higgins shooting over. Around that time at the other end corner back Andrew McCormack did well to thwart a goal attempt by Charlie Usher. Next year the big task for Clann na nGael will be to do better in senior ranks and after gaining promotion again, manager Frank Aughey stressed the need to cement their place in the higher grade. "While it's great to win they can't continue going up and back down," he said. "With Clann na nGael going out at the semi-final stage, some people thought it was a foregone conclusion but we certainly were not of that opinion," remarked Aughey who felt the rainy conditions did not suit his players who struggled in the opening 20 minutes. The winning manager said he had 76 training sessions and no fewer than 36 matches since taking charge of the team. "You can't expect to get the right results if you don't put in the work. Hopefully the team can do better in the senior grade next year but they will have to be prepared to work hard in order to achieve that," he said. Benny Murray was delighted to be back in the winners' enclosure after so many hurling successes with his native Trim. Regarding the step back up to senior level, he remarked, "you'd hope to hold your own and win a few games but there is a big difference in the pace, it's a totally different level." The Clann na nGael team which won the 2007 IHC final was: Vinny Doyle; Paul Daly, Pat Shore, Andrew McCormack; Mark Geraghty, Gary Mangan, Gary Woods; Darren Heaney, Matthew Mullen; Paddy Geraghty, Gearoid Breathnach, Barry Higgins; Trevor Matthews, Barry Doherty, Benny Murray. Subs- David Geraghty for Doherty, David Wright for Paddy Geraghty. Also on the winning panel were: Paddy Foy, Brian McGovern, Darren Shaw, Sean Fitzsimons, Bernard Heaney, Padraig McDonagh, David Magee. That success completed a notable winning double, coming three weeks after the JFC triumph, and Matthew Mullen, Gary Woods and Benny Murray were on both winning teams. Tweet

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