A real buzz in Curraha
November 30, 2007
After going close to reaching the business end of the Junior Football Championship last year Curraha probably had grounds for optimism as they prepared for the start of the battle for the Matthew Ginnity Cup in 2007.
They were quite consistent in 2006, winning three times in the championship, drawing once, losing twice and receiving one walk-over in their section, but unfortunately a tally of nine points just wasn't sufficient to enable them to emerge from their section as they missed out very narrowly on a place in the preliminary quarter-final behind third-placed Drumbaragh.
The All-County A League brought success and a trophy as they won Div. 5 in runaway fashion, finishing off the job with a final victory over Drumree at Dunshaughlin in the autumn, and were promoted to Div. 4 where the football is at least of a somewhat better standard. All in all, it had been a progressive campaign which appeared to offer them hope for '07.
However, that's not how it worked out in the championship campaign gone by as Curraha, who were coached earlier in the year by Greg Walsh and managed by Cormac Keogh, suffered damaging defeats in their opening four Junior Championship outings and that left them well and truly out of contention for a qualification place and with survival in the grade very must on their minds.
On a brighter note, however, they got off the mark in the fifth round when they edged out Drumree who they had earlier drawn with in the league.
Former county player Pat McManus, who guided Curraha to their memorable Junior Championship success in 2001, took over as coach during the campaign.
When the championship draws were made earlier in the year Curraha came out in Group A of the JFC and while it was a section that appeared to offer opportunities to pick up some points, it also looked quite tricky. The obvious big guns were Clann na nGael, who had been strengthened considerably by the arrival of one Graham Geraghty from Seneschalstown, and Longwood who had performed very well in 2006 when they reached the semi-finals and lost to champions to be St. Ultan's by only three points.
The group was completed by Boardsmill, Moylagh, who had lost to Dunsany in the '06 quarter-finals, St. Mary's and Drumree and when Curraha travelled to Bective to meet Moylagh in the opening round they must have entertained very realistic hopes of starting with a morale-boosting victory against the men from the north-west of the county.
However, it didn't turn out to be the start Curraha had hoped for as Moylagh won by 2-7 to 1-7 after leading by 1-4 to 0-3 at the interval. A goal from Dermot Weldon aided their cause in the second period, but Moylagh's second major 10 minutes from the end proved to be the decisive score.
St. Mary's had made a bright opening to the championship when drawing with Longwood and Curraha's meeting with them in the second round at Duleek represented a tough task which they weren't equal to. The concession of two goals in the first quarter left Curraha playing an unsuccessful game of catch-up and they trailed by 0-3 to 2-3 at the break. The teams shared eight points equally in the second period and Mary's were ahead by 2-7 to 0-7 at the end.
Longwood were next up for Curraha at Kiltale in what looked like a very tough assignment as they attempted to re-ignite their qualification hopes. The 'Wood led by 1-5 to 0-6 at the interval, but an Ian McManus goal early in the second half gave Curraha real hope, before the team in white just shaded the exchanges subsequently to win by the minimum (1-11 to 1-10).
Chris Bermingham, Noel Keogh and Simon McDermott played well for Curraha in an encouraging performance, but the grim reality as they came away from the Grange venue that day was that they still hadn't manage to secure a championship point after three outings.
The Curraha players got the opportunity to play football on the same pitch as the great Graham Geraghty when they met Clann na nGael in the fourth round at Dunsany and it was the high-flying Athboy-An Gaeltacht combination which emerged with an easy victory as Geraghty contributed 1-1 to a 2-15 to 1-3 success. Paul Tormey notched the losers' entire tally, with the goal being their only score from play.
After four straight defeats in the championship the alarm bells must have been starting to ring out at that stage, but Curraha responded with a victory when they travelled to Dunshaughlin to meet Drumree in a repeat of the previous year's A League Div. 5 decider at the same venue.
Things didn't look overly promising for Curraha when Drumree edged into a 0-3 to 0-0 advantage after 17 minutes, but they gradually settled and found their feet. The deficit was down to the minimum (0-3 to 0-4) at the change of ends and while they restricted the opposition to only three points in the second period, Curraha added six themselves to be ahead by 0-9 to 0-7 at the end. At last, they had a victory and reasons to be cheerful.
However, after the promise demonstrated in 2006 Curraha might have expected to challenge for a place in the Junior Championship knockout stages, rather that having to worry about holding onto their status as the competition progressed.
"It didn't quite happen for us this year," commented club PRO Frankie O'Connor as he reflected on the campaign. "Things went well last year when we won Div. 5 of the league and had a fairly good run in the championship. We were there or thereabouts in Div. 4 this year and were well up in the table until we suffered a couple of defeats.
"It is the same old story really. It tends to be hard to get players in the smaller clubs and we got only one new lad this year. Then there can be the problem during the summer with younger lads heading away. The reality is that when a small club loses players like that they are weakened.
"But we are lucky to have some very talented young players in our ranks. Sean Mallon was our captain this year. He is a very promising young player, a really good prospect for the future. Terry Hetherton is another very talented player, but unfortunately he picked up a shoulder injury earlier in the year and that set him back. But he will be back."
The 2007 campaign may not have worked out as well as Curraha might have hoped for, particularly in the championship, but they are eagerly looking forward to the future, both on and off the field of play.
"Next year we would be hoping to pull some of the younger lads into the junior set-up," O'Connor added. "And I would also be hopeful that we won't lose any players. The more experienced lads should still be there, like Noel Keogh, Ian McManus, Declan Hanley and Pat Moriarty, who actually retired but came back to play again."
Curraha have also taken further steps to promote the great sport of hurling. Their players have travelled over to nearby Ratoath to participate in the small ball code at under-age level and that continues to be the situation as far as under-12, 14 and 16 players are concerned.
Curraha are concentrating their efforts among the younger hurlers of the future and, as Frankie O'Connor pointed out, "great work is being done with these players." In the future the club will obviously hope to be in a position to field teams in the various under-age grades independently.
It is tremendous to see clubs with no great tradition of hurling down the years doing their bit to promote the sport, but being a dual club creates its own problems as far as providing pitches for training and matches. With this in mind, Curraha are looking ahead with a view to being able to cater for the greater demand on their facilities.
"Morale is very good in the club," added O'Connor. "Off the pitch we are flying and plans are afoot for a new clubhouse and dressing rooms. We are stuck for room and because we have started hurling for juveniles we are under pressure because one pitch just isn't enough.
"But we are very grateful to Philip Foster of the Snail Box pub who kindly provided us with a temporary pitch which we have been able to use for training. Of course, the weather this year didn't help either. We are very hopeful of having another pitch in the future.
"We have a strong committee and there is a very good feeling in the club. On the pitch we need to consolidate our position in Div. 4 of the league and, hopefully, be able to challenge there. That is probably about our level at the moment."
Curraha are a club with their sights set firmly on the future - on and off the field of play.
Underage review
Curraha Under 8s
Much of the under 8 activity during 2007 was on the training pitch. We have had approximately 24 training sessions. Much of the work centred on the basic skills with some mini matches.
To test ourselves, we played near neighbours St Vincent's in a friendly and did really well. We also participated in the Seneschalstown Go Games Blitz in July where Curraha proved very strong in all four games played.
Under 8 Panel: Cormac Carey, Jamie Cleary, Ian Battersby, Niall Mclarnon, Andrew Moriarty, Jack O Connor, Anthony Doran, Aaron Kelly, Cullen McCarthy.
Under 10s
The under 10 footballers of Curraha have enjoyed a feast of football during 2007. The year began with indoor training at Cushinstown Athletic Club. Here the kids developed their ball handling and ball retention skills, which was very evident during our matches throughout the year.
Although the summer was unbelievable wet, which did impinge on our activity, we managed to play approximately 20 games. Our challengers included Kilbride, Duleek, Brú Na Boinne, Ratoath, Skryne, St Vincent's and St Colmcille's. Curraha performed very well against such opposition with some outstanding individual performances. However, all the players displayed great skill and teamwork beyond their years. This was most evident against Ratoath where brilliant team work lead Curraha to outscore there physically stronger opponents with some excellent passing and point taking.
Our under 10s also gave a great account of themselves at the U10 Go Games Blitz. We fielded two teams in the Seneschalstown blitz held on Saturday 7th July. Our opponents included Seneschalstown, Duleek and Colmcille's. Both our teams played four matches each winning six out of the eight games played. The final blitz at Colmcille's in August included three games again Curraha to the fore in all three.
Overall, the under 10s had a marvellous year; the most satisfying aspect was to see the massive development in terms of skill that all the kids have achieved during the year. Roll on 2008.
Under 10 Panel: Brian Murphy, Ciaran Phealan, Luke McCarthy, James Gibney, Graham Mcdermott, Stephen Mooney, Kevin Laffey, Shane Joyce, Donal McLarnon, Brandon McMahon, Conor Moriarty, Mark Nolan, Niall Murphy, Gavin McKane, Adam Whyte, Sean Keogh, Brain Joyce, Sam McSweeney, Mark Phealan, Andrew Battersby, Niall Mclarnon.
Curraha land U13 crown
Curraha edged out Ballinabrackey in a fantastic U13 FL Division 5a final which went down to the wire on a scoreline of 0-11 to 1-7.
Curraha started extremely well and raced into a 0-5 to 0-1 lead after 15 minutes with Danny Battersby, David Toner (2), James McEntee and Seamus Hogan all pointing from play. At this time, the Ballinabrackey attack were getting little change from the Curraha back six, with Conor Joyce and Conleth McLarnon handling things well at the centre of defence, while Donal McDermott and Niall Moriarty mopped up in the corners. During the last ten minutes of the half, the sides traded points, with Danny Battersby pointing two frees after great work from Oisin Carey and David Toner on the left wing. All of the backs, including wing backs Ailish Moriarty and Neil O'Dowd, were playing outstanding football, showing great discipline in the tackle and playing some super ball out of defence to the midfield area, this defensive resolution was the key to victory.
Ballinabrackey pressed hard at the start of the second half, and reduced the deficit to two points only for Sean O'Hanrahan and Andrew Coyle to combine on the right wing to setup James McEntee for an inspirational score from the touchline. James repeated the dose minutes later as he again cancelled out another Ballinabrackey point. With five minutes remaining, Ballinabrackey goaled to tie the match for the first time. This was rough justice on Curraha and particularly on keeper Risteard O'Connor-Brennan as he had been outstanding thus far. Credit to the kids from Curraha as they rose to the challenge. Conleth McLarnon broke up another attack and found Danny Battersby on the right, Danny lofted a high ball into John Mangan who fielded magnificently to feed Andrew Coyle who slotted over. The Curraha contingent in the large crowd raised a huge cheer at this passage of football. However, with two minutes remaining, the Ballinabrackey lads pointed again, and this time it was their followers who went into raptures. With time almost up, captain Seamus Hogan won possession and found James McEntee surging through the centre and with time almost up, James applied a cool finish to seal a famous victory for Curraha. There was no time for another Ballinabrackey fightback and Curraha were champions. Great credit to both teams for such an entertaining match.
Curraha:- Risteard O'Connor; Niall Moriarty, Conor Joyce, Donal McDermott; Ailish Moriarty, Conleth McLarnon, Neil O'Dowd; James McEntee(0-4), Seamus Hogan(0-1); Andrew Coyle(0-1), Danny Battersby(0-3), David Toner(0-2); Sean O'Hanrahan, John Mangan, Oisin Carey subs:- Jimmy Kelly for Carey, Jamie McClean for Kelly, Craig Doyle, Orna Henson.
Under 15
The under 15 team of Curraha/St Vincent's showed great form and at the time of going to press had reached the final of the competition having beaten Summerhill in the semi-final on a 1-12 to 1-7 scoreline.
This year the combination are well looked after by both Tony McEntee of Curraha and Frank McNulty of St. Vincent's.
The semi-final winning team was: Liam Hogan, Jack Hogan, Stephen Mc Nulty, Patrick Coyle, David Tallon, Vinnie Browne, Niall Shortall, Phelim Dowling, Tadgh Giles, Sean Laffey, Colm Hand, Shane Ryan, Ciaran o Hanrahan, Martin Fox, Ronan Watters
Under 16
This year's under 16's drew Division 1 after their great success in winning the U15 Division 2 title at the end of 2006. They competed very well at the premier level and were unlucky to go out on point difference with St. Martins. This ongoing underage success is a vindication of the great work going on in both clubs at this level.
Under 17
Unfortunately our under 17's failed to field a team on two occasions due to commitments by some players to rugby and soccer and we had no option but pull out of the competition. This problem was not unique to our club, where as other's were able to juggle the times we unfortunately were not.
Minor
A great year for the minor team again, having won the Division 4 championship last year we were moved to Division 3 this year. This group of lads were still smarting after their controversial defeat in the U16 final of 2005 and were determined to win the minor title.
The first game ended with a defeat at the hands of Oldcastle on a wet dreary evening in Kilskyre. The second match was against Moynalvey at home and a good win put us back on track. A draw against Blackfort Gaels in Carlanstown in our next outing was a good result for us. At home again for our next outing we took the scalp of Clann na Gael before our last game in the first round to Blackhall Gaels. Although we lost to Blackhall Gaels we had enough point to qualify for the semi-finals.
We met Clann na Gael in the semi and it turned out to be a very tough match which had to go to extra time. We won by two points in the end and this gave us great confidence going to the final.
We meet Blackhall Gaels on the 18th August in the final at Pairc Tailteann in a match that turned out to be nail biting for the mentors Pat Coyle, Tony Dowling and Pat Hand.
Blackhall got off to a good start before Curraha/St Vincent's clawed their way back. Curraha then went ahead with some great goals by David Coyle and Mark Battersby and tremendous play from all the team.
The last ten minutes of the match was dominated by Blackhall Gaels, but great work by our backs and great saves by Anthony Dowling left us lifting the cup by a margin of one point.
To use a well known catchphrase, although, Curraha are probably the smallest GAA club in county Meath, they probably have the highest participation ratio as nearly all children who are U14 in the area are involved within the club in some way.
One reason for the increased involvement was the formation of the juvenile hurling and camogie section in January of 2007. Throughout the year we have competed in several U8 and U10 competitions, but the highlight of the year was the performances in the U11 championship. Victories against Donaghmore/Ashbourne, Na Fianna and Blackhall Gaels ensured entry into the Division 1 knockout stages, where we gave Trim a real fright in the semi-final before going down to a couple of late goals.
A couple of things to note about this development within our club, is that the startup has been completely self financing, it has significantly increased the membership of the juvenile section, and has helped increase our club lotto takings which are the financial lifeblood of the entire club.
The hurling development has in no way impacted the continued success and development of our young footballers, who continued their progress of the last few years. Once again, participation is the name of the game with around 40 children taking part in coaching sessions each Friday evening. For a club the size of Curraha to consistently muster 40 children U12 is some achievement and all credit to Pat Moriarty and his coaching team of Paul O'Connor, Niamh Mooney, Padraic O'Dowd, Tómas Keogh and Raymond Toner.
For the second year in a row, our U14s reached the Division 2 championship semi-final. They defeated Seneschalstown and Inny Gaels before going down to eventual winners Dunderry in a classic at Wilkinstown. Congratulations to Ciarán O'Hanrahan and Neil Shortall for continuing our representation on county teams into 2007.
The u13 campaign is currently drawing to a close, with a spot in the final versus Ballinabrackey secured. Victories over neighbours St Vincent's, Ballivor, Boardsmill and Longwood earned the semi-final spot, and a narrow two point victory over Boardsmill gained passage to the final. Late news, Curraha pip Ballinabrackey by a single point to land the u13 title, in a classic final on a score line of 0-11 to 1-7.
The U12 Football squad commenced in March with a fine victory over Moynalvey, we also beat St. Pats, Clann na nGael, Dunderry, and Na Fianna. These are no mean scalps for a small club like Curraha, and this is due to the skill and competitive attitude of the children, who have relished playing in such a high division. This brought us a semi final against Dunsany who eventually won out the competition.
We also entered the Under 12 Fair Play competition, played during the school holiday period and we were beaten in the final by Gael Colmcille from Division 2.
We had three players who attended Meath redevelopment squad training, these were: Conor Joyce, Donal McDermott and James McEntee.
The club also ran a series of childrens' ceilidhs during the year and culminated in a presentation ceili mór where each juvenile member received a club hoodie. The hoodies were generously sponsored by Brendan Battersby, Fergus Carey, Tom Flanagan, Maura Gough, John Mangan, and Norman O'Brien. The club would also like to thank Aideen Melady for making the events so much fun for all the children.
The club would also like thank Dermot Doherty of Ashbourne Builders Providers for sponsoring our Juvenile Hurling section with a set of jerseys.
Match reports, results, fixtures, and photographs all found on our web site at www.currahagaa.com
The last word goes to our two schools, Cushinstown NS and Curraha 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, both schools are heavily involved in the Cumann na mBunscoil football competition. Curraha GAA wish both schools every success.
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