Dunderry GAA Club has steadily been putting the structures in place which will hopefully secure a bright future and a look at their impressive new clubhouse offers enough evidence that they are going in the right direction. They have also been developing land adjacent to their playing pitch which will provide them with extra space for playing under-age matches and training and judging by the amount of success they enjoyed in different grades in 2007 this will be viewed as a very welcome development by all concerned with the club. Club chairman Gus Martyn was happy with the year, despite a disappointing quarter-final exit from the Intermediate Football Championship, commenting that "we're going well," and acknowledging that the club is building towards the future. "We built a new clubhouse which was completed in April," he said. "It cost a lot of money, but it's a great addition to us. Upstairs will eventually be a gymnasium which will be another great addition. We got 120,000 euro in National Lottery funding and are fundraising for the rest of it ourselves. "We held a very successful sports day and 'cow pat' in September which was really enjoyed. We made 8,000 euro from that which was great." Clubs fielding a high number of teams in various grades experience tremendous pressure on their facilities, especially if they rely on just one pitch, and Dunderry have been addressing this problem. "We have been working on a second pitch and training area adjacent to the existing pitch," Martyn added. "It cost a lot, but it has to be done. We have 24 or 25 teams from under-8 upwards and this is an investment in the future. We are trying to cater for our own population and that's why all this work is so important." One of the undoubted highlights of the year for the club was the annexation of a first MFL Div. 4 title, while Dunderry also won the U-14 FC Div. 2 and the U-11 'B' HC. Those achievements demonstrate that the vital work is being done with the clubs young players which will be of enormous benefit in the years to come. The MFL triumph was achieved with a 0-12 to 2-5 final victory over Ballivor at Pairc Tailteann and was a fitting reward for the dedicated work that went into the campaign from players and officials alike. Aaron Newman, a highly talented footballer, scored the winning point in the final minute, but this success was very much the result of a team effort from the Dunderry lads who appeared to be in a spot of bother at the interval when they trailed by 0-3 to 1-4. It could have been worse because goalkeeper Aaron Scannell had produced a good save to deny Ballivor's Sean Bell early in the second quarter. However, Scannell could do nothing to prevent Ballivor's first half goal which came from a Bell penalty and with a four-point deficit to claw back in the second period it was clear that Dunderry would have to up their performance. They did just that and succeeded in holding Ballivor scoreless for a long spell as they gradually cut into the leeway themselves. They were on level terms (0-8 to 1-5) by the 20th minute of the second half after David Gilkeson and Liam Dempsey had both pointed twice and Shane Mooney also split the uprights. With the highly impressive Newman and Dempsey making impressions on the score board Dunderry looked to be heading for the title, but Ballivor had no intentions of throwing in the towel and stung Dunderry with a second goal when Bell found the net for the second time after a David Raleigh shot had come back off the post. Extra-time looked a distinct possibility at that stage, but Newman had the final say with the winning point, before Dunderry captain Conor O'Farrell accepted the MFL Div. 4 Shield from Minor Football Committee chairman Ultan Fitzpatrick. The Dunderry team in the final was - A. Scannell; F. Maguire, A. McGeough; O. Dempsey, A. Coogan, B. Conaty; A. Newman (0-3), C. O'Farrell; L. Dempsey (0-5), C. Fitzgerald, S. Mooney (0-2); D. Gilkeson (0-2), J. Martyn. Sub - P. Fitzpatrick for Fitzgerald. The Dunderry under-14 footballers also enjoyed the thrill of playing in and winning a final at Pairc Tailteann when they won the U-14 FC Div. 2 title with a 3-13 to 3-8 victory over Oldcastle. It was a win achieved the hard way because Dunderry didn't make life easy for themselves in the first half when they kicked 10 wides and fell five points adrift at 0-3 to 1-5. However, the response to the danger was brilliant as they turned that deficit into a five-point (2-7 to 1-5) interval lead thanks to a six-minute blitz at the end of the period. Stephen Coogan, Patrick Kennelly and Simon Carty helped the Dunderry cause with points and when Darren Clabby found the net they were in front. Mark Smith added a second goal and when Brendan Wright pointed they were looking good with that five-point cushion at the change of ends. However, Oldcastle were by no means finished and aided by two more goals they were on level terms (3-6 to 2-9) with 20 minutes still to play. Dunderry's response was again very positive and their third goal of the evening from Wright helped to point them firmly in the direction of the title. The Dunderry team in the final was - C. McKenna; D. Keenan, J. Mitchell, J. Mooney; P. Mulligan (0-1), C. Halpin (0-1), C. O'Shea; A. Garry, R. O'Brien (0-1); S. Carty (0-3), P. Kennelly (0-1), S. Coogan (0-2); D. Clabby (1-1), B. Wright (1-2), M. Smith (1-1). Sub - S. Clarke for Keenan. Dunderry's young hurlers were also successful in 2007 when they won the U-11 'B' HC title with a thrilling win over Boardsmill in a final that went to extra-time. The match produced six goals, three for each team, and the first of them from Jamie Leavy helped Dunderry to lead at the interval. Boardsmill pushed ahead, but a magnificent goal from Conor Dempsey helped Dunderry to draw level and forced the final into extra-time. Dunderry upped the tempo of their game in the added time and Luke Martyn and Dempsey scored vital points, with Alan Kennedy getting the all-important third goal which helped to strengthen their position considerably. When the final whistle sounded at the end of a final that provided tremendous entertainment Dunderry were five points clear at 3-8 to 3-3 after a superb team effort which produced particularly impressive performances from Peter Casey, Aaron Feeney, Julianne Griffin, Robert Russell, Cillian Leonard, Robert McCabe, Colm Mulryan, Michael Dowdall and Pierce Hickey. The Dunderry team in the final was - P. Casey; A. Feeney, J. Griffin; C. Leonard, L. Martyn (0-5), R. Russell; T. Conroy, C. Dempsey (1-2); P. Hickey, R. McCabe, M. Dowdall; A. Minogue (0-1), J. Leavy (1-0). Subs - C. Mulryan for Conroy, A. Kennedy (1-0) for Dowdall, E. Smyth for Hickey, A. Monaghan for Smyth, J. Brady, J. Kelly, C. Conway, E. Daly, P. Moloney, D. Kavanagh. INTERMEDIATES REACH LAST EIGHT Dunderry were left to wonder what might have been after they exited the Intermediate Football Championship at the quarter-final stage with a controversial one-point defeat against Castletown at Pairc Tailteann in late September. All-Ireland medal winner Barry Callaghan took on the role of team coach for the 2007 championship and must have been satisfied with the start Dunderry made to their group B campaign when they edged out St. Colmcille's by 0-13 to 0-12 in an open match that produced 22 points from play at Pairc Tailteann back in April. The contest was close throughout and the seasiders opened up a slender 0-7 to 0-6 interval advantage. Dunderry pushed four points clear in the third quarter - the biggest lead either side enjoyed over the hour - but St. Colmcille's battled back to within the minimum, before Darren Murtagh scored a magnificent point to stretch the lead to two. By the time the final whistle sounded there was only one between the teams and Dunderry had made the desired winning start. Bective was the venue for a second round meeting with Ratoath and Dunderry made it two wins from as many outings with a 1-7 to 1-5 victory. Ratoath missed a lot of chances, but they still managed to lead by 1-3 to 1-1 at the break after Aaron Newman had scored the Dunderry goal in the eighth minute. The sides were level (1-4 each) approaching the end, but Dunderry finished strongest to secure the win, with Evan Stephens particularly impressive and Newman making an overall contribution of 1-2. Those two victories left Dunderry in a very strong position as they went in search of a place in the knockout stages, but things went downhill in the third round when the previous year's runners-up Drumconrath inflicted a 0-12 to 0-8 defeat at Kilberry on a day that Dunderry played below par. Drumconrath led by 0-8 to 0-4 at the interval and maintained that advantage in the second period to ensure that Dunderry slipped from the top of the section. It meant there was added importance attached to their fourth and final group game against Syddan at Simonstown and they responded well to the challenge. Syddan opened up a 0-4 to 0-2 lead, but Dunderry recovered to hold a 0-5 to 0-4 advantage at the interval, before goals from Aaron Newman and TJ Garry in the early stages of the second half set them firmly on the road to a 2-8 to 0-9 victory and a place in the quarter-finals against seemingly perennial intermediate title contenders Castletown. Castletown led by 1-5 to 0-5 at half-time, but Dunderry's point-taking helped them to edge ahead as the match neared its conclusion. However, a second Castletown goal five minutes from time put them in front at 2-6 to 0-11. That's where the controversy came as Kevin Dowd appeared to be fouled, but no penalty was awarded, and Castletown broke away to stretch their lead to two points. TJ Garry gave Dunderry hope with a point, but was then off target from a free which would have forced extra-time if it had been converted, and it ended 2-7 to 0-12 in favour of Castletown. It was a very disappointing end to the campaign for all concerned. Tweet

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