It is often said that successfully defending a title can be more difficult than winning it in the first place and Wolfe Tones found that out when failing to advance from the group stages of the 2007 Commons Hardware Meath SFC. After the wonderful highs of the previous year when becoming county senior champions for the first time and adding the Division 1 League honours for good measure, it was the flip side for Tones whose bid for a repeat Keegan Cup triumph ended with a defeat to Skryne as they were edged out of a qualifying place on score difference. In four starts Tony Kearney's charges only managed to return to the winners' enclosure once. That was following a thrilling victory over Navan O'Mahonys as the result of the 2006 final was replicated and there were also two 'dead heats,' with 2005 winners Dunboyne and struggling Kilmainhamwood. While the Oristown parish side were hardly looking for excuses after bowing out they could point to the loss of influential centre back and county Footballer of the Year in 2006, Eoghan Harrington, who was sidelined for their last two games after sustaining a broken collar bone while on inter-county duty. Manager Tony Kearney, who was in his eighth year with the club, felt the loss of Harrington was an immense blow while having so many players with the county senior squad and a few others going abroad during the summer was also upsetting. "The overall commitment was not as strong as in the previous year. Football was not the number one priority with some lads, Richie Brady and Paul Byrne were away in Australia and Colin Reilly and Barry McGinn were working in London and only coming home at weekends," he said. Tones were drawn in the toughest of the three groups with the two previous champions Dunboyne and Skryne and championship favourites O'Mahonys in with them. Kilmainhamwood's only point was gained in then second round tussle with the defending kingpins and with all due respect to the 'Wood, the failure to gain both points from that Nobber outing would prove very costly in the long run. Before beginning the defence of the title, Tony Kearney suggested that being in a five-team group would put extra pressure on them and they could not afford to take any team for granted. He also said that the celebrations went on too long and it was hard to get some of the lads back training. John Tiernan was sidelined with an injury for the opening outing against Dunboyne at Pairc Tailteann and Paul Byrne came into attack in the only change from the final side of the previous autumn. Tones appeared to be cruising to a winning start when leading by five points at the break before increasing the advantage to seven. But then they failed to score in then last quarter and were fortunate to come away with a 0-12 to 1-9 draw. They had led by 1-6 to 0-4 at the break and were subsequently seven points to the good on two occasions before running out of steam. Cian Ward continued where he had left off at the end of the 2006 campaign by scoring 1-5, 1-3 of it in the first half. The goal came from a penalty after 11 minutes following a foot block on Niall McLoughlin and the kick was put into the bottom left corner to leave the board reading 1-2 to 0-2. Two of Ward's points were fine efforts from play towards the end of the first period and in between he set up David O'Neill for a brilliant score. When Tones resumed with Byrne shooting over the bar and Ward putting a 45 between the uprights it appears as if there could be only one outcome. Surprisingly the defending champions conceded three goals to Kilmainhamwood as this game finished 1-10 to 3-4. It was certainly a case of a point dropped rather than one gained and one report suggested that the setback leaves them with an awkward task in bidding to reach the last eight. Tones had led by 0-5 to 0-1 before the men from the 'Wood struck for their first goal. An unusual statistic from that game was that Niall McLoughlin did better than Cian Ward in the scoring stakes, 1-2 to 0-4. Ward was far from his best in that game but after he put his side ahead from a free, McLoughlin, Paul Byrne and John Tiernan put over points and the tie was going in the expected direction. However, Tones hit ten wides in the first period and only led by the minimum, 0-6 to 1-2 at the break. They could have been in arrears at that stage for Ray McGee blazed a penalty conceded by Richie Brady wide. But they did go in arrears early in the second half and despite energetic efforts from wing backs Barry McGinn and Stephen Sheppard, the holders' attack was lacking in penetration. McLoughlin's goal left Tones leading by 1-9 to 3-2 but a Ward shot from a tight angle was their only their only score in the final quarter. Not getting both points from that game was something which the Oristown/Kilberry side would rue a few weeks later. Manager Kearney agreed that the point dropped in that group was the main reason why they did not qualify. "The players did not take Kilmainhamwood seriously enough but they took us very seriously with a number of their players quitting work early on that Friday. In contrast some of our lads strolled in the gate shortly before the start," he remarked. After Tones repeated the 2006 final win over Navan O'Mahonys with a thrilling 1-11 to 0-11 victory one of their supporters was heard remarking 'that was even better than last year.' While there was obviously a feel good mood as they left Pairc Tailteann on the night of the last Saturday of August, the happy holders knew they needed another big performance in round five. Wolfe Tones appeared to be more 'up' for that game than the town team and were only in arrears for a matter of seconds at the start. After five minutes came the goal that would separate the sides at the final whistle. Cian Ward turned another classy performance and a lovely ball put David O'Neill in a one-on-one situation with Marcus Brennan and the finish was to the keeper's right. Ward gave the Navan full back line a difficult time and went on to score five points, three from frees. But it was far from a one-man show and with Ciaran McLoughlin, Stephen Sheppard, Stephen Corrigan, Alan Fox and O'Neill, who finished up with 1-2, playing really well, the lead was seven points on two occasions. With Ward (twice), Sheppard, Fox and O'Neill putting over points from play, the board read 1-7 to 0-4 at the break. Three of the six county players on the O'Mahonys side had a go at marking Ward and while the men in blue and white had more of the play in the second half, Tones comfortably held out for the two points. While the defending champions hit top form in that game, Tony Kearney suggested that there was a trend of good displays being followed less than impressive showings. "After being so good against O'Mahonys we then lost to Dunshaughlin in the league and were very flat against Skryne. There wasn't enough consistency," he said. But two weeks and a day later hopes of celebrating with the Keegan Cup for the second year in a row had been dashed. A third draw from four outings would have put Kearney's charges through to the last eight but a 1-8 to 0-9 win by Skryne meant an early exit. Had the Pairc Tailteann tussle ended level both Skryne and Tones would have gone on with O'Mahonys losing out and for much of the hour it looked as if there might be nothing between them at the final whistle. The Tones contingent had reason to be mildly pleased when leading by 0-6 to 0-3 at the break. The teams had been on level terms three times before Cian Ward kicked over three frees to bring his haul to five points in the first period. Even after conceding 1-1 early in the second period, they came back strongly to get back on level terms with points from John Tiernan and Ward (free). After that the spectators had to wait more than ten minutes for the next score. Tones were outscored by 0-3 to 0-1 on the run to the finishing line, overall they did not perform as well as in the previous outing and there was to be no repeat of the heroics of 2006. "The win was there for the taking that evening but we weren't able to take it and wrong options were taken on the pitch a few times. But that's football, if we had got another step or two Eoghan Harrington could have been back, but that's all water under the bridge now," said their manager. With Eoghan Harrington, Niall McLoughlin, Stephen Sheppard and Cian Ward not available for a number of games, Wolfe Tones were not the same force in the Division 1 FL as in 2006 when they defeated Dunboyne to take the Tommy Mooney Cup in December. They won four games and drew one to steer away from the relegation zone. Wolfe Tones won junior, intermediate and senior championship titles in a wonderful few years for the club. While it is probably just as difficult to regain a title as it is to retain it, Tony Kearney feels that there is another Keegan Cup success in this talented group of players. Relegation blues for Tones Having reached the Meath IHC semi-final in 2006, there was a real sense of belief in the Wolfe Tones club that the Kilberry outfit could go one step further in this year's campaign. However as we all know, hurling can be a cruel sport. A defeat to eventual winners Na Fianna following a replay left Wolfe Tones optimistic that they could build on that achievement in 2007. Despite the hurlers living in the shadows of not only their own football club, but that of Rathkenny and Castletown also, they have managed to compete at the business end of the intermediate championship on a regular basis. However, following heavy defeats in their opening few matches, the Tones were left with an uphill struggle that ultimately they could not turn around and relegation was the end result for their efforts, although there were many positives to take from the year as the club's underage structure began to benefit the adult team. The club's hurling delegate Owen Heaney spoke to the Royal County Yearbook about how they can look upon next year as a new beginning and why relegation to the junior ranks is not the end of the world for a club that competed in a senior hurling final during the mid-nineties. "It was a very disappointing year, especially after the efforts of last year and we really were hopeful of doing well in the championship. However, between lads retiring, emigrating and concentrating on football, we were short eight or nine players and that is a massive loss to us," said Owen. For this year's campaign, former county hurler Robert O'Kelly-Lynch, who was forced to retire last year due to a knee injury, took charge of the intermediate side and although the squad was minus a few of its stronger hurlers, numbers at training were relatively good. The club had made a decision to enter a Division 2 hurling team, but with so many absentees, they were unable to field a side in the grade. Their situation was to get much worse as a heavy opening defeat to Longwood did little to inspire confidence among the squad, although in fairness to the players, this was by far their heaviest defeat of the year. "We did start very poorly in the championship and it was hard to get the lads out training, especially as we are pulling from three football clubs. The fact that the likes of Donal Curtis, Brian Meade and James Macken were concentrating on the football was a big blow to us as they are all good hurlers, but you can't blame them for the decision they made. "I'm every bit a football man as I am a hurling one and the situation here is that the hurling will always be secondary to football, but we just have to carry on as best we can," he stressed. Wolfe Tones may have begun the campaign poorly, but during the course of the campaign. their performances certainly improved, although that did not reflect in the championship table. "The lads played very well against Donaghmore/Ashbourne, Kilskyre and Clann na nGael and you could notice the improvement of the younger lads that were actually doing a bit of training during the course of the year." To play well against such sides was proof that the club was more than a match for any side in the group as Donaghmore/Ashbourne and Clann na nGael finished first and second in the final group standings respectively, while in recent years the Kilberry outfit have recorded victories over the majority of these sides. However, a further defeat to championship hopefuls Dunderry ended Wolfe Tone's interest in the campaign and consigned them to the junior ranks for 2008. "Once again for the Dunderry match we were missing a good few players and as Rathkenny and Castletown were still in the championship, it was difficult to get our strongest side out, but on a brighter note, we have a few good young hurlers coming through and they did very well." So, what for the future of Wolfe Tones hurling, while some may feel that being relegated is a total disaster for them, Owen is of another opinion. "As we have so many young players coming through, it will be no harm to get back to winning ways as winning breeds confidence and in fairness we would be confident of doing very well in the junior championship next year." Even though, the club may well be better known for their football exploits, their underage hurling structure is also in a healthy state as three finals were reached this year, a statistic that some of the 'bigger' hurling clubs would certainly be envious of. "At under-12, 13 and 14, there were finals reached and unfortunately in all three, the sides lost out narrowly, which was a pity, but the fact that they are getting there is a huge boost for the club. There are many people involved in looking after these teams and they deserve great credit for the hard work, time and effort that they have given in the last couple of years." As the club continue to build their underage structure and with so many influential people helping out, the future looks very bright indeed for Wolfe Tones. Next year will see them compete in the junior ranks for the first time in many years and Owen is confident that a swift return to the intermediate championship can be obtained. "I think it will be good for the younger lads coming through to win something and even if we start off well that will help bring them on. Obviously the main aim will be to get back up intermediate and I believe that we have a great chance of doing that. "It won't be as easy as people think, but if the effort is put in, I can see no reason why there can't be some silverware at the end of the year and that would be a great achievement for a club in our position," concluded Owen. Tones claim JFC B crown Wolfe Tones second team won their second consecutive championship title to move up to the junior A grade, where amazingly their first team operated only four short years ago. Wolfe Tones 1-10 Trim 1-6 Tones faced down a stern Trim challenge on a fine day in Seneschalstown. Trim opened the scoring but two outstanding points from centre back Ciaran Martin put Tones into a lead that they would not surrender. Tones posted nine points from play. Sean Power added a point on 12 minutes but it was his pounce on a breaking ball which he finished to the net on the quarter-hour that was to prove vital. Power added another point on 22 minutes but Trim finished the half stronger and only trailed by the goal at the break. A super point from man of the match Browne two minutes after the restart extended Tones lead and when Callaghan broke through on 36 minutes he fired high and over the bar to put Tones 1-06 to 0-05 up. Trim got their break soon after when a harmless looking long ball fell kindly and their corner forward made no mistake as he finished to the net. With the game back in the melting pot it was Browne who again took the game by the scruff of the neck and pointed to restore Tones two point lead. Trim pulled one back from a '45 on 40 minutes but this was to be their last score and Tones two substitutes Mark McKeever and Eanna Harrington were to prove their worth as they contributed the next three points and settled the result. Wolfe Tones - Jeremy Claire; David Cassidy, David Coleman, Alan McKeever; Paddy Caffrey, Ciaran Martin (0-2), Phillip Reilly Aodhan McKeown, Darragh Browne (0-2); Alan Oakes, Rossa McDonnell, Alan Callaghan (0-1); Robbie Colwell, Tommy Dowd, Sean Power (1-2). Subs - Mark McKeever (0-2) for Colwell, Eanna Harrington (0-1) for Power, Kevin McKeever for Callaghan Tweet

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