Cullion's investment in three new all-weather pitches and a 40-metre hurling wall shows just how serious they are about reversing their recent fortunes and becoming a hurling force once again, according to new manager John Shaw. New Cullion manager John Shaw has one clear objective for 2009 and that is to oversee a major improvement in fortunes after one of the most disappointing years in the club's 56-year history. Just one draw from seven outings in the intermediate hurling championship was a very poor return for a club that contested a senior final as recently as 2001. Cullion stalwart Shaw admits that last year's performances weren't acceptable, and is determined to restore winning ways in the year ahead. "Last year wasn't good enough and the players know that themselves," says Shaw, who is also club treasurer. "We were getting good numbers at training in the early part of the year, but a lot of the players lost interest after Southern Gaels beat us in our first championship match. Things seemed to go from bad to worse after that and we were very disappointed with how the year wound up. "We probably hit rock bottom, which means there is only one way we can go this year and that's up. We've been in decline since 2002 and the time has come to stop the slide and start winning games again," he defiantly adds. Shaw, who played in defence last season but intends concentrating all his efforts on managing the team this year, attributes Cullion's dramatic decline to a raft of retirements after they relinquished their senior status in 2002, and a severe shortage of emerging talent. "Five of our top players retired after we lost the relegation play-off to Raharney in 2002, and we hadn't anyone to fill those voids. The most frustrating part about it was that they were too young to retire, but that was their decision. "But I think we have now finally found the players to fill those voids. Jamie Shaw (John's nephew) is back after missing last year with a knee injury, and so is Stephen Corroon. Shane Fitzpatrick, Tommy Gillen, Stephen Earley and Cathal O'Donoghue are four other talented young hurlers with bright futures ahead of them. Ger Behan, who is a Kilkenny man living in the area, has transferred to us and hopefully he'll bring something to the plate as well. "I'm convinced that there is huge scope for improvement and that we have the ability to win the intermediate championship. We're making a fresh start and the aim is to win every game," he explains. Shaw, who takes over the managerial reins from Benny O'Dowd, has secured the services of Tipperary man Frank McGrath as physical trainer. McGrath trained his native Eire Og, Nenagh to reach last year's Tipperary junior hurling final, and as well as performing a similar role with Cullion, will also be lining out for them in the coming season. Cullion will not have fond memories of their 2008 campaign. A 0-10 to 0-11 defeat to Southern Gaels in their opening game set the tone for a hugely disappointing championship. They drew with St. Oliver Plunkett's second team before going to suffer further losses to Delvin (0-10 to 1-15), St. Brigid's (3-9 to 4-13), Turin (1-7 to 3-12) and Brownstown (1-7 to 2-21). The campaign ended with a last-gasp defeat to Clonkill's second string - a game which Cullion almost didn't fulfil. While the intermediate side's results made for depressing reading, it certainly wasn't all doom and gloom last year. The development of three new all-weather pitches and a hurling wall at a cost of EUR300,000, coupled with the club's continued revival at underage level, provide tremendous hope for the future. Following on from the opening of their impressive clubhouse in the early 1990s, Cullion completed the development of three all-weather pitches at the beginning of this year. Two of the pitches are 40 metres long by 20 metres wide, while the third larger pitch is 55 metres long by 40 metres wide. The pitches, which are floodlit, were developed to cater for all of the club's hurling and camogie players at both adult and underage level. At 40 metres in length, Cullion's new hurling wall is believed to be the largest in the country. The wall will eventually be playable on both sides, making it possible to train up to 80 players at any one time. According to Shaw, these new facilities in Cullionmore not only compare very favourably with any similar facility in the country, but also underline Cullion's ambition to become one of the leading hurling powers in the county. "Our aim is to get back up senior as quickly as possible, and we're hoping these new facilities will give us a push in that direction," he says. "We want a successful senior team to go with these facilities, and I'm hopeful the players will rally to the cause. I suppose you could say we are looking for a return on our investment." Shaw, whose younger brother Frank is a former county player, also takes encouragement from Cullion's resurgence at underage level which has been greatly helped by the opening of Gaelscoil Choillin on their grounds three years ago. "For the first time in our history, we now have a primary school in our catchment area and that is set to give us a huge boost in the years ahead. We combined with Turin at under 12 level last year, but this year we intend to field on our own at all levels. We might be a bit weak at minor, but we should be competitive enough in the other grades. "All the structures are now in place to ensure a long and successful future and with great men like Pat Gaffney (chairman) and Gerry Gillen (underage secretary) driving the club, we have much to look forward to." After reaching the senior final and winning the junior championship in 2007, Cullion had high hopes of achieving further success on the camogie field last year. But a 0-5 to 2-8 defeat to Lough Lene Gaels at a rain-soaked Ringtown saw them crash out of the senior championship at the semi-final stage. Despite dominating the first half, Cullion were just 0-4 to 0-3 ahead at half-time. And they were made to pay for their first half wastefulness as the Gaels came storming back in the second half to run out comfortable winners. However, only a fool would rule out a Cullion backlash in the year ahead. Cullion members and supporters can now log onto the club's new website www.cullion.westmeath.gaa.ie for all the latest news, fixtures and much more. The Cullion team which lost to neighbours Turin in the IHC was: Robbie Bourke; Brian O'Dowd, Philip Galvin, John Shaw; Stephen Earley, Vincent Conneely, Denis Reynolds; John Gaffney, Mark Kane; Damien Golden, Hugh McConnell, Robbie Galvin; Cathal O'Donoghue, Raphael Kelleghan, Derek Kerrigan. Subs used: Pio Kelleghan, Sean Delamere, Gerry Gillen, Shane Fitzpatrick and Jimmy Whyte. The Cullion camogie team which faced Lough Lene Gaels in the senior championship semi-final was: Fiona Keating; Aoife Martin, Elaine Galvin, Katie Layde; Therese Allen, Emma Martin, Dearbhla O'Reilly; Andrea Martin, Eileen Murphy; Deirdre O'Donovan, Carol McKinley, Sarah McManus; Aoife Davitt, Niamh Kiernan, Bernie Corroon. Subs used: Paula McGuire, Maire Buckley and Mary Buckley. Tweet

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