Fr Dalton's celebrated their return to adult hurling in fine style by winning the 2008 junior 'B hurling championship. Club PRO Vinny McCormack was delighted with their success and is confident they can give a good account of themselves in this year's intermediate championship. One of the finest achievements by any Westmeath club in 2008 was Fr Dalton's capture of the junior 'B' hurling crown in what was their first year back in competition in nearly a decade. Sadly, the success went unnoticed too many due to the fact that the final against Brownstown was played in the middle of the festive period on St. Stephen's Day. But the significance of it wasn't lost on the hurling folk of Ballymore, who couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present. "It was a huge win for us, a huge shot in the arm for hurling in this part of the county," explains Fr Dalton's PRO Vinny McCormack. "To win a championship in our first year back competing at adult level since 1999 was a massive achievement. There has been a serious amount of work done at underage level over the last 10 years and that really paid off last year. "While it was unfair to both clubs to play the final so late in the year, the weather was surprisingly good and our lads produced a great display to run out comfortable winners. We're looking forward to competing in the intermediate championship this year and the prospect of getting more summer hurling. At least with that championship, you can be fairly sure it will be finished in September or October." As alluded to by Vinny, Fr Dalton's had concentrated all of their efforts in bringing young players through before deciding to reform as an adult club last year. It's unlikely they would have been in a position to reform but for the decision to join forces with Athlone-based Southern Gaels at underage level earlier this decade. This has proven to be one of the most successful amalgamations in the county with the highlight so far being the historic minor 'premier' championship final triumph at Raharney's expense in 2007. "We basically started at the bottom, coaching youngsters in both Ballymore and Athlone, and within a couple of years, we were winning 'A' and 'B' championships. We then moved up to 'premier' level and achieved a major breakthrough two years ago when we won our first minor championship," says Vinny, who is running on the Fianna Fail ticket in the forthcoming local elections. "Both Donie Glynn and Martin Ryan did great work with those young lads, who now form the backbone of our intermediate team. They blended in nicely last year with the experienced lads like Pat Connaughton, Pat Conway, Brian McCabe and Paddy Martin, who had been involved pre-1999." Under the management of Pat Connaughton, Donie Glynn, Brian McCabe and Pat 'The Spread' McLoughlin, Fr Dalton's marked their return to competitive adult hurling with a victory over Turin in the opening round of the junior 'B' championship. They also registered wins over underage partners Southern Gaels and Brownstown in the group stage, and despite losing to St. Brigid's, qualified for the semi-final where they defeated Delvin. The green and golds renewed their rivalry with Brownstown in the junior 'B' decider in ideal conditions at Kinnegad. In the event, former Westmeath and Castletown-Geoghegan star Pat Connaughton rolled back the years by scoring 0-8 in a 0-13 to 0-4 victory for the Ballymore men. Having defeated the Archerstown Blues by just a single point in their earlier clash, Fr Dalton's had expected a much tougher affair, but their hunger and determination was such that the losers were held scoreless from play. Scores were hard to come by in the early stages, with the first point not arriving until the seventh minute when Brian Finerty opened Fr Dalton's account. The evergreen Connaughton added a second point from a free before Mickey Travers put Brownstown on the scoreboard in the 17th minute. Points from county footballer Kieran Martin and Derek Cuffe extended the winners' lead to 0-4 to 0-1 before Travers replied for Brownstown. But another Connaughton free made it 0-5 to 0-2 in Fr Dalton's favour at half-time. Brownstown resumed with two pointed frees by Conor Sleator inside six minutes to reduce the deficit to the minimum. However, that was as good as it got for the county's most decorated hurling club as Fr Dalton's began to stamp their authority on proceedings. Scores from Connaughton and Martin restored the Ballymore side's three-point lead before Connaughton made it double scores after 50 minutes. And they put the result beyond doubt with five points - three from Connaughton and two from John Gilligan - in the last six minutes of normal time. But the celebrations were slightly delayed after referee Michael Riggs played seven minutes of injury-time. "Even though we were well ahead, we thought the final whistle would never come," McCormack remembers. "It was a great way to end our first year back. All the lads played very well, especially the half forward line of John Gilligan, Kieran Martin and Brian Finerty who are just out of minor." In the weeks prior to their junior 'B' championship success, Fr Dalton's represented Westmeath in the Leinster club 'special' hurling championship. This was a great experience for the club who defeated Mattock Rangers of Louth in the first round before losing to Dublin's Naomh Barrog in the semi-final at Ballymore. The first round clash was played on an Astroturf surface at Darver and it seemed to suit the young Fr Dalton's side who put 5-7 past the hapless Mattock Rangers defence. A place in the Leinster final beckoned for Fr Dalton's when they led Naomh Barrog by a point with eight minutes remaining, but the Dublin outfit rallied in the closing stages to win by 0-8 to 0-7. The Ballymore hurling fraternity could take further encouragement from Southern Gaels/Fr Dalton's under 16 league success last year, and the under 14 team's appearance in the championship semi-final. Looking ahead to this year's intermediate championship, McCormack is confident that Fr Dalton's can give a good account of themselves. He is also enthused by the fact that the club will be fielding two adult teams, something that was unimaginable a few years ago. "We're confident of holding our own in the intermediate championship, we have no intention of just making up the numbers. It might be asking a bit much of us to win the championship, but I wouldn't rule it out in the next two or three years as the younger players begin to mature. "The fact that we will be a fielding a second team in the junior 'B' championship is a very positive development for the club. We now have young lads playing with us from Moate, Drumraney, Tang, Streamstown and Milltown, where there are no hurling clubs, so we must be doing something right," he concludes. The Fr Daltons team which defeated Brownstown in the junior hurling championship final was: Brian McCabe; Pat Conway, Kevin McLoughlin, Donal Glynn; Declan Heavin, Pat Hickey, Michael Maloney; Paddy Martin, Andrew Slevin; John Gilligan (0-2), Kieran Martin (0-1), Brian Finerty (0-1); Pat Finn, Derek Cuffe (0-1), Pat Connaughton (0-8, 0-4 from frees, 0-2 from '65fs). Sub used: Pete Murray. Tweet

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