The price of playing at the highest level in both codes can sometimes take its toll. Just ask the Killucan footballers and Raharney hurlers, who comprise of eight or nine dual stars.

Last year's strenuous campaign saw a number of these players in championship action for an astonishing nine consecutive weekends. For an amateur sport this is a tall ask and Killucan secretary Gerry Quinn is in no doubt that the schedule certainly had an effect on their campaign.
Placed in a group alongside Garrycastle, Mullingar Shamrocks, Castledaly, Bunbrosna and Maryland, the former Joristown outfit could be forgiven for thinking that a place in the knockout stages was a distinct possibility.
Only 12 months earlier, the club had just missed out on a quarterfinal place when neighbours Coralstown/Kinnegad defeated them by a solitary point in the last group match.
For the 2009 campaign, former county hurling manager Ray Smyth took over as manager of both Raharney and Killucan from Eamon Gallagher, who had served both clubs so well in the previous few years.
Killucan could not have made a better start to the senior championship as they defeated Castledaly by 3-7 to 0-14. A win in the first game is always important and normally sets the tone for the remainder of the campaign.
However, their confidence was deflated just a few short weeks later when they faced Mullingar Shamrocks. This was a game for the Saffrons to forget quickly as the town team ran up a huge score of 1-15 to Killucan's reply of just 0-3.
It was a harsh wake up for the side and really was a huge blow to moral, given their excellent start in the opening game. Gerry admitted that this was result came like a bolt out of the blue.
"We started very well and there were high hopes that we could at least reach the knockout stages. We have shown in recent years that we can match any side in the county. The defeat to Shamrocks was hard to take," said Gerry.
The Killucan secretary admits that having so many dual players involved makes it that bit harder to prepare for games, especially during the summer.
"There are a lot of dual players here, but as well as that a number of these would be involved with the various county teams, which adds more pressure to trying to prepare for games.
"For nine weeks in a row some of the lads were out playing in either code and this is very hard for any player. It certainly took its toll on the lads as they looked very tired at times.
"It was almost impossible to prepare properly for games; I'm not making excuses for the campaign, but it certainly makes things a lot harder. However, we have to just get on with it and plan for this year."
Going into their last match, the threat of a relegation final was still looming as Killucan had to pick up at least a point against Bunbrosna to ensure their top flight status for another year.
Bun had failed to win a game in the championship, but they still posed a major threat and Killucan were certainly taking nothing for granted. In a close match, both sides knew what was at stake and the return of Brian Smyth from London helped their cause as he kicked some superb points to help the Saffrons get a draw.
"Brian made a big difference on the day and it was a major relief to avoid a relegation play off. No team wants to be in that situation and we will be striving to avoid a similar situation this year."
For the 2010 campaign, Killucan have turned to former county stars Aidan Lennon and Dermot Brady for leadership as the duo have been handed the reins as joint-managers.
"We want to progress from where we are at the moment and that means by at least reaching the knockout stages of the championship. We feel that we have the players in the club to do just that and with Dermot and Aidan at the helm, we're confident that they can get the best out of lads."
The draw for the 2010 senior football championship was made at the time of writing and Gerry admits that it is one that the club are pleased with. In the group are Tubberclair, Athlone, St Lomans, Maryland and Kinnegad, and Gerry feels that on their day Killucan can match any of these.
"We've played all those teams in recent years and there is no reason to fear any of them. If we get the right preparation done then I'm confident that we will come out of the group."
This year has seen a momentous change in the club as they have started to play and train on their new pitches located on the Kinnegad road. For the first time in many, many years Killucan will not be at their old home in Joristown, but everyone involved in the club is excited by this next chapter in their history.
"It is great to get the pitches up and running and it was good too see some league matches played in Killucan, which has not happened in decades. We have a great relationship with the Raharney hurling club and with the amount of teams that both clubs cater for, it was necessary to develop new grounds.
"We will be hosting a few fundraising events this year again to try and raise more funds for the development. This is not easy work during the current economic climate, but we would ask everyone to help out where they can."
Gerry admitted that the club has taken a closer look at its underage structure in a bid to develop players for the future and for the first time in a few years, Killucan will have an underage committee.
"We have struggled in the last few years at underage level, but there is certainly the players coming through. It was agreed to set up an underage committee, which will hopefully benefit all the teams and help improve the standard at all levels." Tweet

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