When Castlepollard were relegated to the intermediate ranks in 2007, many felt that it would take a few years for the club to establish itself as genuine contenders for the senior championship once again.

However, that was certainly not the case as just three short years later, the 'town' contested a county senior semi-final. It was an amazing turnaround for 'Pollard to achieve this, given the fact that they were written off by many.
That hurt a club of Pollard's stature and they weren't going to take it lying down. Work in the underage structure has been ongoing for a number of years and it's certainly beginning to pay off.
Since making an immediate return to the senior ranks in 2008, Castlepollard have developed a philosophy of bringing young players through on a regular basis and their faith in the youngsters paid off by reaching the penultimate stage of last year's senior championship.
Eugene Gallagher is entering his second year as chairman of the club and he admits to 'Maroon & White' that it is exciting times for them.
Their senior hurlers made all the headlines by reaching the county semi final, but the plaudits must go to the club's under-16 side that lifted the championship title for the second consecutive year, which is a testimony to the hard work being done.
From under-8s up, Eugene revealed that numbers were good at all grades and this is an area that they will be concentrating on once again this year.
"We're happy enough with the underage structure at the moment, numbers are good and we're fortunate to have plenty of lads to look after the various teams, although in saying that we could always do with more helping out," said Eugene.
"A lot of work has gone into the underage and we were delighted to win the under-16 championship for a second consecutive year. Former county players Jody Murray and Alfie Devine were over this side."
Eugene feels that they have the squads at their disposal to compete for honours at a number of grades this year and he stressed that will be their main aim.
"We definitely want to progress at underage level and build on the success that we have had in recent years. Everyone knows the importance of the underage set up and thankfully the work is being done and we would be very hopeful of doing well in 2011."
To help advance the skill level of the kids in the club, Pollard are in the process of erecting a temporary hurling wall, which Eugene feels will be very beneficial to the youngsters.
"We are in the process of developing one on a temporary basis and hopefully we can raise the funds to build one further down the line. We have seen from other clubs how they can help develop a young players skills and we will do all we can to provide the best of facilities as we can."
Of course no club can be run without finances and this means fundraising or sponsorship to help keep things going. However, as the economy suffers more and more due to the recession, sponsorship is very difficult to secure and the onus on fundraising is at a high level.
"It is not easy raise money these days, but the fact is that it has to be done. Some of the players have formed a committee with the aim of organising a few different events to raise funds during the year."
The draw for the 2010 championship saw Pollard pitted against Raharney with the Deelsiders being strong favourites to advance to the winners group. Nonetheless, against all the odds, the blue and gold rose to the occasion and recorded a merited win to consign their opponents to the losers group, but as we all know this was not the last time the sides would meet in the championship.
The winners group consisted of 'Pollard, Clonkill, Lough Lene Gaels and Castletown Geoghegan. All sides were capable of beating one another and that is the way it turned out as the group was not sorted until the very last round of matches.
A comprehensive defeat to Clonkill in the opening round left Pollard under pressure from the word go and there was a fear inexperience amongst the younger players on the side could derail their campaign.
However, they are made of stern stuff in the 'town' as their results would show. A four-point win over old rivals neighbours Lough Lene Gaels got their season back on track and this was followed by the same winning margin over Castletown-Geoghegan.
"It was great to see the lads bounce back from the Clonkill defeat, because they just didn't perform on the day, but they regrouped and played very well in the remaining matches."
Heading into their last group game against St Oliver Plunkett's, confidence was high within the 'Pollard squad and they had to call on all their skill to see off Plunkett's in a thrilling match that the blue and golds won by the narrowest of margins.
This meant that a place in the semi final was secure and a second meeting with Raharney was on the cards. Having already defeated the 2008 county champions, Castlepollard had nothing to fear, but they certainly weren't showing any signs of complacency either.
"We always knew that it would be very tough against Raharney, but the lads went into that game full of confidence on the back of three very good performances. The fact of the matter was that we had nothing to lose, not many in the county would have predicted us getting to a semi final, so there was no real pressure."
Both sides gave it their all and there was very little to separate them at half time. Some excellent scores by both teams left the large crowd present at Cusack Park enthralled by the spectacle that unfolded on front of them.
'Pollard had some excellent displays from Darren McCormack, Stephen Bardon and Alan Devine and the match looked set to go down to the wire. But, Raharney have been around the block a few times at this stage and their experience told in the second half as they pulled away to win by nine points, but there were plenty of positives for Castlepollard to take from the year as a whole.
"Of course it was disappointing to lose the semi final, and I think our inexperience caught up with us in the second half, but the younger players will have learned a lot from the campaign. Reaching a semi final was a big achievement for us and we are already looking forward to this year's campaign."
Former Athboy and Meath hurler Seamus Ennis was at the helm in 2010 and Eugene admitted that he would be managing the side once again this year.
"Seamus did a very good job last year and the players think very highly of him, so he is with us once again. He seemed to get the best out of the lads and hopefully he can do the same this year."
The 2011 campaign is only a matter of a couple of months away and already the anticipation of the new campaign is beginning to reach boiling point.
"Our aim this year in the senior would be to go one step further than last year and reach a final, if we can do that it would be great and sure one knows once you reach a final, anything can happen."
It is exciting times for Castlepollard hurling club as they continue to make strides and edge closer to that record equalling 15th senior hurling title. 
 
 
 
 
Tweet

Most Read Stories