Castletown-Geoghegan suffered defeat in the senior and junior finals during the course of 2006, and although club stalwart Finbarr Clarke admits that it was disappointing to lose the two adult finals, the club's under-14 team demonstrated a lot of hope for the future. Last year saw the club lose their third final in their last four appearances and this is an unwanted tag for a club with such a proud history. To compound their woes, defeat to Clonkill in the junior final left it a year to forget at adult level. "It wound up a disappointing year alright, especially with losing the senior and then the junior final. We made silly mistakes in the senior final, especially in the replay and Raharney deserved to win the final," said Finbarr. "In saying that the club acquitted themselves very well in all grades and we represented the county at every level, so we must be doing something right." An under-14 Westmeath/Offaly hurling league was established and this would see teams from both counties compete against one another. Many could be forgiven for thinking that the teams from the Lake County would not be a match for our more illustrious neighbours, but as Finbarr explains nothing could be further than the truth. "The underage league proved to be a huge success for us as we won the title and beat all the Offaly teams. Beating prestigious teams like Birr, St Rynagh's and Shinrone in the final earned us recognition on a national level as Director of hurling Paudie Butler was very enthused about our performances. "These young lads really raised the bar for hurling in the county and have brought it to a new level. Pat O'Brien trains this team and he deserves great credit for the work he has done with these lads. Castletown's record at underage level over the past fifteen years is one if not the best in the county and Finbarr admits that it has taken a lot of hard work to reach the current level that they are at. "In 1992, we set up an underage committee as before then we hadn't much success at any level. We had won only one under-14 title prior to '92, we never won an under-16 championship and 1968 was the last time we won the minor championship before that. "So it was obvious that we had to concentrate on this are a lot more and although it did take a while to get it up and running, we have seen the success of it in the last few years." Since, the introduction of the underage committee, Castletown have amassed six under-12 titles, seven at under-14, three championships at under-16 and four minor titles, which is unquestionably a remarkable achievement for the rural club. Initially, it was Finbarr and Sean Keegan who looked after the underage set-up but over the years they have had many people willing to lend a hand to the development of the underage teams. "The structure is now in place and we have had huge success. It is tough going and by no means an easy task, but with the success we are after having, it has certainly been worthwhile. I'd reckon we have been the most successful underage club during that period and that is a fair achievement when you look at the success that the likes of Clonkill and Oliver Plunkett's have had." Castletown are a club in progress and work continues in the development of their park, which is undoubtedly one of the best grounds in the county; hence that is why it has become a second home for the various county teams. The club has also proven to be successful in Scor na Nog and following their win in the county final for the novelty act, they were narrowly defeated in the Leinster final. "We are a rural club and rely on the work of a certain few to keep the various teams going and fortunately, success has come our way on a regular basis both on and off the field." The senior championship saw Castletown pitted with a tough opener against defending champions Castlepollard and the match proved to be out of the best clashes of the year as the black and ambers edged through by five points. This left the South Westmeath side in the winner's group along with Lough Lene Gaels, Raharney and Clonkill. The first game against Lough Lene Gaels saw Castletown run out easy winners against a side that have been the kingpins of Westmeath for the last decade. In their next outing, they face a Raharney side that had looked impressive in the earlier rounds and the Deelsiders managed to record a four-point win. A win against Clonkill ensured a place in the semi final and St Oliver Plunkett's were the opposition. The sides were evenly matched throughout and both teams served up an enthralling encounter, which neither deserved to lose with a draw being the fairest result in what was a high scoring encounter that finished 4-9 to 3-12. The replay, as is nearly always the case, did not live up to the first match in terms of quality and in a low scoring affair, Castletown edged through by two points. Raharney needed a replay also to book their place in the final as they overcame Clonkill to reach the final and set up an enthralling encounter between two sides that had not met in the championship decider since the infamous clash in 1984. In a tight contest, scores were at a premium and nothing separated the sides in the first half, while the second thirty minutes continued in the same trend. With time running out it was tit-for-tat and at full time the score was 1-9 each. Another replay was to be played. The phrase that goals win matches was never more evident when the sides met for a second time as Raharney capatalised on poor defending by the Castletown rearguard and raced into an early lead, which the black and ambers could not rein in and the blues lifted the title following a scoreline of 4-5 to 2-5. "As I said you just cannot make silly mistakes and get away with it and that's what happened to us, but we just have to put that behind us and look forward to this year. "Noel Geraghty is manager this year and there is a positive attitude among the lads. We hope to make a good start to the campaign and take it from there for the rest of the year. "Castletown certainly have the players to win the championship this year and all they have to do is believe in themselves and put in the right effort. Raharney proved that with a bit of determination and guts that a team can go all the way," he stressed. Finbarr admitted that the defeat to Clonkill in the Junior final was also disappointing as the players concerned had put in a huge effort all year. "All the players on the junior team would have trained with the senior team all year. The fact that the final was not played until December was a major concern. We had to go almost two months without a game, which isn't very fair. It is very hard to get the fixtures right, but it is an area that certainly has to be looked at in the very near future." Castletown are a club that have the potential to dominate Westmeath hurling for many years to come and with their under-14's performances on a national level, they can be proud of their achievements in 2006, despite the disappointment of losing the senior final. This coming season will be a huge campaign for the club and it would take a brave man to bet against Castletown Geoghegan from annexing another senior title. Tweet

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