Clonkill senior hurlers are something of an enigma in Westmeath GAA circles, as despite the fact that the club possesses some of the best players in the county, they have only won one senior title since the current's side re-emergence in 2001. However, club secretary Pat O'Toole points out that even though there has been a lack of silverware at senior level, their underage section is going very strong as they won the under-16 championship, while the Junior title was also brought back to Loughegar just before Christmas. Last year, was a very tough year for the people in the area as not only had they too endure the heartache of losing one young man through a fatal accident but a matter of months later another youngster tragically passed away. Conor Owens was a member of the well-known Owens' family who have given great service to Clonkill down through the years when he died tragically following a work accident. This incident shocked the community, but unfortunately their grief was compounded when 16-year-old Niall Keegan drowned when he got into difficulty going for an evening swim. The Keegan family are also loyal servants to Clonkill and Pat admitted that the double tragedies hit the community very hard, while hurling was put to the back of most people's minds. "The death of these two young men really hit everyone in the area very hard. It really put hurling into perspective and showed that there is more to life than just playing the game," said Pat. "Both families are heavily involved with the club and Eddie (Keegan) was manager of the senior team last year. He deserves great credit for carrying on the role at a very difficult time for him and his family." Even though the tragedies had a huge affect on everyone concerned, Clonkill hurling club can still look back on 2006 with a degree of satisfaction. In all, the green and golds contested five finals in the various grades with every premier underage decider seeing Clonkill competing for the titles. The club suffered defeat in the under-12, 14 and more surprisingly minor final, but more poignant is the fact that the under 16 squad, of which Niall Keegan was a member, won the titler. "It was great to see the under-16's win the championship for Niall. They really put in a huge effort last year and it shows the character of those young players," he added. "We thought the minors had a great chance and they were favourites to win the championship, but they came up against a strong Raharney side that had three senior players in the team. "The fact that we competed in all the underage finals is a good sign and although we would have liked to have won more, it was a decent year all round." Clonkill have had an endless amount of success at underage in recent years and Pat revealed that this is end product from a lot of hard work by club members. "Our underage is very strong at the moment, a lot of lads in the club have worked hard with the various teams and they are getting their just rewards. Hopefully, we can bring more of these players through to the senior team." Pat told us that due to the amount of adult players in the club that they would be fielding three teams this year as they will field a side in the intermediate championship for the first time. "Lads need to be getting games to keep them interested and we applied to get into the intermediate championship, which was agreed to by the county board." Clonkill's junior team defeated Castletown/Geoghegan in an entertaining final, which saw both sides' field very strong teams that included many seniors. The final was not played until very late in the year, but a strong performance by the Loughegar outfit saw them comfortably win the match by 0-11 to 0-6. "We knew the juniors had a good chance of winning the championship as we had a very strong team, but so had the likes of Castletown and Raharney. It is important to win some silverware and we can be pleased with this, although it would be great to see the seniors do better," stressed Pat. Clonkill began their senior campaign with a tough match against neighbours and rivals St Oliver Plunkett's. The Mullingar outfit have been the up and coming side for a few years now and this would be a huge test for Keegan's charges. Nonetheless, Clonkill showed great determination and heart to win the match by a solitary point and earn their place in the winners' section of the championship. The new format saw Clonkill in the same group as Castletown-Geoghegan, Raharney and Lough Lene Gaels, which are arguably the top four clubs in the county at present. Three teams would advance to the knockout stages with the top two in the semi finals and the third placed side entering the quarterfinal where they would face the second placed side in the losers' group. Clonkill met Raharney in their next outing and comfortably saw off the challenge of their fierce rivals by a score of 1-14 to 0-5, which sent out a reminder to the remaining sides that they meant business. Lough Lene Gaels and Clonkill have had many great battles in recent years, but the fact that the Collinstown outfit are now an aging side was never more evident as the men in green and gold easily won this match by 2-16 to 1-10. The Loughegar outfit were now qualified for the knockout stages, but that did not mean they were going to take their foot off the pedal as they played Castletown in the last group game. In one of the most entertaining matches of the year, both sides produced excellent displays and should be commended for the standard of hurling that was produced. However, the most important aspect of the match was the result and it was Castletown that came out top by the narrowest of margins 2-13 to 3-9. The semi-final pairing meant that Clonkill would renew their rivalry with Raharney and with the former recording a facile win over their opponents in the group stages, it was no surprise that the 2001 champions were installed as favourites for the penultimate game. Unsurprisingly, Raharney proved to be tougher opposition this time around and with little or nothing separating the sides throughout, it was no shock to see the game finish a draw. In the replay, Clonkill never really found their feet and Raharney always seemed to be in control and although there was never too much between the sides, the Deelsiders held on for a four-point win, 1-10 to 0-9. "Losing the senior semi final was very disappointing. This team should be winning more as we have some excellent hurlers in the club, but for one reason or another they have failed to fulfil their potential since winning the title in 2001. "The lads have to put in a bigger effort or otherwise they won't win it again. Raharney proved last year that if you show enough determination, you can win a championship. "The general opinion is that we have great talent, but that is no good unless we have the heart to go with it. This is a new year and it's a new dawn, so hopefully the lads can go that step further in 2007." Clonkill minors cap memorable year A second half goal from Niall Keegan proved to be the decisive score as Clonkill defeated Lough Lene Gaels to be crowned minor hurling league 13-a-side champions for 2006. The delayed final took place in Loughegar on February 11 and after an entertaining contest, the home side emerged victorious by 1-9 to 1-6. Lough Lene Gaels looked to be in a strong position when leading by 1-5 to 0-5 at half-time, but keen to make amends for their loss to Raharney in the championship final, Clonkill came storming back in the second half to land the spoils. The victory completed a successful year for the Clonkill under 18s who also captured the 'A' championship and North Leinster League titles. Favoured by the wind in the first half, the Gaels made a dream start when Noel Conaty blasted an early goal. Stephen Bardon extended their lead before Clonkill registered four unanswered point per team captain Owen Price (two) and Darryl Quinn (two) to draw level. Bardon hit four more points before the break with Clonkillís only reply during this period coming from Michael Heffernan. Points following the resumption from Quinn and Price had reduced the deficit to the minimum before Mark Keegan gave them the lead for the first time with a well-taken goal. Bardon responded from a free, but the momentum was now firmly with the green and golds and two late points from Keegan made sure of victory. The Clonkill minor panel was: Colm Coffey, Sean McCormack, John Fitzsimons, Anthony Price, Owen Price, Michael Heffernan, James McCormack, David Hallinan, Barry Byrne, Christopher Cribbin, Conrad Reilly, Darren Quinn, Alan McGrath, Shane Power, Mark Keegan and Lorcan Caffrey. Tweet

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