St. Brigid's transformation from also-rans to contenders was one of the stories of last year's intermediate hurling championship. Defender Seamus Faulkner attributes their vast improvement to the emergence of new talent and a greater commitment from every player. Eight years since they almost went out of existence, St. Brigid's are now finally starting to reap the rewards of a successful underage policy as last year's run to the intermediate hurling championship semi-final testifies. Despite winning intermediate titles in 1995 and 2000, the Dalystown club struggled to stay afloat due to falling numbers and a general lack of interest. However, thanks largely to their endeavours at underage level, St. Brigid's survived and are now a thriving club once again. "The club has come a long in a few short years," ethuses corner back Seamus Faulker, who was one of several young players to make their mark on last year's intermediate championship. "Last year was the first time in a number of years that we were really competitive at intermediate level. We brought through a good few lads from the successful underage teams and I think that's why you saw such a big improvement in our performances. "As well as that, we got a lot of training in which was partly due to Westmeath's extended run in the football championship. If Westmeath had been knocked out of the championship early, the local club football championships would have been run off earlier which would have meant that lads wouldn't have been able to give the same commitment to the hurling," he adds. Seamus, whose younger brother Dermot made appearances as a substitute for the Westmeath hurlers in the championship matches against Kilkenny and Waterford last summer, acknowledges that St. Brigid's faces an ongoing battle against football which is especially strong in the area. "I play football with Milltownpass and the rest of the lads play with Milltownpass, St. Mary's or Tyrrellspass. Football takes precedence with most of them and this has made life extra difficult for St. Brigid's. But there is a big interest in the club now and hopefully that will continue to be the case for many years to come." St. Brigid's have been successful in all the underage grades and last year they qualified for the under 21 'B' championship final for a fourth successive year. Having triumphed in the previous two finals, they were bidding for a third success on the trot but it wasn't to be as Ringtown ran out winners by 2-9 to 1-5. The Whitehall-based outfit were always in control of this 13-a-side final which was played in cold, damp conditions at Turin's McCabe Park. Niall Kilcoyne starred for the winners in a game which became 12-a-side after 24 minutes when both Kevin Reid of St. Brigid's and Ringtown's Mark Smith were sent off following an altercation near the St. Brigid's goalmouth. The holders were facing an uphill battle from the moment Darren Kilcoyne swooped for an early goal. Thomas Geraghty replied with a free for the Saffrons, but it was all Ringtown from there to half-time with unanswered points from Aidan O'Grady and Niall Kilcoyne (four) give them a seven-point cushion, 1-5 to 0-1, at the break. A rousing point from Trevor John Gonoud early in the second half suggested that St. Brigid's were not about to capitulate, but quick scores from Kilcoyne and Shane Boyce only extended Ringtown's advantage. Thomas Geraghty grabbed a third point for the Dalystown men before Niall Kilcoyne hit three points on the trot to underline Ringtown's dominance. A brace of points from Robbie Kenny and Stephen Treacy kept St. Brigid's in the game until Corrigan sent a long ball into Kilcoyne and the county senior panelist gave St. Brigid's goalkeeper James Leogue no chance with a powerful finish. Trevor John Gonoud scored a late consolation goal for St. Brigid's, but it had no bearing on the outcome as Ringtown took the spoils. "I know from talking to the lads that they were disappointed with their performance. After their win over Castlepollard in the semi-final, they were confident of achieving the three-in-a-row. But with Dermot ruled out through suspension and free-taker Darren Quinn out injured, they weren't the same team and were never really in the game," says Seamus, who played on the 2004 and 2005 winning sides. In recent years, St. Brigid's had been among the also-rans of the intermediate championship and it looked as if they would struggle again last season after losing their first game to Turin. But under the management of Mick Carley, Rom Deegan and Jay Faulker (Seamus and Dermot's father), they won their next four games to qualify for the semi-final where their winning run was surprisingly ended by Delvin. St. Brigid's impressive league form made them favourites to account for Turin in their championship opener at Loughegar, and they were looking good for victory after second half goals from Alan Seery and full back Bernard Kiernan had helped them to overturn a half-time deficit. However, after John Scally pounced for an equalizing goal, Dickie Geoghegan fired over to give Turin a dramatic 3-9 to 3-8 win. Mick Carley's charges put that disappointment behind them when young corner forward Darren Quinn inspired them to a 2-11 to 2-6 victory over Southern Gaels. St. Brigid's led by 1-5 to 0-6 at half-time, with Darren Quinn's major the most significant score of the half. Paddy Divilly's goal within a minute of the restart stunned St. Brigid's, but they recovered quickly and were never troubled after Larry Poynton bagged their second goal. Against Cullion in their next outing, St. Brigid's hit 1-4 without reply in the closing quarter to secure a 1-10 to 0-6 victory. Cullion held a slender 0-4 to 0-3 lead at the break and there was nothing to separate the teams until substitute Robbie Kenny rifled a low shot past Jim Baker to give the Saffrons a 1-7 to 0-6 advantage. St. Brigid's produced arguably their best display of the year when overwhelming Delvin by 2-15 to 0-4 in their penultimate group match. After taking a 0-6 to 0-2 lead into the interval, the Dalystown men outscored their opponents 2-9 to 0-2 in the second half with the goals coming from Niall Seery and Robbie Kenny. St. Brigid's completed a successful round-robin campaign with a 0-10 to 0-4 defeat of champions-elect Brownstown at St. Loman's. They were 0-6 to 0-2 ahead at the break and added four more points in the second half to seal a comfortable win. Having walloped Delvin by 17 points in the group stage, St. Brigid's were strongly fancied to account for the same opposition when they renewed their rivalry in the semi-final. A Thomas Geraghty goal after 27 minutes had St. Brigid's 1-4 to 0-6 in front at half-time, but Delvin gradually gained the upper hand after that with Barry Williams' late goal handing them a shock 1-11 to 1-6 victory. "The big win we had over them earlier in the campaign was possibly the worst thing that could have happened to us," Faulkner remembers. "We were ahead at half-time, but just didn't perform in the second half. Some of the lads might have been looking ahead to the final, so it was a real shock to the system. I think a combination of inexperience and complacency cost us a place in the final." Seamus reveals that St. Brigid's are hell bent on making amends for last year's semi-final defeat and are keen to go a step further in the campaign ahead. "Our aim is to get to the final at least. We made a huge amount of progress in 2006 and it is vital that we build on that this year. I'd expect our young players to be that bit stronger and even though Castlepollard are favourites in everybody's eyes to win the championship, we won't hold any fears of them if we meet them in a semi-final or final," he concludes. The St. Brigid's under 21 team that contested the under 21 'B' championship final was: David Glennon; Shane Gleeson, Kevin Reid; Eanna Gallagher, John Peppard, Trevor John Gonoud; Robbie Kenny (captain), Stephen Treacy; Andy Devine, Thomas Geraghty, Michael Malone; Brian Slevin, Kieran Geraghty. Subs used: James Leogue, Francis Nally, James Troy and Sean Bagnall. Tweet

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