After displaying massive potential for years, Bunbrosna finally made the breakthrough in 2006 when they landed the Intermediate football title. Their first sojourn into senior football proved they have the qualities to mix it with the leading teams in the county and, having came close to making the knock-out stages of the championship, this year they're back as a senior club. Damien Maher caught up with dashing wing back, Finian Newman, to reflect on Bunbrosna's year. Even after their thrilling win over Maryland in the Intermediate final replay of 2006, people still had doubts as to whether Bunbrosna were ready for the senior grade. 'Too young and inexperienced and lacking the necessary physical strength' seemed to be the general consensus among observers throughout the county, but Bunbrosna showed in big championship games in 2007 that they have the class to compete at the top level. An ambitious club, Bunbrosna were keen to consolidate senior status and progress to Division one of the All County League and they set these as their goals for the year. While their league form wasn't good, the performances in the senior championship have given them great confidence and they'll be looking to build on that in the year ahead. "We'd be happy enough with how the championship went, considering it was our first crack at it," admits Newman, who won a Leinster minor title with Westmeath back in 2000. "We had two good wins over Athlone and Tubberclair and lost a couple of games narrowly to Castledaly and Coralstown/Kinnegad, while Garrycastle just over ran us on the day. So there's plenty to be positive about," he added. Bunbrosna made a flying start to the 2007 senior football championship when they surprised Athlone, one of the biggest clubs in the county. With no fewer 21 senior titles under their belt, Athlone were strongly fancied, but Bunbrosna produced a stirring display to win by six points, 1-12 to 0-9. Bunbrosna had the advantage of a strong win in the first half and a goal from big full forward, Padraig Walsh helped them lead by six points at the interval (1-5 to 0-2). Athlone came out battling in the second half, but Bunbrosna were strong enough to fend off their best efforts and, in the end, recorded a famous victory. In round two, Bunbrosna faced another south Westmeath side in the form of Castledaly, who had reached the final the previous year. This was a serious test for Bunbrosna, but they played some great football on the evening (at Tang GAA grounds), only to lose by two points in the finish (0-11 to 0-9). Bun' had ample opportunities to win the game, but six second half wides proved a real frustration. And Brian Maguire saw his shot for a goal come off the upright early in the second half. A goal then could have swung the game in Bunbrosna's favour as Castledaly led by just two points at the interval (0-7 to 0-5). It was back to Cusack Park for the third round of the championship where Bun' faced Coralstown/Kinnegad. Just three points separated the teams at half time (Kinnegad leading by 0-8 to 0-5) and when Noel Kiernan scored a wonder goal to bring the sides level in the second half, the game was in the balance. Alas, Kinnegad replied with two goals of their own and Bunbrosna were beaten by just two points in the finish (2-10 to 1-11). Round four pitted Bun' against Garrycastle, one of the real standard bearers in Westmeath football at the minute. It proved a bridge too far for Newman and company as Garrycastle prevailed by 10 points in the end on a 2-9 to 0-5 scoreline. In their final game of the championship in late August, Bunbrosna faced Tubberclair and needed to win in order to secure senior status. The first half was tense and the sides were level (0-6 apiece) heading for the dressing rooms at the break, but Bunbrosna found a higher gear in the second half and man of the match, Andrew Whitney, drove them on. In the end, Whitney's goal meant Bun' had six points to spare over Tubberclair, 1-11 to 0-8, and Bunbrosna folk could celebrate a good achievement by their young, emerging side. "The manner of the two wins was the most pleasing aspect and if other results had gone our way, we might well have made the knock-out stages," observed Newman, a teacher at St. Mary's CBS, Mullingar. "Still, to stay up in senior was a good achievement and we'll be hoping to build on that." If there was a downside to Bunbrosna's year it was their performances in Division 2 of the All County League. "It was disappointing alright," admits Newman, whose twin brother, Conor also plays in defence for Bunbrosna. "We had four losses in the league and, when you compare that to the previous year, when we lost just once, it was a downer. Our aim was to get to Division one, but, I suppose you have to put things in perspective. "Division two is still fiercely competitive and there are a lot of intermediate teams there. We're not that long out of intermediate football, so, for us, it's still a good league to be in. Obviously, Division one would be great for helping you prepare for the championship and maybe we could have found the extra two points that would have helped us in the games against Castledaly and Kinnegad had we been there," he added. This year, Bunbrosna will be managed by former Killucan supremo, Bernard Smyth, who was a selector with Dromard when they won the Longford senior title in recent years. Bun' bid farewell to his namesake, John Smith of Edgeworthstown, who managed them for five years and led them to that historic Intermediate title. Newman was full of praise for the Edgeworthstown man. "John Smith was excellent with us and the fact that he stayed five years shows how big of an impression he made. He's very highly regarded among Bunbrosna players and we had great respect for him, but after five years, he felt the time was right for us to get a new man. "But we can't forget the role he's played in us progressing to where we are now. He brought us up a couple of Divisions in the league and led us to that championship breakthrough," he said. At underage level, Bun' are continuing their good work, but Newman admits they have to focus on under 14 and under 12 again as number appear to be falling off. Still, their minors won a league title and they competed well in the various championships, so the progress continues. Aside from that, the Bunbrosna GAA grounds have developed well. "We opened a new gym this year and it's great for everyone in the community," remarked Newman. "There's a great committee there, led by Chairman, Vincent Maguire, and John Madden did a lot of work for us with the new building. It's now the focal point of the community," he added. Developments will continue in the year ahead, with the terrace being worked on and a new underage pitch being developed. They also plan to have a sand track or training. "We're looking forward to the year ahead. We have good players and good strength in depth, so it's hard to know what extra we can do, but the experience of last year is sure to stand to us. Cormac McCormack has been an inspirational leader on the field for years and he's going to give it another go this year, so we'll have the same team. "We have three lads, Andrew Whitney, Aidan Finnan and Peter Tormey, on the county senior panel and a few on the under 21 team, so that's a good achievement. It proves that we're heading in the right direction," Newman enthused. The Bun' team which defeated Tubberclair in the senior football championship of '07 was: Damien McCormack; Conor Newman, Cormac McCormack, Darren Geerah; Kevin Tormey, Liam Mitchell, Finian Newman; Andrew Whitney, Padraig Walsh; Kieran Brennan, Aidan Finnan, Fintan Finnan; Peter Tormey, Noel Kiernan, Conor Geerah. Subs used: Padraig Tighe, Brian Maguire. Tweet

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