Despite relinquishing their senior status in 2007, the future still looks bright for Tubberclair who claimed the minor club 1 championship title following a two-point victory over Mullingar Shamrocks. Here, team manager Gerry Harney shares his recollections on the success. In a year when Tubberclair were relegated to the intermediate championship after spending five years in the top flight, the disappointment was eased somewhat by the minor team's achievement in securing major championship honours. On October 7, the south county outfit became the inaugural winners of the Darren Price Memorial Cup after they defeated Mullingar Shamrocks by 3-9 to 2-10 in an entertaining minor club 1 championship final at The Downs. The cup was presented to the Westmeath minor board by the family of former county minor footballer and The Downs star Darren Price, who lost his life in a tragic road accident in March 2006. "It was a big boost, particularly as it came so soon after the club lost its senior status," minor manager Gerry Harney says of his team's success. "Tubberclair hasn't won too many minor championships in its history and the last was in 2000, so it was a big thing for the club to win. A lot of the present adult team played on the 2000 minor team and were to the fore when the club won the intermediate championship in 2002. Hopefully, we'll get as many of the present minor through to the adult side as we did six or seven years ago," he adds. Gerry, whose home club is Clann na nGael in Roscommon but has been involved with Tubberclair for many years, recalls having high hopes for his side at the outset of the year. "It's fair to say that we fancied our chances. We had a lot of talented players and they had tasted a bit of success at under 16 level when they won a league title. They also reached an under 14 final and were beaten at the semi-final stage of the under 16 championship two years earlier by St. Loman's," he explains. Under the guidance of Gerry, former county player Malachy Buckley and ex-Mayo goalkeeper John Madden, who trained the side, Tubberclair played just two games en route to the final. They were due to face St. Malachy's/Ballinagore in the first round, but the game didn't take place and Tubberclair were given a walkover. "We travelled up to their pitch, only to find out that they wouldn't be fielding. It wasn't the most ideal start to be awarded the game," says Gerry, whose son Eoin featured at corner forward on the victorious minor team. Tubberclair's campaign began in earnest when they recorded a facile quarter-final win over St. Michael's. In the semi-final, they exacted revenge on St. Loman's for their defeat to the same opposition at under 16 level when they triumphed by 1-13 to 0-8. Tubberclair faced up to Mullingar Shamrocks in the final at The Downs. And while just two points separated the sides at the final whistle, Tubberclair were the better team by some distance, having led by seven points before a late Shamrocks rally made for a tense finish. Inspired by the free-scoring Ian Coffey, who is once again eligible for the grade in 2008, Tubberclair took the game to their opponents from the start and were rewarded with an early 1-1 from the county minor star and another point from Mark Fitzgibbon. Shamrocks replied with points from Stewart Flynn, Derek Ruane and Denis Corroon, but further scores from David Fagan and Coffey left Tubberclair 1-6 to 0-5 to the good at half-time. The Mullingar boys applied strong pressure at the start of the second half, but against the run of play, Coffey grabbed his second goal to extend Tubberclair's advantage. Shamrocks were handed a lifeline when Kevin Tynan pulled back a goal and they were then presented with a glorious opportunity to reduce the deficit to the minimum when Tynan was taken down for a penalty. However, stand-in goalkeeper Aenghus Hanna produced a brilliant save from Stewart Flynn, although Shamrocks remained in the hunt with follow-up points from Stephen Noonan and Adam Corroon. But just when it seemed the momentum was with Shamrocks, Coffey smashed home his third goal to put Tubberclair back in the driving seat. The game looked over as a contest when Coffey brought his tally for the day to 3-6 with 10 minutes remaining, but Shamrocks never gave up and a late goal from Adam Corroon left the green and golds hanging on for a narrow win. By contrast, the Tubberclair senior team endured a torrid year which culminated in relegation to the intermediate ranks. Having narrowly avoided the dreaded drop in 2005 and 2006, they finally crashed through the relegation trapdoor following a 1-9 to 0-15 play-off defeat to St. Malachy's. For a team that promised such much after the 2002 intermediate championship, relegation represented a major setback. After reaching the senior championship quarter-final in 2003 and comfortably consolidating their position among the big boys in 2004, the last three years proved an almighty struggle for the under-performing Glasson outfit who only retained their senior status in 2005 and 2006 by virtue of play-off victories over Ballymore and St. Mary's. "We had been living dangerously for a couple of years, but it was still a huge disappointment for everyone involved with the club to see the senior team relegated," Gerry says. "It's frustrating to think that the team never really fulfilled its potential during the five years it played at senior level. They were unlucky last year in that Thomas Dougan, who is probably the only natural midfielder that we have, missed out after undergoing knee surgery. He was a huge loss. "But it's not too late for this team to show their potential. Most of them are around 24 or 25 and should be reaching their peak now. When you look around and see the likes of Gary Connaughton, 'Brolly' (Francis) Spollen, Jeffrey Farrell and Fergal Wilson, who are all on the Westmeath panel, and add in players such as Bernard Cassells and James Martin, it's clear that we have the nucleus of a very good team." Tubberclair made a perfect start to their senior championship campaign when they recorded a dramatic 3-7 to 2-8 victory over Coralstown/Kinnegad at Shandonagh. Despite having David Cassells sent off in the first half, Danny Sammon's charges produced a storming final 10 minutes which left their opponents stunned. Fergal Wilson brought them back from the dead with a well-taken goal before Coralstown/Kinnegad defender David Holmes had the misfortune of deflecting the ball into his own net for what proved the winning goal. Sadly for Tubberclair, the opening win proved the highlight of their season. They succumbed to Athlone by 0-7 to 0-13 in their second outing before drawing 1-11 to 0-14 with Castledaly. But further defeats to Garrycastle and Bunbrosna condemned them to a relegation play-off against St. Malachy's. The Dysart men held a four-point lead at half-time and Tubberclair looked to have it all to do in the second half, especially as they had been reduced to 14 players following the sending off of Michael 'Junior' Hopkins in the 26th minute. But they resumed with a goal from the penalty spot by James Martin and an equalizing point from Bernard 'Beano' Cassells. Malachy's hit back with three unanswered points before Tubberclair reduced the deficit to the minimum once again with scores from 'Brolly' Spollen and Martin. However, St. Malachy's numerical advantage eventually told and they finished the stronger to end Tubberclair's hopes of survival. Also last year, Tubberclair reached the final of the delayed 2006 Feis Cup, only to lose to Garrycastle by 0-9 to 1-9. They also enjoyed a lengthy run in the 2007 version of the competition before losing the semi-final to Tyrrellspass by 0-11 to 3-12. The Tubberclair team that triumphed over Mullingar Shamrocks in the minor club 1 championship decider was: John Keegan; Eoin Slevin, Aenghus Hanna, Jack Byrne; Brian Walsh, Simon Lawless, Conor Delaney; Robert Buckley, Mark Fitzgibbon; Eoin Kilmartin, Stephen Lawless (captain), David Fagan; Ian Coffey, Ronan Walker, Daniel Sammon. Subs used: Ian Worley and Eoin Harney. Tweet

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