Oliver Plunketts GFC continued to make tremendous strides at underage level during the 2010 season, while their seniors qualified for the knockout stage of the IFC and brilliantly secured promotion to Division One. All in all, it was a fabulous year for the Mell outfit, much to the satisfaction of club chairman Robert Brady.  

The emphasis is very much on underage development these days, but that's not to suggest that Oliver Plunketts have neglected their adult team(s). Far from it, in fact. In 2010, while the juvenile section of the Drogheda club continued to prosper, the Plunketts also made commendable progress at intermediate level, qualifying for the quarter-finals of the IFC (wherein they lost to eventual champions Young Irelands) and stringing together an encouraging sequence of results in the all-county league, which saw them earn a Top Five finish in Division Two. After play-off victories over Na Piarsaigh and Naomh Malachi, Oliver Plunketts took on Clan na Gael in the Division One relegation/promotion decider on Sunday, November 7th, where a last-minute Rory Taafe point gave them a 0-9 to 1-5 win over Clan na Gael and Division One football for 2011. This was the XV that brought the Plunketts back to the top division: Conaire Quigley; Cillian Matthews, Brian O'Neill, David McTeggart; Gavin Sullivan, Brian Fitzpatrick, Darragh Matthews; Emmet Kelleher, Sean Brassil; Stephen Kealy (0-1), John Kermath (0-2), Rory Taaffe (0-4); Cian Matthews (0-2), Frank Taaffe, John Moroney.
Club Chairman Robert Brady notes: "Our focus is first and foremost on developing underage, whilst incrementally improving our first team, recognising that the young lads coming through are the future of the club. We were successful on both fronts in 2010, so it was a pretty good year for the club."
Oliver Plunketts' underage section is extremely strong at present and it is this unprecedented strength that will safeguard the future of the club. Ongoing underage development was the main focus of attention this year and considerable progress was made. The nursery section is a veritable hive of activity, with up to 70 or 80 youngsters between the ages of four and seven out training at Pairc Olibhéar Pluncéad on Saturday mornings.
The club also started up an U12 girls team in 2010 (their first-ever ladies side) while success achieved at juvenile level included winning the U13 Division One Shield, U14 Division One B league and U16 Division One Shield as well as contesting the U14 Division One semi-finals. Clearly, an incredible amount of work is being invested into this aspect of the club.
"There is huge work being done at underage level and we are happy that we're moving forward," the chairman continues. "I suppose the problem at the moment is that we don't have enough experienced lads on the first team and it'll probably take a couple of years for the younger lads in the intermediate team to make their mark, but we're very optimistic and we have a good group of lads coming through."
At intermediate level, Plunketts went into 2010 full of optimism, having appointed none other than Seamus O'Hanlon as their new manager. The Mell men had only just preserved their middle-grade status at the end of '09 when four late unanswered points saw them defeat local rivals St Nicholas in the relegation play-off, but hopes were high that they could produce an improved showing...
The draw for the IFC took place in February and Plunketts were pitted alongside would-be finalists O'Raghallaighs and Roche Emmets in Group B. O'Raghallaighs had just been crowned Paddy Sheelan Cup winners the previous
weekend but two late Rory Taaffe points ensured Plunketts of a 0-11 to 1-8 draw at Dunleer in the group opener on Saturday, July 3rd. Seamus O'Hanlon's side then beat Roche by 0-13 to 0-8 at Haggardstown on Saturday, August 15th to confirm their place in the last eight. This was the team in action that day: Conaire Quigley; David McEnteggart, Frank Daly, Brian O'Neill; Brian Fitzpatrick (0-2), Darragh Matthews, Stephen Kealy; Emmet Kelleher (0-2), Sean Brassil; Gavin Sullivan, Rory Taaffe (0-1), Cillian Matthews; Cian Matthews, John Moroney, Frank Taaffe (0-4). Subs: John Kermath (0-3), Dean Carolan (0-1), Trevor Walsh.
Unfortunately, the Plunketts failed to rise to the occasion on quarter-final day as they fell to a disappointing 1-12 to 0-3 loss to Young Irelands at Haggardstown in early September. "We started off well and were going well in the league and had qualified for the championship quarter-finals," Robert reflects. "It was a very disappointing day against Young Irelands, but we kept fighting for promotion to Division One and were still in contention for a Top Five finish going into our last league game against Roche in late October."
The Plunketts duly finished fifth and qualified for the promotion/relegation final with wins over Na Piarsaigh (1-11 to 0-10) and Naomh Malachi (0-12 to 0-10). They met Clan na Gael in the decider and finished the job in style in early November.
"We have been up there holding our own with a very young side for the past two or three years. The average age of the team is only 22 or 23 and they are getting better with each passing year. We were delighted to have Seamus in as manager in 2010. Seamus is a man of huge experience and a well-respected figure within the game. He brought lots of new ideas into the club, which are all very welcome, and we'd like to thank him for all his hard work in 2010."
Long-term, Oliver Plunketts are not content to just make up the numbers in Drogheda, or indeed in Louth. They have very progressive structures in place and these reflect an ambition to take the club to the next level, as the chairman confirms:
"Long-term, we would hope to become the strongest team in Drogheda. That has always been our aim. In the mid-to-long-term, we want to be an established senior club. We launched our new development plan early in 2010 and it's progressing well and we would hope to have our new clubhouse and gym facility in place by the end of 2011.
"At county level, we had five players with the county U14 Development Squad this year; two with the U15s; two more with the U16s; and one lad with the U17s, who's going into minor now. Our own U14s were actually very unlucky this year, losing the Feile final and championship semi-final with about four key players missing on both occasions. We're very happy to have such a strong group of players coming through and we should have a bright future - if, of course, we can keep them interested.
"Our existing coaches and trainers are brilliant and their commitment and dedication have been of huge benefit to the club. We're fortunate to have 16 coaches with Foundation level and six with Level One qualifications involved in Oliver Plunketts."
The groundwork is certainly being done; it's going to be interesting to see how Oliver Plunketts progress in the coming years. Tweet

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