Knockbridge Still
a Force 
Congratulations to all who helped to make 2010 a very successful year for Knockbridge Hurling Club. The Junior team made history by winning the Junior Hurling Championship title and lifting the Maurice Murphy Cup which was a first for the Club.  
Great credit must go to the squad of dedicated and hard working players and also to mentors, Paul Dunne, Niall Byrne and Shane Darcy. The Club this year completed the year with a Senior victory to make up for the loss of the championship when they overcame Pearse Og in the Louth Senior Hurling League.
The U-18 hurlers, under the expert guidance of Derek Kettle, Shane Darcy and Aidan Costello won the championship in Darver beating Naomh Moninne in the final. The U-16 squad qualified for the County final in League and Championship but were beaten in both by St Fechins and Camlough respectively. The U-14 team this year failed in the their bid for a Feile title, when they were beaten in the final by a very good Moninne team, but Knockbridge subsequently went on to beat Fechins in the Championship final in October. 

Senior Hurling
League Final
Knockbridge won the Senior Hurling League beating Pearse Og on a score of 2-10 to 1-5 at the Gael's pitch on 14th of November. This clinched their 10th Louth Senior league title in their illustrious 11 years since the founding of the Senior Club in 1999.
Ronan Byrne opened the scoring with a long range free to give Knockbridge a lead that they never relinquished. Goals from Gavin Kerrigan and David Kettle gave the village side a 2-3 to 1-3 lead at half time.
On the resumption Paul Dunne increased the lead with a well taken point from a free Knockbridge continued to pile on the pressure with further points from Gavin and Shane Kerrigan and this meant that Knockbridge were now starting to dominate. David Dunne pointed followed by Shane Fennel and Gerry McKeown. A final point by Ronan Byrne brought the winning margin to eight points in favour of Knockbridge.
The Paddy Kelly Cup was presented to team captain, Brendan Mc Nally by Co Board Chairman, Padraig O Connor. Brendan thanked his team-mates, mentors and supporters for their commitment and dedication throughout the year. Padraig O Connor congratulated both teams on a fine competitive game of hurling befitting a County final.
Scorers for Knockbridge: Ronan Byrne 0- 2 (1 65, 1f), Gavin Kerrigan 1-1, David Dunne O-1, Stephen Kettle 0-1, Paul Dunne 0-1(f), David Kettle 1-0, Adrian Wallace 0-1, Shane Fennel 0-1, Gerry McKeown 0-1, Shane Kerrigan 0-2
Knockbridge team : Brendan McNally, (captain) Mark Wallace, Tony Teefey, David Deane, Conor Kerrigan, Ronan Byrne, Adrian Wallace; David Dunne, Shane Kerrigan; Gerry McKeown, David Kettle, Conor Deane; Gavin Kerrigan, Paul Dunne, Paudie Kieran. Subs: Shane Fennell for Conor Deane, Stephen Kettle for Paudie Kieran, Diarmuid Duffy for Gavin Kerrigan, Ricki McKeown for Gerry McKeown
Referee: Paul Drumm (N. Moninne). 

Junior Hurling Champions
Knockbridge Junior hurlers made history by winning the Junior title for the fist time by beating Pearse Og in the final by 3-13 to 0-6. The junior hurlers this year had Paul Dunne and Niall Byrne in charge for the 2nd year ably assisted by Shane Darcy. They managed to get good numbers out to training and organized numerous challenge matches mostly in Inniskeen in the Spring. The Juniors had an unbeaten run to the final, in which they had been beaten on two previous years.
In the final in Darver on 5th of November they got off to a flying start and were leading by 0-8 to 0-3 at the break. Early in the second half, Knockbridge got goals from Conor Deane and Paudie Kieran. They secured victory with a third goal again from Conor Deane near the end
Knockbridge Junior team: Brendan Mc Nally, Diarmuid  Duffy, Tony Teefey, Niall Byrne; Stephen Kettle, Connor Kerrigan 0- 4, David Deane; Gerry McKeown, Peter Brennan; Gavin Kane 0-3, Shane Kerrigan, Conor Deane 2-1;  Mick Lundon, Paul Dunne 0-2, Paudie Kieran, 1-1. Subs: Paddy Mone for M. Lundon, Cathal Mc Kenna 0-1 for P Brennan, Richard Halpenny 0-1 for P Kieran.
In the Junior All County League (played without the county players) on 14th March they first overcame Wolf Tones. In round 2 Knockbridge lost by 2 points to St. Fechins on a score of 4-10 to 4-8.  This ended the clubs participation in the League competition which this year was divided into two sections comprising North and South Louth   

U-14 Feile na nGael
This year the U14 hurlers were unsuccessful in their quest to add another title to their 9 in a row titles, a run which started back in 1999 when Knockbridge were hosted by Lamh Dearg in Belfast. In the first Feile Blitz in Darver on the 29th of April, Knockbridge beat Moninne by 2-3 to 1-4 and then beat Mattock Rangers by 6-8 to 3-4 to secure all points and reach the Feile final. A week later in the final in Darver, Knockbridge were beaten by Naomh Moninne on a score of 3-5 to 1-3. This was the first time for Moninne to win Feile in Louth in recent times and they subsequently only narrowly lost out in qualifying for a semi-final spot at the National Feile in Clare.
Knockbridge U -14 team: Donal O Leary, Alan Dunne, Ronan E Molloy, Sean Brennan, Phillip Tynan, Conor Kirk, Michael Fitzpatrick, Neil Mulholland, Sean Marry, Paul Tynan, Liam Molloy, Ciaran Deane, Jack Saddlier, Conor and P.J Belton, Dara McGee, Shane and Ronan Murphy, Ronan Cunningham, Ronan and Darren Bailey, James and Mark Byrne and Andrew Mc abe

Knockbridge U-14 Champions
Knockbridge made up for the disappointment of loosing Feile by winning the Championship beating St Fechins by 7-8 to 2-4 on the 7th of October in Darver. Knockbridge led by 2-3 to 1-3 at the interval. A brace of goals by Ciaran Deane and Donal O Leary in the 2nd half sealed a decisive victory for the Knockbridge side. There were good performances from Jordan Mackin, Neil Mulholland, Paul Tynan, Sean Marry, Dara Mc Gee, Ronan Molloy, Conor Kirk, Sean Brennan, Shane Murphy and Liam Molloy
Coiste Iomana Secretary, Mark Stevenson, presented the cup to the winning captain, Neil Mulholland, who thanked mentors Gerry and Brian Dunne, Kevin Mc Nally and Derek Kettle for all the coaching and help during the year.
Knockbridge U-16 Team: Jordan Mackin, Shane Murphy, Ronan E Molloy, Dara Mc Gee, Sean Brennan, Alan Dunne, Conor Belton; Ronan Mulholland 0-1 (captain), Conor Kirk; Sean Marry, Paul Tynan 1-4,  Ronan Bailey 1-1, Liam Molloy 0-2, Donal O Leary 2-0, Ciaran Deane 3-4. Subs: Ronan Cunningham, Darren Bailey, James Byrne Michael Fitzpatrick, Phillip Tynan, Tiernan O'Malley. 

Louth U-14 Hurling Development Squad; DJ Carey School
A total of eight Knockbridge players joined the Louth U-14 development squad for the DJ Carey School in St Kieran's College, Kilkenny from 5th to 7th of July in 2010. Two mentors Gerry Dunne and Joey Callan travelled with the team, which consisted of players also from Mattock, Fechins and Moninne and Glen Emmets. Louth played challenge matches against the other county development squads that were present, namely, Carlow, Dublin, Laois, Meath and Kildare. Louth also put up a great performance when they travelled to Paulstown and ran the North Kilkenny side close for most of the game before eventually loosing out by 4-8 to 2-6. The Louth players got excellent coaching and advice all week from well known coaches, Lester Ryan, George O Connor, Martin Fogarty, Joe Kearns, Brendan Hayden, Paudie Butler, Henry Shefflin, Brendan Cummins, James Mc Garry and Brian Cody. They all illustrated skills and also coached the young hurlers on attitude and personal development.
Knockbridge players on D J Carey Panel: Donal  O Leary, Neil Mulholland, Ronan E Molloy, Paul Tynan, Conor Belton, Sean Brennan, Shane Murphy,  and Dara McGee  

Minor Hurling
Champions
Knockbridge won the U-18 championship this year by overcoming challenges from, Mattock Rangers, St Fechins and finally Naomh Moninne in the final on a score of 2-9 to 0-1. The final was played in Darver in which Knockbridge had a convincing win. Team captain Ricki McKeown had an outstanding game at centre back. The foundation for the victory by 'the reds' was laid in the first half, with Knockbridge leading by 1-4 to 0-1 at the interval, with Cathal Mc Kenna, Liam O Leary and goalkeeper, Robert Wallace playing really well.  The Moninne point was scored in the first minute from a free by Ronan Geoghegan. Incredibly, Moninne were not to score again in the game, despite having a lot of possession The second half was well contested as Moninne raised their game however, Knockbridge with more craft and combined play added further scores to comfortably retain their title.
Best for Knockbridge;  Conor Deane, Richard Halpenny, Cathal Mc Kenna, Stephen Kettle, Liam O Leary, Andrew Smith, Ronan Mulholland, James Costello and Daire Mc Kiernan. The pick of the Moninne players included Ronan Geoghegan, Jamie Kerr, Liam Blundell, David Yore, Eoin Lafferty and David Bellew.
Afterwards the magnificent Brian O Broin Cup was presented to the Knockbridge captain, Ricki McKeown on behalf of Coiste Iomana by Miceal O Broin. Ricky thanked team mentors Derek Kettle, Aidan Costello and Shane Darcy for all their work with the team during the year.
Knockbridge: Robert Wallace, Andrew Smith, Sean Mc Donnell, Ronan Mulholland, Daire Mc Kiernan , Kevin Hearty , James Costello, 1-1 Conor Deane 0-3, Cathal Mc Kenna 1-2, Richard Halpenny 0-1, Liam O Leary 0-2, Stephen Kettle, Neil Mulholland , Laurence Steen, Padraig Marry, Paul Halpenny, Oisin Kirk, Ciaran Bellew, Frankie Steele 

Minor League Champions
One week after winning the championship the Knockbridge minor hurlers secured the double when they had a decisive victory in the League over St Fechins by 6-9 to 1-3 in Darver. Goals from Liam O Leary, Cathal Mc Kenna and James Costello saw Knockbridge take a commanding lead by the interval and led by 4-6 to 0-2. The accurate free taking of Conor Deane and Liam O Leary resulted in a brace of further points and this coupled with further goals that ensured the village side a decisive victory. The shield was presented to team captain Ricky McKeown by Coiste Iomana Chairman Joey Callan, who praised the skill level and hoped to see these players representing Louth U-21 and senior hurlers in the near future.  

O Broin Shield
The U-12 championship was held in Termonfeckin this year on Saturday October 10th. Knockbridge won the first match against eventual finalists Naomh Moninne by 2-2 to 1-1. In subsequent matches Knockbridge had a narrow victory Pearse Og., but lost out dew to a draw to eventual winners Naomh Fechin. In the final, Fechins defeated Moninne to win the U-12 championship. The Shield was presented by Miceal O Broin of Coiste Iomana and he praised all the teams and their mentors for the fine displays of skilful hurling by all teams on the day.
Knockbridge U-12 Team: Darren Bailey, Donal O Leary, James Byrne, Mark Byrne, Tiernan O'Malley, Liam Molloy, Ronan Murphy, Conor Deane, Phillip Tynan, Michael Fitzpatrick, Sean Marry, Chad McEneaney, Jack Sadlier, Conor Hoey. 

Mc Creesh Shield
This U-11 hurling championship has been sponsored by Kevin and Peggy McCreesh and the family since 1986. This is the longest sponsorship in juvenile hurling in Louth and great credit is due to the McCreesh family This year proved to be a very enjoyable and worthwhile exercise for the clubs taking part. The blitz was held in Darver grounds in beautiful Autumn sunshine on Saturday the 16th October. Great credit must be extended to the various hurling mentors and also to the officers of Coiste Iomana for organizing the blitz. A total of five teams played in the blitz. The Knockbridge side in the opening match were victorious over Naomh Fechin, Knockbridge in the 2nd match defeated Mattock/ Glen Emmets. Knockbridge but were defeated in the final by a very strong and skilful Naomh Moninne side.
The Mc Creesh shield was presented to Moninne by Mrs Peggy Mc Creesh on behalf of the Mc Creesh family whom must thanked most sincerely for their much appreciated sponsorship of the championship over the years.
Knockbridge U-11 Team: Michael Fitzpatrick, Phillip Tynan, Chad McEneaney, Darren Bailey, Jack Sadlier, Conor Hoey, Liam Molloy, P.J Belton, Mark Byrne, Bernard Lavery, Tiernan O'Malley. 

Sincere Thanks
Finally a sincere word of thanks is due to the following who gave invaluable help to the Club and the various teams during what has been another fabulous year on the playing field. Knockbridge Hurling Club officers and committee would like to thank the St. Brides G.F.C. for all their help and for the use of their facilities during the year. Also to the Darver committee, especially Paddy Mc Mahon and Brendan Carthy, Padraig Rath for the use of their excellent facilities.  A special word of thanks to Donal Murphy (Oxy Arc) and Derek Kettle (Kettle Engineering) for their very generous sponsorship of our various teams. Special thanks to Brian Mc Donnell for his invaluable help in the use of the school grounds for training and for all his help with school hurling competitions. Great credit is due to the various mentors who have done a wonderful job in coaching the underage squads both at club and county level. A special word of thanks is due to Noel and Dolores McNally for their help with meetings.  A special word of thanks is also due to Knockbridge Vintage Club for their much appreciated sponsorship during the year. Thanks also to the members of the ladies committee for their help with refreshments. Thanks to Ann Dunne for her work with flag day and organizing playing gear, kit and laundry for matches. Thanks to Club Chairman, John Byrne, for his expert work with hurl repairs; also Brian Dunne and James Quigley for their invaluable help with the first aid and physio services. A special word of appreciation to Gerry Quigley and family, especially, 'Bud', for the high sliothar recovery rate. Thanks to Frank and Teresa Carney for their annual Table Quiz. Thanks also to Gerry Dunne, John Byrne and all the sponsors who helped to fundraise for the County Final. Thanks also to the many other sponsors whose invaluable financial help is much appreciated. Thanks to the players for their great loyalty and support throughout the year. The Club is looking forward to the continued support of everyone involved for the coming year in an effort to build on the great success of the last 11 years. Tweet

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