Congratulations to all who helped make 2004 a very successful year for Knockbridge Hurling Club. Winning the senior hurling league for the fourth time with a very young team was the highlight of the year and a tremendous achievement for the club. Great credit must go to the hard-working players and mentors. The club finished third in Division One of the Armagh senior hurling league, with 19 points, having topped the division for most of the year. Cnoc Brid also made it five U14 Feile titles in a row and secured the U11 and U12 championships. Furthermore, at the time of going to press, Knockbridge were in both the U16 and minor championship finals. Senior hurling league winners Congratulations to the senior hurlers, who on Sunday June 20 in Drogheda won the Louth senior league title. Trevor Hilliard lifted the Paddy Rice Cup for the fourth time after a decisive victory over Wolfe Tones, 3-14 to 1-10. Wolfe Tones took an early lead and the lead changed hands for the first twenty minutes of the game. However, Knockbridge finished the opening half stronger to lead 1-7 to 1-4 at the short whistle. The Knockbridge defence was to the fore in the second half, holding the Tones attack. This was typified by a point-blank save from goalkeeper Brendan McNally as Niall McEneaney came raiding. There were excellent performances in defence from Noel Callan, Adrian Wallace, Paul Dunne, Dermot Plunkett and Gareth Corcoran. At midfield, Eddie Quigley and Kevin Kirk held sway. In the forwards, David Dunne's strength and experience proved decisive with a personal score of 2-6. Other forwards of note included captain Trevor Hilliard, Paudie Kieran and the Byrne brothers. As County Board chairman Paddy McMahon presented the Paddy Rice Cup to team captain Trevor Hilliard, everyone associated with the club experienced a great sense of pride and joy. Trevor went on to thank all who made the victory possible, especially all the players on the panel and managers Gerry Dunne and Aidan Kerrigan. Great credit must go to Donal Murphy for designing and sponsoring the new club jerseys and kit. A special word of thanks also goes to those who helped on the day of the match - Paddy Farrell, John Byrne, Fintan Wynne, Aidan Costello, Seamus Moore, Niall Byrne and Lorcan O'hUallachain. Knockbridge panel: Brendan McNally, Conor Kerrigan, Dermot Plunkett, Brendan Corbett, Paul Dunne, Kevin Kirk, David Dunne, Trevor Hilliard, (captain), Eddie Quigley, Ronan Byrne, Paddy Mone, Padraig Kieran, Sean Byrne, Brian Dunne, Adrian Wallace, Brendan Grant, Shane Kennedy, Conail Byrne, Eamon Peticrew, Gareth Corcoran, Noel Callan, Stephen Hilliard Louth senior hurlers Before leaving the seniors, heartiest congratulations to manager Joe Power and assistant Tony Melia and the Louth senior hurlers who, although they did not gain promotion, had a good run in Division Three of the Allianz National Hurling League. This was their last year in charge and great praise and thanks is due to them for their hard work and dedication with the Louth senior hurlers over the last three years. Our seven senior intercounty hurlers -Paul and David Dunne, Shane D'Arcy, Brendan Corbett, Ronan Byrne, Trevor Hilliard and Kevin Kirk - are eagerly looking forward to working under the new manager (yet to be appointed) for the coming year. Knockbridge are hoping to have a much bigger representation on the county seniors, and we would encourage a lot more players to make themselves available for training and selection in the coming year. The Louth hurlers once again fell to Longford (away) on June 20 in the first round of the championship on a scoreline of Louth 1-9, Longford 0-14. Poc Fada Paul Dunne made history by becoming the first Louth man to win the All Ireland Poc Fada Na hEireann competition held on Annaverna in the Cooley Mountains on August 4 2003. He won the title, beating holder Davy Fitzgerald (Clare) and Tipperary goalie Brendan Cummins. He was one of the very few outfield players ever to win the Poc Fada title. Paul proved a very worthy All -Ireland champion and brought great honour and distinction to the club. He was very generous with his time, visiting local schools and summer camps where he encouraged and gave demonstrations of his unique long range striking skills to young aspiring hurlers. This year, Tipp goalkeeper Brendan Cummins turned the tables by winning the title with a record breaking 48 pocs, with Paul Dunne finishing with 57 pocs. Minor championship Knockbridge minor hurlers beat Naomh Moninne and St Fechins to reach the semi-final stage of the Louth minor hurling championship. They were due to meet Pearse Og, Collon or St Vincents in the semi-final. U16 hurling championship Knockbridge Ul6 hurlers got to the county championship final with an unbeaten run against Naomh Moninne, Pearse Og, Collon, Naomh Fechin and St Vincents. As we go to press, Knockbridge, the defending U16 champions, had yet to play the final. Their opponents will be decided in a play-off. This year, Micheal O Broin, Secretary of Coiste Iomana, has put up the beautiful and very ornate Brian O Broin Cup, minted in Kilkenny by the silversmith who made the Sam Maguire Cup, as a prize for the U16 championship. The Knockbridge panel trained very hard all year and has performed very well to date. James King has defended his goals well while Mark Hoey, Conaill Byrne, Peter Brennan, Damian Callan, Stephen O'Callaghan, Sam Fairman, Christopher Scully and Philip Mc Govern have provided great leadership in defence. Dara Herr and Barry Piper have put in a huge work rate in the middle of the field and David Kettle, Kevin McNally, Conor Stein, Mark Devine and Gavin Kerrigan have delivered consistently up front all year. The younger players such as Shane Devine, Ruairi Kirk, Frank McGeeney, Conal Devine, Shane Doran, Barry Hoey, Christopher Bellew, Niall Meegan, Gerry McKeown, Jamie McAvinny, Gavin Murray and Niall Mackin are looking very promising for the future. Louth U16 This year saw eleven Knockbridge players make the Louth under 16 panel. These are Conaill Byrne, Conor Stein, Dara Herr, David Kettle, Kevin McNally, Mark Hoey, Mark Devine, Peter Brennan, Philip McGovern, Sam Fairman and Stephen O'Callaghan. The Louth under 16 team started off their competitive season with a blitz on May 8, in Celbridge, Co Kildare. Louth got off to a terrific start with a convincing 2-9 to 0-3 victory over Longford. Knockbridge's Kevin Mc Nally, Conor Stein and David Kettle were the main scorers. Next up, Louth withstood severe pressure from Wicklow to lead at the break. Louth then had victory snatched from their grasp when they conceded a late free to end all level at 1-6 apiece. A strong Meath team then overcame Louth's best efforts in the final. The championship started after the Junior Cert, which saw Louth draw with Cavan in their first match in Dowdallshill. A strong Armagh side at home then overpowered Louth. This left Louth needing a win away to Cavan in the second leg to remain in with a chance for All Ireland glory. Louth rose to the challenge and beat Cavan convincingly, which was helped by David Kettle's personal tally of 3-4 and 1-6 from Kevin McNally. However the Wee County was not to progress as Armagh proved too strong in the last game of the season. DJ Carey School of Hurling, U14 A total of four Knockbridge U14 hurlers attended the DJ Carey School of Excellence in St Kieran's College, Kilkenny for a week in mid-July. They were part of the U14 Louth Development Squad. The players received excellent coaching and training from well-known hurlers and managers D J Carey, Rory McCarthy (Wexford), Brian Ryan, Lester Ryan, Brian Cody (Kilkenny) and Paudie Butler (Laois). The following Knockbridge players attended the hurling camp: Gavin Kerrigan, Frank McGeeney, Peter Brennan and David Deane. Peter won the very distinguished title of "Player of the Camp" for his displays of skill, commitment and interest shown during the week. Many thanks to the Louth mentors for the week: Aidan Kerrigan, Tony and Audrey Corcoran and Miceal O'Broin, all of who did a great job looking after the panel. U14 Feile Na Gael champions Congratulations to the U14s who won the Feile Na Gael championship for a historic 'five in a row', beating Collon by 7-9 to 1-1 in Stabannon on May 22. There were great performances from team captain Peter Brennan, ably assisted at midfield by Shane Devin. Full forward Gavin Kerrigan secured victory with a brace of goals in each half. Alan Meegan, Frank McGeeney, Gerry McKeown, and Dermot Mone also performed to the top of their ability. The team travelled to Oliver Plunketts HC in Mullingar and, although failing to win any of their three matches against hosts Plunketts, Lough Lene Gaels (Westmeath) and Longford Slashers, they proved worthy representatives of their county. The highlight of the National Feile Na Gael was the very colourful parade through the streets of Navan in beautiful summer sunshine to the vast expanse of Pairc Tailteann where the crowds were addressed by GAA president Sean Kelly. A special word of thanks to mentors Derek Kettle, Aidan Kerrigan, Eugene Dean and Adrian Wallace who helped out over the three days. Knockbridge panel; James King, Kenneth Thornton, Frank McGeeney, David Deane, Aidan Morris, Ruairi Kirk, Gerry McKeown, Peter Brennan, Shane Devine, Stephen Hoey, Niall Mackin, Darren Brennan, Richard McGuinness, Gavin Kerrigan, Daire McKiernan, Stephen O'Neill, Andrew Kane, Fergal Duffy, Dermot Mone, Padraig Gallagher, Joseph Edwards, Michael Keane, Ciaran Duffy, Greg Kehoe. Thanks to all who helped with the sponsored walk which, raised much-needed finance for the trip to Feile O'Broin Shield winners, U12 Knockbridge won the Louth U12 championship by beating Collon on a score of 4-5 to 0-3 under lights in Monasterboice on October 19. Knockbridge led at half time by 3-1 to 0-1, thanks mainly to three goals from full forward and team captain Michael Keane. A further goal in the second half by Laurence Steen and points from Cathal McKenna, Patrick Reilly and Connor Deane secured victory. Others to shine included Aidan Morris, Oisin Kirk, Daire Mc Kiernan, Ricki McKeown, Aidan Mc Nally, Stephen Kilcoyne and Gareth Hall. Coiste Iomana secretary Micheal O'Broin, who congratulated both teams on a fine display of skillful hurling under the excellent lights at the Naomh Mairtins grounds, presented the trophy to team captain and Man of the Match Michael Keane. Knockbridge: Alan Meegan, Richard McGuinness, Aidan Morris, Gareth Hall, Oisin Kirk, Ricki McKeown, Stephen Kilcoyne, Daire McKiernan, Cathal McKenna, Stephen Kettle, Aidan McNally, Conor Deane, Laurence Steen, Michael Keane (captain), James Costello, Cillian McConnon, Liam O'Leary, Sean McDonnell, Padraig Marry. McCreesh Shield winners, U11 Knockbridge became Louth U11 champions when they won the McCreesh Shield by beating Collon in the final of the 'A' section in Knockbridge on Saturday October 9, 2-2 to 0-1. On the way to the final they beat Pearse Og, Naomh Moninne and St Fechins. Knockbridge had a star performer in Man of the Match Cathal McKenna whilst others to shine for the Knockbridge team were Stephen Kilcoyne, Laurence Steen, Stephen Kettle, James Costello, Liam O'Leary and Sean Mc Donnell. Sincere thanks was expressed by everyone to the McCreesh family for their very generous sponsorship of the Louth U11 championship every year since 1987. Collon's second team won the 'B' section. Knockbridge: Stephen Kilcoyne, Sean McDonnell, Liam O'Leary, Stephen Kettle, Richard Halpenny, Cathal McKenna, Conor Deane, James Costello, Ronan Coyne, Patrick Reilly, Laurence Steen, Tom Bonnie, Ciaran McConnon, Micheal Kearns Louth GAA Supporters Club On March 20 last, at the annual presentation dinner of the Louth GAA Supporters Club, three Knockbridge clubmen received awards. Shane D'Arcy received Louth Senior Hurler of the Year for 2003; Liam Woods received Louth under 16 Hurler of the Year and Paul Dunne received a special merit award for his historic All Ireland winning Poc Fáda achievement. Successful summer camp One of the biggest and most enjoyable summer camps in the county was the hurling camp in Knockbridge, which was attended by 120 boys and girls from U7 to U14 in the third week of August. Great thanks is due to the excellent work carried out by coaches Mickey Heaney, Gerry Dunne, Aidan Kerrigan, Aidan Costello, John Byrne, Paddy Farrell, Fintan Wynne, Sean Byrne, Brian Dunne, Alan Dunne, Ronan Byrne, Conail Byrne, David Kettle, Mark Devine, Kevin Mc Nally and Gavin Kerrigan. Knockbridge would like to give a special thanks to St Brides GFC for the use of their facilities. Successful presentation function There was a record amount of silverware on display for the annual awards presentation in the Clan Na Gael hall this year. In 2003, the club had its most successful year to date. Lorcan O hUallachain accepted the Louth senior hurling championship and league cups plus the Armagh league Division Two cup on behalf of his son and team captain Conail. Also on display was the U16 championship cup, which was presented to team captain Barry McCloskey. A special presentation was made to Paul Dunne as a tribute to his winning the All Ireland Poc Fáda title. Successful juvenile presentation function Knockbridge held a very successful juvenile presentation in March this year. At the very well-attended function, over twelve sets of medals and trophies were presented to the juvenile teams. These medals, accumulated over the past three years, were for the McCreesh Shield, the O'Broin Shield, Feile Na Gael and the under 16 teams. There were many special guests at the presentation including Tina Turner, Freddy Mercury, Michael Jackson, Prince, Robbie Williams, Eminem and Elvis, all performing their hits with help from the professional Kettle Music Productions. Many of the mime artists would like to remain anonymous so all that can be said is that Barry Hoey, Mark Hoey, Conaill Byrne, Damien Callan and Barry McCloskey gave tremendous displays. Level 1 coaching course Club coaches Gerry Dunne, Aidan Kerrigan, Shane D'Arcy and Johnny Gallagher have attended the hurling Level 1 coaching course in Blackhall Gaels clubrooms in Batterstown during October and November. Instructions and demonstrations in hurling skills, drills, motivation, nutrition etc were given by top Leinster hurling coaches from Dublin, Meath and Kildare. They hope to put the knowledge to good use for the various squads next year. Sincere Thanks: Finally, a sincere word of thanks is due to the following people, who gave invaluable help to the club and the various teams during what has been a fabulous year on the playing field. Knockbridge Hurling Club officers and committee would like to thank St Brides GFC for all their help and for the use of their facilities during the year. Also a special thanks goes to Glyde Rangers, Kilkerley, Geraldines, and Young Irelands GFC. Special thanks to Lorcan O'hUallachain for the invaluable use of the school for meetings etc and for his help with school hurling competitions. Also to Derek Kettle and Shane D'Arcy, who have done a wonderful job in coaching the U16 squad, which has reached the county final. The use of the refurbished Community Centre for club meetings is also a bonus, so thanks to Very Rev Father McGinnity PP and Gene Myers. Thanks to Tony Tynan, and Noel Fagan for their great work with U8sand U10s. To Derek Kettle and John Byrne for their expert work with hurley repairs and their support with training. Thanks to Niall Byrne for his invaluable help with First Aid. John Byrne has been a stalwart in representing the club at County Board level throughout the year. Thanks to the following for their great help on match days: John Byrne, Paddy Farrell, Fintan Wynne, Aidan Costello, Seamus Moore and Noel McNally, Brendan McNally and Gerry McNally. Thanks also to the many people who helped with fundraising, especially Ann Byrne for her organisation of the annual Poker Classic. Thanks to Frank Carney and Cluskeys, Little Ash for the very popular annual Table Quiz. Thanks to Kathleen, Brendan, Dolores and Noel McNally for all their help with fundraising. Thanks also to Brian Brady and family for the use of their premises on flag days. Thanks also to the many sponsors, whose invaluable financial help towards the running of the club is much appreciated. Thanks to the players for their great loyalty and support throughout the year. Thanks to Shane D'Arcy for the design of the club website, www.knockbridgehc.com. 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 five years. Tweet

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