Paddy Kelly knows enough about Meath hurling to put anybody in their place. Royal County was on the receiving end of a lesson about the small ball game in Meath. He captained Kiltale to their first ever Meath Senior Hurling Championship success in 1982 and played a leading role in their only other one. He won an All-Ireland B medal with Meath in 1993 and a Railway Cup winners medal with Leinster that same year. He has won several All-Ireland medals within the ranks of the Garda Siochana - both in football and hurling. He collected JFC and IFC souvenirs with Moynalvey and once featured on the Meath football panel. He was also responsible for getting hurling up and running again in Cavan two years ago. He still hurls with Kiltale. Paddy Kelly has been keeping himself busy! A tall, accomplished centre half back, Paddy inherited his love of the ancient game from his father - Paddy, also. Paddy Senior was a very well known hurler for both Kiltale and Meath. Lining out on the forty, he won an All-Ireland junior medal with the Royals in 1948. (That team was commemorated this year.) Both Paddy and his brother Lorcan took to the game at an early age. "We always had lads on the county team and had a great tradition here in Kiltale," Paddy notes. "The club had lapsed for a while but was reformed around 1972. We won the Meath U14 Championship in 1975 and it was the bones of that team plus a few older lads who made the breakthrough for Kiltale at senior level." Paddy Kelly captained Kiltale to their first ever Meath SHC success in 1982. He was at centre back again the following year as they defended their title successfully. Rathmolyon were the victims in both finals. Signs that Kiltale were a coming team had been given in 1980 and '81 when they pushed Killyon close in the semi-finals. "We had a lot of fellas who had been on the team since the early seventies and then a lot from the U14 team of 1975. Around 1980/81 we were at our best, with a good balance, but we started to lose fellas and the senior titles were won at just the right time. We still had young lads coming through at that stage but Killyon, Navan O'Mahonys and then Trim all had teams coming up and it would have been very difficult to win it after 1983." Virtually the whole Kiltale team of that era consisted of dual players who doubled up as Moynalvey footballers. With Moynalvey, they won the JFC in 1981 and the IFC in '83. They won the Feis Cup in 1991 and lost to eventual winners Kilmainhamwood in the semi-final of the 1996 Meath SFC. Indeed, Paddy actually broke onto the Meath football panel for a while in 1987 - in between the championship and league successes! Paddy had started to hurl at senior level with Kiltale in 1979 as a seventeen-year-old (they had won the IHC in '77). It was a whole new team coming through, with six or seven of the 1975 U14 team blending in well with the more experienced campaigners. Paddy Kelly was nineteen when he broke onto the Meath senior team in 1979. "We were in Division Three and we used to win it every second year and then go back down with no points," he reflects. "But from 1985 onwards, we started to hold our own a bit more in Division Two. We would win a few games and stay up. It was a good time for the county team because things were changing for the better and the whole team was in transition. "Boardsmill and Kilmessan had been dominating in the seventies but now there was a much bigger spread of clubs involved. We had lads in from all over the county and we were much healthier for that. Eventually, we got into Division Two with a young, settled team and we maintained that. "While we always languished in the bottom half of the division, we were able for the two teams who had come up and occasionally pulled off an odd shock. The good thing about staying there was that we regularly got good games. Tipperary and Cork used to come down to Division Two on a regular basis and I also remember some very good matches against an emerging Offaly team. We had tough games against Kilkenny, Waterford and Clare as well and they helped bring us along." Something Meath hurlers were always particularly keen to win was the All-Ireland B competition. While they finally attained that goal in 1993, Paddy remembers the bitter disappointment of defeat at the hands of London in the 1985 final in Trim. There were countless other disappointments during his time on the Meath team (1979 - 1996) but these were cancelled out by even more great times. The Kiltale clubman featured on the Leinster panel of 1989-94. Both he and Pat Potterton won Railway Cup medals in 1993. "They never used to look at the 'weaker counties' when choosing those teams but once the Offaly boys got involved in the selection process things changed. They had seen us all in action and paved the way for provincial representation for counties who previously weren't even considered," Paddy explains. Can Meath ever do an Offaly? "It's very difficult," Paddy concedes. "I believe St. Brendans in Birr has had a lot to do with Offaly's success and all successful hurling counties have similar nurseries - St. Flannans in Clare, St. Kierans in Kilkenny etc. - but we don't have anything like that in Meath. If you look at the successful underage teams in Meath, they're all teacher-based. Cannistown in the Bective parish, for example, an area which was never renowned for hurling, have been doing exceptionally well under the guidance of Kevin Mullins from Galway. But it's very hard to find more people like him." Kiltale lost to Trim in the knock-out stages of the 1998 Meath SHC. However, Paddy believes, with the young talent that's coming through, they'll be a force again in two/three years. Along with Tom Kirwan (who has put a lot of work into hurling at St. Pat's Stamullen), he has worked extensively within the county's underage ranks. For the past four seasons, the duo have looked after the Meath U14s and U15s. Last year, Meath won the Tony Forrestal competition in Waterford for the very first time. "We got some former county seniors involved and they put a lot into it. We have moulded a good young team and they could be very useful if they continue to develop. There are people putting a lot of time and effort into promoting the game in Meath, but there aren't enough here to allow us to work more closely on the skills." Where did the Cavan connection come from? "Cavan didn't have a county team for years. As I was stationed there as a Garda, I got a team together in 1997. We topped our division in 1998 but were beaten by Mayo in the promotion play-off. There's still no club hurling at adult level in Cavan, but there are a lot of footballers who have pucked around and are interested in hurling for their county." Paddy Kelly is now stationed in the communications department at Garda Headquarters in the Phoenix Park. Within the force, he has won four inter-departmental football All-Irelands and two hurling ones. His hopes for the future? "I'd love to see Meath underage hurling continue to come along. I hope the lads we're working with now will get to play in the Leinster Minor Hurling Championship proper in four years' time and give that a go. At senior level, Meath are in the modern day equivalent of Division Three team again; it's important that they work their way back up. "At club level, with the lads who are coming through, we should be able to get to a county final in the next two to three years. "I'd also like to see more former players getting involved in the promotion of underage hurling in their clubs. It's a credit to any former player to put something back into the game. For every club that gets a bit stronger, hurling in the county as a whole is getting stronger. A stronger club scene will lift the whole county." Kiltale to finish this century on a winning note 1998 is hopefully only the start and the south Meath side were delighted to win the minor title. It was a great boost to the club. Our juniors were defeated in the semi-final but we can fare much better next year. I think we could have won the senior championship and with a little more commitment and discipline, this is very possible. Our last senior win was in 1983 - far too long for our loyal supporters. We now have at least 100 young players in training due mainly to the dedication of Paddy Kelly Jnr, TJ Kane and Thomas Cummings who with others give their time so generously. Our camogie club is also growing and 1999 seems promising under the guidance of Ann Gilsenan (Chairperson). The Kiltale Club House and fabulous hurling pitch is near completion and we hope to officially open in 1999. This should make Paddy Kelly senior a very proud man as he has devoted his whole life to the club - both on and off the pitch. Paddy has been an officer of the club since its foundation and is a tremendous example to all of us. Kiltale Hurling and Camogie Club is lucky to have such a hard working committee and now the fruits are beginning to show. A big thank you to the people of the parish who are never found wanting. To all our sponsors and especially to our main sponsors Patricia and Martin Lydon of The Warrenstown Arms - who also sponsored the building of our club house - thank you very much. Congratulations must also go to Noel Keating, coach of the Meath Junior Hurlers, on winning the All-Ireland. Noel is a great servant to Kiltale and Meath hurling, and winning this All-Ireland has brought great pride back to the game in Meath. Kiltale were very proud to have Ollie Gilsenan on this panel. Tommy Cummings got part of his wish in 1998 with both Meath Juniors and Kiltale Minors success. 1999 should complete his wish and I know chairman Francis Lynch will do his utmost to make this happen. Kiltale GHC Tweet

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