Cooley Kickhams set out at the start of the year to end their 15-year wait for the Joe Ward Cup and after coming so close last season, were determined to go one better this time around. By Eunan Whyte. For a time it looked as if the Fr McEvoy Park outfit would take the Senior Championship crown from neighbours, St Patrick's. Under the guidance of Pete McGrath, Cooley began the year in fine style, and one again set the standards in both the Division 1A league and the Paddy Sheelan Cup, but once again they failed to land the championship. Although the senior footballers missed out on the top prize in the county, club chairman, Peter McCarthy, points out that there is no sense of despair in the club as they are in a very healthy state both on and off the field of play. With a series of underage teams enjoying success this year, most notably the all-conquering minor side, the future looks bright for Cooley Kickhams and it would appear that it is only a matter of time before they get their hands on the Joe Ward Cup once again. "We are very happy with the state of football in Cooley at the moment. Our U-12s won the 7-a-side competition, while the U-13s came out on top in the championship. The U-17 team also won the title, while great praise goes to the minor team that won all three competitions in their grade. "It is great to be able to say that the underage football is in a very healthy state and things are looking good for us in the future as we have a lot of young players coming through to play for the senior team. "Although you never know how many players are going to graduate from minor to adult football, we have a great base to work from. I have to acknowledge the tremendous work being doing on the juvenile side of things from U-10 right through to minor. "I would love to mention everyone who has helped individually, but there are so many people involved that it would be impossible. However, their efforts are very much appreciated," said the chairman. Those efforts have helped bring plenty of silverware to the Kickhams club this year, and for Peter it is particularly pleasing that the trophies commemorating Cooley people have been won by the club. "The U-13 team won the Gerry Rafferty Cup, while the U-17s captured the Colin Murphy Cup. At adult level we won the Paddy Sheelan Cup for the second successive year, so that is very pleasing for all associated with Cooley Kickhams." While that silverware is very welcome, the chairman is aware the senior championship remains the main priority. "The Joe Ward is still very much our main aim and we will have to look at what is needed to achieve that. We hope that it won't be too long but we are optimistic that with some young players coming through we will continue to be a force in the future." On the subject of young players, McCarthy points out that Cooley will have to make do without three of their most talented footballers who are currently making an impression at other sports. Conor Rafferty and Conor McCormack are pursuing soccer careers in England, while Robert Kearney has broken into the professional rugby ranks. "Although we are disappointed to lose such talented players, everyone at the club is delighted for them and wishes them the best. We know they are all Cooley men at heart and they are always willing to help us out in whatever way they can." McCarthy also paid tribute to those involved in ladies football and congratulated all the teams who had brought success to the club over the past 12 months. As regards the activities off the field, it has been another season to remember for the club. The development of the clubrooms has continued and one of the highlights was the opening of a 500-seat stand in July. Once again, the chairman, was loud in his praise of all who had helped out with this project. "There has been a lot of work continuing on the development with Derek Malone and the development committee putting in a great amount of work." With the help of Lotto funding, the club can now boast have increased their facilities from the building which contained an indoor sports area, office and dressingrooms, to include a gym, two new dressingrooms, a function room and kitchen. McCarthy reveals that none of this would be possible without the support of the community at large and he is delighted the club can provide such modern facilities to the loyal community. "Taking on developments on this scale means you have to draw on the community a lot as well as businesses. As with any GAA club there is a great pressure on money, particularly when you consider that it takes in the region of €100,000 to run the club even before you look to improve facilities. "Running a club these days is just like a business, and I am particularly grateful to those involved in the weekly lotto for all their hard work. That is where we get our main funding and the money brought in is the lifeblood of the club, so without the support of the people in the area, we would not be able to survive. "As a result, it is great for us all at the club to be able to provide such magnificent facilities as it means that we can give something back to the community as a thank you for their support," he added. On the playing pitch, Cooley's biggest celebration was reserved for the minor team that captured the championship in October with a dramatic 2-7 to 1-7 win over Na Piarsaigh with Jason Long proving to be the star with a man of the match display. Kickhams were hot favourites going into the game and justified that tag as they built up a commanding first half lead. Long found the net twice in the space of two minutes to put his side 2-6 to 0-1 ahead at the end of the first half. It looked to be all over at that stage but Na Piarsaigh staged a remarkable comeback. Cooley hit the target just once in the second half through Jason Long and although his team suffered a nervous finish, they did just enough to land a first title in seven years. Overall Cooley were deserving winners maintaining their unbeaten record since they were under 14. Scorers for Cooley were, Jason Long 2-3 (penalty & 2F); Patrick Sheelan 0-2 (1F); Paddy Hanlon 0-1 and Colin Murphy 0-1 Senior success came in the form of the Paddy Sheelan Cup with a 2-12 to 1-6 victory over Clan na Gael . Clans scored an early goal, but Cooley dominated for the remainder and goals from Darren White and Brendan O'Neill sealed a very well deserved victory. On target for the winners were: S Brendan O'Neill 1-2; Darren White 1-1; John Kane 0-4; Brian White 0 - 2 (F & 45); David Hughes 0-1; Gerry Craven 0-1 (F); Aoghan McGuinness 0-1. David sets sights on Leinster Time is moving on for former Westmeath and Louth inter-county footballer David Hughes. However the Cooley Kickhams dynamo has set his sights on steering the north Louth crew into the Leinster club championship before he hangs up his boots For all his experience of playing inter-county football for his native Westmeath and his adopted Louth, it's curious how David Hughes becomes patently tongue-tied when asked to finger the reasons behind Cooley Kickhams' travails over the course of 2005. Then again if every player/mentor had the skill of a brain surgeon to dissect a season and put in place the necessary pacemaker to restore a club's heartbeat then he'd be perennially coveted by the Chelseas of the Gaelic games world. David says in a lot of respects 2005 "just passed us by and wasn't a great year, to say the least for anyone at the club." From players freezing on championship duty to others being way off the boil in league fare, Cooley never figured it out, it appears. "In fact we haven't done ourselves justice over the last three years and didn't come near to realising the potential that's in the team over the last while. "We were a great team on paper, of course and, fair play to the club, all the structures were in place and supports that we need," the hard-grafting midfielder explains. It seems like the longer the Kickhams go without cracking the winning formula, the more frustration sets in and tears at the heart of their resolve and self-belief. Certainly a prolonged barren period can engender a degree of fear among players which can serve to stifle their ability to express themselves fully on the pitch and inhibit their willingness to take risks and do things differently. "When you've gone something like fourteen years without winning the championship, you can understand how fellas' self-belief and confidence can be so fragile. "Down the years, the club had a reputation for producing 'hard men' but there are far tougher clubs out there and they sometimes get the benefit from refs that we don't. "Cooley is more of a football team these days than it's ever been and I don't think anyone that knows anything about Louth club football would argue with that statement. "There's literally ten to eleven top class players at the club right now but not winning the championship is deemed to be almost sacrilegious." The hugely-experienced Hughes reckons his adopted parish and the team itself deserves to go the way of St. Pat's, Lordship of recent times and Mattock Rangers of late. But the duel countyman understands better than most that you don't always get what you deserve - as was the case against Newtown Blues in the senior championship. "We should have had the match sewn up by half-time but allowed them back into the game instead. "Again we were very slow getting off the blocks and what had been a free-flowing game in the first half turned into a stop-start game which didn't suit us at all. "We didn't get into our stride in the second half or play the kind of football we'd be taught all year and that wasn't the fault of any player or sector of the team in particular." David says he personally "didn't step up to the plate" in '05 but those privy to his injury traumas can testify that he didn't have the easiest of rides during the season. Because of niggling injuries, the one-time The Downes clubman never got into his stride over the course of the year. The 'engine man' was seen to be operating diesel-like rather than a turbo-charged petrol model as has been his trademark down the years. "I had a groin problem which meant I trained very little and not being able to sprint was a big handicap," says the highly successful corporate accounts boss. And for ace midfielder Hughes to be operating at no more than 70% of capacity against the Blues in the championship was a similarly huge handicap for Cooley. "My memories of the championship match against Newtown Blues last summer are all bad and there's nothing positive I could take out of the game. "It just passed me by. The level of fitness I had was just enough to get me through the game, not much more. "I hadn't the reserves of fitness that you need as a midfielder to help out the half-backs and support the forwards and I was disappointed, overall, with my contribution." Did the team become a tad complacent having done so well against the 'Blues in the first half? "I don't think so. There's always that bit of ebb and flow about a championship game and instead of us pushing on they got the momentum going in the second half." And what of the 2004 final against St. Pat's? "We just didn't capitalise enough on the amount of possession we got and the scoring chances we managed to engineer when we had a purple patch. "They were in our half only three or four times in the first half but their goal in the second half was crucial and came after we seemed to be building up a nice attack." But surely there was enough time left to counter the goal and nick the spoils? "There was loads of time to come back but they seemed to have an unstoppable momentum but it was a bad reflection on us all the same that we didn't catch them. "Some people said we done well to reach the final but it was no consolation to us that we lost a final in a tight game," the Ballymore native adds. Even so, the Greenore resident assures us that 2005 was his most disappointing season to date with Cooley since he enlisted to the Kickhams cause. The winning of the Sheelin Cup three years ago - which ended quite a barren spell for the club boosted morale no end - and the annexation of the league and cup the following year were great times that David would sorely like to experience again even if things bottomed out thereafter with defeat to St. Pat's in the championship final. It's been a really rollercoaster ride for David and co. over the last three years in particular and this year's championship exit certainly added to the mix. "We looked to be on course going into the championship this year because we had won the cup and were top of the league but then the wheels came off the wagon." David, married to Ann (nee Treanor), oozes confidence in the capacity of Cooley Kickhams premier XV to beat the best there is around on their day and he is convinced that there's more in the tank. "I see no reason why this current team can't come back next year and win the championship and go on and do well in the Leinster championship. "It was good to see Mattock Rangers acquit themselves well in provincial club championship this year and that helps inspire the rest of us. "We played them in the cup and beat them in the semi-final although I didn't do a huge amount in that game," David quips. The fact David had to rest up because of his groin injury 'till practically May obviously meant that Cooley Kickhams didn't ever see the best from the dynamic Hughes in 05. All told, it's been quite a frustrating last 18 months or thereabouts for David since he went head to head with former Westmeath team-mate Rory O'Connell in the O'Byrne Cup last February when Val Andrews held the helm and the groin problem first emerged. "It had been niggling at me but I suppose I threw caution to the wind and went for it (against O'Connell). "I just jumped for the ball which was kicked out by the goalkeeper shortly into the second half and it flared up in a big way. "I had trouble with the groin in 2004 but it wasn't too bad unlike the way it acted up during 2005," says David who will rest the groin 'till next March in a bid to get rid of it." At just 30 years of age, David is far from ready to meander out to pasture but he can't see himself ever being in demand by the county football chiefs. Anyway, he says his ambitions in that direction have all but dissipated. "Playing at inter-county level is a serious commitment but I wish the county all the best. "I think Louth need to put a four year plan together but I won't be featuring in it. "I'd like to see more of the county's young lads getting a chance and the management team persevering with them," adds David who only quit with Westmeath 3 years ago. David's eight year career with Westmeath seniors saw him capture a NFL Division Two medal in 1999 with, for instance, the likes of such luminaries as the aforementioned Rory O'Connell, Dessie Dolan and Andrew Mitchell for company. One wonders what comparisons David has drawn between club football in his native county and in Louth? "I think there's more hard hitting in Louth football. Louth football is more physical. Forwards in Westmeath get more protection from referees. "I think it would benefit football in Louth if the game was less physical in the county. "Young fellas at Cooley like Aidan McGuinness and Brian White are excellent, ball-playing forwards but they would prosper even more if they got more protection from the referees and were allowed to play football all the time." And how much more football can we expect from David? "I'd like to keep playing 'till my mid-thirties. "I'd love to get a crack at playing in the Leinster club championship." Who'd bet against David getting his wish! Tweet

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