As one of the Wee County's oldest clubs, Geraldines are certainly displaying no signs of old age. In 2006, the Gers enjoyed a year of unprecedented success at juvenile level, helping themselves to five championships and three league titles. Thus, to suggest that the Haggardstown/Blackrock outfit have a bright future could be construed as an understatement. Never before have we witnessed anything like it! In '06, the juvenile arm of Geraldines GFC simply went into overdrive on a silverware-grabbing rampage, culminating in eight trophies and including three coveted league/championship doubles (at U10, U16 and minor levels). The stunning level of success testifies to the outstanding depth of young talent in the club at present as well as the sheer commitment, application and industry of their team of underage mentors. Looking back on the events of 2006 and a veritable avalanche of trophies, club chairman Gerry Reenan is one happy and proud individual: "I am absolutely thrilled and extremely proud of the underage group in the club. We are extremely fortunate to have quality coaches who are prepared to put so much of their time into the teams and achieving success for Geraldines GFC. We've had tremendous success in the past year and I think it's something we can all be very proud of." This isn't something that just happened by accident. It hasn't been an overnight success story. As the chairman confirms, the club set their stall out a few years back to prioritise underage development and duly set about the task with an unswerving determination: "We began to make a concerted effort years ago. The main committee has been encouraging the underage section of the club and they have responded brilliantly. We honestly never expected success like this and all the credit has to go to the players and the coaches who have given so freely of their time. "It's all down to those men and they deserve great praise. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank them all and to state that their service to the club will not go unrecognised. The amount of time these individuals put into the teams is phenomenal. They're great clubmen, great people…" A list of the titles gleaned by Geraldines in 2006 could never do justice to the enormity of the haul, but for posterity's sake here it is: U10 league and championship; U13 championship; U15 championship, U16 league and championship; minor 'B' league and championship. In a record-breaking year for its younger members, the club fielded an U8 team for the first time. Even though there is no actual competition for this age group to compete in, they displayed tremendous enthusiasm and potential in training and drills under the watchful eye of Liam Geoghan. Eamon Dunne was at the helm (with assistance from Padraig Hamill and Tony Taggart) as the club won the U10 Cumann Peil Ui Fiach league and championship double. Making light of their top-level rating, the U10s completed the double with a rousing defeat of Kilkerley in the championship decider at Haggardstown. The sides turned around level at the break, thanks largely to stern defending by Vincent McKee and Niall Craven against the wind. As Man of the Match James Dunne and captain Dara Hamill took control at midfield in the second half, Gers pulled away for a comfortable victory. Although they never managed to pick up any silverware, the U12s also produced a superb season's football. The U13s, managed by Bernie Murray (and selectors Diarmuid McAdam and Dave Connolly), won the championship and will represent Louth at the national Feile in Wicklow in June 2007. This is the fourth time in five years that the Geraldines will be representing the Wee County at Feile - a truly wonderful achievement. Having disposed of St Patricks at the semi-final stage, the 13s met St Brides in the county decider on Wednesday August 4. A thrilling match containing everything that is good about juvenile football - kicking, catching, blocking, goals, tension - went right down to the wire before Gers prevailed on an epic 5-9 to 5-7 scoreline after extra time. Full forward Aaron Murray contributed 2-5 of the winning tally and the Blackrock/Haggardstown side was also well served by the likes of defenders Paraic McAdam, Paul McLaughlin and Gareth Connolly, midfield pair Sean Thornton and Glen Traynor, and attackers Conor McDonald, Andrew Treanor, Stephen Lines, Josh Arrowsmith and Sean Callan. A great U14 squad failed to annex any trophies but the U15s more than made amends by claiming the league and championship double. Managed by juvenile chairman Danny Gallagher (assisted by Thomas McNamee, Gerard Hoey and John Pepper), these lads were outstanding and this was the first time the club ever won the U15 championship. After beating Oliver Plunketts in their semi-final in Drogheda, they faced up to St Josephs in the decider at the Dundalk Young Irelands pitch in early October. The decisive moment arrived in the last minute when Barry Hamilton latched onto a Paidi Gallagher delivery and fired to the net to give his team a remarkable 3-13 to 3-11 victory. The U16s did the double. Managed by Louth senior manager Eamonn McEneaney (with backroom team of Padraig Hamill, John Pepper, Seamus Breen and Colm Mackin), they squared up to Dundalk Young Irelands in the championship final at Pairc ns nGael in late September and stormed to a crushing 4-13 to 2-5 success to retain the Dermot O'Brien Cup. The winners laid the platform for success in the first half as they turned around leading by a point, 2-6 to 2-5, despite having played against the stiff breeze. Jason Mok and Jim McEneaney dominated the middle sector as the Gers pulled away for a highly impressive win. Unbelievably, the club's minors also garnered a 'B' league and championship double. This crew was managed by former county player Paul Renaghan. A former club chairman to boot and one of the Gers' most dedicated coaches, Paul also took charge of the junior team in '06 - and they were still well in contention for Division 4B league honours at the time of writing. Geraldines' first team endured a difficult year, having won the county intermediate football championship in such fine style in 2005. They found themselves in a very difficult predicament as five of the eight teams in Division 1B were to be relegated to intermediate. With little chance of adapting, it was no major surprise to see them return to the middle grade despite the best efforts of manager Kevin Lynch. Though this was disappointing, it was not unexpected and did little to dampen the enthusiasm surrounding the Gers' astonishing season at juvenile level. "It's a proud time for me personally to be chairman of the club," Gerry Reenan continues. "This success makes me very proud to be where I am and it's a great pleasure to witness the remarkable work being done by the lads at all levels in the club, including the senior team, who got a bit of a raw deal this year. "We've had success right across the board from U10 to U18 level and this is something that has never happened in the club before. It has to stand to us in the future. We'll be back in the Feile next year with a completely new batch of players and that speaks volumes for the brilliant work the mentors are doing." Gerry was also delighted to see ladies football started up in the club during the year. "We got going with U14 and U12 teams and that was something I was very pleased about because there was nothing there for the little girls in the parish to do. Padraig Hamill did a lot for those teams and we also had some great female mentors, so we're hoping to increase the number of teams next year if possible." All in all, it was a fantastic year for Geraldines GFC. These are very exciting times for the club. Will the glory days return? To an extent, they have already… Tweet

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