Boyle will have senior championship football to look forward to in 2006 following their recent victory in the Roscommon intermediate championship final. Here, club chairman Pat Clarke and Christopher O'Connor of sponsors Feelystone reflect on the success. Boyle returned to the senior ranks of Roscommon football on October 23 last when they defeated Kilmore by 0-15 to 0-8 at Hyde Park to capture their first intermediate championship title since 1994. The success capped a wonderful year for the North Roscommon outfit who in April celebrated the official opening of the new-look Abbey Park. Although fancied at the start of the year to win the intermediate championship, Boyle had to regularly call on their battling qualities during a prolonged campaign which included two replays. "This is a big boost for the club. It's great for this end of the county and great for football in the town," enthuses Boyle club chairman Pat Clarke. "Boyle needs to be playing senior championship football and we're delighted to be getting the chance next year. Because Boyle is a garrison town, there has always been a lot of soccer played, but the GAA also has a strong presence and playing senior football next year will raise our profile even further. "While things went smoothly enough for us in the final, we had some very tough games before that against Shannon Gaels and St. Ronan's. We had our fair share of disappointments in previous seasons, so there was no lack of motivation to do well this year," he adds. Under the management of Gerry Cregg and his assistant Vinnie Flanagan, Boyle had the look of champions all year, suffering just one defeat in 18 competitive outings. They opened their championship campaign with a 0-12 to 0-6 victory over Ballinameen and then beat Shannon Gaels after a replay to set up a penultimate round showdown with St. Ronan's. Boyle made a dream start to the semi-final when Liam Conroy finished to the net and that score separated the sides at half-time. But St. Ronan's came storming back in the second half to earn a 0-8 to 1-5 draw. The replay was another ding-dong struggle with Boyle only prevailing after extra-time. The town side looked to be facing defeat when they trailed by two points with only minutes left in normal time, but late points from former Roscommon and Dublin player Niall O'Donoghue and his brother Mark sent the game to extra-time where a goal from substitute Tadhg Egan proved decisive in Boyle's 1-14 to 2-9 victory. The final was expected to be another close contest, but on the day, Boyle had far too much for an outclassed Kilmore team. The maroon and whites were never troubled after Liam Conroy kicked the opening point after just 50 seconds. With Niall O'Donoghue in fine scoring form, they went on to lead by 0-7 to 0-4 at the interval. In the second half, Rory O'Donoghue, Aaron O'Connor and Niall O'Donoghue added points to seal a comfortable win for Gerry Cregg's side. While county star David Casey was among those to impress for Boyle, Niall O'Donoghue's six-point haul from play earned him the Man of the Match award, an honour which had also been bestowed on him in 1994. "I was delighted for Niall and all of the lads. They had trained since the second week in January and most of them never missed a session. The games against Shannon Gaels and St. Ronan's brought them on in leaps and bounds, and clearly stood to them in the final. For a good few of the lads, the victory was sweet revenge for last year's one-point defeat to Kilmore in the under 21 final," Pat says. Boyle also won the northern junior 'B' championship this year, but lost the county decider to St. Brigid's in cruel circumstances. Having won the intermediate championship seven days earlier, they looked set to complete a notable double until a late Richie Blaine goal gave the Kiltoom men a 2-8 to 1-9 win at Abbey Park. There was little to separate the sides at any stage. After Niall Grehan converted a penalty, Boyle - who were managed by Gerard Sheerin, Jonathan Conroy and Donal Kelly - hit back with four unanswered points to restore parity at the interval. A Mark McGovern goal gave the home side a three-point cushion early in the second half, but St. Brigid's fought back to take the spoils. At the time of writing, Boyle were still in contention for under 21 championship honours. "The former Roscommon midfielder Fergal O'Donnell is over the under 21s and I know that they are quietly confident of making amends for last year's defeat in the final," explains Pat, who is in his third year as chairman. Of course, the other big event in Boyle's year was the official opening of Abbey Park on April 24 which was performed by Roscommon football legend Major General Dermot Earley. The EUR300,000 development incorporates a state-of-the-art pitch, training facilities and floodlighting. To mark the occasion, Roscommon played Donegal in a senior football challenge. "We're delighted with the new facilities which are comparable to any club in Roscommon. Over 1,000 tonnes of special sand which came from Blackwater in Co. Wexford was used in developing the new pitch and we are the first club in Connacht to install permanent pitch markings. The next step for the club is to build a clubhouse in the not too distant future." Situated adjacent to the Cistercian Abbey in Boyle, Abbey Park has traditionally been one of the premier venues in Roscommon, and arguably the biggest game it ever staged was the 1944 Connacht football championship replay between Sligo and the then reigning All-Ireland champions Roscommon. The Abbey Committee development committee consists of Michael Costello, Michael Brennan, John Kelly, Bernadette Keeneghan and Mary Clifford. Mary Smith (secretary) and Kathleen Hanmore (treasurer) join Pat Clarke on the Boyle executive committee. John Joe Nerney, who was a member of the famous Roscommon team which won successive All-Ireland titles in 1943 and '44, is the club's life president. Boyle's winning of the intermediate championship this year coincided with local company Feelystone Ltd coming on board as the main sponsors of the North Roscommon club. Based in Boyle, Feelystone are leading manufacturers and suppliers of architectural, monumental and housing stone in Ireland. The company offers the accumulated craft experience of 220 years and is totally focused on innovation, quality, safety and customer service. Although this is Feelystone's first time to sponsor Boyle GAA, the links between the two go back many years. The company's chairman, Barry Feely, served as club chairman in the 1960s and 1970s. He was also a member of the first Boyle team to win a junior football championship in 1964. His son Finbarr, who is a director of Feelystone, was part of the last Boyle team to win an intermediate championship 11 years ago. Christopher O'Connor, who is another director of Feelystone, also played for Boyle and featured on the first team to win an intermediate championship in 1983. Like Barry, he is a former chairman of the club and his two sons, Aaron and Mark, played in the intermediate and junior 'B' championship finals respectively this year. "We are proud and delighted to be associated with Boyle in what has been a historic year for the club," O'Connor says. "This is the first of a two-year sponsorship deal we have with Boyle, although our association with the club extends back over many years. The Feely family have been involved with Boyle GAA for decades and one of stone masons, Darren Dockery, lined out at half back in the final against Kilmore." Looking ahead to next year, Pat Clarke concludes by saying: "There is great interest in the club at the moment and long may it continue to be the case. We have an excellent underage structure - our under 12 and under 16 teams have been very successful in the past two years - and I feel we are well equipped to operate at senior level from both a playing and facilities point of view. "The ultimate aim of the club is to win a senior championship and this is what we'll be striving to do in the next few years." The Boyle team which captured the Roscommon IFC title was: D Loftus; S Gallagher, K Supple, A Tiernan; S Purcell, D Casey, D Dockery; S Tonra (captain), R Hanmore; R Donoghue, L Conroy, B McQuaid; P Simon, N O'Donoghue, D Keeneghan. Subs used: J Lyons, T Egan, A O'Connor, B Supple (blood sub), C Egan and A Finn. Tweet

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