Tyrrellspass claimed only their second senior football crown in 2006 before embarking on an exciting provincial championship run which took them to the brink of a Leinster final appearance. Here, we relive their successful campaign. Seven years on from their first county football championship success, Tyrrellspass regained the Flanagan Cup on October 27 last following their defeat of Castledaly after a replay. While the game was somewhat overshadowed by an ugly melee which erupted as the teams made their way to the dressing rooms at half-time, Tyrrellspass were worthy champions with Castledaly having no answer to their power-packed second half display. Appearing in their third final in five years, Castledaly were widely fancied to land their first senior title but they encountered a well-drilled and highly-motivated Tyrrellspass side who were clearly the better team over the two games. Due to the late completion of the county championship, Tyrrellspass had little time to celebrate and were back in action the following weekend against Abbeylara in the Leinster club championship. Having been denied the chance to represent their county in 1999 (Coralstown/Kinnegad took their place because the county championship ran behind schedule), the Tidy Town were determined to show what they could do on the provincial stage and duly accounted for the Longford champions. They also defeated Laois representatives Arles-Killeen after a replay before a historic Leinster final appearance was snatched from their grasp by Kildare kingpins Moorefield. The Moorefield game was their seventh in eight weeks and this was undoubtedly a factor in their late fade-out when the fresher Newbridge outfit scored the last three points to eek out a 0-8 to 0-7 victory. After enduring a disappointing 2005 which saw them lose to Castledaly in the senior championship quarter-final, Tyrrellspass regrouped impressively last season under the management of Pat Flanagan. The Clara man guided his native club to an Offaly SFC title in 2003 and was also in charge of Kilbeggan Shamrocks when they won a county intermediate championship in 2000. However, it's probably fair to say that his achievements with Tyrrellspass last season surpassed the lot. The Tidy Town lost just one game in last year's championship to Garrycastle, but it mattered little as they had already qualified for the knock-out stages. And they never looked back after former county star Martin Flanagan returned from a long-term ankle injury for their quarter-final joust with St. Malachy's. Pat Flanagan's charges opened their championship campaign with a 0-10 to 0-7 defeat of neighbours St. Mary's, Rochfortbridge at Castletown-Geoghegan. An upset looked to be on the cards at half-time when St. Mary's led by 0-7 to 0-4. But Tyrrellspass seized control after the restart and late points from John Corcoran, Denis Glennon and Kevin Connell gave them the win. Tyrrellspass produced one of their best performances of the year when handing out a 10-point drubbing to Athlone in their second outing. The decisive score came on the stroke of half-time when veteran attacker John Corcoran converted a penalty which had been awarded for a foul on Denis Glennon, and that left Tyrrellspass sitting pretty on a 1-6 to 0-2 interval lead. The Tidy Town continued to hold the upper hand in the second half, and with 17 minutes left to play, enjoyed a 13-point lead. Athlone managed the last three points to leave the final score 1-14 to 0-7. Tyrrellspass' victory over the Shannonsiders assured them of a place in the quarter-finals. A third straight win at Garrycastle's expense would have put them in the semi-finals, but it wasn't to be as the south county outfit ran out 3-7 to 1-7 winners at Cusack Park. There was nothing in it up until the 29th minute when Gary Dolan's fisted goal gave Garrycastle a 1-4 to 0-4 half-time advantage. Two more goals from Dolan and Noel Galvin early in the second half put the Athlone side in complete control and they emerged as comfortable winners, despite David Glennon replying with a goal for Tyrrellspass. A major concern for the Tyrrellspass management as they geared up for the quarter-final against St. Malachy's was the form of their attack. Four of the six forwards who started against Garrycastle were replaced, so Martin Flanagan's return to the pivotal full forward position couldn't have come at a better time. All of sudden, Tyrrellspass had the most potent looking full forward line in the championship consisting of the two Glennons and Flanagan who, despite lacking match practice, was a big player in their success. They led St. Malachy's 0-7 to 0-3 at the break and maintained their four-point advantage until a hat-trick of Alan Mangan points reduced the deficit to the minimum with time almost up. But just when it seemed that St. Malachy's might force a replay, Tyrrellspass broke up-field and Tommy Newman found Denis Glennon who used his pace to get in behind the Malachy's defence and slip the ball under goalkeeper Gary Jackson for the only goal to seal a 1-11 to 0-10 victory. The Blues qualified for their first final since 2001 courtesy of a 2-7 to 2-5 victory over surprise packets Killucan in a hard-fought semi-final at Cusack Park. With just three minutes remaining, Killucan, who trailed by two points at the time, were awarded a penalty. However, Tyrrellspass goalkeeper Paul McGivney denied Paul Greville with a brilliant save and although the penalty taker still managed to score a point, the Tidy Town held on to reach the decider in dramatic circumstances. County hurling star Greville gave the 2005 intermediate winners a dream start when he posted an unanswered 1-1 in the first six minutes. David Glennon slotted home a penalty to bring the Tidy Town back into contention, but they were dealt another blow in the 25th minute when James Nugent grabbed a second Killucan goal to give the underdogs a 2-3 to 1-3 lead at the interval. David Glennon's second goal brought Tyrrellspass level in the 39th minute and they went two points clear courtesy of points from Martin Flanagan, John Corcoran and Glennon. After Greville's penalty miss, Corcoran landed the insurance point from a free to see Tyrrellspass safely through. Despite being underdogs, Tyrrellspass played the better football in the county final and looked all set to claim the Flanagan Cup until Enda Kelly was adjudged by referee Pat Fox to have been fouled in the third minute of injury-time, and JP Casey kept his nerve to convert the resultant free and earn Castledaly a 0-9 each draw they scarcely deserved. The Tidy Town opened up an early 0-2 to 0-0 lead thanks to scores from Martin Flanagan and TJ Gonoud before efforts from Casey and Paul Kelly brought Castledaly level after 13 minutes. Points from Denis Glennon and Ray Sheeran restored Tyrrellspass' two-point advantage, only for Castledaly to reply with scores from MJ McLoughlin and Tommy Warburton. Sheeran's second point on the stroke of half-time made it 0-5 to 0-4 at the break. A pair of Denis Glennon frees saw Tyrrellspass open up a three-point lead on the restart before Casey and McLoughlin reduced the deficit to the minimum. Flanagan and Casey traded scores before McLoughlin equalized in the 53rd minute. Substitute John Corcoran looked to have won it for Tyrrellspass when he pointed via the upright, but Casey's contentious late free ensured that Castledaly lived to fight another day. It was back to Cusack Park six days later for a replay. The first half was a forgettable affair with Castledaly ahead by 0-3 to 0-2 before all hell broke loose on the call of half-time. Tyrrellspass emerged for the second half a different team and an early goal from midfielder Tommy Newman turned the game in their favour. With Martin Flanagan producing a man of the match performance and Denis Glennon and Gavin Hoey also impressing, the Blues turned the screw. A brace of Flanagan points and one from Glennon in the final eight minutes put the result beyond doubt as Tyrrellspass eased to a 1-7 to 0-5 victory. Pat Flanagan's charges subsequently beat Abbeylara by 1-10 to 1-6 in the Leinster club championship. They staged a great second half recovery to draw with Arles-Killeen and completed the job when coming from behind to win the O'Moore Park replay by 0-7 to 0-5. The result came at a cost, however, with Adrian Corcoran's red card ruling him out of the semi-final against Moorefield. Despite the absence of their inspirational midfielder, Tyrrellspass led their Kildare counterparts until the closing stages when David Glennon's dismissal facilitated Moorefield's late rally which brought the Tidy Town's memorable season to a disappointing end. The Tyrrellspass team which defeated Castledaly in the SFC final replay was: Darren Quinn; Alan Rigney (captain), Barry Murphy, Trevor John Gonoud; Shane Arthur, Terence O'Brien, Philip Sheridan; Tommy Newman, Adrian Corcoran; Kevin Connell, Gavin Hoey, Ray Sheeran; Denis Glennon, Martin Flanagan, David Glennon. Subs used: John Corcoran, Cathal Daly and James Carroll. Tweet

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