Knocking on the door
After a number of disappointing SFC campaigns, Seneschalstown made their way to the last four in 2002 and that was a fine achievement considering that the team had to put up with much restricted training facilities over the last few months.
After scoring an exciting victory over Skryne, the Yellow Furze side failed to sparkle up front against holders Dunshaughlin, scoring just 1-4 to their opponents’ 0-10. Still it was the best run since 1996 when a final place was gained but the loss of the suspended duo of Colm Coyle and Graham Geraghty proved too much as Kilmainhamwood took the title for the only time.
When Seneschalstown got to the final in 1996, Joe Tallon was trainer/coach and he was back in the same position six years down the road. The man from Navan has certainly ‘been around’ and recalled setting out on a long and winding road of training teams back in 1973 when Bohermeen gained intermediate championship honours.
“Bohermeen beat Dunshaughlin in a semi-final clash that year before getting the better of Moylagh in the final and this year it was my turn to congratulate Dunshaughlin on their victory,” remarked Tallon.
It could be said that Joe Tallon has had as many clubs as Jack Nicklaus over the years and remarkably he has been with teams involved in a total of 24 finals. He was with Navan O’Mahonys during their glory years of the ’80s and one of his regrets is that they did not win six titles in a row.
Summerhill, Slane, Cortown and Drumconrath are Meath clubs that he gave service to and was with the Westmeath county team and Carbury in Kildare while Mattie Kerrigan was at the helm.
Seneschalstown did very well to be in SFC contention up to the last Sunday of October as they were without their playing pitch throughout the year. With the pitch being moved and a new surface being laid, the players were restricted to a small corner of the grounds for training sessions.
“In all my years involved with teams, trying to prepare a team under such circumstances was the worst experience I ever had. Not having a proper pitch to train on caused all sorts of problems but the St Mary’s club helped out a few times and we also used the floodlit facilities at Simonstown,” remarked Tallon.
Like many other people with an interest in the Meath SFC, Joe is unhappy with a system in which the competition is drawn out over seven months. “Clubs start training in January and it’s a joke that come October/November the championship is not completed,” he remarked.
“With all due respects to Brendan Cummins and his fixtures committee, they seem to have a near impossible task. Inter county football seems to have taken over at the expense of club football. That is very unfair on ordinary club players, who must be sick and tired of a situation where they are forced to wait ten or twelve weeks between championship games.
“Okay, they have league games but these competitions are not treated very seriously. The main priority in leagues seems to be avoiding relegation in a division and if a team wins a few games they could eventually find themselves in a final which we did this year. Many of the league games are played with weak teams as county players are not available.
“Championship games are called off because of the danger of county players being injured but players could be injured while training with the Meath squad. The whole championship structure in Meath needs to be looked at with a view to having them completed within a shorter span of time,” said Tallon.
Remarkably Seneschalstown were through to the knock out stages on the second weekend of May, having scored victories over Oldcastle and St Patrick’s, both of whom subsequently battled it out for the wooden spoon in the group.
The Yellow Furze side began their campaign with a stormy encounter with the 1998 beaten finalists at Martry. Oldcastle had two players dismissed by Gerry McGivney and Graham Geraghty also failed to finish the game, having been shown a second yellow card following some provocation just before the end. County minor Joe Sheridan was highly impressive in his first two championship outings in the blue and yellow, scoring 2-5 and 3-2. Oldcastle led Seneschalstown at the interval, by 1-2 to 1-1, with the latter’s first goal coming from a Sheridan penalty after Geraghty had sent over his only score.
On the resumption the Yellow Furze outfit went another point in arrears but then they began to play a bit of serious football with Sheridan1s second goal leaving them ahead by 2-2 to 1-3. Joey Macken came on a substitute and scored a goal and a point as the opening victory was comfortably clinched.
‘Sheridan leads blitz of Pat’s’ was one of the newspaper headlines after the 5-10 to 0-10 routing of the East Meath opposition at Duleek. Again Joe Sheridan’s first goal was stroked to the net from a penalty and Graham Geraghty contributed just a single point of the winning tally.
The game was well over as a contest at half time when the board read 4-7 to 0-4. Conor Macken fisted the second goal following a delivery by Alan Finnegan and ‘major scores’ from the former county minor and Ciaran Macken followed. Seneschalstown completed their total with Sheridan’s third goal 11 minutes after the restart.
Seneschalstown’s third SFC outing came nearly 14 weeks after their second and was against Walterstown, who were also already through to the last eight, at Skryne on a Tuesday evening. Even though both sides had already qualified, each of them showed a certain amount of desire to land the spoils and finish tops in the group.
Parish pride was certainly in evidence in front of a good sized crowd and the sides were level six times. Graham Geraghty made his mark with six points, four of them from frees, with the last of them being a mighty effort from around 40 metres despite the close attentions of four opponents.
‘Geraghty the difference’ was one of the headings following Seneschalstown’s surprise 1-10 to 1-7 victory over Skryne in the first of the quarter-finals at Pairc Tailteann. The 1999 All-Ireland winning captain scored five points, three from play, and could also have have had a goal or two.
Midfielder Damien Sheridan kicked two spectacular long range points in the first half. Geraghty scored four of his points in the first half and two at the end of that period left Joe Tallon1s charges 0-7 to 0-3 to the good at the break after being assisted by the breeze.
The advantage was comfortably maintained after the change of ends and when Joe Sheridan took a pass from Ciaran Macken and finished to an unguarded net on 53 minutes it left the scores 1-9 to 0-7. Overall Skryne were flattered by the losing margin of three points and appropriately Geraghty had the last say when sending a free from more than 45 metres between the uprights.
Seneschalstown played so well that Friday evening that there were suggestions that they could go on to gain outright honours. However, a number of missed scoring chances proved costly in the semi-final against Dunshaughlin, who advanced with three points to spare.
It was a rather meagre return by the losers with Graham Geraghty getting all bar a point of it. Indeed the 1-3 should have been a few points more as a number of shots went outside the uprights.
Seneschalstown were hampered by the fact that Damien Sheridan was carrying an injury. Geraghty started at midfield before going into the attack. In fact none of the starting front six got among the scorers with wing back Colin Clarke sending over the other point. Clarke was also dismissed 24 minutes into the second half.
Although Joe Tallon was the team’s trainer/coach he was not a selector. Tommy Finnegan, one of the heroes of the club’s first SFC outright triumph in 1972, former Walterstown player Pat Smith and Jimmy Mullen were the men with the responsibility of making the team selections.
Tallon offered the opinion that too many Seneschalstown players failed to hit form against the title holders. Although Wayne Smith, Kevin Macken and captain Paddy O’Brien put in some sterling defending, the game was lost at the other end.
While Graham Geraghty was obviously again Seneschalstown’s ‘main man’ in 2002, county, international and work commitments kept him away from a good number of training sessions.
But Geraghty continues to be a big inspiration to the rest of the team. With Alan Finnegan another key figure and the Sheridans capable of making bigger contributions, maybe they could go a step or two further in the coming year.
