More than a lick of paint!
A drive through the village of Kentstown tells its own story – that of an area which is growing rapidly as housing developments appear to shoot up out of the ground almost overnight.
It’s typical of so many areas in the county where populations are exploding and it’s a situation which creates the sort of challenge for local GAA clubs that they could never have envisaged just a few short years ago.
Kentstown, of course, is part of Seneschalstown GAA Club territory and overall the area covered by the club is developing rapidly, with so many few families moving into the locality.
The GAA club is a vitally important part of any parish and Seneschalstown have their minds concentrated very much on the future as they plan to upgrade their facilities considerably and, according to secretary Jimmy Mullen, the club intends to “have a place to be proud of.”
Seneschalstown’s grounds were opened over 30 years ago and work has been ongoing on the pitch in recent times, with even the hill that has been a tradition at the venue as it sloped towards the goals at the railway bridge end being removed.
The pitch has been repositioned towards that end of the venue, enabling the club to create a new training pitch at the opposite end of the ground which should prove to be of enormous benefit in the preparation of teams.
At some stage in the future Seneschalstown also hope to purchase a further four acres of land which will enable them to create another full-sized pitch.
“We need a second pitch,” acknowledged Mullen. “And the additional space would also help us from a car parking point of view. We also hope to erect new dressing rooms and install two all-weather training pitches which can be turned into one as a full-sized GAA pitch.
“A fitness centre with all the equipment you would expect in such a facility is also among our plans, while a bar in the clubhouse is a possibility in the future. We’ll decide on that later. We held our dinner dance there this year and it was a great success, with 264 people attending. It was a terrific occasion.”
The Seneschalstown pitch has been out of commission for over a year and a half as the improvement works proceeded, though they have played juvenile games on it, as well as holding a sports day.
“We hope to have it up and running for the start of the 2004 championship season,” Mullen added. “The plan is to be open for business by then.”
The overall cost of Seneschalstown’s ambitious plans is estimated at approximately Eu1 million and there is a confidence within the club that they will achieve their goals.
“Fundraising is going very well,” reported the secretary. “Membership is strong and the club lotto is going very well. That’s such a vital part of the running of the club and it has been very successful for many years. We’re in good shape financially and that helps a lot.”
Seneschalstown have, so far, failed in their bid to secure National Lottery funding which would undoubtedly provide a major boost to their development plans and that is something the club was “bitterly disappointed about,” according to Mullen.
“They gave us reasons why we were turned down, but that’s neither here nor there now,” he said. “We will be putting in another application and we will try to address some of the criticisms they gave us. But it will go ahead with or without Lottery funding. We’ll bite the bullet. The club is strong enough for that. We feel confident and have great support.”
Seneschalstown are very aware of the rapidly expanding population in their area and it’s only natural that they want to meet the demands of that growth by providing enhanced facilities.
“The population is growing rapidly,” Mullen added. “An indication of that is the fact that we have been able to field two under-10 and two under-12 teams. That’s a sign of the times.
“The ladies’ section of the club is also a massive success and the new facilities will cater for them far better. I think that’s very important for the future.”
With their pitch out of action, Jimmy Carroll has provided a field for training and that will continue to be used into 2004.
“We are very thankful to Jimmy for the use of his field,” Mullen said. “He is such a great supporter of the club. We need it for training purposes and it has been a great help to us. We plan to put in temporary dressing rooms as well.”
CHAMPIONSHIP
Seneschalstown will hope that their enhanced facilities will help bring success in the very near future, maybe even a first Senior Football Championship title since 1994.
Unfortunately, things didn’t work out as well as they might have expected in the 2003 championship as the seniors failed to reach the quarter-finals after finishing fifth in their group on six points from their seven outings.
They were drawn in Group B, a section that also included the finalists to be in Simonstown Gaels and Blackhall Gaels, as well as Ballinlough, 2002 intermediate winners Ballivor, Dunderry, Gaeil Colmcille and Skryne.
Seneschalstown opened as they would have wished with a 2-10 to 0-12 win over Gaeil Colmcille at Walterstown, but they were well beaten by Blackhall in the second round at Dunshaughlin, going under by 2-2 to 2-11.
They bounced back with a surprisingly comfortable 1-14 to 0-7 victory over Simonstown at Pairc Tailteann, but three successive defeates followed against Skryne (0-11 to 0-13) and Dunderry (1-9 to 3-11), both at Pairc Tailteann, and Ballivor (2-11 to 4-7) at Dunsany.
The damage had been done and the 0-10 to 0-7 win over Ballinlough in the concluding group match at Martry was a case of too little, too late for Seneschalstown, with Simonstown easily defeating Dunderry the same evening.
“It was a major disppointment,” Mullen said. “We had big hopes going into the championship. We put in a huge effort the previous year, reached the championship semi-finals and won the league.
“A few early injuries didn’t help us in 2003, particularly to Alan Finnegan, while Damien Sheridan was away in England which didn’t help either. Ironically, we beat Simonstown by 10 points in the group stages, but the defeat to Ballivor was a massive disappointment for us. Looking back on it, we just weren’t up for that game and paid a very heavy price. But, hopefully, things will work out much better for us next year.
“We have to be very hopeful for the future. The under-age side of the club is getting better and better all the time and the prospects look very good. I can see championships on the horizon.”
The ladies’ section of the club is a very important part of the Seneschalstown set-up and the senior team continued to impress in 2003 when they again won the SFC title.
St. Ultan’s provided the opposition in the final at Simonstown on a gloriously sunny day in August and Seneschalstown won with all of 18 points to spare on a 3-18 to 0-9 score line.
Ultan’s battled with great determination for much of the game, but Seneschalstown’s overall superiority was reflected on the score board and once they settled into their stride they never looked in danger of losing as they scored freely.
Seneschalstown opened up a 0-4 to 0-1 lead early on, but the losers battled back to be on level terms (0-4 each), before the side in blue and yellow really took a firm grip on the proceedings, with a goal from full-forward Mary Sheridan three minutes before the break boosting them to a 1-7 to 0-4 advantage.
By half-time the lead had stretched to nine points (1-10 to 0-4) and Seneschalstown were very much in the driving seat.
There was just no way back for St. Ultan’s after that and Adelle Carolan and Sheridan struck with further goals in the third quarter to really copper-fasten Seneschalstown’s grip on the match. There was no denying that the better team won.
Sheridan top-scored for Seneschalstown with a tally of 2-4 and was closely followed by Carolan on 1-5, but overall it was a fine team effort by a very committed group of players.
The honour of captaining the side went to impressive centre half-back Louise McKeever who received the cup from Meath Ladies’ County Board official John Moroney.
The Seneschalstown team and scorers in the final were – Louise Byrne; Elaine Dillon, Philomena Sheridan, Dearbhla O’Carroll; Debbie Mangan, Louise McKeever, Orla Sheridan; Edel McGrane, Grainne Nulty (0-2); Eimear O’Carroll (0-1), Fiona Mahon (0-4), Sally Ann Carolan (0-1); Adelle Carolan (1-5), Mary Sheridan (2-4), Annette O’Connell. Subs – Sarah Wogan (0-1) for Carolan, Ruth Lynch for O’Connell, Celine Quinn for Dillon, Laura Carey, Linda Quinn, Emma Jane Morten, Sarah Heery, Geraldine Gordon.
Seconds claim first ever ‘D’ crown
Seneschalstown created their own piece of Meath GAA history when they became the inaugural winners of the Junior D FC and the ‘Dickser’ Dunne Memorial Cup, beating Summerhill in dramatic fashion in the final at Dunsany.
The Yellow Furze side won by 1-10 to 0-12, but it was a heart-breaking defeat for Summerhill as Alan Oakes scored the winning goal with half a minute of normal time to play.
Francis Flynn’s side, inspired by the brilliance of Oakes, deservedly led by 0-7 to 0-4 at the interval thanks to points from Alan Geraghty (four frees), Stephen Sheridan (two) and Oakes, with Stephen McNally, David Williams, PJ McDonnell and Fechin O’Reilly, who returned from Italy for the match, keeping the ‘Hill in touch.
Eamonn O’Shea was given the job of marking Oakes for the second period and the move worked until that late, killer goal.
During that spell Summerhill dictated for long periods and got back to level terms (0-9 each) by the three-quarter stage as Cathal Ennis proved influential as an attacking half-back.
McNally edged them ahead for the first time. That advantage became 0-12 to 0-10 and Summerhill were looking good for the title, but Oakes had the last say with that dramatic winner.
Oakes had also got a late goal at the penultimate hurdle against Dunsany.
Seneschalstown – A. Morgan; M. O’Donoghue, C. Finnegan, A. Cowley; D. Sheehy, P. Whitney, C. Monaghan; F. Sheridan, K. Casey; S. Curtis, A. Oakes (1-1), S. Sheridan (0-2); K. Clarke, A. Geraghty (0-7), D. Byrne. Subs – M. Clarke for Byrne, S. Finnegan for Morgan, J. O’Reilly for Curtis, C. Lettice for Cowley, C. Carter for O’Donoghue.
Seneschalstown ladies make history
The ladies of Seneschalstown made history in 2003 when capturing the Leinster senior club championship. In so doing, they became the first Royal County side to claim the provincial SFC crown.
The outstanding Meath champions took gold with a stunning 1-12 to 2-4 final defeat of Wexford outfit Shelmaliers in the Leinster final at Portarlington on Sunday October 19th.
Seneschalstown were the better side throughout the decider, but the concession of two goals against the run of play momentarily threatened their prospects before wing forward Adele Carolan struck with a 59th-minute three-pointer to put the issue beyond doubt.
Though it was a disjointed affair – punctuated far too often by the shrill blast of the referee’s whistle – Seneschalstown were served well by some superb performances in an all-round excellent team display. Particularly impressive were centre forward Fiona Mahon and full back Philomena Sheridan, whose towering efforts were the difference between winning and losing on a landmark occasion for Meath GAA.
Indeed, Seneschalstown’s entire full back line was in a mean mood throughout, with corner backs Elaine Dillon and Derbhla O’Carroll giving nothing away lightly.
With Grainne Nulty and Annette O’Connell holding sway in midfield, the winners took the battle to their opponents from the off only to see the best part of their endeavour foiled by desperate last-ditch Shelmaliers defending.
Mahon was missing nothing and with Seneschalstown winning practically all of the individual battles, Damien Sheridan’s team led by four points (0-7 to 0-3) with the game in first-half stoppage time. But a late, late Shelmaliers goal saw to it that there was just the minimum differential between the teams at the interval.
Seneschalstown had to play into the stiff wind in the second half and they were rocked in their boots when the Wexford girls landed their second major in the 47th minute. Suddenly trailing by a point, 2-4 to 0-9, the Royal County pace-setters now had it all to do.
They rose to the challenge in sensational fashion, reeling their opponents in with three unanswered points before Carolan clinched it with the late goal.
After the final whistle, Leinster ladies officer Mary Wheatley presented the Cup to winning captain Louise McKeever.
Victory not only guaranteed Seneschalstown their place in the history books but also brought them to the cusp of All-Ireland glory. In their national semi-final, Seneschalstown romped to a magnificent 3-17 to 2-4 defeat of Cavan and Ulster champions Knockbride at Canningstown, Cavan on Sunday November 9th.
This qualified them for a final meeting with 2001 champions Donaghmore (Cork), which was scheduled for Sunday November 30th and had yet to be played at the time of going to press. Regardless of what would transpire therein, the Yellow Furze side had already created history.
The Seneschalstown ladies club has come along in leaps and bounds since it was founded by Dearbhla O’Carroll in 1995. They won the county junior championship in 1998, reached the senior final the following year, and have won the last four Meath SFCs.
In October, Seneschalstown also won the All-Ireland senior club seven-a-side shield. Their dominance in Meath is showing no sign of a let-up – they’ve won the past five Division One league titles, beating Boardsmill by 4-13 to 2-7 in the 2003 decider at Dunsany on November 16th.
The progress being made by Seneschalstown’s ladies on an ongoing basis is astounding – the Meath champions qualified for the 2003 provincial final courtesy of a resounding 5-10 to 1-7 annihilation of Ballyboden St Enda’s, who had actually beaten them in the provincial competition the previous year
Seneschalstown, 2003 Leinster ladies SF champions: L Byrne; E Dillon, P Sheridan, D O’Carroll; D Mangan, E McGrane, E O’Carroll (0-1); G Nulty (0-1), A O’Connell; A Carolan (1-2), F Mahon (0-6), O Sheridan; S A Carolan (0-1), M Sheridan (0-1), S Wogan. Sub: C Finnegan
