Meath Yearbook 2006

More consistency required

Anybody walking into the Dunsany GAA grounds on the first Sunday evening of September, 2006 could have been forgiven for thinking they were looking at the county champions in the blue and yellow jerseys, such was the confidence, authority, fluency and accuracy of Seneschalstown’s performance in the opening half. By Paul Clarke.

Of course, the Keegan Cup holders were playing in that sixth round Senior Football Championship encounter, but Dunboyne just weren’t at the races as Seneschalstown turned in a stunning half hour or so of brilliant football that knocked any thoughts of a place in the dreaded relegation play-off firmly on the head.
Seneschalstown were without Graham Geraghty that evening, just as they were for much of the Group B campaign, and they were without a number of others too, but their display suggested that they were a team that should be thinking in terms of a serious assault on winning a first SFC title since 1994, rather than keeping at least one eye fixed firmly on goings on at the base of their qualification section.

But the reality is that Seneschalstown haven’t been consistent enough in recent years, like in 2005 when they had a very mixed bag of results and ended up missing out on a place in the last eight on score difference.
Padraig Coyle was their manager for the 2006 campaign and the brother of current Meath senior team manager Colm is certainly a man who knows all about what it takes to get your hands on the most sought after piece of silverware in Meath football. Back in 1994, the younger Coyle walked out of Pairc Tailteann with both hands full – the Keegan Cup in one and the ’man of the match’ trophy in the other – after Seneschalstown had beaten Skryne in the final to deprive the Tara men of their first three in-a-row of senior titles.

Only one other player, Dunboyne’s brilliant defender Enda McManus in 1998, has managed to lift the Keegan Cup and the top player award at the end of the county final in the same year.
Coyle would obviously dearly have loved to add a Senior Championship title as manager this year, but that lack of consistency played against Seneschalstown as they mixed the good with the not so good. The good, and it was extremely good, was very much in evidence in that match against Dunboyne, but there were also days when they looked distinctly unimpressive. However, it also has to be said that they didn’t always have a lot of luck on their side and everybody needs a bit of that.

Apart from Seneschalstown and champions Dunboyne, the group also included the team with the most consistent record in the group stages in recent years, Trim, keen local rivals Walterstown, Skryne, Wolfe Tones and the two sides that were widely expected to battle it out to avoid bottom spot and the relegation play-off place – Cortown and Ballinlough.
Seneschalstown’s lack of luck was very apparent when they opened their championship campaign against Davy Nelson’s Trim on Easter Saturday as the reds maintained their remarkable record in the divisional stages by earning a very fortunate minimum margin victory (0-11 to 0-10) at Pairc Tailteann.

With the Sheridan brothers, Joe, Brian and Damien, in impressive form, Seneschalstown were the superior team for most of the match and held leads of 0-3 to 0-0 and 0-5 to 0-1, before they were ahead by 0-6 to 0-4 at the interval. They pushed clear by 0-9 to 0-4 in the second half and looked set to make the perfect start to the title race, but Trim made changes, found their form and won the remainder by 0-7 to 0-1 to scrape home.

Another narrow defeat followed for Seneschalstown in the second round when Walterstown deservedly shaded the verdict (0-14 to 0-12), again at Pairc Tailteann, on a day when Coyle’s men were severely punished for repeated fouling as Ronan Barry kicked 10 points from frees which were instrumental in the blacks’ victory.
Walterstown led by 0-8 to 0-6 at the break, but Seneschalstown were in with every chance when they were on level terms (0-11 each) with 10 minutes to play. However, they just didn’t do enough from there to the finish and were two points adrift at the final whistle.

Ballinlough had caused the shock of the championship when stunning Skryne in the opening round and, while the surprise element was gone as far as the north county side was concerned, Seneschalstown were undoubtedly wary as they travelled to Bohermeen to meet them in a match that was of vital importance if the Yellow Furze men were to stay in contention for a qualification place and avoid falling into a relegation dogfight.

Amazingly, Seneschalstown could afford the luxury of 20 wides, 11 of them in the first half, and still came out on top by 12 points (2-17 to 1-8) to get their campaign firmly back on the rails. They were ahead by 0-5 to 0-2 at the end of the first quarter, by which stage they had already registered six wides, and were in front by 2-7 to 1-5 at the interval after Robert Ruddy and Joe Sheridan had scored the goals.

Ballinlough reduced the deficit to just four points within 15 seconds of the restart, but Seneschalstown eventually pulled away with seven unanswered points in the last 10 minutes to win with ease. Brian Sheridan top-scored with seven points, Geraghty made a notable contribution and former Armagh player Andy McCann made his first championship start at left half-back.
Wolfe Tones were shaping very well in their second campaign back in the senior ranks and they brought Seneschalstown firmly back down to ground level in the fourth round at Pairc Tailteann when winning by eight points on a 1-16 to 0-11 score line. Cian Ward is always capable of turning in exceptional performances and, unfortunately for Seneschalstown who were without Geraghty, this was one of those occasions as he contributed 10 points.

Things were looking quite promising for Seneschalstown during the first half and they led by 0-7 to 0-5 approaching the interval. However, Sean Power scored a crucial goal for Wolfe Tones which left them ahead by 1-5 to 0-7 at the change of ends and with the brilliant Ward notching eight points in the second period they pushed away to win with a degree of comfort. To add to Seneschalstown’s woes Damien Sheridan was carried off injured in the closing stages.

With Geraghty still away in the United States, Seneschalstown headed into their fifth round assignment against Skryne at Walterstown knowing just how important it was to get something out of the game. But this wasn’t one of their better performances and the Tara men won by 1-9 to 1-7 as Trevor Giles proved highly inspirational with seven points.
Kevin Mulvaney’s goal helped Skryne to lead by 1-2 to 0-2 at half-time, but with Giles calling the shots they pushed clear in the second period, before Seneschalstown produced a late rally that brought a superb goal from Joe Sheridan. That score was little more than a consolation, however, and the reality was that Seneschalstown had only two points in the bag after five championship outings.

Seneschalstown have been a senior club for almost four decades and to lose that top flight status would be unthinkable, unforgivable indeed. But as the group stages of the championship headed into the home straight, the reality was that they were in danger of falling into a serious battle to avoid ending up in a relegation shoot out.
When the situation becomes almost drastic teams tend to look to great players like Geraghty for inspiration and that touch of pure genius that can lift the siege and point them in the right direction. But there was no Geraghty as they headed across to Dunsany for that sixth round game against Dunboyne who were making a less than brilliant defence of their senior title and needed a victory themselves.

After winning only one game from five championship starts, nobody could have predicted just how brilliant Seneschalstown would be in the first half against the St. Peter’s men. They were direct, and that appeared to upset the champions, but they were also full of confidence and a total transformation from the team that had performed so poorly against Skryne only five days earlier.
Joe Sheridan and Robert Ruddy gave them a strong platform at midfield and with Joe finding in form brother Brian with accurate ball into the full-forward line they repeatedly stretched the Dunboyne defence to breaking point. They never managed to score a goal, but they certainly kicked some mighty points in that opening period and that accuracy was sufficient to earn them a commanding 0-11 to 0-3 interval advantage.

The second half was never going to be as good as the first and Dunboyne threatened a recovery, but the nearest they got to Seneschalstown was within four points on four different occasions, including 0-10 to 0-14 with six minutes remaining, but there was five in it at the finish (0-17 to 0-12).
What that victory meant for Seneschalstown was that they were safe and relegation was no longer a possibility. The result also meant that Dunboyne’s chances of retaining their title were very much in the balance, though they did manage to scrape through to the last eight.

There was nothing at stake for either side when Seneschalstown played Cortown in the final round of group matches at Simonstown. Seneschalstown could relax in the knowledge that they were safe, while Cortown knew they were already doomed to a place in the relegation play-off after a decade in the senior grade.
This was an historic occasion because it was the first time that a Senior Championship game was played under floodlights and Brian Clarke added further illumination for Seneschalstown when he pointed them in the direction of another victory by netting inside the opening two minutes. Ciaran Macken and Clarke added points and with a 1-2 to 0-0 lead they looked to be heading for a comfortable success.
They didn’t pull away, however, and a Gary Coyne goal helped Cortown to trail by only four points (1-2 to 1-6) at the break. They continued to battle away bravely, but Seneschalstown were two ahead at the end (1-11 to 1-9).

At the end of the marathon group campaign Seneschalstown had won three of their seven matches and lost four and a tally of six points was never going to be sufficient to get them through. However, they will wonder what might have been if they had managed to get something out of the games they lost narrowly.
If they want something positive to call on ahead of next year’s championship they should think back to that evening in Dunsany when they proved what they really are capable of. But greater consistency has to be a priority.

So close to provincial honours

The Seneschalstown ladies’ football team did their club proud once again in 2006 when they won another Meath Senior Championship title and then proceeded to make their way to the Leinster final where they were just edged out by reigning All-Ireland champions Ballyboden St. Enda’s in dramatic circumstances.

Seneschalstown were under a new management team this year, with Seamus Byrne – the winner of a Senior Championship medal in that historic breakthrough triumph back in 1972 – taking over as manager. Alan Stephens looked after the training of the panel, while the selectors were Margaret Sheridan and Liz Halpenny, who is a daughter of Meath’s 1949 All-Ireland hero Bill Halpenny, who scored the all-important goal in the decider against Cavan.
The team’s main target for the year was obviously to retain their county title, but once they had made it safely through to another final they came face to face with great rivals St. Ultan’s, a team that included All-Star Geraldine Doherty at full-forward.

Seneschalstown, captained by another county player Mary Sheridan, led from the start before a good-sized attendance at Simonstown in early September and tallied a fabulous total over the hour to come out on top by 15 points on a 4-19 to 2-10 score line. The performance was full of hunger and commitment and when two of your forwards manage to notched 1-5 in the same match you are always likely to win.
That’s exactly what Meath players Gillian Bennett and Fiona Mahon achieved for Seneschalstown, but it was three early points that settled the team and they went on to hold a useful 1-9 to 1-3 advantage at the interval after Stephanie Byrne had raced through to score the winners’ goal a couple of minutes from the end of the first half.
That score had left Seneschalstown well clear, but they were rocked back almost immediately when they conceded a penalty and Elaine Duffy demonstrated great coolness to shoot to the net and leave St. Ultan’s six points adrift at the change of ends.

St. Ultan’s prospects were boosted considerably by that score, but their optimism wasn’t justified as Seneschalstown just upped the tempo of their game and played with the sort of efficiency that demonstrated why they are the dominant force in ladies’ football in the county.
When Grainne Nulty surged forward and fired home their second goal soon after the resumption Seneschalstown were well on their way to another senior title. Bennett was very much on top of her game and slotted over three points in quick succession to extend the lead further and leave St. Ultan’s playing an impossible game of catch-up.
The third goal arrived early in the last quarter when captain Sheridan surged forward from midfield and provided the ammunition for Bennett to shoot past St. Ultan’s goalkeeper Nuala O’Brien. A fourth goal came from Mahon and, while the losers battled away bravely to the end, there was no denying which was the dominant team.

The Seneschalstown team in the final was – L. Byrne; L. Tully, P. Sheridan, D. O’Carroll; E. McGrane, L. McKeever (0-1), Laura Carey; M. Sheridan, G. Nulty (1-3); S. Byrne (1-2), O. Sheridan, F. Mahon (1-5); E. O’Carroll (0-1), G. Bennett (1-5), A. Sheridan (0-1). Subs – N. McGrane for McKeever, R. Nulty for Tully, L. Quinn for A. Sheridan.
When Mary Sheridan accepted the cup from Meath County Board secretary Geraldine Moroney Seneschalstown could celebrate, but their minds were already starting to concentrate on the bigger hurdles that lay ahead and an assault on the Leinster Championship.

Seneschalstown had to travel for two away assignments before they got through to the final and their first game in the provincial competition was in Athy against Kildare champions Grange who were comfortably overcome by 14 points (2-17 to 1-6). A strong start proved important for the Meath champions as they raced into a 1-5 to 0-0 lead, with Mary Sheridan getting the goal.
The advantage stood at 1-10 to 1-2 at the interval, by which stage Gillian Bennett had kicked five points from frees, and although the Kildare side responded with a couple of points, Bennett notched a second goal which put Seneschalstown firmly on the road to victory.

That success set up an even longer journey south to play Clonee of Wexford at Camolin and with a ticket through to the decider going to the winners the Meath representatives advanced with a fair bit to spare as they scored by 14 points again, this time on a 1-18 to 1-4 score line.
Clonee dominated for the early part of the opening half, but Seneschalstown settled and led by the minimum (0-6 to 1-2) at the interval. The Meath representatives kept the pressure on in the second half and four points from Eimear O’Carroll helped their cause. Orla Sheridan also notched a goal which enabled them to be well clear at the end.
The fact that Ballyboden St. Enda’s were the reigning Leinster and All-Ireland champions demonstrated what a tough test awaited Seneschalstown and they probably also took note of the fact that the Dublin side had beaten Louth’s Cooley Kickhams by a whopping 47 points (9-24 to 0-4) at the penultimate hurdle.

But Seneschalstown are an accomplished team and while they clearly respected Ballyboden St. Enda’s, they certainly didn’t fear them, and went very close to claiming the provincial title at Clane on the last Sunday of October. Indeed, it necessitated a late, late point for the Dublin team to retain their title and that was cruel luck on the Meath girls who had made a tremendous recovery after falling well behind.
Ballyboden St. Enda’s scored the opening point of the final, but Seneschalstown hit back with points from Gillian Bennett and Grainne Nulty. Those scores might have been expected to settle the team, but instead the Dublin representatives rocked them with goals from Sarah Denver and Louise Kelly to move into a six-point (2-7 to 0-7) lead at the interval.
Manager Byrne and his selectors made switches for the second half in attempt to improve the situation and the result was a tremendous recovery as ’player of the match’ Louise McKeever proved very inspirational in the heart of the Seneschalstown defence and Bennett kept the score board operator busy, finishing with a very impressive personal tally of nine points.
The Meath champions battled back brilliantly, but they were still three points adrift three minutes into injury time. They needed a goal to keep their Leinster title ambitions on track and it arrived when Sheridan found the net. The final whistle was anticipated, but the referee played on and the Dubliners, who are bidding for a third All-Ireland title on the bounce, snatched a dramatic winner as substitute Teresa Molohan slotted over a close range free to leave the final score 2-12 to 1-14.

It was a shattering way to lose any match, but when it’s a final such defeats can be even harder to take. However, Seneschalstown can certainly look forward to next year with great hope and enthusiasm.
“I think we showed them too much respect in the early stages of the game,” was how manager Seamus Byrne summed it up after the final. “But once we settled into it we gave as good as we got.
“Although they were on top in the opening half we held our shape and when we made a few changes for the second half we came more into it. Both teams gave their all and Ballyboden St. Enda’s are an excellent side. They are not the All-Ireland champions for nothing, but we gave as good as we got.
“We are disappointed now, but we will learn from our mistakes and we will aim to be back here at this stage next year and by then we will be bigger and stronger. This team is not finished yet and hopefully next year we will have more luck.”

The Seneschalstown team in the final was – L. Byrne; D. Mangan, P. Sheridan, D. O’Carroll; E. McGrane, L. McKeever, L. Tully; F. Mahon (0-2), M. Sheridan (1-0); S. Byrne (0-2), G. Bennett (0-9), O. Sheridan; E. O’Carroll (0-1), G. Nulty (0-1), S. Sheridan.
The Seneschalstown ladies achieved another significant success at the end of September when they won the All-Ireland Seven-a-Side Shield competition hosted by the Naomh Mearnog club in Portmarnock.

Seneschalstown finished runners-up to Mountmellick of Laois in their qualifying group and that left them playing in the shield competition where they got the better of Dublin outfit Round Towers in the quarter-finals. Donaghmoyne from Monaghan provided the opposition at the penultimate hurdle and a victory there left Seneschalstown in the decider against Galway side St. Brendan’s.
The girls from the west held a minimum margin (2-0 to 0-5) lead at half-time, but Seneschalstown added eight points in the second period and conceded only one as they ran out decisive winners by 0-13 to 2-1.

The Seneschalstown panel for that success was – L. Byrne, L. McKeever, P. Sheridan, D. Dillon, L. Carey, R. Nulty, F. Mahon, G. Nulty, M. Sheridan, E. O’Carroll, O. Sheridan, E. Harris.