Underage success spurs Ballymore
28 February 2006
In recent years Ballymore have bounced between the senior and intermediate
grade and the 2006 campaign will see the South Westmeath side compete
in the middle tier championship once again following their relegation
from the top flight.
However, it is not all doom and gloom in the club as the fruits of their labour at underage level are beginning to pay off and with success at under-16 and minor last year, Ballymore have something to build on. Secretary Seamus McDermott spoke to Maroon and White about the club’s success in 2005.
Ballymore are a small rural club like so many others in that they are
caught between other clubs with regards to choosing players and this has
forced them to amalgamate with Milltown at underage level. Nonetheless,
Seamus admitted that there is a great working relationship between the
two clubs.
“We do get on very well and that is important for the young lads’
sakes. Millmore Gaels have had a fair amount of success in recent years,
which is great and hopefully we can bring these lads through to adult
level,” said Seamus.
“We have a small catchment area to choose from and had no choice
in amalgamating, but in saying that things could not have worked out better
for both clubs. It is essential that young lads get games and that is
the most important thing.
“Luckily, there are many good people to work with the kids. The
likes of John McNeill, Willie Finnerty and Denis Rourke have all given
great service to the club on and off the field and now they are dedicated
their time to the underage teams.”
Millmore Gaels fielded at under-12, 14, 16 minor level and acquitted themselves very well in these grades. As there is no championship at under-12 level, the club played a number of games in the league with mixed fortunes.
The under-14 side reached the Division Two final undefeated, having won nine matches on the trot. They had to give way to a stronger Killucan side in the final. Millmore Gaels started the match slowly and found themselves ten-points adrift early on. But, the spirit of these youngsters was epitomised when they fought back and only for time was against them, they surely would have won the match. Two points separated the sides at the finish.
In the championship, the amalgamation side received a bye in the first round. St Mary’s Rochfortbridge were the opponents in the second round. When the sides met in the league, Millmore managed a narrow victory, however on this occasion revenge was the order of the day as St Mary’s were victorious. Needless to say, the Gaels were without the services of a number of key players on the day. It was a disappointing end to their year as hopes were high that the championship title could be annexed at this level, but for some of this squad, they would manage some success later on.
The under-16’s under the guidance of Paul Mulvaney, John McNeill,
Damien Byrne and Martin Wilson had a mediocre league campaign that saw
them finish mid-table. These young men knuckled down for the championship
and the management team seemed to get the best out of the players as they
reached the county final.
Milltownpass were to provide the opposition in what turned out to be a
very exciting match indeed. Not much separated the sides throughout and
it looked as if a draw might be the most likely outcome. To their credit,
Millmore Gaels once again showed great spirit to win the match by a solitary
point and when the final whistle went, there was scenes of jubilation
from their supporters.
John McNeill, Mike Eivers and Stephen Cahalin took charge of the minor
team for the 2005 season. Hopes were high that this side could make an
impact in their grade, but no-one could have envisaged just how good this
team was.
The management team had a young squad as it consisted of a number of the
under-16 panel. Their youthful years did not stand in their way as they
began the season brightly and notched win after win in both league and
championship.
Millmore Gaels made it to both the league and championship final undefeated, which was an amazing achievement for such a young side. First up, was the championship decider where they met a very strong Down’s side. The early stages of the match saw the black and ambers dominate proceedings and it looked as if they were going to win comfortably.
Not for the first time in 2005, Millmore Gaels showed unbelievable resilience to fight their way back into the match and at the final whistle they were in front. An astonishing and historic result had been achieved for the amalgamation side and one that will live long in the memories of all concerned. The league final was played a week later and with the Gaels still on a high following their championship heroics, there was only going to be one winner. However, the Ballymore-Milltown amalgamation side still had a job to do and having led from early on, they had to withstand a strong finish from Moate to earn the League title.
“It was a great year for the club at underage level and one that
won’t be forgotten for a very long time. All the players and mentors
of the various teams deserve great credit for the work that they put in.
We have to make sure that we build from this in the next few years. There
are a great bunch of lads coming through and most of that minor team are
eligible again this year, so we hope to do well,” added Seamus.
In January this year, the club held a very successful presentation night
in the Ballymore Community Centre when Westmeath senior football manager
Tomas O’Flatharta was guest of honour to present the medals to the
under-14 runner’s-up, under-16 championship winners and the minor
double winners. On the night the players had their picture taken with
Tomas and all in all it was a magnificent occasion for the small club.
As stated, Ballymore will be plying their trade in the intermediate championship once again this year. Having lost their opening match to Mullingar Shamrocks by six-points, Ballymore were unfortunate to lose to Castledaly by two points in their next outing. Further heartache was obtained when St Mary’s also had two to spare over the South Westmeath side.
With two games remaining, Ballymore needed to pick up some points, but
heads were down following their narrow defeats early on and it was no
surprise that St Malachy’s and Garrycastle both came out on top
when they met.
This left Ballymore in a relegation play-off where they would face Tubberclair,
with the losers dropping down to the intermediate grade. After a hard
fought match, only a point separated the sides, but unfortunately for
Ballymore, it was Tubberclair who were in front.
“It was very disappointing to be relegated like that. We felt that we should have won a couple of matches early on in the championship and that would have kept us up, but the lads will have to plan for next year. Willie Finnerty has taken over from Gearoid Fay and hopefully all the players will get behind Willie and we can bounce straight back up,” stressed Seamus.
Off the field, the club are also making strides and plans are afoot to re-roof the stand, extend their second pitch, redevelop the dressingrooms, erect ball-catchers and floodlights over the next few years. Ballymore are a club on the rise in every sense.