Whether the following applies to participants or not cannot be confirmed, but, either in a working capacity or as a fan, there are competitors who, when an entity in which a vested interest is held, are facing off against, are absolutely dreaded. Example – Navan O’Mahonys in underage football during my formative years of getting properly involved in GAA. It was always us and them in finals. On more than occasion, our two clubs have collided in every underage final from U-12 to Minor.
And invariably, they always won. Sometimes – a lot of the time – by dolling out an absolute pummelling to our lads. Or, if we did manage to stay upsides with our hooped nemeses throughout the contest, they would somehow find a way to nut us on the line. As if to underline the point, they have just outstayed our lads in the MFC semi final as this piece was being begun.
One day, though, they didn’t. On a horrible, putrid wintry Sunday in O’Growney Park, Athboy. December 15th, 2002. Snowflakes tried to infiltrate the rain. A certain wheelchair had to be towed in off the field. Yes, really.
We beat them 1-08 to 2-03. The sweetest thing. They started favourites. Presumably due to the history of clashes between our two clubs. But that didn’t apply to this particular bunch of our players because it was in fact they who held the upper hand over that vintage of Brews Hill boys all the way through their underage careers.
Naturally, the same principal can also apply between teams at adult level. From a Dunboyne perspective, the commensurate banana skins were Summerhill. For so long, we simply couldn’t get the better of them. Particularly when Mattie Kerrigan was in the blue and gold dugout.
Until one night we did. August 1998. And to this day I still believe it was that victory over our old rivals which was the catalyst for our maiden Keegan Cup victory that year. Then, 20 years on from that, to my mind, came another noteworthy entry to our annals owing to the conquest of the ‘Hill in the 2018 county final.
Another significant bullet point – en route to our most recent showpiece appearance, was a surprisingly comprehensive victory over those who were then managed by John Lyons and Dave Clare.
The said eventual final appearance ended up in heartbreak when Wolfe Tones took the lead after five minutes and never let go thereof.
And so we arrive to the here and now. Sunday last to be exact. There were reasonable grounds for optimism in the Dunboyne camp, yet the defending Keegan Cup winners had been one of the most impressive thereof. Something franked by the fact that they had already won the Div. 1 League earlier in the year.
Nevertheless, Dunboyne got away to a fine start with David McEntee, Donal Lenihan and Cathal Lacey in rampant close to goal. However, the last train to Semiville threatened to be derailed when ref Andrew Smith had no option but to expel the latter named from the playing arena after a pair of challenges that were clumsy rather than in any way aggressive.
Now, aside from the never-ending, but justified, reservations my colleagues in the local media have regarding the numbers on the Dunboyne jerseys, the other criticism often levelled at teams in black amber surrounds the fortitude of their constitution when the trimmings of the pig are rotating on the spittle. Without getting the rights and wrongs of that whole line of thought, there could be no doubting the strength or ingenuity of their application this time around.
Facing into the wind and down a man, if you were to go by the impression some people have of Ger Robinson’s side, the prevailing circumstances presented them with ample opportunity to live up – or down – to them. But no. Leaders like Seamus Lavin, Shane McEntee, Ronan Jones, Jack Kinlough and, in particular, Donal Lenihan stood up to the plate when it was required most.
Special mention, though, must be reserved for netminder Liam Byrne. The former county minor missed last season, but on his return manfully answered the call to fill the void left by the loss of long time custodian Cian Flynn to emigration. Though a convert to life between the posts, not only has the son of former Dunshaughlin captain Ciaron taken well to the rudiments of goalkeeping, his alacrity at producing long, accurate kicks has now become a vital cog in Dunboyne’s success seeking season.
Never more so than on Sunday last when his pulling off two clutch long range missiles were of life-saving importance before a tremendous team move which culminated in Craig Lowndes palming the ball beyond a stranded Sean Muddiman to the Summerhill net. Thus applying the final gloss sheen to one of the finest Dunboyne performances the one seeing eye here has encountered in a very long time.
I’ve had worse weeks!
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