SILVER HILL FOODS SENIOR HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL

Inniskeen 0-17
C'Blayney 2-10

History was made in Aughnamullen on Sunday evening last when Inniskeen stormed to victory in the final of the Silver Hill Foods sponsored senior hurling championship to bring an historic first ever senior hurling title to the banks of the Fane and in the process deny Castleblayney the feat of completing a seven in a row of senior hurling titles. History and hurling though are no strangers to Inniskeen and the playing of hurling in that part of County Monaghan is documented as far back as the year 1806 when a match was played between the men of Farney, (Monaghan), and Louth, a contest that the local team won. That feat is recorded in the annals of Irish literature and Irish folklore in a now famous poem called Ioman Inis Chaoin, the hurling of Inniskeen, the record preserved for posterity through the efforts of the late Henry Morris. That game took place on April 18th 1806, almost 80 years before the Gaelic Athletic Association was founded. Things were not organised on the same official base as they are now and that contest back 204 years ago would appear to have developed when a Dr. Atcionson issued a challenge to a Father Edward Duffy who was then the parish priest in Inniskeen to a hurling contest. Accounts of the game spread across the entire province of Ulster and it is also recorded that the victory inspired the Monaghan men to greater efforts as the game of hurling flourished for many years afterwards in the Farney area of the county. The Inniskeen club as we know it was founded in 1883, again before the official founding of the GAA in Thurles and later the setting up of the first county board in Monaghan in 1887. Inniskeen went on to win the first ever Monaghan senior football championship title in 1888 and as Monaghan champions went on to defeat the then Cavan champions, Maghera MacFinns, to become the first ever Ulster senior football champions. So firsts are nothing new to Inniskeen and they now have a group of players who will vie with those of the men of 1806 and successive generations who have brought honour and glory to the club over the years. Last Sunday evening's final produced a cracking contest, Castleblayney the senior hurling championship specialists going for seven in a row and Inniskeen the pretenders to the crown looking for a first title. On the day Inniskeen were deserving winners, putting in a storming finish that saw them open a four points lead going into stoppage time. In the end they were still hanging on by their fingertips as Castleblayney struck back with an injury time penalty goal but ultimately they ran out of time and the result saw the passing of the baton to the new kids on the block as Inniskeen earned the right to dine at the top table. Overall Inniskeen were deserving winners in that the way they structured their game was the more effective approach. In Gerard Ruddy they had a good last line and he came to their rescue on a couple of occasions while the full-back line of Barry McArdle, Paddy Dooley and Pauric Dowdall battled manfully throughout although they did experience the odd nervous moment. The half back line of captain Seamus Loftus, who was a tower of strength and led by example, centre back Philip Brooks and left back PJ Boyle was effectively the sheet anchor for this historic victory and the four points that Loftus scored, a couple of which were magnificent strikes from distance, helped seal victory. Inniskeen augmented that trio by dropping back players at certain intervals to effectively put up the shutters especially in the second-half and Castleblayney's efforts at breaching that defensive wall repeatedly ran into heavy traffic. Trevor Hilliard and Gavin Dooley manned midfield, Hilliard putting in a performance that saw him presented with the man of the match award and his influence since transferring to Inniskeen from Louth has been immense. In attack Inniskeen had five of their starting forwards on the score sheet by the finish while in contrast Castleblayney had but three and therein lay the difference. The half forward line of Michael Lennon, TJ Byrne and Kevin Boylan put in an immense effort and were often the players who dropped back behind midfield to help contain the Castleblayney threat while the full forward line of Paul Meegan, Martin Murphy and Ronan Meegan had the Castleblayney full-back line repeatedly under pressure. For Castleblayney Paul Murphy at full-back and you Jim McHugh at centre did all that any men could to hold the line while Hugh Byrne in goals kept a clean sheet and in fact was one of the first players on the Castleblayney team to be in action when he took off an excellent save in the opening seconds to deny the Ronan Meegan. Declan Crowe in midfield was a tower of strength and lofted over two excellent points for good measure but it was up front where Castleblayney were denied the space and time and but for the accuracy of Michael McHugh from frees they struggled for scores. The game attracted one of the biggest crowd at a senior hurling championship final for many years and as the game wore on those present realised that they were attending an occasion where history was in the making. For Inniskeen the result was something of an emancipation as they had been in the shadow of C'Blayney since coming on the senior scene, although for neutrals in the crowd, and there were many, the result was an emancipation of sorts for hurling in the county as it brings a new team into the limelight and is a major boost to hurling Inniskeen, an area of Monaghan that has only been back in the hurling fold in the last 20 years. The spectre of the late Paddy O'Rourke too loomed large in this encounter and in the ultimate result with county chairman Paul Curran referring to his work in establishing hurling in Inniskeen and working to develop the game among a group of juveniles who have now gone on to bring the ultimate honour to the club, a county senior hurling title. Team captain Seamus Loftus also paid tribute to his one-time mentor, the late Paddy O'Rourke and as the tributes were paid there were many in the crowd who shed a silent tear.
Conditions in Sarsfield Park, Aughnamullen, were ideal with Castleblayney opting to play with the aid of the breeze in the first half and it was their keeper Hugh Byrne who was first in action when he took off a great save to deny Ronan Meegan. A minute later another Inniskeen attack was broken up by Jim McHugh whose long clearance found Stephen Lambe and he opened the scoring to put Castleblayney in front. A minute later Inniskeen were level, Ronan Meegan placing Michael Lennon from a free and he completed the task. Castleblayney now had two good chances to retake the lead, one from a long-range free by goalkeeper Hugh Byrne and Inniskeen had a promising attack broken up when an effort by TJ Byrne was blocked by Peter Trainer before Inniskeen took the lead for the first time when Trevor Hilliard sent over a great effort from distance following good work by Kevin Boylan. Another lengthy clearance out of the Castleblayney defence was off target at the other end while another Castleblayney attack saw Gerard Ruddy in action and Michael McHugh was off target from a long-range free before Kevin Boylan put Inniskeen two points in front in the eighth minute with an excellent individual effort. Inniskeen now had two good chances to extend their lead further but both Paul Meegan and Gavin Dooley were off target, although the latter effort was from some distance and Castleblaney's Alan Lambe was also wide of the mark. Twelve minutes into the first half Michael Lennon put Inniskeen three points in front following an assist from Kevin Boylan but two minutes later Castleblayney were dramatically back in front with a point by corner back Paddy Collins and an opportunist goal from Michael McHugh when he booted home from close range after a lengthy delivery from Declan Crowe had broken in the Inniskeen area. Undaunted Inniskeen struck back to win a free that was converted by Ronan Meegan but within seconds Barry Reilly had restored Castleblayney to the lead at the other end. Eighteen minutes into the game Declan Crowe picked off an excellent point from distance when he latched on to a clearance from Hugh Byrne but by the 27th minute Inniskeen had battled back to parity with points apiece from Seamus Loftus in the 20th minute and Ronan Meegan in the 27th minute, both from frees. The tempo of the game was now increasing and in a hectic final few minutes Castleblayney regained the lead with a great strike from Declan Crowe in the 28th minute with Michael McHugh then putting his side two in front a minute later when he converted a free following a foul on Barry Reilly. Castleblayney in fact could have more than doubled their lead at this stage when Gary Boyd found himself clear when he intercepted a careless pass in the Inniskeen defence but he blasted wide from close range. The final minute of the first half saw tempers threaten to flare with referee Noel Mullaney issuing yellow cards to Castleblayney's Jimmy Lacey and Inniskeen's Michael Lennon. On the resumption of play Michael McHugh converted a long-range free from all of 75 metres to put his side three in front with Inniskeen's Seamus Loftus just off target from a long-range free in the third minute of stoppage time to leave three between the sides at the break, Castleblayney 1-7, Inniskeen 0-7.
Inniskeen came out for the start of the second-half with renewed purpose and had Castleblayney under immediate pressure that yielded two frees both of which were converted by Michael Lennon, one for a foul on himself and the other for an indiscretion against Ronan Meegan. By that stage in fact Inniskeen could have been level but Ronan Meegan's effort from another long-range free was just off target while Gary Boyd had similar luck at the other end. Castleblayney needed to generate some further momentum and in an effort to achieve this they sent in Rory Woods for his first appearance for a couple of seasons and young Fergal Rafter who had proven his pedigree in the earlier stages of the championship. The game was being played at a helter-skelter pace at this stage with goal line clearances at either end before Michael McHugh converted a free in the ninth minute following a foul on David Connolly to help settle Castleblayney into the second-half and restore them to a two points lead. Approaching the end of the third quarter Stephen Lambe restored Castleblayney to a three points lead as Inniskeen's tally of wides continued with another long-range effort from Philip Brooks wide of the posts. The game was now in the melting pot and when the big question was asked it was Inniskeen who had the answer and within three minutes they had wiped out Castleblayney's three points advantage. Martin Murphy started the rush in the 16th minute with a great personal effort and Ronan Meegan wiped out the remainder of the deficit when he converted two frees both of which were awarded for fouls on himself as the Inniskeen threat increased. Five further minutes elapsed though with chances at either end before Ronan Meegan and Michael Lennon combined well for the former to put Inniskeen back in front for the first time from the 14th minute of the first half. Seamus Loftus thumped ever a mighty effort from inside his own '65 in the 24th minute for a two points lead and while Michael McHugh converted a long-range free for a foul on Declan Crowe a minute later Inniskeen responded for another brace inside a minute, the first from TJ Byrne after Gavin Dooley had battled to win possession and the second by Seamus Loftus with another effort from a long-range free to put the challengers three points in front with three minutes of normal time remaining. Just on the half hour mark Inniskeen hit the insurance point, Seamus Loftus again with a lengthy delivery following a foul on Philip Brooks. Ultimately it was a lead they needed as Castleblayney with one last throw of the dice drove forward in numbers and were awarded a penalty for a foul on Rory Woods going into stoppage time. Michael McHugh converted the penalty to give the champions a fighting chance but ultimately time ran out and Inniskeen held out for the narrowest yet overall a deserved victory with the final whistle precipitating a round of celebration that has not been seen at a senior hurling championship final for many a long day.
Teams and Scorers: Inniskeen: Gerard Ruddy, Barry McArdle, Paddy Dooley, Pauric Dowdall, Seamus Loftus 0-4 (2f), Phil Brooks, PJ Boyle, Trevor Hilliard 0-1, Gavin Dooley, Michael Lennon 0-4 (2f), TJ Byrne 0-1, Kevin Boylan 0-1, Paul Meegan, Martin Murphy 0-1, Ronan Meegan 0-5 (4f). Subs: David McGahon for TJ Byrne, TJ Byrne for P Dooley.
C'Blayney: Hugh Byrne, Paddy Collins, Paul Murphy, Jim Lacey, Peter Treanor, Jim McHugh, Mark Treanor, Declan Crowe 0-2, Alan Lambe, Gary Boyd, David Connolly, Brian McGuigan, Stephen Lambe 0-2, Michael McHugh 2-4 (1-0p, 0-4f), Barry Reilly 0-1. Subs: Rory Woods for A Lambe, Fergal Rafter for G Boyd, Barney Connor for P Collins, Wayne Funcheon for J Lacey. Referee: Noel Mullaney (Clontibret).

REACTION.
It was understandably celebrations all the way for the Inniskeen players, team mentors, club officials and supporters when the final whistle signalled the club's first ever senior hurling championship title on Sunday evening last. In contrast Castleblayney were left totally bereft of any emotion other than bitter disappointment but to their credit they swallowed their disappointment and remained on the field to a man until the round of Inniskeen celebrations had died down and the man of the match award and the Mick Quigley Cup had both been presented to the winners. Even in their disappointment Castleblayney manager Declan Connolly was quick to acknowledge that Inniskeen were worthy winners and paid tribute to them for their achievement. Inniskeen manager Gerry Murphy was greatly relieved and deeply satisfied that Inniskeen had eventually realised their burning ambition but he was also pragmatic enough to be honest in his analysis of the trend the game had taken. Let joy be unconfined would barely describe the feelings and emotions of Inniskeen captain Seamus Loftus whose acceptance speech following the presentation of the Mick Quigley Cup reflected the heartfelt delight that everyone in Inniskeen felt at this momentous achievement.

C'BLAYNEY MANAGER DECLAN CONNOLLY.
Castleblayney manager Declan Connolly acknowledged that it was not easy to accept defeat after the club had enjoyed success in the previous six years. "We knew this was not going to be easy, we knew it was going to the wire but we cannot take anything away from Inniskeen, they are a good side and they had done their homework. Their whole plan was to shore up the half back line and in the second-half that is what they did. They put a line of men across the pitch and we just simply could not get through and quite simply that was it. Unfortunately we did not get the seven in a row but Inniskeen put up a great challenge and if it raises the standard of hurling in Monaghan as well, then so be it and it will be worth it". The Castleblayney manager agreed that in the first half his side had looked comfortable enough and might well have been further ahead at half-time than the three points margin they enjoyed. "At the end of the first half we were three points ahead and quite honestly I don't know how we were three ahead because we hadn't played well but at the same time we didn't let them away from us. We also had a couple of good goal chances but Inniskeen were always there and you have to give credit to them. They have trained hard and they have worked hard and they are worthy champions. They deserve it". Castleblayney is a club that has put an immense amount of work into the development of hurling with a lot of coaching activity from the youngest age group right through so did the Castleblayney manager feel that this might be a setback to the club". Yes I suppose it is in a way but at the same time we have young lads coming through. Fergal Rafter made his debut this year and we had three other young lads on the team who have come up through the ranks and that is thanks to the work of Noel McGuigan who keeps the conveyor belt system going. We will continue to work at our game and we will be back. It's a challenge for County Monaghan hurling, Inniskeen have come up now and fair play to them but I can say that from today we will be determined to come back next year and take the title from them". As Monaghan champions Inniskeen now go on to compete in the Ulster junior club hurling championship while if Castleblayney had been successful they would have been competing in the intermediate club series so what chance did Declan Connolly give Inniskeen at provincial level in the junior club championship. "I would give Inniskeen a great chance and the junior championship is there for Inniskeen to win it and that's what I will be saying to them when I am talking to them afterwards in the dressing-room, to go ahead now and win the Ulster club title as well. They can do it and they have to believe they can do it. They are a good outfit, they are well organised and they were the better team here today so hopefully they will carry this on".

INNISKEEN'S GERRY MURPHY.
Inniskeen manager/coach Gerry Murphy was elated and relieved in equal measure at the end of last Sunday's titanic struggle in Aughnamullen but the game coming down to a close finish was no more than he expected. "It was always going down to the wire, we expected nothing else, I thought maybe one or two points either way would be the final outcome but we knew we had done the work and we were prepared for what eventually developed. At half-time we talked about it and we said to the boys that we were not getting our game together the way we wanted to. We got a few switches made for the start of the second-half and we got a couple of early points which were crucial to get us back into the game because if Castleblayney had got those early points we would have been in trouble but we got the start we needed and we built on that".
Gerry Murphy who himself had seen action with Castleblayney in the past quickly acknowledged that as he expected Castleblayney fought to the end and made it extremely difficult for Inniskeen who had to have nerves of steel going into the last five minutes. Yes and we had to be ready for that nervy finish, that tight finish, but we have been working on that in the last year or so and in fact I think we have been playing our best hurling in the last 10 or 15 minutes of every game this year. Today I knew that was when it was going to be won. I knew it was going to be won in the last ten minutes or so because this was a game that was never going to be won in the first half". The Inniskeen manager then went on to pay tribute to his half back line who he felt did trojan work in fashioning this victory. "Full credit to our half back line because they got ball out in the latter part of the second-half which we hadn't been getting during the first-half. We also got a couple of excellent long-range points from the halfback line and they came late in the game when we needed points. As well as that maybe we got a little rub of the green at times today which helped us as well but then we have known days when we didn't get that".
The result saw a changing of the guard as it were, as far as the pecking order in hurling in the county is concerned. Castleblayney were the dominant team over the years, going for seven in a row while Inniskeen were seeking a first ever senior hurling championship, so did the Inniskeen manager agree that a changing of the guard would be good for hurling in the county. "First of all its good for Inniskeen because we needed that in Inniskeen after all the work everyone has put in. It's good for hurling in Monaghan because to have another club now at that level of winning a senior championship is good for the county as well. I know Castleblayney would have loved to have done the seven in a row, Declan (Connolly) and myself spoke earlier on and we agreed that this result is good for hurling in the county, it is good but it will only be good if we all build on it".
The spectre of Paddy O'Rourke loomed large in Aughnamullen on Sunday evening last and it loomed large over the Inniskeen team in that a lot of the lads who were playing in the final were boys that he had introduced them to hurling as very young juveniles. "There is no doubt about that because Paddy and Eddie Higgins would have been the men who got hurling going on the ground and they were the men who worked at it in the early years. In fact it was Eddie Higgins who brought me out to Inniskeen and in fairness to them, without those two men there would be no hurling team in Inniskeen at this moment in time and it is a credit to Eddie and Paddy, Lord rest him, that the team is there as they had the foresight and the inspiration to start at the very bottom and get it going from there".
Inniskeen now move on to the Ulster junior club championship which is a whole new experience waiting for them and Gerry Murphy is already looking forward to it. "Yes it is something new and it is something that Inniskeen needs because they do not take part in the Ulster club league. They don't play outside Monaghan so it's going to be a big ask, a new challenge, a new deck of cards for us to deal with but I think they are good enough and I know they will have learned from that match there today and that will build a bit more confidence and put a bit more backbone into them. Getting it handy today would have been of no use to them and I know they will get nothing handy in Ulster, they are going to have to fight for everything".

INNISKEEN CAPTAIN SEAMUS LOFTUS.
Inniskeen Captain Seamus Loftus now joins a very elite group of players in the Inniskeen club who have been presented with the trophies for senior county titles. As the captain of the team that took the first ever senior hurling championship title to the club it was a very proud and special moment for him personally but he was quick to point out that this was a very special day for the whole Inniskeen club. "Absolutely and quite honestly at this time I really do not feel capable of putting it into words how we feel and how I feel. It is just simply top-class. The boys gave it their all today and you can see what it means to the players and you can see what it means to the Inniskeen people here today, it's just unbelievable". Seamus Loftus acknowledged that coming into the game there was pressure on Castleblayney to produce as they were the reigning champions so Inniskeen had to stay with them from the very start and they did. "Yes that is very true but playing any Castleblayney team at any level is never an easy task. The green and gold jersey is feared around the county but today we stuck to our guns and more importantly we stuck to the game plan. We stayed with them to half time and I suppose maybe they were a bit lucky with the goal and they were playing with a bit of a breeze but that helped us in the second-half and we took our chances and thank God the result went the way it did". Captaining the team from the right half back position Seamus Loftus was a little reticent at accepting the overall influence that the half back line had exerted but he did agree that the game plan was built around them. "We have generally accepted that our half back line has to be the most important line on the field and we probably were today. I don't know, but lucky enough a lot of our ball came from the half back line today and Gerry Murphy always works on the principle that he likes to play his strongest line there and I think that approach worked today".
Seamus Loftus acknowledged that Inniskeen have been knocking on the door now for a few years, the result of the work that had been put in over the last possibly 20 years, so this was a major breakthrough. "Yes it most certainly is and as I said already it is just unbelievable. I would be a player that is coming from one of the first batches of players that Paddy (O'Rourke) and Eddie (Higgins) began working with, players like David McGahan, Alan Ryan and Pauric Dowdall and they took us on first and then other lads came in like PJ Boyle, Gerard Ruddy and the Meegan's, I could go on and name lads but it's just unbelievable. We have enjoyed success at underage level coming through and that certainly helped us but this is the jewel in the crown and it is just so great to get it".
Inniskeen's victory takes them on to the Ulster club championship so their victory on Sunday and the manner in which they had to work for victory had to be good preparation. "Yes it definitely is. We had a fairly easy win over Carrickmacross in the semi-final and we got a good challenge today from Castleblayney which was great. It's good for the team and it is good for hurling in general to get good games, so we just have to keep working. We will enjoy this moment but I can tell you we won't be getting carried away and I know I speak for all the lads when I say we will give it a good battle because the cup for the junior I believe is named after Paddy O'Rourke who started all of us off so that would be a fantastic achievement to get our hands on that as well". Tweet

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