Castlepollard were crowned the 2003 senior hurling champions following their dramatic win over Clonkill in the final as they claimed their 13th title in total, which was all the more significant as it came in their Centenary Year. Pollard could be classed as the county's biggest under achievers in recent times as they have failed to fulfil their true potential in many a championship campaign. At the start of this year's championship the town would not have even been considered as one of the favourites for the Examiner Cup and following the defeat to Oliver Plunkett's in their opening match, a relegation play-off was a real possibility. But this team is full of experienced players who have represented Westmeath at all levels in hurling and players like Jody Murray, Robert McLoughlin, Brendan Murphy, Darren McCormack, Alfie Devine, Sean McLoughlin and Barry Kennedy are seasoned campaigners who know what it takes to be successful. It is somewhat of a mystery that these players have only three SHC medals each given the strength in depth that Pollard have, but the emergence of rivals Lough Lene Gaels in the nineties has played a major part in that. Former Brownstown hurler John Davis was once again manager of the team with Martin Egan, Seamus Devine, and Johnny McCormack as his selectors. With the club redeveloping their pitch, training was split between Ballycomoyle football club and a playing area adjacent to their own pitch. In mid-June Castlepollard had their first outing in the championship against an St Oliver Plunkett's side that have been threatening to make a major breakthrough in recent years. Pollard were still favourites though as often as not that tag counted for nothing once the game got under way. Plunkett's got a great start when Greg Gavin blasted home a 20 metre free after only eight minutes. Wing forward Barry Kennedy was almost single-handedly keeping Pollard in the match with some fine scores from both frees and play and the 1997 champions were fortunate to go in at half-time on level terms, 0-7 to 1-4. It was tit-for-tat throughout the second half as both defences were on top but Plunkett's went two points clear midway through the half and despite Kevin Brazil narrowing the gap to a point, the Mullingar side responded straight away with a point. Pollard battled in vain to close the gap but every time they came to within a point of their opponents, they were capable of going down and cancelling out that score. The final score being 1-8 to 0-10 in favour of Plunkett's. Questions were asked immediately after this match as to whether the North Westmeath side still had the hunger that was needed to win a championship. The 2001 champions Clonkill were the next opponents with nothing separating the sides in recent meetings and so it proved once again as Clonkill were victorious by the narrow margin of two points. Castlepollard got off to an excellent start when Sean McLoughlin crashed home a free to the back of the Clonkill net from a 20 metre free before Andrew Mitchell repeated that feat at the other end only five minutes later. The sides exchanged points for the remainder of the half however McLoughlin's second goal of the evening gave Pollard a three point lead at half-time, 2-5 to 1-5. In the second half the sides exchanged points early on before McLoughlin was denied a goal by a point blank save by Clonkill goalie Paddy Walsh. A number of wides were then hit by both sides midway through the second half before Clonkill scored a decisive second goal. Martin Scally was fed by Mitchell and he made no mistake in firing the ball low past a stranded Noel Boylan in the Pollard goals. Aaron Farrell replied with a point for the blue and golds, although Clonkill took the initiative and scored five unanswered points to give them a commanding lead. Larry Kennedy did manage to pull a point back and McLoughlin secured his hat trick of goals from another 20 metre free to leave a point between the sides. Clonkill substitute Jonathon Forbes then pointed with in the dying minutes to give his side the two points and put Pollard in real danger of a relegation play-off For Pollard the only shining light of this match was the return to form of former county star Sean McLoughlin who has struggled with injury for the past two years. McLoughlin has undoubtedly been one of the top hurlers in the county over the past 13 years and he showed in this match that he had not lost any of his skill as he finished with a personal tally of 3-1. John Davis' charges were now left with the daunting task of having to beat defending champions Lough Lene Gaels in the their last group match in order to keep their hopes of reaching the knock-out stages of the championship alive. The fact that the Gaels were already qualified from the group counted for nothing, as the rivalry between these sides would mean that neither side wanted to lose. Pollard gave their best display in the championship for many years when the sides met in Cusack Park on Sunday, July 14 as they totally outplayed their opponents right from the start. Holding the county champions to a paltry four points was a remarkable achievement in itself but with two of those points coming in the dying moments of the game, this was the boost that the town needed as they ran out 2-9 to 0-4 winners. With Clonkill staging a remarkable comeback to defeat Oliver Plunkett's, it meant that Pollard and Plunkett's would meet again with the losers facing a relegation play-off and the winners progressing to the quarterfinals. Plunkett's had been unfortunate to be in such a position after defeating Pollard, and losing narrowly to both Lough Lene Gaels and Clonkill in the other group matches. Pollard started poorly but Plunkett's failure to convert their chances was to be their downfall as they trailed by one point at the interval. Barry Kennedy inspired his side to victory with an excellent display which yielded four points while Sean McLoughlin netted their goal in the first half and Ollie Devine doubled their goal tally mid way through the second half. The game itself was far from a classic but that did not worry Castlepollard as the advanced to a quarterfinal meeting with neighbours Ringtown after their 2-5 to 0-8 victory over the Mullingar side. There were scores a plenty in the quarter-final with 28 being notched in all but the important factor was that Castlepollard accounted for 18 of those as they had eight points to spare over their neighbours Ringtown, 4-14 to 4-6. Barry Kennedy continued his rich vein of form with a brace of goals while Sean McLoughlin and Ollie Devine also raised green flags. The concession of four goals had to be a cause for concern for the management team especially as the Gaels were waiting in the semi-final. The defeat of Lough Lene Gaels in their last group match counted for nothing when the sides met in the last four as the defending champions were still regarded as slight favourites. The game was dominated by two hard working defences but the jewel in Pollard's crown was the hard working effort of Barry Kennedy who was outstanding. Kennedy has plied must of his hurling career at corner forward but the management decided to put him on the wing where has more room and space to use his electrifying pace. Pollard led by the minimum at the interval with scores being at a premium as the adverse weather conditions were taking their toll. The Gaels levelled on the resumption of the match and they went ahead soon after. Pollard were soon dealt another blow when veteran Brendan Murphy was forced off injured and he was replaced by Aaron Farrell with Ollie Devine reverting to his customary half back role. The Gaels could only manage two more points for the remainder of the match as the Pollard defence, led by the marvellous Darren McCormack, handled all Collinstown attacks with ease. Points from McLoughlin and Kennedy edged their side in front with only a few minutes remaining and despite the Gaels missing a glorious opportunity to level the match when John Kennedy blasted wide from close range, it was Pollard's day to avenge the heartache of losing two county finals to their close rivals. The club, who were celebrating their centenary year, now had a county final to prepare for and once again they were underdogs against a Clonkill side that had won the title two years previously. As was the case in the 2002 decider a late goal was to prove decisive in the outcome of the match with Pollard captain Darren McCormack proving to be the hero of the hour with the score in the dying stages of the match which gave his side a one point win over a devastated Clonkill side. The Loughegar side started the brighter when Andrew Mitchell's 40 metre free deceived Pollard 'keeper Noel Boylan and ended up in the net. After 20 minutes Pollard trailed by two points and they stretched that lead to three on the stroke of half time when Mitchell pointed another free after a foul on Paddy Dowdall. Clonkill full-forward Brendan Murtagh put five points between the sides after he raised the white flag in quick succession after the break. Aaron Farrell replied for Pollard after ten minutes but the turning point of the match came shortly after as Sean Loughlin received his second yellow card of the afternoon and was shown the line by referee Barry Kelly. Paddy Dowdall did stretch their lead to five points once again but this was to be their last score of the match as Pollard slowly clawed their way back into the match. Two pointed frees from McLoughlin left three between them with ten minutes remaining and substitute Martin Egan narrowed the gap further when he pointed with five minutes remaining. Pollard pushed forward and with McCormack moving to the forty the game took a dramatic turn. Noel Devine fed a pass to Brendan Murphy who in turn launched a long ball up field, which was gathered by the Pollard captain and he raced clear of the defence to fire low past Paddy Walsh. The Clonkill keeper had barely time to puck out the ball when the final whistle was blown and Castlepollard were crowned the 2003 Westmeath senior hurling champions in their 100th year in existence. The Castlepollard team that was victorious was: Noel Boylan, Jody Murray, JP Murray, Robert McLoughlin, Noel Devine, Darren McCormack (1-0), Ollie Devine, Adrian Smyth, Donal Devine, Aaron Farrell (0-1), Alfie Devine (0-2), Barry Kennedy (0-2), Kevin Brazil, Sean McLoughlin (0-3), Larry Kennedy. Subs Brendan Murphy for JP Murray (inj.36mins), Peader Callery for L Kennedy (inj.38mins), Martin Egan for Farrell (53mins). Tweet

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