Despite losing the senior final to Castlepollard in heartbreaking circumstances, the year was by no means a failure for Clonkill who ended 2003 as Feis Cup, under 21 'premier' and under 16 'A' champions. Don't talk to Clonkill about heartbreak. In a dramatic finish to last September's senior hurling final, they had one hand on the Examiner Cup, only to have it snatched away in the cruellest of circumstances by Castlepollard. With their side holding a two-point lead deep in injury-time, Clonkill supporters were ready to invade the pitch until Darren McCormack scored a last-gasp goal to give Castlepollard a 1-10 to 1-9 victory. It was a devastating loss for the Loughegar-based club who paid a heavy price for not closing out the game. But the blow was later softened when Clonkill captured four titles - the Feis Cup, the under 21 'premier' championship as well as the under 16 'A' championship and league. They also contested the under 12 and under 14 'premier' championship finals, but were forced to give second best to Castletown-Geoghegan and St. Oliver Plunkett's respectively. Arguably the highlight of Clonkill's year was their retention of the under 21 championship in November. While hardly a surprise given the calibre of players at their disposal (Brendan Murtagh, Paddy Dowdall and Enda Loughlin are all established county seniors) it was a very significant success for the green and golds nonetheless. Clonkill's toughest test of the campaign came against Castletown-Geoghegan in the quarter-final. In what was a repeat of the 2002 decider, Castletown held a 1-5 to 0-7 lead at the interval and still had their noses in front with 10 minutes remaining. However, a late spell of pressure, which yielded 1-2, gave the green and golds a 1-15 to 2-9 victory. Clonkill qualified for their third final in four years when they coasted to a 4-17 to 0-4 win over Ringtown. The result was never in doubt with first half goals from Adam Mitchell, Paddy Dowdall and Adam Price helping the winners to a 3-8 to 0-2 lead at the break. A fourth goal from Gerard Cribben midway through the second half added further gloss to the scoreline. Against St. Oliver Plunkett's in the final, Clonkill laid the foundations for a 4-10 to 1-7 victory in the opening 20 minutes. Early points from Paddy Dowdall and Enda Loughlin were followed by an Adam Mitchell goal. When Adam Price added a second goal, Clonkill's lead stood at nine points. But Plunkett's finished the half strongly with a Peter Collins goal helping to reduce the deficit to four points, 2-4 to 1-3, at the interval. On the resumption, the town side reduced the gap further when Collins pointed a free. But that was as close as they came as Adam Mitchell then swooped for a third goal to put Clonkill back in the driving seat. Plunkett's hopes were finally ended when a long range free from Brendan Murtagh went all the way to the net. In the closing stages, Alan Dowdall, Murtagh and Loughlin tagged on points to leave Clonkill 12 clear at the finish. Seven days earlier, Pat O'Toole's senior side gained a measure of compensation for their county final defeat when they edged out Lough Lene Gaels on a 3-7 to 1-4 scoreline to take the Feis Cup. An early goal from John Gavigan gave the Gaels a dream start, but that was immediately cancelled out by an Andrew Mitchell reply. Favoured by a strong breeze, Clonkill went on to establish a 2-4 to 1-2 lead after Sean Loughlin forced home their second goal. Moments later, they should have had a third, but Paddy Dowdall's shot was well saved by Lough Lene Gaels 'keeper Mark Briody. The Gaels came into the game more as the half wore on, but on the stroke of half-time, Sean Loughlin grabbed his second goal to send Clonkill into the break with a commanding 3-7 to 1-4 lead. If Clonkill had been the dominant side in the opening half, Lough Lene Gaels forced the pace in the second half with Daniel Carty's goal just after the restart bringing them back into contention. A second Carty goal left just the minimum between the sides with a quarter of an hour still to play, but amazingly, Clonkill held on for victory despite failing to add to their first half tally. En route to the Feis Cup final, Clonkill exacted revenge on an albeit understrength Castlepollard when they ran out 2-14 to 1-8 winners in a one-sided semi-final at Whitehall. Despite an early goal from Andrew Mitchell, Clonkill were only a point to the good, 1-4 to 0-6, at the break. However, there was only one team in it after Gerard Fagan notched Clonkill's second goal early in the second half. After a disappointing championship effort in 2002, Clonkill showed a big improvement last year. Drawn in a tough group, they lost their opening game to Lough Lene Gaels by 1-15 to 2-13, but bounced back to defeat Castlepollard by 2-15 to 3-7. In their final group game, they pipped St. Oliver Plunkett's on a 2-8 to 1-10 scoreline. Pat O'Toole's charges were due to play Raharney in the quarter-final, but were controversially awarded the game after the Deelsiders failed to fulfil the fixture. In the semi-final, a late burst of scores from Brendan Murtagh and Andrew Mitchell propelled Clonkill to a 0-11 to 1-5 victory over Castletown-Geoghegan. The final against Castlepollard at Cusack Park was played in wintry conditions, but it didn't stop the teams from serving up an exciting game of hurling. Clonkill looked to be in control at the break, with Andrew Mitchell's goal giving them a 1-6 to 0-6 lead. But the dismissal of team captain Sean Loughlin midway through the second half had a major bearing on the outcome as Castlepollard stormed back to snatch victory courtesy of Darren McCormack's goal in the fourth minute of injury-time. At least the year had a happy ending for Clonkill who captured the under 16 'A' championship following a 2-10 to 1-6 victory over Raharney on December 14. Having accounted for St. Oliver Plunkett's and Lough Lene Gaels in the earlier rounds, the team - which was managed by Tom Hackett, Kit Austin and Michael McCormack - entered the decider in a confident frame of mind. However, this wasn't evident in the early stages as a Jimmy Greville goal handed Raharney the initiative. But a similar score from James McCormack left the Loughegar men just three points adrift, 1-3 to 1-6, at the break. Clonkill started the second half in whirlwind fashion with a Conrad Reilly goal being sandwiched between points from Adam Price. It continued to be one-way traffic after that as further points from Reilly and the Price brothers, Owen and Adam, ensured the green and golds of a comfortable victory. The Clonkill team which retained the under 21 'premier' championship was: Stephen Nulty; Robbie Daly, John Fagan, Paddy Hallinan; Shane Owens, Brendan Murtagh, Christopher Austin; Alan Dowdall, John Curran; Karl Foran, Paddy Dowdall, Edna Loughlin; Gerard Cribben, Adam Mitchell, Adam Price. Subs used: Michael Farrell, Paul Kelleghan, Senan Russell and Richard Dunne. The Feis Cup winning side was: Paddy Walsh; Stephen Cleary, John Fagan, Paddy Hallinan; Paul Farrell, Brendan Murtagh, Jimmy Fitzsimons; John Curran, Enda Loughlin; Alan Dowdall, Fergal Fagan, Andrew Mitchell; Sean Loughlin, Gerard Fagan, Paddy Dowdall. Sub used: Martin Scally. The successful under 16 panel was: Niall Keegan, Philip Dowdall, James Hallinan, Colm Coffey, Lorcan Caffrey, Adam Price, Mark Keegan, Owen Price, Damien Scally, James McCormack, John Byrne, Conrad Reilly, Darryl Kenny, Darren Quinn, John Fitzsimons, Michael Heffernan, Shane Power, Gary Moran, Christopher Cribben, Noel Mitchell, David Hallinan. Tweet

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