Despite failing to register a championship win for the third year in-a-row, St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham are not without hope according to underage vice-chairman Sean Kelly. St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham may have endured another difficult year at junior level, but there were signs that results are about to improve. In an effort to revive their fortunes at adult level, the county's youngest club is currently embarking on a major underage development programme. The emphasis is being placed on the youth in the hope that St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham will become a force to be reckoned with in the junior championship. "While it mightn't be reflected in our results at adult level, we are making great strides in the underage ranks," says underage vice-chairman Sean Kelly. "We were guilty of neglecting our underage section for a few years, but thankfully that's no longer the case. We have stepped up our underage drive considerably in the past couple of years and last year we had six or seven minors on the junior team. "We still have a long way to go before we can start talking about winning a junior championship, but I'm very hopeful for the future. We're in a much healthier state now than we were in three or four years ago when the fear of going out of existence was hanging over us," he adds. Following the amalgamation of the two clubs in the early 1990s, St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham were one of the more competitive teams in the junior championship. In 1997, they reached the championship final and also captured the Junior Cup, but since then they have fallen on lean times. "There were a huge number of retirements after '97 and it wasn't something we were prepared for," Kelly recalls. "Our results have been very poor since then, but we expect them to improve now that the work is being put in at underage level. One of our big problems is the fact that Streete and Multyfarnham are so far apart. But we are slowly but surely overcoming this." Along with Michael Feerick, Ollie Kidd, Tony O'Neill, Martin O'Connor and Mervyn O'Connor, Kelly has been responsible for coaching the youngsters in the Multyfarnham area. Willie Campbell, Jimmy Brady, Sheila Callinan and Trish Brady undertook a similar task in Streete. "Here in Multy, we had about 50 kids between the ages of eight and 12 training with us last year. They wouldn't have the same numbers in Streete, but they are working very hard down there and have some excellent players coming through," he explains. Last year, St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham joined forces with Bunbrosna at under 16 and minor level. The under 16 team gave a good account of themselves in the 'B' championship before going down to Coralstown/Kinnegad in the semi-final. Coralstown/Kinnegad subsequently hammered Rosemount in the final. The junior championship campaign is best forgotten with St. Fintan's/Multy having failed to win a game for the third year in-a-row. The tone for the year was set on April 11 when they lost to St. Joseph's by 1-2 to 3-17. A fortnight later, they lost to Mullingar Shamrocks by 0-9 to 1-14 and that was followed by 0-5 to 5-9 drubbing at the hands of Ballycomoyle. Thereafter, it was one disappointment after another for the Longford-border side as they suffered defeats to Delvin (1-5 to 0-11), St. Paul's (2-5 to 4-15), Loughnavalley (0-7 to 1-9), Milltown (1-1 to 2-21) and St. Loman's (0-5 to 0-16). Over the past number of years, ladies football has taken a firm root in the Streete, Multy and Bunbrosna areas with the formation of the Clann Gaels club. Last August, Clann celebrated a major breakthrough when they captured their first county junior title at Ballycomoyle's expense. The Gaels got off to a fine start with Roisin Brennan and Aimee Barrett shooting over early points. But they were rocked back on their heels in the fifth minute when Helen Coyle goaled from the penalty spot for Ballycomoyle. The following 15 minutes saw Clann Gaels outscore their opponents by 0-4 to 0-2 and when Sarah Tormey raised their first green flag, they were looking comfortable. However, a Joanne Walsh goal left the half-time score at 1-8 to 2-2. The Gaels stretched their lead on the restart when the impressive Aisling Keary scored 1-2 without reply. But Ballycomoyle hit back with goals from Carla Smith and Sabrian Dermody to reduce the deficit to just two points. The result remained in doubt until a late goal from Tormey put the seal on Clann's historic victory. "The ladies club has been an outstanding success and great credit must go to Frank Kearney, Mick Beglan, Barbara Orme and Mary Finnan for the work they have done in promoting the game," Kelly says. A number of Clann Gaels players also featured in Lismacaffrey National School's 6-17 to 2-4 victory over Tyrrellspass in the Cumann na mBunscol 9-a-side final last June. Appearing in their first final, Lismacaffrey laid the foundations for their success in the opening half when goals from Anne-Marie Dolan, Karen Keary and Gabriel Sullivan helped them to a 3-9 to 1-1 interval lead. Hurling would also appear to be alive and well in the area with St. Cremin's, Multyfarnham reaching the Cumann na mBunscol 'C' final (they lost to Curraghmore by 1-2 to 2-4). In 2002, St. Cremin's captured the Cumann na mBunscol camogie title. One of the year's highlights was the official opening of the new dressingrooms at the community pitch in Multyfarnham by county board chairman Seamus Whelan. Not to be outdone, St. Fintan's are due to open their impressive new community centre in September. Looking ahead to the new playing season, Kelly - who is also chairman of the Multyfarnham Community Development Association - reveals that the club's main objective is to gain promotion from Division 7 of the All-County League. "While the championship is the main priority for most clubs, our big target for the year is to get out of Division 7. We need to be playing at a higher level if we are to progress. "Realistically, I don't think we are good enough to win a junior championship, but if we were to win two or three matches, it would be a huge improvement on previous years. We've got a new trainer this year in Derryman Tony McCreevy and he's already got a good buzz going," he concludes. Tweet

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