In a year when Inny Gaels retained the minor 'premier' championship, one of the clubs involved in the amalgamation, Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall, triumphed in the minor 'A' championship. Jim Plunkett, who was involved in the coaching of both teams, reflects on a hugely satisfying season for the green and golds. There is no shortage of minor football medal holders in north Westmeath these days. In Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall, they can boast of having garnered medals in both the minor 'premier' and 'A' championships. The tremendous work Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall have carried out at underage level over the past decade has yielded much success, but nothing as significant as last November's minor 'A' championship title win at the expense of Bunbrosna. It was the first time the county's most northerly club had been victorious in the under 18 grade and the objective now must be to transfer that success onto the adult scene. "This particular group of players have enjoyed great success over the past eight years but it won't mean as much if they don't go on to win something at adult level," says minor team manager Jim Plunkett. "You can never tell what the future holds but we'd be anxious to see these lads continuing to play football for many years to come. We'd have the nucleus of a very strong adult team in a few years' time if we could keep them together," he adds. Last year's success atoned for the disappointment of 1999 when Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall were pipped in the under 16 'A' championship decider by Kilbeggan Shamrocks. That was the only championship defeat this team suffered in eight years. "Since this group of players came together as under 10s, the only title they missed out on was at under 16 level. They started off by winning the St. Loman's under 10 tournament and won under 12 and under 14 championships in the years that followed. In fact, some of the lads have won three under 14 championship medals. "They were bitterly disappointed to lose the under 16 final and I think that was still fresh in their minds when they beat Kilbeggan in the minor semi-final last year. They are an exceptional team and hopefully the winning habit will stay with them for many years to come." Under the guidance of father and son Jim and Graham Plunkett, the green and golds opened their minor 'A' championship campaign against the holders Tubberclair. With a good sprinkling of the previous year's team still on board, Tubberclair were favourites but Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall had other ideas and came out on top by 1-11 to 1-9. A Colm Moran goal gave the winners a 1-5 to 1-4 lead at the interval. Castletown-Finea increased their lead to three points early in the second half but Tubberclair fought back to restore parity. In the end, the accurate finishing of Ryan Plunkett (son of Jim) proved the difference between the teams. In the semi-final, Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall renewed acquaintances with their old rivals Kilbeggan Shamrocks. A close contest was expected but the green and golds got off to a flying start and were never troubled thereafter. Kilbeggan were actually first to score but once Castletown-Finea found their rythmn, they were simply irresistible. Kilbeggan failed to cope with the dominance county minor star Daniel McDermott exerted at midfield and numerous Castletown-Finea scores flowed as a result. Colin Farrell and Ryan Plunkett each scored a goal to give the north county outfit a 2-11 to 0-3 lead at the break. Kilbeggan rallied in the second half but the solid defensive displays of Eamonn Callaghan and Ray Sheridan ensured that Castletown-Finea's big lead would not be seriously threatened. At the end of a breathtaking performance, the green and golds were 2-18 to 2-6 to the good. "I'll never forget the display they gave that day, it was absolutely superb," Jim recalls. "In the first half, every time they attacked, a score seemed to follow. The lads were so fired up it was almost unbelievable. They felt they had a score to settle with Kilbeggan after what happened in the under 16 final and getting them motivated was never a problem." Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall were pitted against Bunbrosna in the final on November 17 at Shandonagh. It was a strange occasion in that only a few weeks earlier, players from both clubs had combined to win the minor 'premier' championship with Inny Gaels. Bunbrosna made most of the early running but a huge tally of 11 wides in the first half proved costly. The sides shared four points between them in the opening 10 minutes but, after Bunbrosna had kicked six wides in as many minutes, Castletown-Finea took complete control. A brace of points from Plunkett was followed by the opening goal from Colm Moran. Aaron Corrigan and Colin Farrell also scored points to give the green and golds a rather flattering 1-6 to 0-2 lead at half-time. Castletown-Finea continued to press strongly on the restart and had increased their advantage to a massive 16 points by the end of the third quarter. Goals from Corrigan and Aaron Farrell were the highlights of this particular 'purple patch'. Bun tried everything in their powers to make up the huge deficit in the final quarter but the Castletown-Finea defence was unyielding and they held firm for a 3-9 to 0-7 win. Jim Plunkett admits that the scoreline did not do justice to Bunbrosna's efforts. "You'd have to feel some sympathy for them. If they hadn't been so wasteful in the first half, there would have been little or nothing in it at half-time. "A Bunbrosna comeback couldn't be ruled out at the start of the second half but we made sure that wouldn't happen with a great third quarter display. We were comfortable winners in the end," he says. For the second consecutive year, Castletown-Finea's representation on the Inny Gaels minor team was considerable. Gary Sullivan, Eamonn Callaghan, Colin Farrell, Ray Sheridan, Daniel McDermott, Jonathan Hardiman, Micheál Reynolds, Ryan Plunkett, Dermot Cafferty, Colm Moran and Dermot Hennessy all picked up minor 'premier' championship mementos. The club was also strongly represented on the Cnoc Mhuire, Granard team which won the Leinster Colleges 'C' championship final before losing to Lisdoonvarna of Clare in the All-Ireland semi-final. Ray Sheridan, Ryan Plunkett, Eamonn Callaghan, Gary Sullivan, Colin Farrell, Gary Farrell and Colm Moran were the Castletown-Finea players involved. While times have never been so good at minor level, it was another disappointing year for the club in the intermediate championship. Under the management of Ned Flynn and Hughie Nolan, the intermediates lost their first four games to Killucan, Rosemount, Milltownpass and St. Malachy's. Relegation was looming until they secured a 3-11 to 0-12 victory over Athlone in their final outing. "Obviously, the performances of the intermediate team were disappointing but hopefully the emergence of the younger players will improve things. There is tremendous potential in the club and I for one will be disappointed if we don't win an intermediate championship over the next few years," Plunkett concludes. The Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall team which captured the minor 'A' football championship title was: Gary Sullivan; Dermot Hennessy, Jonathan Hardiman, William Coyne; Dermot Cafferty, Ray Sheridan, Martin Egan; Daniel McDermott (0-1), Micheál Reynolds (0-1); Conrad Coyle, Colm Moran (1-0), Aaron Corrigan (1-1); Ryan Plunkett (0-4), Gary Farrell (1-0), Colin Farrell (0-2). Two in-a-row for Inny Gaels Inny Gaels captured their second minor 'premier' football championship on the trot by virtue of an impressive victory over St. Loman's last September. Here, we review their success. Football in north Westmeath is well and truly alive after Inny Gaels claimed a second successive minor ' premier' football championship at the expense of St. Loman's last September. An amalgamation of Castletown-Finea/Coole/Whitehall, Ballycomoyle, Bunbrosna and St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham, Inny Gaels laid the foundations for their success in the first half when they scored 1-9 in reply to St. Loman's 0-4. The second half was a whole lot closer but, in truth, the Gaels' lead was never really threatened and they ended up comfortable winners on a 1-12 to 0-7 scoreline. Traditionally regarded as a hurling stronghold, north Westmeath is also rich in football talent as highlighted by Inny Gaels' achievements. Indeed, the Gaels would have pulled off a notable double last season had they not lost to Ennell Shamrocks in the delayed final of the under 21 'premier' championship. With a large number of the successful 2000 minor side still on board, Inny Gaels were always going to be difficult to stop in last year's championship. En route to the final, they survived three tough tests. In the first round, they edged out Clann Braonain on a 1-9 to 1-8 scoreline. Against Mullingar Shamrocks in the quarter-final, they also had just the minimum to spare, 1-7 to 0-9. In the semi-final, they faced Ennell Shamrocks who had been champions at under 16 level two years' previously. Inny Gaels got off to a flying start and were well in control at half-time. But Ennell Shamrocks rallied in the second half and Inny Gaels were relieved to be four points in front, 2-10 to 0-12, at the final whistle. The final, played at Cusack Park on September 30, pitted the north county amalgamation against St. Loman's. Micheál Reynolds gave the charges of John Smyth, Jim Plunkett, John Moran and Eddie Newman an early lead and they had surged four points clear by the 13th minute thanks to scores from Daniel McDermott, Ray Sheridan, Peter Tormey and Jonathan Hardiman. A fisted point from Derek Canning reduced the deficit for St. Loman's but the Gaels hit back with points from Ryan Plunkett and Aidan Finnan to establish a 0-7 to 0-2 lead after 21 minutes. Then came the crucial score when team captain McDermott burst forward from midfield, collected a pass from Finnan, before finishing left-footed to the net. The lively Peter Tormey quickly followed up with a point and suddenly there was nine points between the teams. David Windsor and Niall McGurren each scored a point for a shell-shocked St. Loman's before Finnan completed the first half scoring for Inny Gaels. With eight points separating the teams at the interval, there appeared to be no way back for St. Loman's. But with a strong breeze behind them, they dominated the third quarter. The only problem was that they failed to make it count on the scoreboard. The Mullingar side had reduced the leeway to five points by the 26th minute but when Jonathan Hardiman eventually opened Inny Gaels' second half account, their heads visibly dropped. The Gaels finished the game just as they had started it with late points from Finnan and substitute Colm McCormack sealing an impressive win. Afterwards, man of the match Daniel McDermott was a fitting recipient of the minor championship cup from Michael McHugh, Minor Board Chairman. The Inny Gaels team which retained the minor 'premier' football championship was: Gary Sullivan; Eamonn Callaghan, Daniel Carty, Colin Farrell; Ray Sheridan (0-1), Conor Newman, Finian Newman; Daniel McDermott (1-1), Jonathan Hardiman (0-2); Peter Tormey (0-2), Enda Carter, Micheál Reynolds (0-1); Ryan Plunkett (0-1), Aidan Finnan (0-3), Mark McNicholas. Rest of panel: Pauric Tighe, Colm McCormack (0-1), Conor Geeragh, Gerard Brennan, Pauric Walsh, Kevin Tormey, Noel Yourell, Dermot Cafferty, Colm Moran, Gary Farrelly, Dermot Hennessy, Paul Moran, Keith Weldon and Fintan Finnan. Tweet

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