St. Paul's return to the junior championship last season yielded little satisfaction with a place in the knock-out stages proving beyond them. Selector Pat Gilsenan is expecting a vastly improved showing this year. Among the favourites for junior championship glory last year, St. Paul's proved a major disappointment with four defeats putting them out of the reckoning for a semi-final place. "We would have at least expected to get to a semi-final," says team selector Pat Gilsenan. "Having just come down from intermediate, we wanted to bounce back as quickly as possible. But we never really got it together and when Bun beat us in our last game of the league section, our chances of reaching the semi-finals were dashed." Under player/manager Pat Clancy, St. Paul's made an impressive start to the championship, beating Loughnavalley by 3-12 to 1-4 at St. Loman's on April 15. They were in danger of losing their second game to neighbours Delvin until a late rally - inspired by Johnny McGuinness and Pat Clancy - earned them a 0-15 to 1-9 win. The Clonmellon men suffered their first defeat at the hands of Ballycomoyle on May 12 at Springfield. St. Paul's held a two-point advantage going into the closing stages but Ballycomoyle swooped for a late goal to take the spoils on a 3-7 to 2-9 scoreline. The blue and whites got back to winning ways when they romped to a 3-8 to 1-3 victory over St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham at The Downs. A late point from Stephen Reilly gave them a 0-8 to 1-4 victory over Milltown in their next outing and that semi-final spot was within touching distance. St. Paul's knew that one win from their three remaining games would guarantee them a play-off at the very least. But much to their frustration, such never materialized. They lost to Caulry by 0-12 to 2-13 at The Down on July 22. St. Joseph's defeated them by 1-11 to 0-7 at Springfield on August 18 and a week later, eventual champions Bunbrosna emerged triumphant by three clear goals, 3-6 to 0-6. "It was very disappointing. With three games left, we were well on course but we couldn't get that final win that would have put us through. We went into our last game against Bunbrosna without a few key players and never really looked like winning," Gilsenan recalls. Despite last year's poor showing, Gilsenan is expecting big things from St. Paul's this season. He takes encouragement from the team's low age profile and a new training arrangement made with sister club Brownstown. "I'm optimistic that we can win the junior championship this year," he comments. "The best thing to come out of last year was the number of young players who were introduced to the junior team. The team's average age is only 21 or 22 so I feel they are still a good distance away from realising their full potential. "We have a new trainer in Eamon Gallagher and he is also taking charge of the Brownstown hurlers. As most of our players also play for Brownstown, I think it makes sense that we have one trainer. Training for both teams is taking place two nights a week in Archerstown and turnouts have been very high. "The main reason why St. Paul's and Brownstown haven't made progress recently is due to a lack of co-operation. There was a clash of interests but hopefully, with this new training arrangement, we'll be pulling together instead of pulling against one another." Himself a former St. Paul's and Brownstown player who also represented Westmeath in hurling, Pat believes that the Clonmellon men possess enough talent to rival any team in the junior championshp. "We have no reason to fear anyone. Caulry will probably be most people's favourites on the basis that they only lost to Bunbrosna after a replay in last year's final. But we know we are capable of beating any team. If the commitment that has been shown in training so far this year can be maintained, we'll be there or thereabouts." The past 12 months may have proved disappointing for St. Paul's at junior level but this certainly wasn't the case as far as the underage teams were concerned. The under 12s, who were coached by Eugene Dolan and Catherine Norton, were the year's success story, winning out their section of the league. This highly talented team played more than 15 games during the year, and the only teams to beat them were Garrycastle and Tubberclair. They took a number of prized scalps, including those of Mullingar Shamrocks, St. Loman's and Athlone. In fact, St. Paul's were the only team to beat Athlone who ended up as county champions. What was effectively the same team also made their presence felt in the Cumann na mBunscol under the guise of Clonmellon National School. They qualified for the 13-a-side semi-final where they were edged out by eventual winners Rosemount National School. For the under 16 and minor grades, St. Paul's joined forces with neighbours Delvin. The under 16 team enjoyed a good year, winning the Division 2 North league and only losing to St. Mary's after a replay in the 'B' championship semi-final. "The underage is going very well," notes Pat whose son Philip was a key member of the Westmeath under 14 team which won a Leinster Blitz last summer. "The under 12s had a great year and the under 16s also performed superbly. The amalgamation with Delvin seems to working well and it should prove beneficial to both clubs in the long term. "Last year's under 16 team was the best we've had since 1996 when a championship was won. A lot of the lads who were on that team are involved with the junior team today." During his playing days, Gilsenan won practically every club medal available, the one notable exception being a senior football championship memento. Back in the 1980s, the Westmeath Examiner newspaper carried a story about him under the heading "Is this a record or what?" Gilsenan elaborates: "As far as the Examiner knew, I held the record of having won more medals than anyone else in the county. I won every hurling medal that was going and on top of that, I won one junior championship and two intermediate championship football medals. Jim Davis (a former team-mate of Pat's) had them all in hurling but I don't think he had the intermediate and junior football medals." Working alongside Eamon Gallagher and Eugene Dolan this year, Gilsenan makes no secret of his desire to see St. Paul's capture their second junior crown in four years. "If we can win the junior championship and get promotion from Division Four of the league, I'll be more than happy," he concludes. Tweet

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