Tyrrellspass suffered the ignominy of losing a second successive county final last season. We trace their path to the final and subsequent defeat to Garrycastle. The glory year of 1999 has long since been forgotten in Tyrrellspass as the club slumped to their second successive county final defeat last season. In 2000 it was Mullingar Shamrocks - and the weather - which denied Tyrrellspass from putting back-to-back titles together but last year it was the turn of Garrycastle - and an inspirational display from midfielder David O'Shaughnessy - who compounded their misery. The campaign began with a local derby against newly promoted Kilbeggan Shamrocks. Tyrrellspass recorded a comfortable 3-10 to 1-8 winning margin but it was a lot closer that the scoreline suggests, with a brace of late goals somewhat flattering the victors. The second round saw them pitted against Moate All Whites in a game that will be remembered for the awesome display given by full forward Martin Flanagan. The county star was superb all through, rattling the net in either half as well as slotting over five magnificent points. His first goal came after five minutes and gave Tyrrellspass the lead for the first time. They led 1-4 to 0-4 at the interval and further points from Flanagan, John Corcoran, Ronan Dunbar and Ray Sheerin saw them extend that lead. Moate rallied briefly near the end but a sweeping move started by John O'Brien ended with Flanagan in possession and he evaded the onrushing Moate 'keeper to cap off a convincing 2-13 to 1-8 victory. The winning run continued three weeks later after an epic encounter with The Downs. Lining out without the injured Adrian Corcoran, Tyrrellspass began very sluggishly and trailed 2-1 to 0-2 midway through the opening half. John Corcoran responded with a goal for Tyrrellspass and a fine point by Martin Flanagan reduced the deficit to 2-3 to 1-4 at the interval. Declan Feery, Denis Glennon and Michael Carley all upped their efforts after the break and all three were involved in a swift move that was finished to the net by John Corcoran. Things were to change once again, however, and three unanswered points by The Downs left Tyrrellspass desperately seeking a goal. But in a climatic finish, Martin Flanagan fetched a long delivery and as he prepared to shoot he was dragged to the ground and a penalty was awarded. John Corcoran completed his hat trick when he sent the resultant spot-kick to the corner of the net; handing his side a one-point victory and extending their unbeaten run to three games. The next round was a repeat of the previous year's county final when Tyrrellspass took on Mullingar Shamrocks at Cusack Park. With the sun shining brightly on both sets of players, Tyrrellspass produced a considerable improvement on the county final display and emerged victorious by 2-11 to 0-9. Denis Glennon opened his side's account with an equalising point after four minutes while Martin Flanagan gave them the lead a minute later. John Corcoran, Ray Sheerin and Mark Staunton all raised white flags to extend that lead and leave Shamrocks reeling. To their credit, the defending champions bounced back and registered five points in succession to restore their advantage. Tyrrellspass countered and John Corcoran found the net shortly before the break to give the 'Tidy Town' a 1-5 to 0-6 half time lead. A free conceded on Adrian Corcoran shortly after the restart was quickly taken to Denis Glennon and the promising youngster broke clear and drove to the net. Tyrrellspass dominated the remainder of the game and John Corcoran, Flanagan, Glennon and Kevin Connell tacked on scores to exact revenge for the previous year's disappointment. Four wins on the trot guaranteed Tyrrellspass top-spot in the division so the subsequent 1-12 to 1-7 defeat to Coralstown/Kinnegad in the final group game was as meaningless as it was insignificant. They had already secured their place in the semi-final so they could afford to look on as the others fought it out. Following a narrow victory over The Downs, Athlone qualified for the semi-final to set up a repeat of the 1999 county final. There were highly dramatic scenes at the conclusion of this game as Athlone secured a draw having been awarded a hotly contested free deep into injury time, with Tyrrellspass leading by a point. The ball was played forward into the left corner of the Tyrrellspass defence when one of their rearguard was adjudged to have fouled the ball. The dissent shown by the Tyrrellspass players was such that the free was moved forward and Joe Fallon made no mistake from the resultant kick. This incensed a number of Tyrrellspass supporters and referee Pat Fox had to be escorted off the pitch by officials. On the field of play, this was a highly entertaining game. Both sides produced some sparkling football, with the Murphy brothers in defence, Dan Gavin on the wing, Adrian Corcoran at midfield and Denis Glennon, Martin Flanagan, John Corcoran and Mark Staunton particularly prominent for Tyrrellspass. The aforementioned Staunton grabbed the final point of the opening half to leave Tyrrellspass leading 0-8 to 0-7 at the break. On the restart, John Corcoran scored his second point before many had settled back in their seats. He added two more similar scores which, allied to an effort by Ray Sheerin, extended their lead to 0-12 to 0-8 with 15 minutes remaining. Athlone fought back to leave one between the sides yet again but a well directed '45 by Flanagan appeared to send Tyrrellspass on their way. Fallon had other ideas however as he landed a free in the first minute of injury time before levelling matters with that controversial equaliser. The replay failed to produce the drama and excitement that the first meeting had provided. Instead, Tyrrellspass enjoyed a seven-point interval cushion and virtually wrapped up the tie by scoring a fortuitous goal two minutes into the second half. It was a goal that put ten points between the sides and really put the issue beyond doubt. On an ideal evening for football, Tyrrellspass hit a purple patch in the final stages of the first half to leave Athlone with a mountain to climb. John Corcoran, Kevin Connell, Dan Gavin, Mark Staunton and Martin Flanagan all landed points while David Murphy and Shane Arthur marshalled the defence with style and panache. Kevin Connell and Mark Staunton then combined to set up John Corcoran for the first goal of the game, which put breathing space between the teams. Tyrrellspass got a lucky break after the restart when Rory O'Connell fumbled a ball into his own net to banish any hope of an Athlone revival. The Corcoran brothers, Adrian and John, both scored points before Michael Carley put the icing on the cake when he latched onto a John Corcoran pass and finished to the net. When Pat Fox finally called for the ball the scoreline read 3-14 to 0-11 in favour of Tyrrellspass. And so to the county final. After their impressive semi-final showing, Tyrrellspass were confident of atoning for the defeat to Mullingar Shamrocks in the previous year's decider. Their opponents, Garrycastle, were appearing in their first ever senior final so experience and craft were expected to carry them to success. Both sides began quite nervously and chances went a begging at either end. Martin Flanagan served notice of his intentions when he sent over the first of his four points to level matters after eight minutes and Mark Staunton sent a free between the uprights moments later to give Tyrrellspass the lead for the only time in the game. They actually trailed by three points midway through the half but responded with efforts from Mark Staunton (2) and Michael Carley to tie the score at 0-5 apiece at the break. The crucial score came two minutes into the second half when Alan Daly fisted the ball past John Hyland to restore a lead Garrycastle would subsequently not relinquish. John Corcoran and Martin Flanagan kept the 'Pass in the hunt when firing over points in the fourth and fifth minute before a goal scoring opportunity was spurned by Dan Gavin. Another surge from Gavin resulted in a Mark Staunton free but Garrycastle countered with three further points to put them within touching distance of victory. There was just two minutes left when Martin Flanagan fired over his fourth point and John Corcoran narrowed the gap to the minimum in the final minute of play to leave the supporters at the edge of their seats. Tyrrellspass continued to pour forward in search of the equaliser but they were unable to crack the Garrycastle defence one last time, leaving the Flanagan Cup destined for new surroundings. The Tyrrellspass team which contested the SFC final was: John Hyland; John O'Brien, David Murphy (Capt.), Barry Murphy; Alan Rigney, Shane Arthur, Dan Gavin; Adrian Corcoran, Michael Carley (0-1); Kevin Connell, Ray Sheerin, Denis Glennon; John Corcoran (0-2), Martin Flanagan (0-4), Mark Staunton (0-4). Subs used: Colm Murphy, Tommy Newman, Ronan Dunbar Tweet

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