Castletown-Geoghegan may have relinquished their grip on the Examiner Cup in 2005, but it was still a hugely successful year for the club with under 21, under 14 and under 12 championship titles coming their way. Castletown-Geoghegan continue to set the standards in Westmeath underage hurling after another success-laden season for the club. While there was huge disappointment at the black and ambers' tame surrender of the Examiner Cup, it was another year of outstanding achievement for the club at underage level. In August, Castletown were crowned under 12 champions for the third year-in-a-row, while a month later, the under 14 team successfully retained their championship crown. For many supporters, however, the year's highlight came in December when Castletown won their first under 21 championship since 1996 courtesy of a 1-14 to 0-12 victory over Clonkill. This team contained many of the club's brightest prospects, including Michael Garvin, Joe Clarke and Blaine Lehart who, along with Ronan Whelan and Patrick Clarke, were members of the Christy Ring Cup-winning Westmeath hurling panel. Castletown played three games en route to winning the under 21 championship. Managed by Sean Keegan and Noel Geraghty, they had a titanic battle with Lough Lene Gaels in the first round before prevailing by 3-12 to 2-12 after extra-time. However, the victory came at a cost with centre back Pat Ryan suffering a broken ankle. The win over the Gaels set the scene for a semi-final showdown with Crookedwood, who were hoping to add the under 21 title to their intermediate and junior 'B' championship crowns, but they found Castletown to be made of stern stuff and succumbed to a 0-7 to 1-11 defeat. Playing on their home patch, the black and ambers drew first blood when Sean Whelan slipped his marker to fire over the opening point in the fourth minute. Noel Yourell levelled matters immediately before Shane Carey edged Castletown back in front. Richie Crowley restored parity once again before Eddie O'Neill scored the only goal and Eamon Og Clarke followed up with a point to put further daylight between the sides. The 'Wood scored the next three points and were unlucky to have a goal disallowed for a square ball infringement. Sensing the danger, Castletown finished the half with points from cousins Eamon Og and Joe Clarke to take a 1-6 to 0-5 lead into the break. Crookedwood needed to make an early impression in the second half but instead it was the home side who tacked on two further points from Michael Maloney and Sean Whelan. Robbie Jackson extended the Castletown lead and the 'Wood had to wait until the 52nd minute to register their first point of the half when Antoine Savage fired over. Substitute Colm Mackey, who replaced the injured Eddie O'Neill, hit back with two points in succession and Crookedwood's faint hopes were ended when Castletown goalkeeper Paddy Maloney pulled off a truly wonderful save when pushing a Shane Collins pile driver around the post. The final was played at St. Loman's on December 10 with Clonkill providing the opposition. Backboned by members of the minor championship winning team, Clonkill were expected to provide a stiff challenge for the black and ambers but they never recovered from a 24th minute goal scored by Sean Whelan. Castletown were full value for their five-point win on a day when their half back line of Michael Garvin, Michael Maloney and David Langan were imperious. Garvin was arguably the most impressive of this dominant trio, particularly in the first half when Clonkill failed to penetrate and relied on long range frees to try to put scores on the board. Adam Price pointed a 70-metre free to give the Loughegar men an early lead, but it was the only occasion they had their noses in front as Castletown hit back with unanswered points from Robbie Jackson, Eddie O'Neill, Shane Carey and Eamon Og Clarke to ease into a 0-5 to 0-1 advantage. Luke Folan scored Clonkill's second point after 14 minutes, but Castletown continued to hold the upper hand and after Jackson had added two further points, the decisive breakthrough came when Shane Carey set up Whelan for the only goal. Another Jackson free put Castletown eight points clear in the 26th minute before Clonkill rallied to trail by 0-5 to 1-8 at the interval. The black and ambers had the advantage of the breeze in the second half, but Clonkill opened brightly and points from Owen Price and Luke Folan had the margin down to four. With 17 minutes remaining, Clonkill trailed by just three points, 0-9 to 1-9, and looked capable of reducing the deficit further. It was still a three-point game with five minutes remaining, but three points in as many minutes from Eamon Og Clarke (two) and Robbie Jackson helped to ease Castletown's worries. And despite conceding a late point to Folan, the black and ambers held on for a deserved victory. Earlier in the year, Castletown continued their dominance of the under 12 grade when they defeated Brownstown to complete a three in-a-row of championship successes. Remarkably, Castletown have been unbeaten at under 12 level over the past three years and also competed successfully in last year's Leinster under 12 tournament, winning their three matches against Dublin and Wexford opposition. Under the tutelage of Pat O'Brien and Ciaran Kirby, the Castletown youngsters always had the look of winners in the county final against Brownstown at Cusack Park. They scored 2-2 in the opening five minutes and while Brownstown replied with 1-1, the black and ambers took a good lead into half-time. A few early goals in the second half left Castletown totally in control and despite the best efforts of a valiant Brownstown team, they ran out decisive winners. After the game, minor board chairman Sean Sheridan presented the Paddy Monaghan Perpetual Shield to the winning captain, Paul Fennell. Incidentally, four of last year's under 12 team have played in all three finals - Neal Kirby, Aonghus Clarke, Niall O'Brien and Dean McDermott. David Lynch and Conor O'Donohue were on all three panels. Castletown's other big success came in the under 14 grade when they retained their championship crown at the expense of Clonkill. Despite conceding four goals in the final, Castletown still emerged as three-point winners against opponents who were on the losing side for the third year on the trot. The team in green and gold got off to a great start when Enda Morrison scored an early goal. Under 12 players Neal Kirby and Aonghus Clarke responded with points for the winners before efforts from Anthony Price and Sean McCormack restored Clonkill's three-point advantage. As the half drew to a close, Eoin Whelan and Clarke shot points to leave the black and ambers trailing by 0-5 to 1-3 at the break. Just as he had done at the start of the first half, Enda Morrison got in for his second goal shortly after the restart to extend Clonkill's advantage. But a similar score from Conor Keegan and a point from Aonghus Clarke had Castletown back on level terms in double-quick time. A second goal from Keegan and further points from Clarke put Castletown 2-8 to 2-3 in front before Anthony Price brought Clonkill back into contention by grabbing their third goal. However, the holders quickly regained the initiative with four unanswered points from Clarke, Keegan, Neal Kirby and Mark Lynch. Alan McGrath scored a goal from a 20-metre free in the closing stages, but the black and ambers held on for a 2-12 to 4-3 victory. The Castletown-Geoghegan senior side will have a point to prove in the coming season after relinquishing their county title without putting up much of a fight in 2005. Even allowing for the distraction of St. Malachy's extended run in the senior football championship, Castletown's surrender of the Examiner Cup was deeply disappointing. The black and ambers were a pale shadow of the team that ended a 14-year wait for senior honours in 2004 as they struggled through the group stages. It was widely expected that they would raise their game a couple of notches against Castlepollard in the quarter-final, but the game was over as a contest at half-time when 'Pollard led by 2-7 to 0-4, and it didn't get any better for Castletown in the second half as they slumped to a 2-7 to 3-13 defeat and relinquished their title in very tame circumstances. However, 2005 was still a successful year for the club and with their conveyor of young talent continuing to run smoothly, Castletown-Geoghegan are likely to be a force to be reckoned with for many years to come. The Castletown-Geoghegan team which won the under 21 championship was: Paddy Maloney; Davin Clarke, Brian Garvin, Shane Heraty; Michael Garvin, Michael Maloney, David Langan; Joe Clarke, Blaine Lehart; John Gallagher, Eamon Og Clarke, Robbie Jackson; Shane Carey, Eddie O'Neill, Sean Whelan. Subs used: Colm Mackey and Liam Corcoran. The under 14 team which defeated Clonkill to retain the 'premier' championship was: Dean McDermott; James Cuskelly, Diarmuid Garvin, Paul Fennell; Niall Kenny, Colm O'Brien, David Fennell; John Heslin, Finn O'Donoghue; Darren Ruane, Conor Keegan, Mark Lynch; Aonghus Clarke, Eoin Whelan, Neal Kirby. Subs used: Kieran McDonald and Luke Kelly. The all-conquering under 12 panel was: Neal Kirby, Aonghus Clarke, Fergal Daly, David Lynch, Niall O'Brien, Shane Clavin, David Fennell, Dean McDermott, Liam Varley, Daniel Collins, Leonard Gavin, David Pidgeon, Darragh McDonagh, Alan Clarke, Niall Gunning, Sean Mulholland, Cathal Tynan, Michael Dever, Kieran Glennon, Paul Fennell, Eoin Quinn, Dylan Gilhooley, Conor O'Donohue, Dan Glennon. Tweet

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