Mullingar Shamrocks may have endured a nightmare senior football championship campaign in 2005, but it was by no means a poor year for the Springfield-based outfit who swept the boards at under 14 level and also contested the minor and under 21 finals. Under 14 manager Johnny Corroon was understandably proud of his team's performances. In a year when Mullingar Shamrocks surprisingly failed to progress beyond the group stages of the senior football championship, the highlight was provided by the club's outstanding under 14s who won all before them. Johnny Corroon's young charges claimed a hat-trick of championship, league and Feile successes, and also performed admirably in the All-Ireland Feile na nOg in Limerick. Indeed, but for a gruelling encounter with Rhode of Offaly which sapped much of their energy, Shamrocks might have lifted the Division 2 title. "I was very pleased with how the lads played throughout the year. They did the club proud," says Corroon, who has been involved with the team since they were under 8s. "They won the three big titles in Westmeath and also gave an excellent account of themselves at the All-Ireland Feile finals in Limerick. There was always great potential in this team and I look forward to working with them at under 16 level in the coming year," he adds. Shamrocks signalled their intentions for the season when they walloped Athlone by 7-11 to 1-3 in the Feile na nOg final at Cusack Park in April. The team in green and white had been involved in a memorable semi-final against Maryland/Tang and that tough battle clearly stood them in good stead as they produced a wonderful performance which left the Shannonsiders shell-shocked. Shamrocks dominated from the off and were six points to the good at the end of the first quarter. Team captain Enda Morris and Stuart Flynn extended their advantage before Philip Bell's goal in the 27th minute helped them to a commanding 1-8 to no score lead at the break. Athlone needed a good start to the second half and they got it when Brian Mulvihill pointed within 12 seconds of the throw-in. However, the Mullingar boys upped the tempo after that and were out of sight when Bell and Stephen Noonan scored goals in quick succession. Kevin Boland replied with two points for Athlone, but a brilliant fourth goal from midfielder Kevin Tynan made it 4-10 to 0-3 by the 22nd minute. Shamrocks were now relentless and three more goals from Dean Moore, Tynan and Flynn put the icing on the cake. In reply, all that Athlone could manage was a goal from Robbie Benson. As Feile winners, the Mullingar boys had the honour of representing their county at the All-Ireland Feile na nOg finals. They beat the host club Dromcollogher-Broadford in their opening game and were then involved in a titanic struggle with Offaly champions Rhode on a sweltering hot day. Shamrocks eventually triumphed after extra-time, but the game took its toll on them as they crashed to eventual winners Padraig Pearses (Roscommon) in the Division 2 semi-final. "The Rhode game took an awful lot out of us. It was the first time they had been beaten in any competition in four years. But we picked up a lot of injuries and couldn't recover in time for the semi-final," Johnny recalls. Shamrocks subsequently qualified for the championship and league finals, beating Caulry in both. In the championship decider at Tyrrellspass, an opportunist goal by centre forward Stuart Flynn three minutes from the end of normal time gave the Springfield outfit a 3-7 to 1-9 victory. The game was finely poised at half-time as the teams retired deadlocked on 0-4 apiece. At that stage the impetus looked to be with Caulry, who had the breeze for the second half. And they got a dream start when Robert Ryan was brought down for a penalty which centre back Ben Moran duly converted. But in the true style of champions, Shamrocks responded superbly and corner forward Dean Moore scored a cracking goal to bring them level. The sides remained on terms until the 55th minute when Aaron Andrews scored a second goal for the town side. Caulry dug deep to reduce the deficit to the minimum before Flynn pounced for the decisive third goal after Andrews' initial shot was blocked and the ball spilled loose in the danger area. A late point by Alan Fitzpatrick wasn't enough to save the Mount Temple side and Shamrocks never looked in danger of relinquishing their four-point lead, with Scott Hogan imperious at full back, Conor Gilsenan outstanding at centre back and Enda Morris impressive at midfield. Dean Moore showed his skill at corner forward to bag 1-1, while Stuart Flynn and David Gavin also impressed. Shamrocks completed a clean sweep of domestic honours when they again got the upper hand on Caulry in the league final which was played at Ballymore in October. Mullingar led by 1-4 to 0-2 at the interval and just when Caulry threatened to get back into the game, Enda Morris scored a brilliant goal which propelled the green and whites to a 2-6 to 0-6 victory. "You could see the determination in Enda's eyes - nothing was going to stop him from scoring that goal," remembers Corroon, whose selectors were Jason Monaghan, Terry O'Dowd, Dr Joe Murray and Peter Glennon. "Winning the league capped off a great year, but the players only got what they deserved after all their efforts. "They had been unlucky to lose the previous year's championship semi-final to St. Loman's after a replay, but were a year stronger and wiser in 2005. They conceded only two goals all year and great credit must go to Scott Hogan and the rest of the backs for this." Johnny jokingly adds that many of the team also showed a flair for singing when they provided the backing vocals to him at the annual Mullingar Shamrocks "Stars in their Eyes" competition which packed out the County Hall! Shamrocks also reached the minor and under 21 championship finals, but lost to St. Loman's and Athlone respectively. The minors, who were managed by Ned Moore, John Doran and 'Spike' Fagan, suffered a heartbreaking 2-4 to 1-9 defeat to town rivals St. Loman's in the championship decider at Cusack Park on October 9. Shamrocks looked to be cruising to victory when Ciaran Curley gave them a six-point lead early in the second half. But St. Loman's refused to panic and hit back with an unanswered 1-5 to take the title. The crucial score came in the 53rd minute when, after seeing his penalty tipped onto the crossbar by Shamrocks 'keeper Philip Shaw, Conor Cochrane was on hand to finish the rebound to the net. This left the sides level and with the momentum firmly behind them, St. Loman's finished the stronger with points from substitute Timmy Murphy and Owen Price sealing the win. Shamrocks had a late chance to score a goal, but Conor Hughes' close-range free was blocked and Loman's held on for a dramatic victory. Shamrocks exacted a measure of revenge a few weeks later when they defeated St. Loman's by 1-6 to 0-7 to land the minor league title. Loman's appeared to be in the driving seat when they scored two points to go three clear at the beginning of the final quarter, but a Conor Hughes goal levelled the scoring before Brian Melody and Pierce Madden tagged on late points to give Shamrocks the win. After winning minor championships in 2002 and 2003, Shamrocks had high hopes of capturing last year's under 21 championship. The Ned Moore-managed team accounted for Bunbrosna by 1-13 to 0-10 in the semi-final, but succumbed to a sucker-punch goal from Athlone in the final at Castletown-Geoghegan. With Paul Bannon to the fore at midfield and John Molloy in unerring form from placed balls, the Shannonsiders opened up a 0-5 to 0-2 lead at the interval. However, Shamrocks dominated after the break with a flurry of scores from Darren Moore and Aonghus Smyth easing them into a 0-9 to 0-6 lead. Athlone managed to narrow the gap to two points before they struck for a late breakaway goal. Despite being hampered by a first half injury which forced him to move from midfield to full forward, Paul Bannon supplied the pass to substitute Ian Lacey who fired past Darragh Ryan from close range. The Mullingar side had ample chances in the time remaining to salvage an equalizer, but they couldn't get back on terms as Athlone claimed a 1-8 to 0-10 victory. Shamrocks supporters won't have happy memories of last year's senior championship campaign. Sean Finnegan's side had wins over Ballymore and St. Mary's, but a draw with Castledaly and losses to St. Malachy's and Garrycastle cost them their place in the knock-out stages. "I think the problem with the senior side is that it lacks the experience of previous teams. Through no fault of his, Sean Finnegan was forced to blood a lot of young players last year and their inexperience showed. Also, they lost David Noonan with a leg injury and Davy Walls through suspension. They hardly got a lucky break all year," Corroon concludes. The all-conquering Mullingar Shamrocks under 14 team which defeated Caulry in the 'premier' football championship final was: Mark Connolly; Calvin Kirwan, Scott Hogan, Robert Fenton; David Joyce, Conor Gilsenan, Colm O'Leary; Enda Morris, Kevin Tynan; Stephen Noonan, Stuart Flynn, David Gavin; Dean Moore, Aaron Andrews, Philip Bell. Subs used: Ethan Scally and Brian McGowan. The Shamrocks minor team which captured the league title was: Philip Shaw; Denis O'Rourke, Aaron Purcell, Robert Ryan; David McNamee, Denis Corroon, Brian Clarke; Patrick Loughrey, Kieran Gavin; Mark Irwin, Blaine Bourke, Gary Lambden; Alan Cashman, Brian Melody, Conor Moore. Subs used: Conor Hughes, Conor Moore and Pierce Madden. Tweet

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