The question on everyone's lips at the start of 2008 was could anyone stop Tyrrellspass from achieving the three-in-a-row? Sadly for the navy and sky blues, the answer was 'yes' as Castledaly broke their stranglehold on the Flanagan Cup with a semi-final replay victory. Tyrrellspass' quest to become the first team since Mullingar Shamrocks in the mid-1990s to win three successive senior football championships ended in failure last year when Castledaly defeated them after a replay at the penultimate stage. The one-point defeat brought the curtain down on manager Pat Flanagan's four-year reign, during which the 'Tidy Town' enjoyed unprecedented success by winning back-to-back championships and reaching the Leinster club final in 2007. Flanagan, who has since joined Westmeath manager Tomas O Flatharta's backroom team, has been succeeded in the Tyrrellspass hot-seat by fellow Offaly man Laz Molloy, who guided his native St. Brigid's, Croghan to an Offaly intermediate title last year. "We had four great years under Pat Flanagan, and it's just a pity that he didn't win that third championship in his final year," says Colm Murphy, who served as a selector under the Clara man along with Des Scally, Mick Alford and Ray Flanagan. "Laz Molloy is the man in charge now and hopefully he'll be able to pick up from where Pat left off. He has an impressive managerial CV, having enjoyed great success with Croghan and been involved with various Offaly teams as well. Hopefully he'll be able to bring out the best in the lads just as Pat did." Murphy, who is a former county underage star and played on the Tyrrellspass senior team alongside his brothers David and Barry until recently, believes fatigue was the single biggest contributory factor to their demise last year. "I don't want to take anything away from Castledaly - they deserved to beat us - but I feel we weren't as strong as in previous years due to a combination of physical and mental fatigue. We had been on the go non-stop for three years and that took its toll. But it speaks volumes for the team's spirit and never-say-die attitude that we still nearly beat Castledaly, despite losing two county players in David Glennon and Keith Scally for the replay." While Tyrrellspass' victory in the under 14 championship final ensured that they didn't finish the year empty-handed, Murphy is disappointed that they weren't able to put more silverware on the sideboard. "Unfortunately, we had a poor record in finals last year, losing both the Feis Cup and senior 'B' finals as well as the minor championship and under 16 league finals. I suppose it's a good sign that we're getting to finals, but when you get that far, you want to win. Thankfully, the under 14s managed to buck the trend with their victory and hopefully we'll have plenty more days like that in the next few years." Tyrrellspass' impressive 2-13 to 1-10 win over Athlone in their championship opener at Lakepoint Park suggested that they would take some stopping in their quest for a place in the history books. Goals from David Glennon and Martin Flanagan helped them to a 2-6 to 1-2 interval lead and despite the best efforts of Joe Fallon to bring Athlone back into it, substitute Brian Slevin had the final say with an injury-time point for Pat Flanagan's side. But the first signs of Tyrrellspass' vulnerability came in their shock 0-7 to 1-5 defeat to Castledaly at a rain-lashed Cusack Park. Fielding without the injured Martin Flanagan, the champions were simply out-played and out-fought by the southerners. Tyrrellspass were always playing catch-up after MJ McLoughlin's early penalty, and when they drew level late on, McLoughlin again struck to give Castledaly the win. The navy and sky blues bounced back with a 1-9 to 1-8 victory over Garrycastle, having recovered from the concession of another early goal. They chalked up their third win when finishing strongly to overcome Bunbrosna 0-17 to 2-8 before sealing their place in the semi-finals with a dramatic 3-4 to 1-8 victory over Mullingar Shamrocks. Martin Flanagan was the Tyrrellspass hero, scoring the winning goal in the fourth minute of injury-time to knock Shamrocks out of the championship. The score sparked a mass brawl, which unfortunately gained more headlines that the match itself. Tyrrellspass renewed their rivalry with Castledaly for a place in the county final at Cusack Park. The 'Tidy Town' opened brightly and led 1-4 to 0-2 after 17 minutes thanks to Gavin Hoey's goal. But Castledaly then enjoyed their most productive spell which yielded five unanswered points from James Galvin (two), MJ McLoughlin (two) and Gordon Duffy to go into the break on level terms, 0-7 to 1-4. The green and golds picked up from where they left off by adding five more points without reply in the opening 10 minutes of the second half to put themselves in a winning position. But just when the champions looked to be on the ropes, a Denis Glennon goal brought them back into it in the 42nd minute. Castledaly still led by two points going into stoppage-time, but two late efforts from Glennon saw the champions live to fight another day. The replay took place in Athlone six days later and this time Castledaly made no mistake, squeezing home on a 2-4 to 0-9 scoreline. With the wind in their favour in the opening half, a ninth minute goal from Michael Duffy set them on their way and they led by two points at half-time. Tyrrellspass displayed typical grit to leave the minimum between the sides after 48 minutes, but then Tommy Warburton came off the bench to score a second goal and Castledaly held on from there until the final whistle to end the champions' reign. Tyrrellspass still had the Feis Cup to play for, but despite having home advantage for the final, crashed to a surprise 0-7 to 1-12 defeat to St. Loman's. Only a point separated the teams 10 minutes into the second half, but then St. Loman's hit a purple patch which saw them outscore the home side by 0-5 to 0-1, and they made certain of victory thanks to a late Paul Martin goal. Tyrrellspass' second team reached the senior 'B' final, only to lose The Downs 1-6 to 2-4. A goal from The Downs captain Paul Shanley eight minutes from time proved to be the decisive score in an entertaining clash at Loughegar. However, the losers were left to rue a number of spurned opportunities, including a penalty miss just before half-time when they led by a point after playing with the advantage of a strong wind. In early November, Kinnegad hosted two underage finals involving Tyrrellspass and Castledaly. Tyrrellspass won the under 14 Division 3 championship final, but Castledaly came out on top in the minor Division 3 championship decider which followed immediately afterwards. Coached by Colm Murphy, John Corcoran, Terence O'Brien, Paul McGivney and Sean Daly, the Tyrrellspass under 14s powered to an emphatic 6-13 to 2-9 victory. The early exchanges didn't suggest such a one-sided game, but from the moment full forward David Gaye scored Tyrrellspass' second goal in the 12th minute, the result was never in doubt. At half-time, Tyrrellspass led 3-7 to 0-4 and they were out of sight when Jamie Egerton blasted a fourth goal after the restart. The winners' centre forward Danny Galvin had a day to remember, scoring 3-5 in a man of the match display. "We got great commitment from all the lads. It was great to see the improvement in them throughout the year," Murphy recalls. Castledaly avenged that loss with a 2-7 to 1-6 win in the minor final. Managed by Vinny Hoey, Barry Murphy and Eamonn Whelehan, Tyrrellspass trailed 0-4 to 1-5 at half-time, but closed the gap to two points midway through the second half. However, an Eoin Fleming penalty 12 minutes from the end gave Castledaly a six-point cushion and they held on for the win, despite Ger O'Toole's late goal for the losers. It was a case of double disappointment for a number of the Tyrrellspass players who had also been part of the Clann Braonain amalgam that lost the 'premier' championship final to Mullingar Shamrocks. Murphy is confident that Tyrrellspass will be among the leading contenders for Flanagan Cup honours once again in 2009, despite the expected absence of David Glennon among others. "David Glennon, Gavin Hoey, Tommy Newman and Jimmy Troy have all gone abroad and we're not sure if they will be back for the championship. It goes without saying that they would be huge losses to us if they're not available to us. "Having said that, we have a strong squad and I'm confident that we can bounce back if we get the full commitment from everyone. We're one of five or six teams capable of beating one another, and hopefully we'll still be there come next September or October," he concludes. Tyrrellspass' under 14 championship winning team was: Anthony Brady; Joe Walsh, Jack Glennon, Shane Dunne; Sean Corcoran, Mark Fitzpatrick, Dale Brunker; Dean Rigney, Ciaran Daly; Aaron O'Brien, Danny Galvin, Jamie Egerton; Shane Dunne, David Gaye, Cathal Dunne. Subs used: Gary Jessop, Robert Halpin, Evan Quinn and Niall Kavanagh. The Tyrrellpass team that lost the senior 'B' final to The Downs was: Paul McGivney; Aidan Mealiffe, Paul Henry, Declan Feery; Owen O'Neill, Seamus Bagnall, Jimmy Troy; Cathal Daly, Peter Cunniffe; Kevin Connell, Ger Egan, Brian Slevin; Colm Murphy, John Corcoran, David Gavigan. Subs used: Liam Daly and Ronan Dunbar. The Tyrrellspass side which lost the SFC semi-final replay to Castledaly was: Darren Quinn; Alan Rigney, Barry Murphy, Terence O'Brien; Shane Arthur, Trevor John Gonoud, Philip Sheridan; Adrian Corcoran, David Murphy; Keith Scally, Denis Glennon, Gavin Hoey; Kevin Connell, Martin Flanagan, David Glennon. Subs used: Ger Egan, Cathal Daly and Brian Slevin. Tweet

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