Ballycomoyle are one of the most progressive clubs in the county as the north Westmeath outfit have put in a huge amount of work at all grades. The 2009 campaign was their most successful in recent years as the men's team lifted the junior shield, while the ladies were crowned junior champions.

Not only this, but their minor side, who are amalgamated with Castletown Finea, lifted the division three title and the girls' under-14 under the leadership of Helen Coyle and Gerry Farrelly annexed the division B title, their first at this level.
The success has given the north Westmeath club a huge lift and already they are looking forward to the 2010 campaign and bringing further silverware back to the club.
Winning the junior shield ended a 19-year wait for the club without an adult title. The last victory at this level was in the 1991 junior championship final, so to say the victory was long overdue would be an understatement.
Last year saw the appointment of Padraig Cullen, John Smith and Martin Murphy as the management team and their influence immediately rubbed off on the players.
Ballycomoyle failed to make the knockout stages of the junior championship, but their performances deserved more. They began the campaign with a draw against Loughnavalley and then Mullingar Shamrocks came out on top in the second outing.
Another draw, this time against St Joseph's was followed with a defeat to St Paul's, while championship favourites Caulry inflicted a further defeat on the blue and whites.
They then picked up their first win of the campaign following a polished performance against St Loman's when they team produced arguably their best display of the campaign to date.
This left them in the precarious position of it all to play for in their last group game against Milltown. A win for Ballycomoyle would have seen them through to the knockout stages, but unfortunately on the day, it was no to be as the Rathconrath outfit triumphed to end their campaign on a high.
Even though, they had failed to make the knockout stages, there was plenty of positives to take from the championship and Ballycomoyle know that they can match any of the sides at this level.
For the first time ever, a junior shield was introduced last year where teams that failed to reach the quarterfinals of the championship were to play in a separate competition. All clubs involved took this very seriously and that was certainly the case for Ballycomoyle.
"The lads continued training for the junior shield right up to Christmas," said club PRO Seamus Coyle. "We had a good championship, just the results didn't reflect how well we had done, but it certainly gave the lads something to aim for."
In mid-October, Ballycomoyle played St Joseph's in the semi final of the junior shield and the old saying goals win matches was never so true as they fired five on the day to run out convincing winners on a scoreline of 5-5 to 1-5.
Loughnavalley defeated Milltown in the other semi final to set up a meeting with their old rivals in the decider. These sides have had many great battles in recent years and there is never much to separate them. However, they had to wait a long time before the final was eventually played as the artic weather conditions that hit Ireland over the Christmas period played havoc with the fixture, as it did with all fixtures in the country.
"We had a bus organised on a number of occasions to bring kids to the final, but we had to cancel time and time again. Indeed, on one occasion we were actually on the bus when we got word that the game had been called off again.
"It was very frustrating but there wasn't a lot anyone could do. Fair play to the lads they kept training away and it was obvious that the hunger was there."
Eventually on Saturday, January 23rd, the final eventually went ahead and for all Ballycomoyle gaels, it was well worth the wait. As expected there was nothing between the sides. However, a goal by Ronnie Fagan was to ultimately decide the tie as the blue and whites won by the narrowest of margins on a scoreline of 1-9 to 0-11.
The scenes of jubilation in the Downs that afternoon would rival what has been seen at Croke Park on some occasions, as the large Ballycomoyle support cheered their heroes with great delight at the final whistle
There was an even greater roar when captain James McHugh received the shield and in his acceptance speech he stated "we want the one with the lugs on it next", a true reflection of their intent in 2010.
"Winning the junior shield was a major boost to the club. Padraig, John and Martin did a great job with the lads last year and they changed the style of play that we had and it certainly paid off. We've been back training since January for the championship. The aim is to at least reach the semi final or final. We have a good panel of players and there are actually around 40 players on the books.
"We have nothing to fear with regards the other teams in the championship as we know if we get lads focused properly, which I believe we will this year, then there is no reason why we can't do very well."
For the last number of years the club has placed a greater emphasis on their underage structure, which has also proved very successful and from under-6 to under-12, there can be up to 120 children in the park on a Friday evening.
"There is a good core of people there to look after each team and this makes a big difference. We have leased a bit of ground adjacent to the pitch and this helps us cater for all the kids. There is a good buzz in the club at the moment and we're predicting a bright future."
Ballycomoyle ladies went one step further compared to the previous year by annexing the championship title. It is felt that they can certainly hold their own in the intermediate grade this year and they have had plenty of success at underage level.
"The ladies are doing very well and they deserved to win the championship. We also won and under-14 division B championship, which was our first at this grade as we were competing in the C and D grades before this.
"The under-16s and minors reached their respective finals, but unfortunately lost out in both, but there is great interest in the ladies football and it is well looked after."
In September 2009, the club decided to host a sports weekend where they organised two tournaments, one for the men and one for the ladies. Two cups were put up for the tournaments in memory of local people who had recently passed away. In the mens' competition, they played for the Paddy Masterson Cup, while the ladies played for the Kathleen Corrigan Cup. Both competitions were a success and Seamus pointed out that they would be played for on an annual basis from now on.
"Yes this is something that we will be hosting on an annual basis. It was a great success and we're delighted to be able to honour the memory of those two people."
The club have been successful off the field, as Ballycomoyle won the county Scor senior ballad group category and went on to reach the Leinster final.
In the county section of the solo singing for 2010 Sarah Fagan represented the club and came out on top making it a memorable year for all concerned.
Last January the club held their annual dinner dance in the Crover House Hotel and a large gathering turned out to see the various teams collect their medals. All in the club will hope next year's event could see the junior championship cup at the top table. Tweet

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