After finally scaling Everest by winning their first senior football championship in 2008, Castledaly were brought back down to earth with a bang last year. Admitting that they may have been guilty of resting on their laurels, Castledaly chairman Alan Duffy is expecting a major backlash under new manager Enon Gavin this year.

Castledaly face a long road back to the summit of Westmeath football after their meek surrender of the Flanagan Cup last summer.
Retaining their hard-won title looked a long shot following their shock first round defeat by Killucan and, even though they recovered to beat Bunbrosna and Maryland, further losses to Mullingar Shamrocks and arch-rivals Garrycastle meant they failed to qualify for the knockout stage for the first time since 2003.
"The year was a big disappointment. There seemed to be a hangover there from the previous year's celebrations and were never really got going," Castledaly chairman Alan Duffy ruefully reflects.
"In hindsight, the celebrations might have gone on for longer than they should have had. On top of that, the lads probably took their foot off the pedal a bit after finally winning the championship in '08. They put everything into winning the championship and once they achieved that, the same motivation mightn't have been there."
Beaten by Garrycastle in the 2002 and 2004 finals, and again by Tyrrellspass after a replay in 2006, the dream looked to have died for the close-knit south county outfit, but they never lost hope and their perseverance was finally rewarded when they overcame a fancied Garrycastle in the 2008 county final.
That was always going to be difficult to replicate last year and so it proved as Padraig Farrell's charges struggled to find their best form. While accepting that the same hunger and desire wasn't there, Duffy believes Castledaly would still have put up a stout defence of their county crown had they got the "lucky breaks".
"You need luck to win a championship and we didn't get any last year," he laments.
"But I suppose we can't complain because if Tyrrellspass hadn't beaten Mullingar Shamrocks the previous year, we wouldn't have gone through to the quarter-finals and there would have been no Flanagan Cup."
Castledaly got off to the worst possible start in last year's championship when they suffered a surprise 0-14 to 3-7 defeat to Killucan. The champions were outplayed in the first half, at the end of which they trailed by 0-5 to 2-6, but the introduction of former county players Kenny Larkin and Russell Casey at the interval had the desired effect as they staged a fine second half rally to lead by 0-14 to 2-7 with time almost up.
But then disaster struck when Castledaly 'keeper James Kinahan had the ball knocked from his grasp and into the net by James Nugent for what proved to be the winning goal.
The green and golds bounced back with a slender 0-10 to 0-9 victory over Bunbrosna at Kinnegad. The more economical of the two sides, Castledaly led by 0-5 to 0-4 at half-time and they extended their advantage to 0-7 to 0-4 on the restart thanks to points from Derek Heavin and MJ McLoughlin.
But a brace of points from Aidan Finnan and another from Kevin Mitchell brought Bunbrosna level before McLoughlin restored Castledaly's lead from a free. Bunbrosna regained parity again, only for McLoughlin and Brendan Kelly to reply for Castledaly. Brian Maguire punched over a late point for 'Bun', but Padraig Farrell's men held on for the win.
The champions were dealt their second setback when they succumbed to a late goal from Mullingar Shamrocks' Cian O'Leary in a thrilling third round encounter at Moate's Hogan Park. Shamrocks registered the first three points before Castledaly eventually settled down to play some good football and they went into the break 1-5 to 0-4 in front thanks to James Galvin's goal.
Shamrocks upped the ante following the resumption, but it still looked as though it was going to be Castledaly's day when they led by two points with three minutes remaining. However, just as they had done against Killucan, the southerners conceded a late goal which saw them succumb to a 1-9 to 1-10 defeat.
Castledaly were now battling to stay in the championship and a 1-11 to 0-11 victory over Maryland meant that they could still qualify for the quarter-finals if they beat Garrycastle in their final group match. Niall O'Neill's 18th minute goal helped the champions to a 1-7 to 0-4 half-time lead against Maryland and they succeeded in keeping the 2008 intermediate winners at arm's length in the second half to record a crucial win.
Everything now hinged on the meeting with Garrycastle, which was a repeat of the previous year's final. But after a hard-fought contest, revenge was sweet for Garrycastle who ran out 1-10 to 0-10 winners and had the added satisfaction of ending Castledaly's reign as county champions.
Anthony Daly's charges were full value for their victory and would have won by a bigger margin but for a tally of eight wides. There was little to separate the sides in the opening quarter, but in the second quarter, Garrycastle outscored their opponents by 0-4 to 0-1 to take a 0-7 to 0-3 lead into the break.
After MJ McLoughlin narrowed the gap to three points from a free just after the restart, Alan Daly set up James Dolan for the only goal, and the result was never really in doubt after that.
Since then, Castledaly have appointed former Roscommon star Enon Gavin as their new manager along with selectors Joe Sheerin and Mickey Young. An All-Star winner in 1991, Gavin managed his native Clan na nGael last year and Duffy feels he is just the man to revive the Offaly-border club's fortunes.
"Enon is a young, enthusiastic guy who is keen to make his mark in management," explains the chairman, who is an older brother of key players Gordon and Niall Duffy.
"He's achieved success at the highest level and already has the experience of managing his own club. We were knocked out of the championship last August and the lads are well rested at this stage. If they can get their appetite back, I think they'll do well under Enon."
Duffy is convinced there is another championship in this Castledaly team, although he's not in the business of making bold predictions.
"There is another few good years left in this team. With the possible exception of JP Casey, who has had a lot of hip problems, we should have everyone back on board this year. Our aim is to reach the knockout stages and if we managed that, we might be in a position to challenge for honours. It will take a huge effort, though, as we know from experience."
The highlight of Castledaly's year was undoubtedly the official opening of their new clubhouse extension, which was performed by county chairman Tom Farrell on Saturday, September 19. The extended clubhouse at St. Kieran's Park now incorporates four dressing rooms, a gym and a kitchen area.
"We are constantly striving to improve our facilities and this extension was a major development to have undertaken. Huge efforts from club volunteers went into the project from both a building and fundraising point of view.
"We have since completed work on a new walking track around the park and it's proving popular with people of all ages," Alan concludes. Tweet

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