In a year when their seniors were threatened by relegation, Tyrrellspass had to be content with an under 14 Division 4 title. Winning manager Pat Dunne is hoping the success will give the club a much-needed boost ahead of the new season.

By Tyrrellspass' high standards, 2010 was a disappointing year. As perennial contenders for the Flanagan Cup, the last place they expected to find themselves was in a relegation dogfight. But that's what materialised during a forgettable 12 months for the club.
After three rounds of the senior football championship, the 'Tidy Town' were without a win and had just replaced their manager. Relegation loomed large, but Frank Ryan's return to the hot-seat coincided with an upturn in fortunes which saw Tyrrellspass dig out wins in their remaining two games to preserve their senior status.
The highlight of Tyrrellspass' year was undoubtedly the success of the under 14s. Under the management of Pat Dunne, Michael Sheridan and PJ Brady, they stormed to the Division 4 championship (13-a-side) title, which was the only piece of silverware to come the club's way last year.
"It was a difficult year for the club, but at least the under 14s won something and that should give everyone a lift heading into the new year," says Dunne, whose son Cathal lined out at centre forward in the facile county final victory over Maryland.
"We won our own Pat Gill Cup as well, regaining it from Millmore Gaels. There are good young footballers there and hopefully they'll go on to make their mark at senior level in years to come."
The under 14 manager reveals how a shortage of numbers had forced Tyrrellspass to play in the 13-a-side championship.
"We played in the 15-a-side league, but after failing to field twice, we decided to enter the 13-a-side championship. Numbers were tight, but we got by and the lads deserve great credit for winning out the championship," he explains.
The Tyrrellspass youngsters registered wins over The Downs, Rosemount and St. Paul's en route to the final where they faced Maryland/Tang in Shandonagh. A physically bigger Tyrrellspass team controlled proceedings from start to finish to run out emphatic 7-9 to 1-3 winners. Michael Sheridan jnr terrorised the Maryland/Tang defence to finish with a personal tally of 5-6.
Sheridan pounced for the first of his five goals after five minutes. Moments later, he slotted home a penalty after Graham Jessop had been upended. With Bobby Gonoud and Anthony Brady dominant at midfield, the 'Tidy Town' continued to apply strong pressure which yielded a third goal from Pauric Brady in the 14th minute. Maryland/Tang finished the half stronger, but still trailed by 0-3 to 3-1 at half-time.
Whatever hope the combination side had of staging a recovery in the second half was dashed when Sheridan popped up to complete his hat-trick within two minutes of the restart. Jessop added a point before substitute Nigel Harte, who is a nephew of the great Martin Flanagan, scored goal number five.
Keith Malynn replied with a goal for Maryland/Tang, but Tyrrellspass continued to clock up the scores and in the closing stages, Sheridan added a further 2-1 to crown a magnificent individual display.
Following their surprise capitulation to Garrycastle in the 2009 semi-final, Tyrrellspass had a point to prove in last year's senior championship. But three straight defeats to Garrycastle, Mullingar Shamrocks and The Downs effectively left them out of the championship race and fighting for their senior survival.
"The seniors will be very disappointed with how the year panned out," says Dunne, who is a native of Coralstown.
"They reached the Feis Cup final, but you're judged on your championship performances and unfortunately things didn't go well in that regard. The big problem last year was injuries. The likes of Trevor John Gonoud, Alan Rigney, Shane Arthur, David Murphy and Martin Flanagan missed most of the championship, while Tommy Newman was in New Zealand.
"It left us relying on younger players such as Ger Egan, Gerard O'Toole and Dean McNicholas which wasn't an ideal situation. We are fortunate to have a lot of talented youngsters in the club and they showed that in the junior championship when they went all the way to the semi-final, but you need your experienced players as well."
The tone for a disappointing senior football championship for Tyrrellspass was set when they lost their opening game to champions Garrycastle by 1-11 to 2-11. The 'Tidy Town' held a slender 0-6 to 0-5 lead at the break, but fell away after Dessie Dolan and Alan Daly both netted in the third quarter. Martin Flanagan pulled back a goal in injury-time, but it was a case of too little, too late.
Tyrrellspass suffered a demoralising defeat to Mullingar Shamrocks in the second round. Leading by 2-4 to 0-3 at half-time and by 2-5 to 0-3 after four minutes of the second half, they lost their way completely after that which allowed Shamrocks to roar back to claim an unlikely 2-11 to 3-5 victory.
Goals from Denis Glennon and Martin Flanagan had put the Sky Blues in a winning position at half-time, but after Ger Egan missed a goal chance early in the second half, Shamrocks took over and had opened up a six-point lead before Denis Glennon scored a late consolation goal for Tyrrellspass to leave the final score 2-11 to 3-5 in Mullingar's favour.
Croghan man and former Offaly goalkeeper Laz Molloy parted company with Tyrrellspass after that loss and was replaced by Frank Ryan, who was in charge when the Flanagan Cup first came to Tyrrellspass in 1999. Things were to get worse before they got better, however, as the 'Tidy Town' crashed to their third defeat at the hands of The Downs.
Once again, they let victory slip from their grasp after hitting five unanswered points to open up a 0-10 to 0-7 lead with 10 minutes remaining. The Downs closed the gap to two points before Barry Conroy cracked home a brilliant 55th minute goal to give his side a 1-8 to 0-10 victory.
With two games remaining and no points on the board, the situation had become critical for Tyrrellspass. But the win they so desperately craved finally came against St. Malachy's when Frank Ryan's charges prevailed on a 1-15 to 0-9 scoreline. David Glennon's goal helped them to a 1-5 to 0-4 interval lead and they gradually pulled away from their parish rivals in the second half with David Glennon, Denis Glennon and Ger Egan all finding the target.
Tyrrellspass staved off the threat of relegation with a 1-13 to 1-6 victory over Castledaly in their final group match. They could even have sneaked a place in the knockout stages had St. Malachy's managed to beat The Downs elsewhere, but it wasn't to be as they were left to ponder the earlier defeats to Mullingar Shamrocks and The Downs in particular.
As well as the success of the under 14s, Tyrrellspass supporters could take encouragement from the performances of their junior side. They won six out of seven games in Section B of the junior championship before going on to edge out Ballycomoyle by 2-7 to 1-9 in the quarter-final. However, their hopes of reaching the final were dashed when Milltown defeated them 0-4 to 2-6..
"Our younger players will have gained an awful lot from our run in the junior championship. It was far more beneficial than the senior 'B' championship," Dunne continues.
"Our senior team is in transition at the moment, but the feeling around the club is that they are still good enough to reach a county quarter-final or semi-final at least."

Tyrrellspass' under 14 championship winning team was: Zach Taylor; Joe Hyland, Brian Molloy; Darren Rigney, Peter Fagan, Cormac Rigney; Bobby Gonoud, Anthony Brady; Michael Sheridan, Cathal Dunne, Aaron Kelly; Pauric Brady, Graham Jessop. Subs used: Michael Harte, Nigel Harte, Dylan Donoghue and James Quinn.

The Tyrrellspass team which defeated Castledaly in their final SFC game to preserve their senior status was: Darren Quinn; Jamie Gonoud, Cathal Daly, Terence O'Brien; Sean Bagnall, Philip Sheridan, Brian Slevin; Adrian Corcoran, John Brennan; Gavin Hoey, David Glennon, Gerard O'Toole; Ger Egan, Denis Glennon, Dean McNicholas. Sub used: Declan Feery.

The team which faced Milltown in the JFC semi-final was: Brendan Daly; Leonard Harte, Dermot Bradley, Brendan Sheridan; David Jessop, Paul Henry, Sean Deegan; Joe Carroll, Colm Murphy; Ronan Dunbar, Peter Cunniffe, Ray Sheeran; Kevin Connell, Niall Seery, John Corcoran. Subs used: Ciaran Daly, Francis Nally, David Gavigan and James Troy.


Feis Cup captured
 
Tyrrellspass put a dismal championship campaign behind them when they captured the Feis Cup following a 1-8 to 0-8 win over Mullingar Shamrocks in the delayed 2010 final on January 30 last.
On a day when three players received their marching orders, the evergreen John Corcoran came off the bench to inspire the 'Tidy Town' to victory over last year's beaten county finalists. Introduced for John Brennan five minutes into the second half, Corcoran proceeded to kick four points as Tyrrellspass dug deep to secure the spoils.
Shamrocks set the early pace, but playing in front of their own fans, Tyrrellspass soon settled and a goal from captain David Glennon gave them a slender 1-2 to 0-4 lead at the break.
It didn't take Shamrocks long to retake the lead on the restart and the signs looked ominous for Tyrrellspass when they conceded a penalty midway through the half. But Darren Quinn produced a brilliant save to deny Cian O'Leary and after Denis Glennon levelled, super-sub Corcoran took centre stage to hand Tyrrellspass the perfect start to the new season. 

Tyrrellspass' Feis Cup winning team was: Darren Quinn; Eoin O'Neill, Cathal Daly, Terence O'Brien; Jamie Gonoud, Ger Egan, Philip Sheridan; Adrian Corcoran, John Brennan; Dean McNicholas, Keith Scally, Ger O'Toole; Gavin Hoey, David Glennon, Denis Glennon. Subs used: John Corcoran, Martin Flanagan, Ronan Dunbar and Sean Bagnall. Tweet

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