After reaching the last four of the senior hurling championship for the first time last year, St. Oliver Plunkett's have their sights set on a county final appearance in 2007 according to star midfielder Noel Gavin. In 2006, St. Oliver Plunkett's finally announced their arrival as a force to be reckoned with at senior level when they came within a whisker of reaching the county final. Long regarded as one of the county's most successful underage clubs, Plunkett's had until last year struggled to make much of an impression on the senior championship, but there is now a growing belief that it won't be too long before the Examiner Cup comes the club's way for the first time. "We took a huge amount of encouragement from the progress we made last year," enthuses county star Noel Gavin. "Eddie Casey took over as manager and got a great response from everyone. It was the first time in our history that we reached a senior semi-final and with a bit of luck, we could have reached the final as well. For a long time, we were regarded as a mediocre senior club, but I don't think that's the case any more. We now believe we are as good anyone and we'll be going all out to prove that this year." Noel, whose brothers Greg and Tony are also accomplished hurlers, admits that he will not feel contented until he gets his hands on a senior championship medal. "Like a lot of other lads in the club, I have the full set of underage medals and have three intermediate championships as well. But none of us will be happy until we manage to bring a senior championship back to Robinstown. It has taken us about 10 years to get to the stage we are at now, and we may never get a better chance to win a senior than in the next couple of years," he says. Despite being the only hurling club in Mullingar, Gavin points out that it hasn't always been easy for Plunkett's to make progress. "We've had our ups and downs over the years. Winning the Leinster junior club championship a few years ago was obviously a high point, but we've also had to deal with things like relegation as well. "A lot of people assume that we've a big pick because we're based in Mullingar, but that isn't the case at all. There are actually a very small number of people in the town who play hurling. As well, we seem to lose a lot of players once they hit 18 or 19. From the underage team I played on, there are only two of us still playing - Stephen McManus and I." Under the management of Eddie Casey and his co-selectors Davy Gavin and Ciaran McKenna, Plunkett's suffered an early setback in last year's championship when they lost their opening game to Clonkill by a solitary point. Despite dominating the first half, the Robinstown-based outfit trailed by 0-5 to 0-8 at the break after hitting eight wides. At that stage, a repeat of their 2005 10-point loss to Clonkill looked likely, but the town side dug deep and two goals from wing forward Peter Collins brought them level by the end of the third quarter. Brendan Murtagh and Ger Fagan then fired over to give Clonkill a two-point cushion with three minutes remaining before Peter Collins reduced the deficit to the minimum. Then just when it seemed Plunkett's might get something out of the game, Clonkill corner back Adam Price made a vital clearance and this enabled the Loughegar side to hold on for a 0-13 to 2-6 victory. The defeat consigned Plunkett's to the new losers' group which also included Ringtown, Crookedwood and Castlepollard. In their opening game against newly-promoted Crookedwood, Eddie Casey's charges emerged as comfortable winners by 0-15 to 1-5 despite losing Peter Collins, Aidan Lyons and Greg Gavin through injury. The 'Wood made a dream start when Damien Grifferty goaled inside the first minute. However, Plunkett's were back on level terms by the 11th minutes thanks to two points from Dermot Curley and another from Stephen McManus. With Collins forced off with a facial injury, the free-taking duties fell to substitute Stephen Conway, who gave the Mullingar men the lead for the first time in the 13th minute. Conway and Cork man Shane O'Sullivan added further points to leave Plunkett's 0-9 to 1-3 in front at the break. Plunkett's continued to hold the upper hand in the second half with points from Conway, Cian O'Leary, Noel Gavin and the substitute Paul Daly easing them to victory. The Mullingar side continued their winning ways with a convincing 3-15 to 0-9 victory over Ringtown at St. Loman's. Plunkett's laid the foundations for their success in the first half when a brace of goals from Cian O'Leary helped them to a 2-10 to 0-4 interval lead. With the wind behind them in the second half, Ringtown scored the first two points but they never threatened a comeback. Plunkett's secured their passage into the semi-finals for the first time when they inflicted a crushing 2-22 to 1-9 defeat on 2005 champions Castlepollard, who were relegated as a result. In a game which saw 10 yellow cards and one red brandished by referee Sean Carroll, Plunkett's had already established a 0-5 to 0-2 lead before midfielder Mickey Harris set up Govinda Geoghegan for their first goal on nine minutes. The Mullingar side went from strength to strength after that with a flurry of scores from Geoghegan, Dermot Curley, Stephen Conway, Noel Gavin and Stephen McManus leaving them 12 points clear, 1-13 to 0-4, at half-time. 'Pollard were thrown a lifeline when Johnny Murray netted shortly after the restart, and they were then denied another goal when Greg Gavin brilliantly saved an Alfie Devine penalty. This proved to be 'Pollard's last hurrah as Plunkett's once again stepped up a gear and rattled off 1-5 without reply, while the losers were reduced to 14 players when Martin Egan was sent off on a second yellow card. Plunkett's second goal was scored by young corner forward Cian O'Leary. Plunkett's semi-final opponents were Castletown-Geoghegan, who had qualified from the winners' group. In what turned out to be a magnificent contest, the Mullingar side seemed destined to reach their first ever senior decider until Castletown swooped for two goals in a three-minute spell near the end to earn a 4-9 to 3-12 draw. Even after that, Plunkett's had three chances to win the match with Cian O'Leary coming closest when his shot came back off the post. Plunkett's recovered from a shaky start to lead by the 13th minute courtesy of a Stephen Conway goal. A second goal from Govinda Geoghegan helped the first-time semi-finalists to a 2-5 to 1-6 advantage after 20 minutes and they continued to lead until in first half injury-time when Colm Kelly hit 1-1 to give Castletown a big psychological advantage going in at the break. Eddie Casey's charges had regained the lead within minutes of the restart thanks to points from Paul Daly and James Coyle, and when Conway scrambled home their third goal in the 43rd minute, Plunkett's found themselves in a match-winning position. However, Castletown-Geoghegan simply refused to throw in the towel and late goals from Joe Clarke and Ronan Whelan earned them a second bite at the cherry. The rain-drenched replay was settled by a first half goal from Castletown's Colm Kelly, whose subsequent red card meant he missed the drawn and replayed county final against Raharney. Kelly's major helped the black and ambers to a slender 1-5 to 0-7 interval lead, and they outscored Plunkett's by 0-3 to 0-2 in a tension-filled second half to run out 1-8 to 0-9 winners. "I think we left it behind us the first day," Gavin ruefully reflects. "The weather was awful for the replay and it didn't really suit us." Arguably the high point of Plunkett's year was Barry Kelly's appointment to referee the All-Ireland hurling final on September 3 between Kilkenny and Cork. It was the pinnacle of the school teacher's refereeing career and brought great honour to both his club and county. Barry's umpires - Noel Nugent, Anthony Gavin (Noel's father), Seamus O'Brien and Michael Coyle - also acquitted themselves very well on hurling's big day. On November 26, the club was plunged into mourning when news spread of Paul Daly's tragic death following a road accident. Paul played a major role in Plunkett's progress to the senior semi-final and Noel acknowledges that his death leaves a huge void both in the dressing room and on the pitch. "Paul was a central figure in the club and he was everyone's friend. I don't think his loss will fully hit us until we go back training. He was a tremendous clubman and what happened will galvanise us and be a big incentive in the coming year. "We learned a lot from reaching the semi-final last year and our aim for this year is to go a step further. We're very positive about the coming year and I genuinely believe that we are firmly on course towards achieving our ultimate aim which is to win a county championship," he concludes. The St. Oliver Plunkett's team which lost the SHC semi-final replay was: Peter Collins; Greg Gavin, Sean O'Leary, Clive Kenny; Damien Kiernan, James Coyle, Micheal Curley; Michael Harris, Noel Gavin; Stephen McManus, Dermot Curley, Aidan Lyons; Cian O'Leary, Govinda Geoghegan, Stephen Conway. Subs used: Ciaran Curley, Shane O'Sullivan and Paul Daly. Tweet

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