Delvin last contested the senior hurling championship final in 1969 when Clonkill defeated them in the decider and relegation to the junior ranks was soon to follow. 2003 saw a return to the senior grade after their win in the intermediate hurling decider over favourites Cullion. Wing forward on that victorious team was Niall Williams and he tells 'Maroon and White' how much it means to the club and indeed the people of Delvin to be back among the big boys of Westmeath hurling. Having lost the 1996, '98 and '99 intermediate hurling finals, Delvin could be forgiven for thinking that it was never meant to be their day, but to their credit they have rebuilt a side that has achieved their goal. Ironically only three of the players who lined out in the final defeat to Cullion in 1999 were on this year's panel. A new trainer was appointed for the campaign with Edenderry native Jimmy O'Grady given the task of motivating the side into believing that they were capable of winning the championship and right from the start O'Grady let it be known that he meant business. "Jimmy was appointed towards the end of February and on his first night he began training at 7.45pm and didn't finish until nearly 11pm," admitted Niall. " We knew then that he was going to take the job serious and from that moment on the players 100% behind him. "It was great motivation for everyone as there was 30 lads at training every night and lads knew that they couldn't afford to miss a night because we were under pressure to keep our places." Their championship campaign began with a tough assignment against neighbours Turin and Delvin were tipped to triumph in this local derby. But it was by no means a stroll in the park as there was not much between the sides up until midway through the second half when Delvin captain Kevin Williams pointed a few frees to give his side a deserved 0-14 to 0-6 victory. They also faced a tough task in their next outing against a Lough Lene Gaels side that were making their first appearance of the year in the intermediate championship thus meaning they could play a number of their senior side. Indeed five of the Gaels side that lined up that day played in the previous year's county final and also in this year's defeat to Castlepollard at the semi-final stage. If anyone had any doubt that Delvin were not capable of winning the intermediate title then this match put their minds at rest, especially with their second half performance. Three points separated the sides in the finish as Delvin recorded a more than satisfactory win over their opponents on a scoreline of 2-6 to 0-9 which meant they had full points going into matches against fellow contenders Southern Gaels, Crookedwood and Cullion. It was obvious that the winner of the championship would come from one of those four as the sides were evenly matched in all their ties with Delvin securing one point win over Southern Gaels and Crookedwood, while they controversially lost to Cullion by two points. Anyone who was at the Cullion match was confident that the game ended in a draw but the match referee had amazingly put it down that the 2001 beaten senior finalists had two points to spare. Even though they were disappointed not to be awarded a point, Delvin now had the extra confidence of knowing that they were capable of beating any of the teams at this level. "We always knew Cullion were beatable but the fact that we came so close in that match made us more determined to go out and prove to everyone else that we could do it. Against Crookedwood we just wanted that bit more than them, while in the Southern Gaels match we hit a purple patch in the second half and produced the best hurling we played for many years," admitted Niall. A thirteen point win was secured over a St Brigid's side that had knocked Delvin out of the championship the previous year and now the scene was set for semi-final clash with Athlone side Southern Gaels. During the course of the year Delvin played a number of challenge matches against the likes of Meath side Dunderry and Edenderry of Offaly but ironically they never won one of these matches, something that didn't really help confidence in the squad a lot. "Not winning challenge match all year was a bit strange and you would begin to think at times were we good enough to go all the way. Every lad in the squad played his part and the fact that 25 or 26 players out of a possible 30 were used during the course of the championship gave everyone a lift as they knew they would get their chance at some stage," said Niall. The semi-final against Southern Gaels could most definitely be described as a game of two halves as Delvin's performance in the opening 30 minutes left their opponents totally bewildered. The North Westmeath side lead by 2-9 to 0-3 at half time. They had 1-2 on the board in the opening minutes with free taker Kevin Williams scoring two points while half back John Cogan's long distance free bounced awkwardly in the Gaels square and ended up in the back of the net. Full forward Gareth Halpin who had just returned from injury scored an excellent point to extend his side's lead before the Athlone side converted two frees. Kevin Williams and Padraig O'Shaughnessy raised another two white flags for Delvin while Niall Williams himself fired over two fine individual points to stretch their lead to eight points. The Williams brothers combined each scored another point before Southern Gaels scored their third point of the game. But it was left to veteran Peter Kelleghan to finish the scoring for the half when he rifled home Delvin's second goal to give the Valley a commanding lead at the interval. Delvin began where the left off in the first half when Kevin Williams pointed a free after only 30 seconds but it was Southern Gaels who made most of the running from here on in as their opponents seemed to take their foot off the pedal. Slowly but surely the Gaels clawed their way back into the match and 20 minutes into the second half they scored a goal to narrow the gap to nine points. But they could only manage three more points although a brilliant save by talented young Delvin goalkeeper John O'Shaughnessy definitely made a difference and when Williams pointed another free in the last minute, their minds were already fixed on the county final. The final score in the semi-final was 2-12 to 1-8. "We were delighted to make the final and didn't care whether we won by one point or 20 as long as we were there but there was a concern that we didn't last the full 60 minutes. We knew we would hit a purple patch at some stage and the fact we were in a final would give us a boost for another few minutes but teams need to play for the full hour in a final and Delvin hadn't done that all year." As expected Cullion were the opponents in the final and they were favourites to win the title having being relegated from the senior ranks after losing the relegation play-off to Raharney following a replay. Scores were at a premium in the in the first half of the final as once again the Williams brothers lead the way by firing over some excellent scores from both play and frees. With Cullion danger man Robbie Galvin being well marshalled by the Delvin defence, they found scores hard to come by although only a point separated the sides at half time, 0-4 to 0-3 in Delvin's favour. In the second half Niall Williams was on the end of an excellent move which finished with a point while Halpin got his second of the afternoon to leave three between the sides. John O'Shaughnessy made a good save to keep his sides lead intact before Galvin scored two points for Cullion. Another Kevin Williams free and one each from Anthony Clune and Peter Kelleghan left the score 0-9 to 0-5 with less than ten minutes remaining. A goal by Galvin gave Cullion renewed hope but O'Shaughnessy settled Delvin's nerves with the score of the match which was followed by a Williams free and despite Cullion's best efforts the men from North Westmeath held on for a deserved victory. "The feeling after the final whistle went was one that is very hard to describe," admitted Niall. "All the hard work throughout the year had paid off. We are a young squad with a mixture of experience and the strength in depth that we have was vital to the win." After a two-week break Delvin were back training for the League final and the Leinster Junior club championship. Once again it was a tight affair against Crookedwood in the league decider but Delvin earned the double with a one-point victory. In the Leinster tournament a magnificent win against Shinrone of Offaly was achieved before they went down to Dublin side St Vincent's in the semi-final. All in all though it was more than satisfactory year for the club and already the squad is looking forward to the prospect of senior hurling in both the league and championship. "Winning the league was very important for us because we will be able to gauge ourselves against the best early on in the year. Our main priority will be to stay up senior and hopefully after a year or two we will have enough experience under our belt to compete for a senior title," stressed Niall. The winning team that lined out in the championship final was: John O'Shaughnessy, Gerard Clune, Bernard O'Shaughnessy, Daniel Clune, Patrick Farrelly, Cathal Nugent, John Cogan, Kevin Williams (0-5), David Barry, Anthony Clune (0-01), Padraig O'Shughnessy (0-01), Niall Williams (0-2), Peter Kelleghan (0-1), Gareth Halpin (0-01), Damien McHugh (0-01). Delvin footballers seek improvement After a junior championship campaign which yielded just one win, Delvin can only improve in the season ahead according to long-serving defender Patsy Sheerin. While the Delvin hurlers were blazing a path to intermediate championship glory in 2003, their footballing counterparts were struggling to muster any kind of a championship win. The Valleymen finished the year with just one victory in the junior championship to their credit - a 0-11 to 1-5 win over lowly St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham. Their remaining seven games all ended in defeats to Loughnavalley (0-3 to 0-5), Milltown (0-2 to 1-18), St. Loman's (1-8 to 7-7), Ballycomoyle (0-6 to 1-10), Mullingar Shamrocks (2-4 to 1-13), St. Paul's (0-1 to 2-17) and St. Joseph's (0-6 to 1-10). With such a poor record, defender Patsy Sheerin believes things can only improve in the forthcoming championship. "We're glad to see the back of last year to tell you the truth," he says. "Results don't lie and we've got to accept that we just weren't good enough. The problem with Delvin football is that we didn't build on the junior championship success of '89. We went backwards instead and the club would probably have gone out of existence before now but for the efforts of Sean O'Brien. "But when you've reached an all-time low like we have, things can only get better. I can't see us being as poor again in the coming year." Sheerin, who has always remained loyal to Delvin - even when his studies took him to Wolverhampton - senses a renewed interest in Delvin football this year. He attributes this to the arrival of Mayoman Pat Sheron as team manager. "Pat has been a Godsend to us," he claims. "He has brought a buzz to Delvin which hasn't been seen in years. In the last few years, lads have always been sure of their places on the team but that's no longer the case. He's even got the hurlers training with us which wouldn't have been expected considering they'll be hoping to give the senior championship a good crack this year." While acknowledging that Delvin are rank outsiders to win this year's junior championship, Sheerin believes they are capable of ruffling a few feathers. "If we can win three or four matches, it would be a huge achievement for us. Our other target is to gain promotion from Division 7 of the All-County League. We've finished second for the past two years and it's about time we put the record straight. The only way we'll improve is by playing a higher standard of league football." For all the latest on Delvin football affairs, supporters can check out the club's impressive new website at http://homepage.eircom.net/~dealbhnagaa/. Tweet

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