Naomh Fionnbarra will look back on the 2008 season with a good deal of satisfaction as a major event off the field was matched with success on the pitch. By Eunan Whyte. In terms of activities off the field there is no doubting the main event as the club completed one of its most ambitious and rewarding projects with the publication in June of its history entitled, St Finbarrs 50 Years and Still Kicking - Towards a History of Gaelic Football in Togher Parish. The book which tracks the history of football in the Parish of Togher through match reports, anecdotes and photographs was published to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Nh Fionnbarra club in 1957. The good news for all involved with the club is that a new chapter is already required as the Division 3 team completed a memorable year by claiming the Macardle Cup after winning the league play-off and earning promotion to Division 2 football for 2009. With plenty to celebrate on and off the field, it was no surprise that Club Chairman, Pat Hand, was very pleased with the year both from a personal and club point of view. As co-author of the history book along with Thomas McQuillan, Pat was thrilled to finally see it in print and hailed the launch as one of the most significant events for the club in recent times. "The most important thing away from the pitch was the publication of the book as not only does it deal with the Finbarrs but it goes back to 1885 when a team from the parish - Drumcar TF Meaghers - played in the first year of football in Louth. "The book lists all the teams in the parish right up to when the Finbarrs were founded in 1957 and gives a comprehensive overview of the club's activities in the past 50 years from the first committee and early teams, right through to the modern day football. "We have also given mention to the ladies team that was formed last year, as well as juvenile football in the parish which goes back to the 1940s. "Overall, we were thrilled to get it into print and are very proud of it as it is a nice record to have. "We had a great night at the launch with a big crowd turning out. Joe Carroll, a man with a long association with GAA in Louth was the guest speaker, while Pat Hamilton was present to represent the County Board." Over the years many people have figured prominently in football in the parish, but one man singled out for special praise by the chairman was club PRO Jimmy Sharkey, who this year completed his 26th year in the position. "He really is a remarkable man who, despite his advancing years, rarely misses a match and always gets his reports to the relevant people. It is men like Jimmy that keep clubs going and it is brilliant to see him still involved as he is an inspiration to us all." One of the most pleasing aspects of the year for the club was the fact that success of events off the field was matched by the form on the pitch. Undoubtedly the highlight was captain John Doyle lifting the Macardle Cup after a dramatic end to the season saw his side edge out Young Irelands for the title. The chairman was thrilled with the victory and paid tribute to the efforts of management and players over the course of the year. "Derek Walsh from the O'Connells came in as manager this year and had Mark Devlin and Thomas Butterly as his selectors. The results were mixed in the shield competition but things soon settled down as training was good and the players responded to the new ideas that were introduced," explained Pat. As a result, there were some good results in the early part of the league which raised expectations as the championship approached. Unfortunately for St Finbarrs, luck went against them and they failed to make it out of the group stages. "In the first game of the championship against Lannleire two of our key players, Trevor Dolan and Andrew McCann picked up injuries and the rest of the lads seemed to let their heads drop and we failed to compete after that. The championship was undoubtedly a big disappointment for us as we were one of the fancied sides going into it." However, rather than feeling sorry for themselves, the players picked things up for the remainder of the league and were ultimately rewarded for their efforts. "In the early stages we had lost to Dowdallshill and St Fechins so some people thought it might not be our year. However, the players kept going and then when we went on a winning run, they began to believe that there was still something to play for." While, Pat salutes the efforts of the squad, he admits that luck was on his side in a less than satisfactory end to the year. "I think you have to feel a bit sorry for Young Irelands because the way the season dragged out suited us more. When teams go out of the championship some of them lose interest and the truth is that some of the teams we faced near the end would have given us a much tougher game had we played them earlier in the year. "I don't think it is a fair system, but it worked out in our favour this year, as we beat Young Irelands in the final league game to force a three-way play-off with Young Irelands and Dowdallshill for the title. "Under normal circumstances Young Irelands would have won the league on score difference, but because ourselves and Dowdallshill had received walk-overs it had to go to a play-off." At that stage of the year Naomh Fionnbarra were building up a head of steam and in the play-off semi-final proved too strong for Dowdallshill. The final saw another entertaining battle with Young Irelands and it took a late goal to seal victory and promotion to Division 2. In a year when the history of the club is on his mind, Pat points out that the victory came 48 years almost to the day since Naomh Fionnbarra won their first trophy, also the Macardle Cup, on November 6th, 1960. The chairman is also optimistic that it will be the first of many successes in the near future as he believes the Finbarrs have a squad capable of challenging for honours in the years ahead. "It was great for us to move up a division as we feel we shouldn't be playing junior football. Two years ago we were very unlucky to be relegated and we believe we are good enough to be in the Intermediate grade so that is what we are aiming for next year," explained Pat. "When you look at the squad, we have one or two in their 30s and four or five minors, but most of the team is around the mid 20 mark so they are at a very good age. "No doubt we will start as one of the favourites for the championship and we have the ability to challenge but we need a bit of luck on the way." Looking beyond next season, Pat feels that the club is in a healthy position with the underage teams holding their own in their respective grades. "We have a couple of lads on the various Development Squads, while the juvenile teams have been strong this year. The U15 team made it to the league final, while the U16 have to play the decider and the minors also competed very well, so the future looks good if we can bring some of those players through over the coming years." Overall the prospects for Naomh Fionnbarra are looking good and club members will be hoping that the next edition of the history book will contain many more success stories. Naomh Fionnbarra Juvenile It was another super year in the field in Ballygassan for the underage members of the club.  If success was measured by the number of smiling faces at the Sunday morning training sessions, then I am sure that the juvenile members of the Naomh Fionnbarra club are the most successful in the land. Since 2006, children as young as 5 have been made welcome at the Sunday morning coaching session.  Under the guidance of Martin McCreesh, they are coached in the basic skills in Gaelic Football.  The techniques used by Martin and his helpers make learning Gaelic Football skills as enjoyable as possible.  It is amazing to watch the development of the children's skills over their initial year at the coaching.  Throughout the course of the year, the children played a number of friendly games against neighbouring clubs.  Whilst referees found it difficult to enforce the finer technical rules of the game or keep accurate track of the scores, suffice to say that all games ended in exciting draws.  Shining stars of the future in this age group include Thomas McCreesh, Eoghan and Conor Dunne, Katie and Patrick McArdle, Stevie O Reilly and many others. Having completed their initial year of training, the children progress to the Under-8 age group.  This is seen as a very important right of passage for the kids as they sprint proudly passed the younger children to take their place.  Under the careful eye and planning of Ken Reily, the children are encouraged to develop their skills in the game in a co-ordinated fashion.  With the assistance of Daniel Woods, Martin McCreesh and Vincent Osborne, the drills and coaching methods are well organised.  The children at this age group took part in the popular Og Sport Under 9 competitions and did well in all competitions.  With such a fantastic effort from such a large number of children, the stars included Darren Clinton, Josh Crosbie, Niall Woods, Ciaran Boyle, Padraig Kierans and Seaghana Campbell. The standard of football at Under 10 age group gets better and better every year.  The popularity of the mid Louth Cumman competition resulted in almost 20 children showing up each week for the 11-a-side competition leading to selection headaches for Fintan Cudden and Mark McArdle who look after the squad.  With some effort, importantly, all children got plenty of football and the team did well in most competitions.  Having been selected for the A competition in the early part of the year, the team struggled against the established clubs in the area such as Naomh Martin, St. Mary's and Sean McDermotts.  However in the B Summer League, the team bounced back with impressive wins against Glen Emmets, Lannleire, O Connells and Stabannon Parnells.  The Under 10 stars of the year include Patrick McGrane, Laura Rogers, Shauna Markey, Michael McArdle, Cillian Crosble, Bobby Cudden and a special mention for Brendan Simms who was outstanding in goals all year. The Under 12 Age group were trained and coached by Niall Campbell and Tom Kierans and they had their fair share of ups and downs throughout the year.  They elected to compete in the A section of the Spring League but found themselves on the wrong end of some high scoring.  However, resilient as ever, the guys and girls bounced back to register some impressive wins in the Cummann Summer League to regain some pride in themselves.  Throughout the year, there was a high turnout at training giving the coaches plenty to work with in the coming years.  This year, Mark Rogers, Dannan McMahon, Conor Lenihen, Dearbhla Osborne, Gary Campbell and Robert Kierans were among those who showed great commitment. Juvenile footballers The U14, U15, U16 and minor team had many talented players and played lots of football in both the leagues and championship. Our U14's were combined with St. Kevin's but lost out in the final of the Division 2 league and they also reached the semi-final of the championship. Four of our U14 players - Jack Butterly, John Dolan, Kieran Lenehan and Ryan Woods - were all members of the county Development Squad. The U15's also combined with St. Kevin's and had a solid campaign in the league campaign qualifying for the final at the time of writing. Conor Osborne is a talented player at this level and played with the county Development Squad. Our U16's competed in both the league and championship, reaching the final of the B Championship. This is a talented team with plenty of players with true potential. The minors combined with St. Kevin's and didn't win either their league or championship, however many of the players from this team are now with the adult side and are showing great potential for the future of the club. Tweet

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