To say that Na Piarsaigh are gathering a head of steam would be an exercise in understatement. The Rock Road men are closer than ever to senior football and could consider themselves desperately unlucky not to take the step up in 2007. To coincide with their 25th anniversary celebrations, Na Piarsaigh mounted a brave challenge for intermediate knockout honours, a journey which brought them all the way to the semi-final stage, wherein they lost to town rivals and eventual champions Dundalk Gaels after a replay. While it was disappointing to miss the boat by such a fine margin, the year must surely have filled Na Piarsaigh with self-belief. They know now in their heart of hearts that they're good enough to rise to the highest echelons of Wee County football. As the most progressive adult team in Louth, Na Piarsaigh find themselves on the cusp of a historic feat. Could 2008 be the year that sees senior football come to the Rock Road for the first time? Well, Na Piarsaigh will certainly be on the shortlist of contenders for the Seamus Flood Cup and their consistently impressive form over the course of '07 indicates strongly that they have what it takes to move onwards and upwards. The club held a number of events during the course of the season to mark their 25th anniversary, including the launch of a new club crest. The players certainly rose to the occasion with a series of outstanding displays in the IFC. The dream finally died at Clan Na Gael Park on Saturday September 22 when Dundalk Gaels won a replayed semi-final by 0-16 to 1-6. Seven days earlier at the same venue, Na Piarsaigh had given as good as they got in a compelling drawn original encounter that finished 1-10 to 2-7. The Rock Road men were in Group A for the initial round-robin series of the championship and got their campaign off to a stirring start when thumping Sean McDermotts out of sight on a 2-16 to 0-6 scoreline on Sunday April 15. Twelve days later, at the Ramparts, they recorded a second successive victory at the expense of Geraldines - 3-6 to 0-6. After losing narrowly to O'Connells (0-13 to 1-8) at Stabannon when the competition resumed three months later, Na Piarsaigh saw out their group programme in style with consecutive wins over Oliver Plunketts (1-13 to 0-12 at Ardee on Friday August 17) and Clan na Gael (1-9 to 1-8 at Castleroche on Sunday August 26). The latter result said a lot about how the Dundalk GAA landscape has changed in the past five years or so. It also guaranteed Na Piarsaigh direct passage to the semi-final, with eight points garnered from a possible ten. The win over Clans spoke volumes for Na Piarsaigh's never-say-die spirit, secured as it was with a late goal from David Boyle followed by a Cormac Malone clinching point in the fourth minute of added time. Superb stuff! Make no mistake: Na Piarsaigh have advanced to the strongest point in their history. Whereas they were once an average junior side and then an intermediate outfit with lofty dreams and aspirations of senior football, they are pretenders no longer. The current team boasts genuine credentials and they are very real contenders for intermediate honours and a historic place in the top flight. Midfielder Donal Hegarty is confident that the bridge can be crossed in 2008: "We definitely have the team to win an intermediate championship. That will be our main focus for the year. That's what we have our sights on. All the lads know now that it's within us to gain promotion to senior. As the 2007 season progressed, we learned just how good we are in relation to the rest of the intermediate clubs and we will play with greater belief next year. "As well as the championship, we were also solid in the league. We were very consistent over the year and we even put in some great performances against senior clubs in the special league. We feel that we are within touching distance now. "There are some great young players coming through and these lads can help bring Na Piarsaigh to new heights. [Twins] Michael Woods and Joseph Woods were on the first team all year and we also had Mickey O'Kane back, which was a great boost." There's also a good backbone of experience in this current side, epitomised by the likes of Alan McCartney and Cormac Malone, two inspirational men who have played a lot of football despite their young years, so there is every chance Na Piarsaigh will find a winning blend in '08. Though heartened by the team's form in '07, Donal was still disappointed that senior football ultimately proved elusive: "There was a lot of disappointment in the club after the Gaels went on and won it. It was tough when they paraded the cup through town. We thought we could have done it ourselves and we were really close - but you have to take something positive out of the year and we know we are knocking on the door. "Our target for the year was senior football and it will be the same again in 2008. That's where Na Piarsaigh need to be at this stage. I know we're a young club but we've served our time and senior is where we want to be right now." A member of the first-team panel for eight years, Donal partnered Shane Callan in the Na Piarsaigh engine-room in 2007. The club has progressed immeasurably since culling the JFC in 2002 (adding a Division 2B title a couple of years later) and the local schoolteacher admits that these are exciting times on the Rock Road: "We have improved an awful lot since 2002, thanks largely to the set-up in the club, particularly the management. Damien Shields and Pearse Craven came back in this year and the buzz returned to training and to the club in general. There's a great bunch of lads here and, with the exception of three or four of us, the team is still very young, so hopefully we can go on and establish ourselves as a senior club." Having reached the semi-final stage of the IFC for the first time since 1998, Na Piarsaigh were drawn against town rivals Dundalk Gaels in the latter stages of the 2007 intermediate championship. Donal believes the drawn game was the one that got away: "We were five points up with about 15 minutes to go and should have put them away. After that, they went two up and we showed good spirit to level it again, but we then missed two late chances to win the game. If we'd scored then, we possibly would have been intermediate champions. It's frustrating, but we have to focus on the positive side. "People like Gerry O'Hare are doing incredible work promoting the underage side of the club and we've produced some successful U21 and minor sides recently, with some of those players coming through on to the first team already." Na Piarsaigh are heading in the right direction. Two-thousand-and-seven was one of their best years ever. Senior football beckons; can they answer the call in 2008? Na Piarsaigh Celebrate 25 Years Na Piarsaigh, the second youngest club in Louth football, held a highly successful dinner dance in the Fairways Hotel and Conference Centre on Friday night 2nd November to mark their 25th anniversary. There were 300 guests in attendance and upon entering the foyer they were greeted by a DVD playing footage of Na Piarsaigh games from days gone by, story boards and photos illustrating the history of the club, while inside the main function room a DVD slide show of a vast collection of old and new club photos played continuously throughout the night. LMFM's Colm Corrigan acted as MC for the evening and he recalled how the late Rev. Fr. Vincy Duffy was the driving force behind the formation of the club and how Fr Vincy's ambitions were realised on 27th November 1982 when Na Piarsaigh was founded at an inaugural meeting in the Holy Family Parochial House in Mourne Vale. The founding committee, the majority of whom were present or represented on the night, were honoured. As they made their way to the stage, Louth County Board Secretary Pat Toner presented them with a special memento and Colm Corrigan was on hand to speak with Vincent Duffy (nephew of the late Fr Vincy, founding committee Chairman), Paddy Kenny founding committee President, Paddy Larkin founding committee PRO and County Board Rep and Sean Gordon founding committee Secretary about their memories for the first meeting and the early days. The underlying theme was one of great respect and admiration for Fr. Vincy and how proud he would have been to see how well the club has progressed both on and off the field over the past 25years. The evening continued with past Chairmen Dessie Buchanan and Bernard "Jack" Malone recalling memories about their eras in Chairmanship, both of whom stressed that the club was not about Chairmen but it was about all the club persons that work tirelessly, whether it be helping out at under age training, managing an underage team. fundraising or helping maintain the club grounds, all for the love of the club. Paul Smyth captain of the 1993 Junior Championship winning ream remembered the famous victory over Glyde Rangers and Barry Magill recalled a most unforgettable day for the Holy Family parish in 2002 when he captained the team to a Junior Championship win on the same afternoon as Pearse Og captured the Senior Hurling title. County Board Chairman, Paddy Oliver congratulated the club on reaching their 25th year and commended them on numerous successes on the field and steady progression off it. He recalled being involved with the Valley Rangers minor team in 2002, when Na Piarsaigh lost out to them in the Minor Final by a single point on a 0-10 to 0-9 score line. He noted that the majority of that Valley Rangers team have went on to win Senior championship medals with St.Patrick's and he believes that Na Piarsaigh had the talented players required to take the next step into Senior Football, if they can channel it correctly. Before club chairman Peter Begley closed the formalities of the evening with an all encompassing speech, the intermediate and Junior Player of the year awards were presented to the outstanding talents of Michael and Joseph Woods, and Na Piarsaigh stalward Gerry McGee was rewarded for his immense work for the club, when he was presented with the Clubman of the year award. Peter Begley remarking that "great clubmen make for great clubs and that Gerry truly is a great clubman". One and all enjoyed the remainder of the night with music provided by the renowned and excellent Navan Swing Band. The Club would like to thank the Silver Jubilee Committee for organisation of the event and all the various sponsors that contributed to making the night such a great success and also like to acknowledge the excellent manner in which Colm Corrigan compeered the evening. Tweet

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