Cormac Sullivan was his usual assured self at the heart of the St Patrick's midfield in 2005, as the Stamullen men blazed their way to the knockout stage of the county SFC, only to come unstuck with a disappointing quarter-final defeat to Dunboyne at Ratoath on Sunday September 11. Gerry Robinson spoke to the former Meath goalie about the Pats' impressive group campaign and the increased expectations that go hand-in-hand with improved form. It speaks volumes for the strides St Patrick's have made of late that they were disappointed to only reach a senior county quarter-final in 2005. Not so long ago, the east Meath outfit would have been thrilled to feature in the business end of the Keegan Cup; now their sights are set on bigger things. The sense of disappointment that accompanied the Pats' SFC quarter-final defeat to Dunboyne in September was palpable. Martin Barry's charges had set the group stage of the '05 competition alight with some stellar displays in a very difficult section, topping a group that contained defending champions Skryne as well as such Royal County GAA luminaries as Dunshaughlin, Seneschalstown, Simonstown Gaels and Walterstown. St Patrick's went into the last eight full of confidence - and justifiably so - but unfortunately failed to produce the kind of fare they're capable of on the big day. The knowledge that they hadn't done themselves justice on the day was possibly the most galling aspect of the 1-13 to 0-9 defeat at Ratoath on September 11 2005. Though reasonably content with the progress the team made during the year, two-times All-Ireland winning goalkeeper Cormac Sullivan - a mainstay of the St Patrick's midfield - was understandably crestfallen in the wake of the Dunboyne match: "Obviously, it's a good achievement to reach a quarter-final, but ultimately it doesn't count for much when you lose. While we were happy to get to the knockout stage, we felt we could go further and the manner in which our season ended so abruptly was very disappointing." St Patrick's kicked off their 2005 SFC programme with a 1-9 to 1-6 defeat of holders Skryne in early April and followed up with a 1-10 apiece draw with Dunshaughlin a month later. On May 14, they hammered Seneschalstown by 5-14 to 2-9, and there was a lengthy lull before their next Group B outing - a draw with Walterstown on July 24. On the first Sunday in August, the Pats suffered their only defeat of the group stage, against Simonstown Gaels, but they recovered well to beat Kilmainhamwood by a point seven days later. This all meant that they went into their seventh and last group outing needing a win against Wolfe Tones on August 28 to be certain of a place in the knockout phase. The east Meath men duly obliged with a 1-13 to 1-12 victory. A 1-5 haul from Ger Robinson proved the difference between the teams when St Patrick's met Dunboyne in their ill-fated quarter-final outing. Though the 1-13 to 0-9 final scoreline flattered the winners, the Stamullen side could hardly argue with the outcome as they never managed to find their rhythm over the hour. "Initially, your sights are set on getting out of the group, regardless of whether that be by finishing first, second, third or fourth," Cormac notes. "Having got that far, we certainly didn't intend to exit the competition straight away. It was a bitter disappointment to go out without playing to our potential. We had performed much better in the group stage and it's a pity we weren't able to reproduce that form against Dunboyne…" The quarter-final was probably a game that was there for the taking, as Cormac reflects: "Neither team played well and we were still in the hunt until the last ten minutes, which leads me to believe that it was definitely a game we could have won. We were with them for 50 minutes and the scoreline didn't reflect the match at all." Considering that a season which promised much had ended so suddenly, what was the mood like in the dressing-room afterwards? "It's not an easy pill to swallow. Everything is finished. We were geared up for maybe another couple of games. Training was going well, two or three nights a week since January, and then nothing. We had only one league match left to play, so it was an abrupt end to the season and it was difficult to take in. "The championship is a long drawn-out affair. We were training from early January and the championship started in April. It took nearly six months to get to a quarter-final, which is a lot of effort from everybody." Though the senior championship seems to have become more protracted than ever in recent years, Cormac is very much in favour of the current format (with eight teams in each group). "I think it's good that everyone is guaranteed seven games," he says. "It's certainly better than when you only got three games in the group. I think the new system is beneficial to every club. The only thing is, all the extra games have to be facilitated and this is proving problematic. Also, it's practically a six-month championship season now and it's hard to keep lads interested for that length of time, especially in the summer, when some people like to go away or do their own thing. "The scheduling of games could probably be better. There were times when we went two or three weeks without a game, and you could then have two league matches and a championship match all inside a week. Hopefully the County Board can come up with a solution. I know it's not easy with so much criss-crossing between teams and competitions, but maybe they could run off the league and Feis Cup early in the year. And only championship games should be put off to facilitate county teams…" Cormac was happy with the contribution Martin Barry made as manager of the team in 2005. "It went well again with Martin. He has been there a couple of years and we've made steady progress, so we can certainly have no complaints. He got the best out of the players and there was nothing more he could have done. "We've been holding our own at senior level and have reached two quarter-finals in the last three years and were very close the other year. I think that's a good reflection of where we're at - but the fact that we haven't got any further is also a reflection of where we are." Can St Patrick's make the next step? "I don't think it would take that much. It's just a matter of a couple of players - if we found one or two more, that could make all the difference. "Stamullen is a rapidly developing area and, even though we haven't felt the benefits of that at senior level yet, there are a few young lads coming through. "Unfortunately, we didn't have much representation on the various county teams this year, which is a bit of a worrying factor, but that could change in the coming year. It would be nice to see some U16s, minors and U21s coming through. Having said that, we're not exactly an old team. The bulk of the lads are still in their mid-20s, so we're a relatively young side and we're gaining experience all the time." The target now is to take things a step further. A county final appearance would represent progress. Can St Patrick's make that breakthrough? "I think so. We played quite well in stages this year. We started particularly well but peaked too early. There was an eight-week gap and we didn't play as well after that, but we grinded out a few results and were very happy to top the group, especially considering that we'd been tipped for relegation at the start of the year. "We achieved our No.1 goal of reaching the knockout stage, but once we got out we wanted to go further. We trained hard for the last month, but it just didn't happen for us. "For next year, we have to set a target of at least a quarter-final. Anything less would be a step backwards. It's never easy, but we know we're good enough to get past the group stage." Cormac Sullivan joined the Meath senior panel as goalkeeper in September 1995 and went on to win senior All-Ireland medals with the Royals in '96 and '99. He served Meath well for eight years before deciding to retire from intercounty football due to time constraints. He's involved with the family business Lazer Engineering, in conjunction with his brother Peter and father Johnny. The company, based in the new business park in Duleek, specialises in steel fabrication and maintenance work. Still only 28, Cormac says he has no regrets and is looking forward to an extended club career with St Patrick's now that his intercounty days are over: "The club football is very enjoyable. It's a lot less intense and there's not as much pressure on your time. The level of commitment required at county level is unbelievable and I decided I'd either give it 100% or nothing at all. "I really enjoy playing football with St Patrick's. They're a great bunch of lads and we're there or thereabouts at the moment. There are some interesting years ahead for the club." Hurlers land junior crown The huge work put into hurling in St. Patrick's is starting to reap its rewards after the club's adult team scooped the JHC crown. After landing the JH Division 2 title twelve months previously, things are really on the up for the east Meath men and if they can continue their level of improvement, then a place at the top table of Meath hurling won't be too far away. However, the scenes of joy that followed Arthur Reilly's full time whistle could easily have been enacted by Kiltale as the men in maroon and green led by a seemingly comfortable four points with a minute of normal time left on the clock. It was going to take something special to see the silverware taken from under their noses, but St. Patrick's hurlers certainly have something magical about them these days. A goal from Paul Tobin was just the start of a 2-2 scoring burst that firmly wrestled the title away from the crestfallen Kiltale men. In fairness there was a lot of added time and Patrick Calvey made the most of it to bag another major before two more St. Patrick's points sailed between the uprights. The first half had offered no hint of the drama to come as Kiltale led by five points at the interval (1-9 to 1-4) despite Michael Calvey's early major for the Pat's. The side which earned St. Patrick's the right to play hurling at intermediate level in 2006 was: F. Minogue, N. Stafford, B. Calvey, A. Stafford, J. Loughlin, B. Kelly, J. P. Ryan, M. Scanlon, C. Calvey, D. Kirwan, E. Murphy, S. Kirwan 0-1, M. Calvey 1-0, P. Tobin 1-4, P. Harney 0-1. Subs - J. Kenna for A. Stafford, P. Muldowney for Loughlin, A. Stafford for B. Calvey, P. Calvey 1-0 for D. Kirwan, N. Farrelly for M. Calvey. Tweet

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