St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham may have endured another difficult year at adult level, but there was much to be encouraged about at underage level with the Multy under 12 team creating history by claiming league honours for the first time. Ten years on from the club's one and only appearance in a junior football final, St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham had hoped to make an impact on last year's championship but just one win from four outings was never going to be enough to extend their interest beyond the group stage. But the year still threw up some highlights, especially at underage level where Multy's all-conquering under 12 team made history by winning the 'A' league for the first time. The under 8, 10, 14 and 16 sides also gave good accounts of themselves, something which bodes well for the future. "It was an exceptional year as far as our youth section was concerned," Multyfarnham underage coordinator Sean Kelly proudly states. "Our under 12s stole the show by winning their section of the league after a magnificent victory over St. Loman's under lights in St. Loman's. It was a huge achievement for a small club such as ours to go to a place like St. Loman's and beat them in a league final. It gives us great encouragement going forward." Faced with an uncertain future not so long ago, St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham decided that the only way forward was to place a strong emphasis on underage coaching. And while most of this coaching has been concentrated in Multyfarnham, Sean stresses that St. Fintan's are also doing their bit. "We're delighted with the progress at our end and it's good to see that progress is also being made by the people in Streete. Their numbers are much smaller than ours, but they're working hard with what they've got and have indoor training once a week during the winter months for their under 8s and 10s. "Hopefully, when these young footballers get a bit older, it will lead to a big improvement in our fortunes at adult level. That's the aim, but it can be difficult to organise things when the two (former) clubs are 11 miles apart. We've been joined together at adult level since 1992 and we're doing our best to make the thing work," he adds. Multyfarnham's under 12 team, which was coached by Gary Loughrey and Peter Murtagh, enjoyed a seven-match unbeaten run to the league final which included wins over Tyrrellspass, Bunbrosna, Millmore Gaels, St. Loman's 'A' and St. Loman's 'B'. And proving that their earlier win was no fluke, Multy defeated St. Loman's 'A' for a second time by 2-4 to 1-4 on an unforgettable night for the north county side in mid-October. Scores were difficult to come by throughout with the Multy full back line of Ciaran McGovern, James Greene and Tony McKay being especially prominent in keeping the St. Loman's attack at bay. At the opposite end of the field, Rory Hogan, Colm Hogan and Peter Murtagh caused all sorts of problems for the home team's defence and it was no surprise to see them lead by 1-4 to 1-2 at the interval. Early in the second half, Multy scored a second goal to increase their advantage to five points. However, two points in reply from St. Loman's left just a goal in it and Multy goalkeeper Robert Lohan needed to bring off some fantastic saves to make sure of the win. At the time of writing, many of the same players were part of the St. Cremin's National School team that had qualified for the semi-final of the Cumann na mBunscol 7-10 teacher competition. In 2006, the Multyfarnham under 10 team defeated Delvin to land the North Westmeath Division 1 title. Having lost 13 of that side last year, Multy opted to take part in Division 2 and they once again reached the final, only to lose to a revenge-hungry Delvin in Delvin. "The under 10s won six of their nine games in the North Westmeath league and great credit is due to coaches David Kelly and Frank Conway for their work with this group," Sean says. Sean was in charge of the Multy under 14 team that recorded the club's first win in that age group in four years at the expense of Rosemount. They also beat Shandonagh, but a defeat to Millmore Gaels cost them a place in the league semi-finals. In the championship, the under 14s suffered losses to Caulry and Delvin. 2007 was also notable for the fact that Multy fielded at under 16 level for the first time since 2003. Coached by the Mullingar-based duo of Tony O'Neill and John Nugent, who have agreed to remain at the helm for another year, the under 16s managed one win over Tubberclair, while they were beaten narrowly in a number of their other games. The under 8s were trained last year by Nuala Moran and Anne-Marie Fagan. This year will see the club once again field teams at under 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 level, as well as at minor level for the first time in five years. Such a scenario would have been unthinkable less than a decade ago when underage football in Multyfarnham was practically non-existent. In recent years, Multy has staged the Frank Mullaniff Cup for players between the ages of 10 and 14 over a six-week period during the summer. Last year's competition proved to be a resounding success with the spoils eventually going to Ciaran McCabe's Armagh team, who overcame Paul Kelly's Kerry side in the final on September 15 by 2-8 to 1-7. Afterwards, Mary Mullaniff presented Ciaran with the trophy, while all the players who took part in the competition received T-shirts. The participants in the 2007 Frank Mullaniff Cup were - Westmeath: Shane McDonald, Michael Moran, Ben Pantrey, Stephen Sweeney, Kate Weir, Ciaran Bawle, Eoin Fagan, Andrew Hogan, Brian Kelleher, Eoin O Mhurchu and Sean Glennon. Meath: Craig Sweeney, Craig Sweeney, Criodain O Mhurchu, Heiner von Bunau, Thomas McGivney, Ailish Greene, Christopher Feerick, Colin Pantrey, Robert Landers, Mark Finnerty, Ruairi Fagan, Paul Mulligan. Mayo: Oisin Dolan, Dylan Ward, Adam Loughrey, Sabrina McLoughlin, Sophie Whyte, Robert Connolly, Martin Fagan, Dylan Wright, Andrew Finnerty, Luke Conway, Lee Mulligan. Sligo: William May, Ross Coughlan, Mark Menton, Liam Tyas, Daniel Cox, Mark Ledwith, Brendan McCarthy, Roisin Fagan, Casey Wright, Jack Moran. Kerry: Paul Kelly, Aaron Orme, Anthony Kelly, Ian McGovern, Dylan Maxwell, Colm Hogan, Jamie Finnan, Aisling Boyhan, Niamh Greene, Romal Lat, Darren Aughey, Brendan Saunders. Armagh: Ciaran McCabe, Shane Kelleher, James Murtagh, Pauric Moran, Keith Maxwell, James Greene, Ciaran McGovern, Chloe Kelly, Tara Kelleher, Matthew Pearse, Jamie McEnroe. Dublin: Danny Newman, James Pearce, Paul Donohue, Anthony McGivney, Robert Lohan, Damon Bronkheart, Clarion Keogh, Moyna Grubb, Lorna McGovern, Stephen Donohue, Jamie Tarleton. Tyrone: Evan McGivney, Lorcan Savage, Gary Burke, Rory Hogan, Peter Murtagh, Patrick Mooney, Tony McKay, Therese Lynch, Daniel Loughrey, Mark Reynolds, Julie McLoughlin. 2007 was another disappointing year for the St. Fintan's/Multyfarnham junior team who registered just one win in the championship. They opened their campaign with a 1-4 to 1-14 defeat to champions-elect Rosemount and that was followed by another loss to Delvin (2-3 to 1-9). Multy secured their first championship win in two years when they beat Ballycomoyle by 2-10 to 1-4 on July 29 before ending their campaign with a 0-7 to 2-10 defeat to Mullingar Shamrocks. In the Junior Cup, they beat Delvin by 1-10 to 1-5 but were denied a place in the final by Milltown on a 1-9 to 2-7 scoreline. "They were very unlucky in a number of their games," Sean explains. "If they could eradicate some of the mistakes, they would be a match for anyone in the junior championship. The team is very young, with an average age of about 20, and the players have great potential. "Ballynacargy man John Mulligan, who trained Bunbrosna a few years ago, has taken over as manager from Des Doolin for the coming year and he'll be aiming for a place in the knockout stages." The past year saw Multyfarnham carry out major improvements to their ground with the installation of floodlights and the development of a new training area. The club also carried out drainage work to the pitch, and having constructed new dressing rooms in 2003, the ground is now on a par with any in the county. Multyfarnham's history-making under 12 squad was: Robert Lohan, Ciaran McGovern, James Greene, Tony McKay, Keith Maxwell, Daniel Loughrey, Dylan Maxwell, Pauric Moran, Anthony McGivney, Colm Hogan, Rory Hogan, Peter Murtagh, Patrick Mooney, Ian McGovern, Julie McLoughlin, Steven Donohue, Clarion Keogh, Damon Bronkheart, Heiner von Buneau and Matthew Pierce. Tweet

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