SLANE Less than a decade and a half after they played in the SFC Slane will be operating in the fourth grade of Meath championship football in 2013. It sounds extraordinary and it is, but their fall has much to do with the difficult times we live in. By Paul Clarke.
Aaron Melia raises the MFC Division 5 Shield at Moynalty
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fter winning the IFC in the GAA’s centenary year of 1984, beating St Colmcille’s in the final, Slane operated in the senior ranks and went very close to reaching the Keegan Cup decider in 1987 when they lost to Navan O’Mahonys at the semi-final hurdle after a replay. They eventually slipped back to intermediate status in 1999 when losing a relegation play-off to Moynalvey just a week after they had beaten Donaghmore/Ashbourne in the All-County A League Division 3 final. Winning the highly competitive IFC is never easily achieved and the prize of senior football is something a club dearly wants to hold onto for as long as it possibly can. It was no different for Slane and, while that loss to Moynalvey was a huge blow, there was a general belief that they had what was required to bounce back to the top flight quickly. But it didn’t work out that way and
READY TO FACE THE CHALLENGE they fell back to the junior ranks for the first time in over 50 years in 2006 when they lost the IFC relegation play-off to Na Fianna. It appeared a long way back to the heady heights of the race for the Keegan Cup and now that journey must seem like an ultramarathon as they contemplate life in the Junior B ranks. There had been signs last year that Slane might be close to turning the
corner. They didn’t reach the knockout stages of the JFC, but they did win three games in a tough group – against Trim, Wolfe Tones and Kilbride - which suggested that they were becoming more competitive. They also performed encouragingly in the league, reaching the final of the old Division 5 grade where they lost to St Vincent’s. The campaign was a considerable
On duty for the JFC game against Kilmainhamwood at Kilberry, front l/r: Jamie McClean, Stephen Goodwin, Gerry Carolan, Matthew McClean, Craig Smith, Eoin Feeley, Shane Harding, Neil Faulkner, Alan Harding. Back: Johnny Reilly, Graham Smith, Willie Clarke, Damien Carolan, Garth Kealy, Stephen Gough, Kevin Reilly, Johnny Gibney, Conor Rock, Derek Mongey, Luke Naughton
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