IT’S A BUSY time for the people of Ratoath in Meath.
This weekend, their senior footballers will battle to defend their senior county crown and emerge as champions for the fourth time in five seasons. Win or lose, the club won’t have long to dwell in either emotion as another county final quickly comes into view.
On Sunday 15 October, the blue and gold will contest the Meath senior hurling final against Kildalkey in what will be their third county final since 2020. A potential historic double at the top tier in their county beckons.
But Ratoath haven’t always been in such strong shape to hunt for these prizes. Just over a decade ago, they were a junior football club who had a mountain to climb.
“It’s a remarkable story,” Ratoath football manager Kevin Reilly tells The42 ahead of their showdown with Summerhill on Sunday. Their meeting will be a repeat of last year’s senior decider, and the 2019 final. So far, the scorecard reads 2-0 to Ratoath.
“They’re [Ratoath] one of the few clubs in the country that have made this transition from junior, intermediate, up to dominating senior. You have to give credit to that fantastic bunch of players that are there and have made that transition right from the start.
“It’s down to the structures in the club as well. There’s a plan and vision set out for these lads and there’s people behind the scenes at underage level driving that.”
The dual code structure is a difficult one for any club to implement successfully. Given the commitment levels involved in hurling and football as separate sports, the concept of playing both in this age is becoming more and more difficult.
That’s particularly true when you add in the inter-county demands that apply to some of the club players. Ratoath’s Jack Flynn, Daithí McGowan, Ben Weir were all involved with the Meath team who captured the Tailteann Cup this year.
But the structures in Ratoath make it possible for their players to serve both teams. There’s a significant crossover between the teams that are playing in back-to-back county finals this month, and making that arrangement work requires a collaborative effort.
“It’s very important for the players to enjoy their football and hurling,” says Reilly, “and for both sets of management to worry about them afterwards in terms of making sure they look after themselves and that they’re not overdoing it. There are such huge demands being placed on them that it’s very important to look after them and protect them over the course of the season.
“The number of dual players at inter-county level is reducing dramatically year after year because of those increased demands. It’s vital that the management team look after them.”
There was just one point between the sides at the end of last year’s county final between Ratoath and Summerhill. Daithí McGowan, Jack Flynn and Eamon Wallace all chipped in with late points to seal the result for Ratoath as the hostilities became heated between the opposing managers.
Ratoath manager David Brady and Summerhill boss Conor Gillespie were both red carded as a result of the quarrelling. That all sets out an interesting backdrop for the renewal of their rivalries this weekend.
Reilly took over as Ratoath manager from Brady last December, having previously been in charge of Trim. He went into the position knowing that another date with Summerhill in the county final was always a possibility.
“Both camps know each other very well. At the start of the year, both teams would have been tipped to be in the final this year. Credit to Summerhill, they have been on form throughout the championship, getting some comfortable wins. They have some fantastic players who have lots of experience. They will be formidable opponents on Sunday.
“I would have spoken to David at the start of the year. The unique thing about this group is that they still have the coach [Kevin Stritch] and selector [Shane Kelly] from last year. That’s a really positive thing in that we’re picking up and running with what we have rather that starting from scratch. We didn’t have to press the reset button on things.”
Ratoath reached the Leinster semi-finals last season where they were edged out narrowly by The Downs of Westmeath in Croke Park. Another provincial journey would be their reward if Ratoath can hold off Summerhill again and defend their county honours.
Adding the senior hurling championship to their cabinet is for another day, but it won’t be long coming around either. These are prosperous times for the people of Ratoath. A fair stretch from the junior football days of not so long ago.
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