Gaeil Colmcille in bonus territory

According to manager John Morris, one of Gaeil Colmcille's chief objectives on the hurling front at the start of the year was to fulfil all their league fixtures - that's what he told JIMMY GEOGHEGAN.

That might seem an obvious aim, but there was a strong strain of logic underlining the approach. 
In 2017 Gaeil Colmcille - struggling to field teams - had failed to fulfil two of their league fixtures and they were consequently relegated from Div 3 to Div 4.  

While in one sense dropping down a division was undoubtedly a retrograde step in other ways there have been distinct advantages for the club too. 

"What we decided at the start of this year was that we were going to fulfil our fixtures no matter what, we called in some older players, like myself, and brought younger players through as well," Morris told the Meath Chronicle.

"There are lads playing hurling now that hadn't played before, the likes of Jordan Muldoon, James Hennigan, Dara Gibbons, Shane Morgan and one or two more. 

"They were able to settle in whereas at a higher grade they wouldn't have had a chance to find their feet.

"It means that instead of working off a panel of 17, 18 or 19 which we were doing the last couple of years we've been working off a panel of 25 or 26 which is unheard of for us, at least that's the case for the championship," he added.

In the league Gaeil Colmcille won seven out of eight games. Not only that, with their bigger panel, they put together a sustained run in the championship that has brought them to Sunday's showdown.

Morris - a Kells native who works as a postman in Kingscourt - has played hurling for Gaeil Colmcille's first team since he was a teenager.

He's now 44 and still turns out for the club. He was happy to fill in during the early stages of this year's Div 4 campaign, for example.

Football, he openly admits, usually gets first priority, but now the focus is on the hurlers.  

There have been many aspects of his team's performances in the IHC this year that have pleased Morris, none more so than the way the players came back to put Clann na nGael away in the semi-final. 

Going into the last few minutes of that game Gaeil Colmcille trailed by two points, but Dylan Roche's goal, added to a Barry Smith point, helped them copperfasten a 3-10 to 1-14 victory. 

Even when Gaeil Colmcille lost 0-13 to 0-15 to Na Fianna earlier in the championship Morris saw things that pleased him.

"We played very well at the start of that game, they just had that little bit more experience, Barry Slevin was the difference between the teams in the last 10 minutes, but no, I don't think that will have any bearing on this year's final."

This is his first year in charge of the intermediate side. He had a spell looking after the juniors a few years ago and led them to a championship success. Can he work the oracle a second time? 

With many of the club footballers back in the fold he says fitness is not an issue, but this quietly spoken man will never stops emphasising to players the importance of believing they can succeed.

"We (selectors Conor Ferguson, Michael Foley and himself) are always saying to them they have great ability, they have the skill, they just have to believe."