'We are going to be around for a long time'... Eastern Gaels set down a marker despite heavy opening game defeat

Eastern Gaels, the newest club on the Meath GAA landscape, were sportingly applauded onto the field of play at Fr Tully Park, Seneschalstown on Sunday for their first game ever by the Cortown players - but there the hospitality, the warm welcome, ended.

After that Cortown did what everyone at the ground expected them to do and proceeded to rack up a big score and win this Junior B FC clash with consummate ease.

Cortown led 4-7 to 0-1 at the interval and won as easily as they liked. Sharpshooter Oisin Smith ended up with 3-1 while David Rispin concluded a busy afternoon with 1-7, using his cultured left foot to build up his big tally. Ryan O'Rourke, Colm Kerrigan and Elliott Reilly also found the net for the winners.

Kevin McGuinness, Anthony Boyle, Declan Clarke and Michael Costello were others to raise white flags for the dominant team in saffron.

Eastern Gaels - who are as their name suggest from eastern Meath and are based in Mornington in the same catchment area as St Colmcille's - couldn't muster a point from play over the hour. Pearse Og Gilroy wrote himself into the history books by lofting over their only score of the game from a free. By doing so he became the first Eastern Gaels player to score in a competitive fixture, indeed any fixture. Those are the stats. The plain, mainly painful facts, as far as the Gaels are concerned.

Yet despite the rampaging win - surely one of Cortown biggest championship victories ever - this was a drama dominated by the Eastern Gaels. They might have comprehensively lost on the scoreboard but by even fulfilling this fixture they achieved something of victory. A moral victory.

They couldn't field a team for the league. The Mornington-based club didn't even play a challenge game in preparation for Sunday's game.

Their list of substitutes including a number of players in their forties and fifties - including their goalkeeper Darren O'Sullivan, the busiest man on the field. One of their subs, Tom McLoughlin, is the father of Fionn McLoughlin who is one of the six players denied a transfer in what is an ongoing saga. Please read on.

Despite the hefty loss on Sunday the Gaels have the basis of a decent team with captain Aaron Browning, Gilroy, Gavin Taylor among their best performers.

Apart from one of the goals - which came about after an attempted O'Sullivan short kick-out was intercepted - the stand-in goalkeeper couldn't do much about the avalanche of scores conceded by his side. In fact only because of a number of smart saves from O'Sullivan (and a slew if bad Cortown wides) the damage could have been worse. A lot worse. One particular save by O'Sullivan from Cortown's Elliott Reilly late on was memorable.

In their short history (they were only formed in February) Eastern Gaels, who also have a ladies and youths sections, have had to grapple with formidable forces. They sought, for instance, to have six players transferred to them last week but it didn't happen.

"We had six players in for a transfer to us with Meath Co Board and we've gone through four hearings on this issue, four hearings, but they found against us. They didn't give the players the transfers," outlined Eastern Gaels chairman Pearse Gilroy with a note of exasperation. "The six are all ex-St Colmcille's players but most of them haven't played for St Colmcille's for four years.

"One of our founding principles is to get fellas who haven't played in years back playing football. We got these players back playing football, St Colmcille's objected to the transfers, it went to the CCC. The CCC found in favour of St Colmcille's despite the fact that these fellas said they would never play with St Colmcille's, that if they didn't get the transfers they would never go back to St Colmcille's. Yet the CCC found in favour of St Colmcille's and the Hearings Committee found in favour of the CCC."

Players concerned were at Seneschalstown on Sunday but couldn't play. The roadblocks at admin level have clearly fired up the Eastern Gaels club members. They are fully determined to push ahead with their plans no matter what. "Oh we're going to be around for a long time, let me tell you," said chairman Gilroy with a real note of defiance.

Having found obstacles at Meath Co Board level the club are now going to the Leinster Disputes Resolution Authority to put their case forward.

Chairman Gilroy says there is a real need for another club in the wide swathe of territory that includes Mornington, Laytown, Bettystown. "We serve the very same parish as St Colmcille's. There are 28,000 people in the parish, St Colmcille's are catering for 15 per cent of the kids in the area. Maximum. At adult level it's only four or five per cent. They have five adult teams which is very impressive but an awful lot more people want to play football."

The Gaels have their own ground hired in Tara Road, Mornington and they have funds, although they are on their own there too. "Believe it or not the GAA have no provision in any shape or form for giving clubs any funding whatsoever. Not only that we've had to pay Meath Co Board three or four thousand in fees yet we are a brand new club."

Somehow the Gaels, despite all the obstacles, are up and running. Sunday was a stormy day for them - they'll have better.

SCORERS

Cortown - Oisin Smith 3-1 free; David Rispin 1-7 one point mark; Ryan O'Rourke 1-1; Elliott Reilly 1-0; Colm Kerrigan 1-0; Kevin McGuinness 0-2; Declan Clarke 0-1; Michael Costello 0-1; Anthony Boyle 0-1.

Eastern Gaels - Pearse Og Gilroy 0-1, free.

TEAMS

Cortown - Colm McGerty; Barry Canning, Declan Clarke, John McGerty; Elliott Reilly, Darragh O'Halloran, Ciaran Keating; Declan Coyne, Hugh Staunton; Michael Costello, Ryan O'Rourke, Theo Staunton; David Rispin, Colm Kerrigan, Oisin Smith. Subs - Stephen Anthony Boyle for Kerrigan 15 mins, Fitzmaurice for O'Halloran half-time; David Coyne for T Staunton 48m, Kevin McGuinness for Smith 49m, Conor Mulroe for D Coyne 55m.

Eastern Gaels panel - Darren O'Sullivan, Kevin O'Rourke, Gary Burke, Oran Long; Diarmaid Monahan, Gavin Taylor, Stephen Sherry, Aaron Browning, Isaac Barbara; Pearse Og Gilroy, Ian Daly, Eoin Ryan, Elphan Donnelly, Max Russell, James Tobin, Ray Tarindka, Rob Taylor, Brendan Quigley, Tom McLoughlin, Johnny Cairns.

Referee - Larry McEntee (Nobber).