FEATURE: Inniskeen’s road to glory

Shaun Casey looks back on Inniskeen’s surge to All-Ireland Intermediate honours in 2006

IT may not have felt like it at the time, but relegation from the Senior division at the end of the 2004 season was a blessing in disguise for Inniskeen. While dropping back into Intermediate hurt, it provided the springboard for the greatest run in their history.

The initial goal was of course to return to the topflight as soon as possible, by whatever means necessary, but what unfolded was truly astonishing. In an instant, Inniskeen rose from zero to hero and gave the club days they would never forget.

From the deep disharmony that came with their “controversial relegation” in 2004 to the joys and celebrations of reaching the top just a little over a year later, the Inniskeen story is one of remarkable redemption.

Getting back to Senior football again was the main driving force behind their amazing 2005 campaign. The club was no stranger to Ulster having competed in the province five years earlier, but dealing with the All-Ireland series and Croke Park was a different matter.

Paul Meegan led the line for Inniskeen that season. So impressive were his performances that he received a call up to the county squad the following year and he recalls the day that started it all. The relegation.

“It was a controversial relegation,” recalled Meegan over 20 years on. “There were a lot of things that happened that shouldn’t have happened and Inniskeen were very sore over that if truth be told but it’s funny the way it all works out.

“When we went back to Intermediate, sometimes you would hear clubs nowadays talking about winning the All-Ireland, but we never mentioned anything like that. It wasn’t even on the radar; we were just trying to get straight back up.

“The Intermediate in Monaghan is always very competitive, and the goal was to just get back up by any means, whether that be via the league or the championship, it was just all about getting back up to senior.”

Meegan was a second-half substitute in the unofficial 2000 Ulster final as Inniskeen’s hopes of a first ever provincial crown were dashed by Craigbane of Derry.

“It would have been a different outfit that came through in 2005,” Meegan explained.

“I actually came on in the 2000 final as a sub and at that time it was the Clontibret club that ran the competition. Ulster didn’t take it over from them until 2002 or 2003.

“I was only about 16 years old at the time and from that to the All-Ireland team a couple of years later, there definitely was a complete change. There was a right few in 2000 that were coming to the end of their careers.”

Setting the record straight in Monaghan occupied the top spot on their to-do list in 2005. While most of the Intermediate Championship winning squad from 2000 had moved on by then, the goal remained the same. Get back to the top level.

County championships are hard earned, and nothing is handed out easily in the white heat of battle. Inniskeen had the target on their back having just come down from senior, but made that quality and experience count throughout the campaign.

“It was a slightly different structure than it is today. It wasn’t a full-blown knockout, it was the same as the All-Ireland inter-county structure at the time with the backdoor so if you lost a game, you always had a second chance.

“But we went straight through, and we didn’t lose a match. I can hardly remember who we played that year, but we beat Doohamlet in the final and that was our number one goal and when we got out of Monaghan, it just took off after that.”

As usual, the Ulster campaign was a grind. In the depths of winter, every game, every ball, was a battle. Inniskeen found that out the hard way in the semi-final when they edged out Ederney, but that victory came at a cost.

“Any Ulster campaign, inter-county or club, they’re all tough and we only won those games by a point or two. We beat Ederney from Fermanagh in the semi-final when we were down to 13 men, and we just scraped through.”

One of those red carded players was county man Fergal Duffy. He had lined out at centerfield earlier in the year when the Farney men defeated Meath by the minimum of margins at Croke Park to dramatically claim the Division Two league title.

But for the Ulster Club final, he was suspended. “We played Glenswilly in the final, Michael Murphy’s club, and it never really comes up, but we robbed them that day. We beat them 2-5 to 0-10 and we stole it, it was a last-minute goal that won it for us,” added Meegan.

“You could probably argue that we weren’t the best team on the day, but we won it. You’re in the time of year there, maybe late November or early December and pitches are heavy, and the scores were low, so it was about character.

“But the way you win it, if you win it in fine style or you have to win it by digging it out, at the end of the day it didn’t really matter. The Ulster Club is still the same today, you just have to grind it out.”

The aforementioned Murphy didn’t line out for the Donegal men that day and wouldn’t make his inter-county debut for another two years, but his future county colleague and All-Ireland winner Neil Gallagher did.

“Murphy wasn’t playing but there’s something telling me that he was listed in the subs, but sure he was only 15 or 16 years old at the time. Big Neil Gallagher was playing midfield for Glenswilly that day.

“Fergal Duffy, who was on the county team, was suspended for the final. He was one of our biggest players and would have been marking Gallagher, but he couldn’t play so it was another loss to us, but we dug it out.”

Ulster was a familiar terrain in 2005. But the All-Ireland series was a completely new adventure. Not only was it the biggest game in the history the of Inniskeen club, but they were rank outsiders to come through.

Standing between them and a date in the All-Ireland final was Cork’s Carbery Rangers, the reigning Intermediate All-Ireland winners. A restructure in the Rebel County meant the Rangers weren’t promoted to senior so they were back in 2005 and going for two in a row.

Six points from the trusty boot of full-forward Meegan sent the Grattan’s on their way to the decider.

“Duffy was back for the semi-final then and that was a good boost,” continued Meegan.

“Carbery Rangers would have had a couple of Cork players like Kevin McMahon and John Hayes who were starters on the Cork team and Cork were quite strong at that time as well. That was a big game for us in Portlaoise.

“It was played in January and after getting out of Ulster, it was a dogfight and it was a slog, but things seemed to open up more against Carbery Rangers, there seemed to be more football played and it seemed to be faster.

“I would have said that out of all our performances that year, the one against Carbery Rangers was our best performance.”

There was no guarantee in those days that the final would be held on Jones’ Road. But word had filtered through before the semi-final that the winner was destined for Croke Park, so that added an extra incentive.

“It was magnificent, and it was a big thing because I think it was only the week of the All-Ireland semi-final that we found out the final was going to be in Croke Park so after the semi-final, the build-up was just unreal.

“Predominantly, our goal in Inniskeen is to win the Senior Championship but when we were back in Intermediate, we could only do what was in front of us.

“The whole hype just took over and even on the eve of the final, they ran an ‘Up For The Match’ in the local community centre and the place was packed.”

Getting over the line at Croke Park, seeing their faithful fans in the crowd and climbing the famed steps of the Hogan Stand are memories that will never die. Like the last day out, Meegan top scored once again, hitting 1-6 as they defeated Galway’s Caherlistrane.

That cherished day at Croke Park was a real family affair. Paul Meegan lined out on the biggest day of all with his brothers Ronan and Andrew. Cousins Jordan, Trevor and Pat, three brothers themselves, were also in the starting line-up.

“There were three of us in our house playing on the day, my two brothers were lined out as well so for my parents, it was a really proud day for them. My grandfather was at the game in Croke Park and he’s long deceased now.

“When you look back on it, it was just for everyone and the whole community, everyone won it that day. As time goes on, you probably cherish it that wee bit more.

“There were six Meegans lined out to start in the final and that was nice. There wer maybe two or three Lennons as well so there were a couple of names that made up maybe ten places on the team but that’s probably not that uncommon at club level.”

Twenty-five years on from the fresh-faced Meegan that came on in an Ulster Club final, the talented sharpshooter has called it a day. The battle for a first Senior Championship in 77 years continued, but Meegan won’t be a part of it.

Whether Inniskeen, managed by Armagh man John McEntee, end that long drought this year or not remains to be seen. But Meegan is working hard at ground level to ensure they stay at the top for another while and eventually capture the Mick Duffy Cup.

“I played up until last year and we were beat in the county semi-final, and I hung up the boots at the end of last year, but I’m still heavily involved with the club. I manage the u-12s and the cycle just starts all over again. It’s not the same as playing but time catches up. Inniskeen aren’t far away in senior and we’re just trying to get over the line. Scotstown are obviously the top dog at the minute, but I have no doubt we’ll not be far away again, they’ll need a few things to go their way, but John and Tony (Kernan) will have them in good fettle come August time.”