Ennis praises character of his youthful Ballinagore side
By Paul Hughes
“We’ve made huge strides. When we were here last year after winning the junior 2, we set a target to win the junior and try to get back up to intermediate. The effort the lads have put in has been massive. It’s due reward for them.”
That was the initial reaction of Ballinagore bainisteoir and decorated former Westmeath footballer Michael Ennis, after guiding his club to victory in last Sunday’s junior 1 football final at the expense of St Joseph’s.
Ballinagore led 0-10 to 0-3 at half-time, having decision to play with the breeze after winning the toss. “It was always the plan that if we won the toss, we’d play with the wind, build up a lead and try to hold onto it as best we can,” he said.
“We were probably a bit disappointed that we weren’t more in front than we were [at half-time]. We were seven points up. In this day and age, seven points is nothing in a game of football. We probably didn’t use Cody [Finnane] enough at full forward. He’s a great target man. He won plenty of ball but we probably should have used him a bit more and got scores off him.”
Ennis was impressed with how his troops rallied after an initial bounce by St Joseph’s at the start of the second half.
“We knew Joseph’s were going to come out and throw everything at us in the first ten minutes and they did that. It wasn’t on the script, conceding two two-pointers within two and a half minutes,” he explained, heaping praise on in-form goalkeeper Cathal Daly for a crucial save from Ros Elliffe during this St Joseph’s purple patch.
“The lads showed great composure. They’ve built great character this year. They trust themselves and the system, and they weathered the storm.
“They got a couple of scores at crucial times that probably didn’t kill off the game but put us in a better position going into the last six or seven minutes. It was disappointing to give away the goal at the finish but, luckily enough, we were still three or four points ahead.”
Once again, Ballinagore reaped dividends from the return to the local club scene of former Westmeath star Tommy McDaniel after his stint with Dublin side Castleknock.
“We knew it was going to be shoulders to the wheel in the second half and we did just that. And at this level, when you have someone like Tommy McDaniel, with ten points on the final day, he’s the ace in the pack at this level, isn’t he?” he beamed.
Back-to-back championship successes has brought “a huge buzz” back to Ballinagore after a few years in the football wilderness. It all started with the junior 2 win over Delvin in 2024 but great things have been happening for the club on a number of fronts, the bainisteoir says.
“Last year had a huge significance as well, besides building momentum. We had three or four minors who came on this year, and that’s made a huge difference. Eoin Robinson, Philip Reynolds, Shane King – I am probably leaving someone else out off the top of my head. There is great talent coming through.
“Then to have the leaders like Tommy [McDaniel] coming back is massive. You can bring in all the coaches you want, but when you have his experience on the pitch, leading the forward line and orchestrating things, it’s huge. It’s a great day for the parish and the village.”
Ennis reserved special praise for a youthful St Joseph’s side which, he believes, we will hear from again in the near future.
“Hats off to St Joseph’s. They’ve been a very strong team for the last couple of years and they’re making huge strides over there,” he said.
“In the league they’ve gone from Division 5 to 4 to 3. I think they won a minor championship final last year. It’s tough on them – they lost the final last year, they lost the final this year, and they were beaten in the semi-final the year before.
“But they have been a benchmark for junior teams to get up to. I know it’s not going to mean much to them now, but they have great talent there and their day will come.”
Ballinagore are back in the once-familiar territory of the Westmeath IFC where, Ennis admits, they will have their work cut out in 2026.
“It’s going to be a huge step up. We’ll worry about that next year anyway. It’ll be The Bodhrán for tonight and tomorrow and we’ll see what happens after that. We’ll have a few days off and then we’ll get back to training. We’ll give the Leinster championship campaign as good a rattle as we can.”
Barcelona Gaels are first up for Ballinagore in the Leinster Club JFC but, unfortunately, it won’t be an away tie in the glare of the Catalan sun.
“If it was away, you’d be worried if half of us would come back!” Ennis joked. “I think they met a team from Carlow in it last year. We don’t know what to expect. We’ll enjoy a few days and then we’ll get back to training.”