The Nineties
Unfortunately the town senior team were piped at the post in the SFC of 1991 by a very strong Downpatrick side. By 1993 Colm to use his own words said that he took stock and felt that things were getting a bit stale. "I had worked with these players for over six years and felt they needed a change". Colm also remembers saying to the players when he was telling them of his decision that they would probably go on and win the championship the following year. In fact the team went on to win the SFC in both 1994 and 1995, the first time in the Club’s history that a Castlewellan team has won back to back senior championships. In 1994 the team beat Downpatrick in the final, and in 1995 the town again beat Downpatrick in the final. But the new management duo of Danny Keown and Paul Duffin were quick to point out that it was Colm who had been responsible for ‘blooding’ many new players. They also credited Colm for his involvement in their training, managing and coaching over the previous six years which culminated in the historic back to back victories of 1994 and 1995.
As the decade drew to a close and Danny and Paul stood down, the committee felt it was time to rebuild again and approached Colm McAarney asking him to once more step into the hot seat with a view to building up the team again. This was not an easy task as in the late nineties the team was plagued with serious injuries. His own son Colm Og broke his leg on 2 occassions before he was 23. There were also leg breaks to other prominent players such as Martin Laverty, Kevan Owens. There were also long term injuries to important players such as Maurice and Conor Oneill, Ruairi ONeill and to bernard McAleenan. All of these injuries took its toll resulting in early exits from the SFC and fighting league relagation in 1999. It was Colm’s controversial decision to field Colm Og just back from injury in the play-off match against Bryansford that saved the day for the town and seen Bryansford off into the second division. In the following year Colm decided to pack it in after a disappointing defeat against Downpatick in the opening round of the SFC.
Also in the late nineties the committee felt it was necessary to embark on major repair work to St. Malachy’s Park. The work involved resurfacing of the pitch including installation of a new drainage system, new parameter fencing and electronic scoreboard. A few years earlier in 1995 the club had invested heavily in a new member’s lounge and kitchen, adjoining the existing clubhouse, and in 1998 the old clubhouse too was completely refurbished into a major function hall (see social club section). The latest step in the Club’s development program has seen the completion in April 2001 of phase 1 of the new stand which features spacious new double changing rooms, toilets and showering facilities underneath. Phase 2 of the stand when completed, will incorporate new Ladies changing rooms underneath, and phase 3 will include a state of the art fitness suite under the third and final section of stand. The third phase of the work will also include roofing the entire stand. It is hoped that all of this work will be completed in time for the Club’s Centenary celebrations in 2006
There were other successes too for the club in the 1990’s as far as individual players were concerned. Four Club players, Martin Laverty, Kevan Owens Gerard Lynch, and Ciarán McCabe figured in the Down 1991 and 1994 All-Ireland SFC victories. In 1999 Damien McGrady, Fintan McGreevey and Conor Boyle were members of the All-Ireland Minor winning side. In 2000 Lisa Morgan, Maura McCabe, and Aine Keary were members of the Down side that won the All-Ireland Junior Ladies title. Also in the nineties the senior team was greatly strengthened by the transfer from Ballymartin of All-Star Award winner Gregory McCartan, when he came to Castlewellan to live after his marriage. Gregory was a member of the Down All-Ireland winning side in 1991 and 1994. Also in the late nineties another county player Simon Poland, (2000/2001 Down team) whose parents hail from Clarkhill and Ballybannon, transferred from Bryansford back to his native parish.
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