Drumgoon is a rural club. It is the heartbeat of the community. In 2009, the club strengthened its position as a focal point for the locality. The multitude of teams wearing the club colours did extremely well right across the board and the locals rallied behind their beloved Eire Og in these difficult times. The first team reached the final of the Division Two league, stunning Killeshandra at the semi-final stage (having won nine of their 13 league games) before losing to Kingscourt. The U21s got to a Division Two championship 'semi' but lost out to another big-town side, Bailieborough. At underage, Drumgoon excelled. In general, the sense of camaraderie and togetherness around Boyle Park has never been more palpable.
The nation may be shrouded in a cloud of despondency - and Drumgoon are certainly not immune to the financial woes that have buried the Celtic Tiger alive - but the vibe around this small club on the outskirts of Cootehill is positively infectious.
Drumgoon's 2009 intermediate championship campaign was a bit of a disappointment, as Drung single-handedly conspired to deny them progress beyond the group stage. Ballymachugh were beaten by 0-13 to 1-7 in the first round, followed by a 0-9 to 0-8 defeat to the aforementioned Drung. When Bailieborough had their wings clipped, 2-15 to 2-8, it meant another meeting with Drung, this time in a play-off to determine who would progress to the business end of the competition. A 2-11 to 1-10 defeat spelt an end to Drumgoon's championship aspirations…
The league went a little better. Inspired by county man Keith Fannin, who notched 0-6 from centre forward, the Eire Ogs eclipsed promoted Killeshandra by 1-13 to 1-11 on Saturday October 31 to book their place in the Division Two decider. On duty for that semi-final win were: Gerry Hughes; Eddie Gaffney, Michael Hannon, Paul Crossan; Michael Murray, Eddie Jackson, Paul McEnroe; Jim McNally (0-1), Michael McDonald (0-1); Sean Smith, Keith Fannin (0-6), Pauric McGorry (1-4); Brian Bates, Shane McGorry, Cathal Smith. Subs: Shane Smith, Ronan Crossan (0-1), John McDonald.
Unfortunately, the final proved a bridge too far, with Kingscourt prevailing by 2-13 to 2-4 in a one-sided encounter at wet and windy Drumlane on Sunday November 22. 'The Goonies' had started best with the wind at their backs and led through a goal from captain Jim McNally and a Paul McEnroe point. But the 16th-minute dismissal of Paul Crossan interrupted the losers' rhythm and they were just level at the break, 1-3 to 0-6. With the elements in their favour thereafter, the Stars cruised to the winning line, despite a late Michael McDonald goal.
Drumgoon - 2009 Division Two league finalists: Gerry Hughes; Edward Gaffney, Edward Jackson, Paul Crossan; Adrian Crossan, Michael Hannon, Paul McEnroe (0-1); Jim McNally (1-1), Michael McDonald (1-0); Shane McGorry, Pauric McGorry (0-1), Aogan Farrell; Cathal Smith, Keith Fannin, Brian Bates. Subs: Shane Smith, Killian Moynagh, Ciaran Lennon. Conor Bates.
The club's U21s also got to a Division Two semi-final, with wins over Shercock (0-12 to 0-6) and Drumlane (2-6 to 1-8). The semi-final took place in Kingscourt on Saturday December 5 and it was Bailieborough Shamrocks who progressed to the decider against Ballyhaise by virtue of a 3-3 to 0-4 success. Two early goals for the town side left Drumgoon facing an uphill battle from the start.
The U21 semi-final team was: Daniel Harnett; Martin Fitzpatrick, Eamon McCluskey, Tommy McKitterick; James McDonald, Philip Smith, Killian Moynagh; Ronan McDonald, Cathal Smith; Aogan O'Farrell (0-1), Pauric McGorry (0-3, 3f), Shane Smith; Brendan McCabe, Adam Bates, Dean Hand. Subs: Tommy O'Brien, Henry Reyburn, Francis Mahon.
It was the club's all-round solidity throughout the year that was of most encouragement to Drumgoon secretary John Joe Lennon. "We had a good year at underage. We won a Division Two minor shield and our U16s did well in both league (contesting the Division Two decider) and championship, despite not winning anything. We had gone back a bit at underage level so it was nice to get it back on track again.
"Our seniors missed out on promotion by two points. In the final of the league, they were beaten by the better team on the day and we can have no complaints. We were very disappointed to go out at the group stage of the championship as it was the first time in a few years that we weren't in the quarter-finals.
"On a positive note, we blooded a lot of new young players into senior ranks and it'll take a while for those lads to settle in. So hopefully we'll be stronger next year. A lot of the younger lads featured on the U21 team that reached the semi-final of the Division Two championship. This was a good achievement in itself and is even better when we bear in mind that all those lads bar two will be eligible for U21 football again in 2010."
As the calendar year dwindled out and minds began to turn to 2010, JJ was in a very positive frame of mind. "This was only the second time we'd fielded an U21 team on our own and the fact that we won two championship games and reached a semi-final is a real source of encouragement. It looks promising for the future. Whereas a lot of clubs around the county are finding it hard at the moment, with the economic situation and lads emigrating, we have been able to bring a few young players through and we're delighted about that. We're fielding at all levels and even the ladies had four teams in 2009, winning a shield. Carmel and Margaret McBride also represented the club with distinction when winning All-Ireland camogie honours with Cavan, while Margaret was on the Ireland team that beat Scotland in the Shinty international. All in all, things are really looking up for Drumgoon."
The atmosphere at the AGM in December was uplifting, with younger names like Brian Bates, Jimmy Reilly and Sabrina Shalvey joining the executive committee while some of the older senior players have also got involved at committee level. Evidently, there is no shortage of individuals prepared to put their shoulders to the wheel for the greater good.
On a cautionary note, the club secretary continues: "Finance is the biggest problem facing the club. The threat is very real and a lot of corporate sponsorship has dried up. The football end of it is good and we are going well, but finance is going to be a problem and it's a big challenge for the future." On the finance front, Drumgoon took part in a novel event in 2009 when they organised a Night at the Dogs fundraiser in Dundalk Stadium, with county footballer Michael Hannon racing a greyhound (and winning!) as part of the evening's entertainment.
At present, underage activity is a source of tremendous pride to the club. "We place a lot of value on our juveniles. At Boyle Park between 10.00 and 2.00 on a Saturday morning, we have over 100 children of various grades out training, which is excellent.
"Obviously, to keep that going we rely a lot on the support and input of parents and we are lucky in that we receive great support from the community. We also have a lot of people in the club showing interest in taking the necessary coaching courses and we had twelve people from Drumgoon qualify as coaches in 2009."
All things considered, Drumgoon are doing quite nicely and they have every reason to look back on '09 with more than a hint of satisfaction. Tweet

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