The Celtic Tiger reared and roared for redemption and, just as quickly, was gone, leaving behind it a society mired in debt and uncertain of the future. Luckily, the GAA - so often described as 'the social glue which binds Irish life' - is made of stern stuff.
New players, to paraphrase 'The Gallant John Joe', may come and old players may go, but supporters remain, and Cavan are blessed that their hardcore have stayed with their team through thick and, more often than not in recent seasons, thin.
This loyalty was underpinned once again in 2009 with the unveiling of the county board's new fundraising initiative, Club Breifne.
The boom is over, but the generosity of sponsors and supporters in county Cavan most certainly is not, as the excellent response proved. By year's end, Club Breifne would have raised over 80,000 euro and attracted almost 200 members, all in the name of Cavan GAA.
First of all, however, some background on the scheme.
Officially launched by the county board in October 2008 at a well-attended function in the Hotel Kilmore, Club Breifne is a supporter's club to which members pay a subscription, and in return receive a jacket and polo shirt, access to NFL matches at Kingspan Breffni Park, access to club championship games in any ground in the county and enter a draw to win a top of the range Audi A4.
"The new initiative will focus on investment in the future of the association in Cavan," explained then-county board chairman Philip Smith. "The plan is to put in place guaranteed yearly revenue from Cavan GAA supporters to invest in coaching and games development, infrastructure and supporting our county teams."
MC on the night was well-known Cavan supporter Damien O'Reilly, who was accompanied by his RTE colleague Darragh Maloney. Interviews were conducted on the night with Philip Smith, Club Breifne chairman Declan Woods, Games Development Officer Nicholas Walsh and new Cavan senior football team manager Tommy Carr.
"Club Breifne is a fantastic initiative," said the manager. "The off-the-field set-up here in Cavan is top-class and we will be working hard to ensure that the team can match that."
Philip Smith revealed that the cost of developing infrastructure and funding teams has spiralled in recent years and that the coaching budget for 2009 alone was set to be over 400,000 euro.
"Club Breifne," he said, "will allow us to continue to develop our facilities, including a new planned Centre of Excellence at Kingspan Breffni Park."
The chairman outlined the progress that had been made to that point, saying: "We have recently installed five new full-time GAA coaches and we are committed, with the help of supporters and clubs who have been among the most generous in the country, to continuing to strive for excellence in Gaelic football, hurling, camogie and handball."
As the year progressed, the fruits of the labour of the Club Breifne committee (chaired by Declan Woods and with Aisling Matthews as secretary) became obvious.
"Our members are coming from all walks of life. It's very important to mention that its not only business people that are joining. We have a huge number of PAYE workers as well as a number of retired persons," stated Woods last April in an update on the progress of the club.
The Killeshandra clubman, who makes way as chairman for 2010 when he will be replaced by popular and well-known Gowna man Gerry Brady, praised the supporters of the county who, he said, were making a decision to commit to financially backing their teams to the tune of 750 euro per annum during in what is a hostile financial environment for all, from businesses to individuals.
"I'd like to acknowledge that we are aware of the great difficulties being encountered on a daily basis by everyone during this recession. It is with that in mind, that we know makes the decision to commit to an additional cost on a monthly or yearly basis all the more difficult," explained Declan.
"Cavan County Board and in particular the Club Breifne committee are overwhelmed by the goodwill and generosity they are encountering whilst approaching potential members."
As the year went on, it became clear that Club Breifne was going to generate substantial funding for Cavan's teams. In the end, the club would attract almost 200 members and county board treasurer Martin Cahill commended it wholeheartedly in his report to the county convention on December 12.
In a year in which the board recorded an operating deficit of over 60,000 euro in 2009, Cahill admitted that Cavan GAA must "tighten its belt" in order to weather the economic storm.
Having acknowledged the work of Niall Brady of the commercial committee, Cahill stated that the Supporters' Club, a loyal friend to Cavan GAA for a long number of years, "haven't been able to contribute as keenly in the past", leaving a huge hole in the income of the board.
Into the breach, however, came another group of equally-generous supporters.
"While there was no corporate night and gate income was down, the formation of Club Breifne had helped to compensate for that and raised 82,000 euro from June to the end of October," explained Cahill.
In a full year, Cahill said, he would expect the club to generate 140,000 euro, an impressive figure and testament to the generosity, loyalty and courage of Cavan supporters, within the county and beyond.
So, the journey for club members is almost complete. The membership year started at the beginning of June and is set to finish 12 months later at the end of May 2010, which is to coincide with the Ulster championship.

Details
The member package consists of access to all Cavan's home NFL matches and all Club championship matches in any ground in Cavan. There is also limited edition exclusive leisure wear only available to members, a jacket and polo shirt. Finally there will be a member and partners function where we will have a draw for a new Audi A4 car.
Club Breifne is an initiative with focus on the investment in the future of the GAA in Cavan. The vision for Club Breifne is to put in place guaranteed yearly revenue from committed Cavan GAA people to invest in Coaching and Games Development, Correct infrastructure to assist in the improvement and development of our players and supporting the county teams. Membership costs 750 euro per year or monthly standing order of 65 euro. Anyone interested in joining Club Breifne please contact Gerry Brady or any member of the committee or county board.

The full Club Breifne committee for 2009 was as follows: Declan Woods, Aisling Mathews, Terry Hyland, Brian Tierney, Paddy Sheanon, Packie McKiernan, Gerry Brady, Donal Keogan, Michael Reilly, Niall Brady, Declan Sheridan, Martin Cahill, Paul Henry and Eugene Kiernan. Tweet

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