It's not too often All-Ireland titles come along, particularly in recent times in Cavan, and Frank Lovett knows this better than most. Therefore it is little wonder why he and Brendan Cosgrove at Laurence Mechanical Services Ltd, Moynehall are so generous with their sponsorship towards the Killygarry club's juvenile section each year.
Both men are Killygarry through and through. Brendan is the company's Managing Director and Frank has been its Project Manager for the past 16 years. Established in 1992, Laurence Mechanical Services currently employ approximately 50 staff from their base at Moynehall along the Ballinagh Road in Cavan and provide a central-heating installation service.
"We provide a number of different services here," explained Frank. "We do industrial and commercial pluming, heating and ventilation and also industrial sprinkler systems as well.
"We sponsor the juvenile section and have done so for the last four years. Myself and Brendan Cosgrove are both involved with the Killygarry club and try and help out what ever way we can."
On business at the moment, he added: "There has obviously been a downturn, but we're doing our best here to try and keep things busy."
It has been 19 years since Frank played his first senior game for Killygarry, and his playing career with the club is set to span into a third decade should he decides to lace his boots again this year and line-out with the club's junior side once again.
Last year, Killygarry's second-string competed in Division Three of the All County Football League, after they'd won promotion from Division Four in 2008 - a season where Frank was inspirational for the team from full-forward - and they held their own in the third tier against some of the top junior clubs in the county.
"I started playing senior football for Killygarry in 1991," said Frank.
"I would have won various medals at underage level and represented my county at minor and Under 21 level."
The now veteran attacker has enjoyed considerable success during his playing career and he is grateful to his club and how they have looked after him throughout. As for Cavan, he recalls one "unforgettable" year which saw him win an Ulster championship medal with his county.
In 1996, Frank was apart of the Cavan Under 21 set-up that defeated Derry in the Ulster championship final at Clones by 1-11 to 1-5 and lost the All-Ireland decider at Croke Park to a Kerry side which had names like Dara Ó Sé, Mike Frank Russell and Dara Ó Cinnéide featured in it.
Frank recalled: "It was an unforgettable experience and a lot of it came down to the management of Martin McHugh."
While he never went on to represent Cavan at senior level after that, he did achieve some coveted success with his club. 1998 was a year to remember for Killygarry, as the club landed a famous intermediate league and championship double. In 2006, after suffering demotion in the league, they achieved promotion again and in 2008 they became the first club to win promotion from Division Four.
Last year, Killygarry kept up their winning habits by capturing the Under 14 All-Ireland Feile title in Co Kildare. While Frank wasn't directly involved, he certainly cites it as being the highlight of 2009 for the club.
The Feile campaign commenced over the Easter weekend when the boys took part in the county qualifying competition. Going through the day undefeated saw the Killygarry boys leave Kingspan Breffni Park with the Feile County title and in the knowledge they were on the way to represent Cavan on the All-Ireland stage.
Over the weeks between April and July, the players trained as diligently as any senior team and travelled to Kildare on July 3rd knowing that the hard work and preparations had been done. They came through the group stages from their host base in Kildangan undefeated and progressed into a semi-final against Caragh from Kildare on the afternoon of July 4th.
A hard fought battle was had in tough blustery conditions but a sterling second-half display saw the lads reach the All-Ireland final. The support that had travelled down from Cavan to St Conleth's Park, Newbridge was there to be seen and the boys took to the field with the words ringing in their ears that his was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Playing against a physically imposing team from Carlow, Fenagh, it took the young Killygarry men a while to get into their stride.
The two-touch style of football that was being coached into them all year soon became apparent, as they started to move the ball quickly and around the much bigger team. After the first point went over and following a penalty save Killygarry ran, blocked, tackled and harried like their young lives depended on it. At the final whistle a winning margin of 2-08 to 1-03 saw this group of Under 14's lift the All Ireland Cup when it was handed over to them by An Uachtarán CLG Mr Christy Cooney.
The return home to Killygarry that Sunday evening will always be remembered by all involved in the club and it is now hoped that a large of number of these young players will develop and progress to represent Killygarry over the coming years. The Under 14's also brought home the Roinn C League title following a campaign battled out on some very wet and heavy pitches back in the Sporting culminating in a titanic battle with Denn at Kingspan Breffni Park. The successful Under 14 backroom team was Simon Fay, Declan Gilsenan, Padraig Gannon and Enda Mulvany.
In recent years, Frank himself has got involved with coaching Killygarry teams at underage level and has decided.
"I help out with the Under 10 and Under 8 teams, coaching them on Saturdays," he explained. "I've done Level One in the coaching and will be going on to Level Two this year. Almost every coach in Killygarry has already done a Level One coaching course."
As for his geting himself back out onto a football pitch, Frank says that he "will try and play a bit in 2010
"Damien Moen has came in as manager this year and hopefully he can bring us to a championship final," he said
"We've got to the last two semi-finals and we want to go one better this year. There's a good mixture of youth and experience in the team, so hopefully this is the year we can start winning things (at senior level).
"We have a good chairman in Kevin Reilly and an equally good secretary in Noel McHugh. They have both done a great deal for the club in their time involved, as has Enda Mulvany. Simon Fay and all the committee members, including the ladies, have done great work as well."
Killygarry have certainly and been a club on the rise in recent years at senior and underage level. Along with their Under All-Ireland success of 2009, they are still the only club to offer ladies football around Cavan town, which underlines their growing status as all-rounders. Tweet

Most Read Stories