A progressive outlook has never been in question at Corlough as the small west county club once again face into another season of Cavan football. When you look at what has been accomplished at the club it is indeed an impressive sight.
The magnificent pitch, facilities and lighting at this west Cavan club would put many of their more senior
and larger clubs to shame.

This has been achieved by the people of Corlough with a great deal of self sacrifice and determination fashioned through a belief in what they are passionate about, Gaelic football. To this end all at the club should be greatly commended for their efforts both past and present. When you talk to the club's long serving PRO, Gerry Prior, you get a sense of what the word 'commitment' really means. Gerry is quick to point out that he is just one of a number of people at the club who have the interest and love of Corlough football firmly at their heart. Nestled on the Leitrim border this small rural parish has consistently fielded teams in Cavan football. Emigration and downturn in economies, locally or worldwide has failed to dent the enthusiasm and commitment of the football followers of Corlough GFC.

When club PRO Gerry Prior speaks about the club you are left in no uncertain terms that at Corlough things are definitely moving in the right direction.
"When you cast a cold eye over the season it is evident to those at Corlough that we did indeed make great progress during the 2010 season. I suppose there are many factors that contributed to this not least the players," says Gerry. "At Corlough we are working with a very small group of players. We lost three of our squad, Tony Meehan and the McGovern brothers, Barry and David, to emigration and this reduced our panel down. As you can imagine we could be in serious trouble if we had a sustained run of bad injuries. However, this was not the case this season and the players under new management of Ken McPartland responded to the challenge of the league with a determination that was refreshing to see."

Training was well attended and the Dublin based players also gave a great commitment training twice weekly.
"This dedication was, I believe, the root cause for our progress this season. We got off to a shaky start in the league losing a number of early games. However, manager, Ken McPartland got to grips with the style of play best suited to the Corlough players and we began to reverse those early trends. When we began to record victories it was evident that we were quite capable of playing in Division 3 and capable of mixing it with the big names of the division. We had some great wins over the top teams and even after our shaky start won five to six games on the trot." The performances of 2010 were in stark contrast to the previous season where the club struggled and had to battle hard to avoid relegation. Another major factor in our progress was the way the league was run.

"We had a flow of consistent fixtures and this enabled clubs to get regular competition and also to plan for free weekends. Credit for this must go to the new Cavan Co. Board GAA chairman, Tom O'Reilly," said Gerry.
The encouraging league run gave all involved great hope for the championship campaign where Corlough were pitted against, Munterconnaught, Arva and Kildallan. This was surely the 'group of death' as Munterconnaught and Arva were vying for a top four spot in the league. Even though Kildallan was just two points ahead of Corlough in the league table this particular game was always going to be a tricky one. This was a localy derby and it was very much down to the performance on the day.
"While we lost all three games by narrow margins the signs were encouraging. Naturally we were disappointed to have exited from the championship after our promising league run but our championship run despite the defeats showed we were making real progress.

"The players, as I said earlier, had made a great commitment and while the results may not have gone the way that they had hoped they too will see that they are now capable of taking on the best in the division and beating them," said the club PRO.
"We have to factor in that we are a small parish on the Leitrim - Cavan border and surrounded by a number of bigger west Cavan clubs. While we have a small pick, we nonetheless have worked very hard over the years in bringing through some of our younger players. A number of young players to make the break through this season were Barry Wright, Damien McGovern and Joseph Dolan. Their progress ensured that they have been getting 'game time' on the senior squad and this can only benefit the club overall."

Currently the club have four talented young U16 players who are already making great progress and will no doubt in the not too distant future make their presence felt on the senior panel.
"Paul Cassidy, Mark McGovern, Ryan Doonan and Noel O'Rourke will help boost and strengthen our panel in the coming seasons.
"We had a great captain this year in Derek Kellegher who worked well with the squad and helped get all the players to give that extra commitment that is needed to succeed. We at Corlough always take a realistic approach to things and we can see that our small steps of progress is the way forward," said the Corlough man.

Underage football

Being such a small parish Corlough at times find it difficult to field underage teams. This means that they have to amalgamate with their neighbours, Swanlinbar and play under the banner of Dernacrieve Gaels.
"Currently we have an excellent under-14 squad. They made it to the county U-14 championship final where they met Knockbride," said Gerry.

The final ended in a draw after an exciting contest. Knockbride forced the West Cavan side into a replay with a last minute goal to level the game.
"The replay was fixed for the following Monday of the drawn game but we were forced to wait an extra day as the game was put back to the next Tuesday. This minor set back seemed to add an extra edge to the side."
The replay of the final was played at Kingspan Breifne Park amid heavy rain and saw Dernacrieve emerge convincing winners by 2-14 to 1-4. Dernacrieve started tentatively and in a rather mixed first half failed to produce the kind of performance they had displayed in the first encounter.

After the restart, the West Cavan boys really got into their stride and produced a display of skill and commanding football to run out convincing winners. This was a fitting end of the season for this side which was back-boned by nine Corlough players, Cian McBride, Kellan Cafferty, Darragh McTaggart, Kyle Doonan, Sean McGovern, Liam Cosgrove, Jamie Briody, Brian Cassidy and Noel Maguire.
"Great credit must also be attributed to all the team management and especially to our three Corlough representatives, Aiden Cassidy, Ciaran Cafferty and Ciaran McTaggart. We also have seen some great progress and hopeful signs for the future with our U-8s and U-10s," added Gerry.

Coached by Francis McGovern the U-10 side competed and won a number of blitz competitions. These victories will prove to be a stepping stone for the side as the move into competition proper at U-12 level.
"Aidan Cassidy, Ciaran Taggart, Ciaran Cafferty and Gerry Doonan have provided great support and coaching to our U-12s and U-14. All the coaches at the club give selflessly of their time and commitment to the cause of Corlough GAA. This kind of involvement is not only vital but is greatly appreciated by all at Corlough.
"I have no doubt that winning is vitally important and winning at a young age fosters self-belief and can only augur well for the future," said Gerry.

Vibrant club

"It is my belief that Corlough although a small club is nevertheless a vibrant one. We have an excellent chairman in Michael McGovern. As a chairman he has managed to combine the running of the club and the growth of football in Corlough," said Gerry.

"This year we had a change in our executive committee with Noelle Kellegher taking over as Secretary and Kathleen McHugh-Prior coming in as assistant secretary. Michael Dolan was appointed treasurer with Mary McGovern taking up the position as assistant treasurer."
As with all 'changing of the guard' a new and fresh approach was heralded in. The new look executive continued the good work of their predecessors but also implemented a number of new projects at the club. The conversion of a large store at the dressingrooms to a kitchen has proven to be a tremendous success.

"We now have the facilities to provide our players with hot refreshments after hard training sessions on wet and cold evenings. It is also a great assest in providing refreshments for visiting officials.
"The new secretary and assistant secretary have also worked hard at putting the club into the public eye. They have created a Facebook page for the club where all in the area and those abroad can keep up-to-date with current events and match results. This has proved to be a tremendous success. The site is packed with stories and pictures of Corlough GFC past and present," said the PRO Gerry went on to say "As I have already mentioned we are very progressive in our outlook for such a small club. We are constantly looking at ways of improving and this year is no different. Currently we are in the process of planning the development of a new training pitch. This new training facility will be adjacent to the current playing field and will allow us to keep our magnificent new playing surface in pristine condition for competitive fixtures. The executive committee are working hard at ensuring that all the necessary requirements are in place to ensure a speedy conclusion to the development once they start.

"I suppose while the players are vitally important to any club as they are the ones who go into the arena of competitive football on a weekly basis, the players at Corlough however have taken their responsibilities to another level. Working on a rotation system players take on the thankless task of promoting the club's lotto. To this end they have been very successful and for the club it has been a tremendous success. I know that the executive committee would like to extend their gratitude to all the players not only for their football efforts but also for their efforts with helping to raise badly needed finance for the club," said a proud PRO. Tweet

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