With the conclusion of the 2010 football season the guiding lights at Lacken Celtic can certainly take heart from a season that produced some great performances and no short measure of progress. By Tony Dunne.

Indeed the club could count themselves unlucky not to have secured a senior championship semi-final berth when they lost narrowly 0-10 to 1-8 to Ramor United at the quarter-final stage. To assess the progress of the club, the Breffni Blue spoke with one of the club's leading stalwarts, Finbar O'Reilly.

Finbar is in an ideal position to run a calculating eye over the progress at his club. Steeped in the fabric of Lacken football, Finbar played all the grades at the club and throughout his illustrious career also played all the grades at county level. He played for nine years on the Cavan senior team and is currently an influential figure on the club's senior team.
When asked how he felt the club had progressed over the past few seasons, Finbar was forthrightly honest in his answer.

"I think that we have shown great signs of improvement and while our team has a good balance of youth and experience the bulk of the side is still quite young," said Finbar. "I think that the response to our exit from the senior championship quarter-final speaks for itself. All of the squad was deeply disappointed at losing out. It was not just the fact that we lost out to Ramor but the realisation that we were good enough to get through to the semi-final.

"I suppose that another measure of progress will be how we handle the experience of that defeat. We must learn from it. We had that quarter-final at our finger tips but failed to capitalize on a number of very good chances, especially in the first half.
"We have to learn from it and develop an edge that will make us more ruthless in taking our chances. We had a number of great opportunities against Ramor but our failure to capitalise on them ultimately cost us a place in the semi-final. I truly belief that the current squad at Lacken are capable of making it to a senior championship final."
The input of manager Declan Rowley has been enormous in recent years and it is something that all at the club are extremely grateful for.

"We have made tremendous progress over the past two seasons under the guidance of Declan. He has put a structure in place that the players are comfortable with. We have finished the past two seasons in the top five of the senior league. While this is a great achievement, we have to believe in our ability and not only make it to a league final but win it. While we are working from a small base the club has managed through its underage structure to develop some very exciting young players.
"When you talk about the progress at a club for a season it certainly cannot always be measured in what was won. When you take a club like Lacken who have such a small pick you have to set realistic targets," said Finbar.

"I feel that at Lacken we have had a number of great people involved over the years and the outlook for the future is indeed quite bright. Three years ago the club with the assistance of the County Board developed a master plan for how the club should progress. I was appointed head coach and I am currently assisted by a group of very dedicated and qualified coaches.
"We looked at our underage structure and set in place a programme where we got all those involved at underage level to upgrade to qualified positions as GAA coaches. Under the guidance of current chairman Pauric Mahon and vice chairman Davy Donohoe this policy is still actively pursued. We consistently upgrade the skill level of all our coaches on an annual basis.
"We currently have coaching sessions for under-8 up to minor level. While the U8's and U10's are not involved in any competition they are nevertheless, coached in the skills of GAA by three very dedicated coaches in Donnacha McSorley, Barney Brady and Martin Brady.

"It is essential for a club like Lacken to work through the grades as we are working from such a small base. Our coaching structure has been the main reason in my opinion that the club has made great progress over the past few seasons. When we get to the competitive edge of underage football we are beginning to see signs of real progress. This is where the coaching skills really become evident.

"We have excellent coaches in Peter Galligan, Phil Moynagh, James Moynagh, Noel Lynch and Sean Wilson at U12 and U13. Their guidance through the 'choppy waters' of competitive football helps develop a winning attitude with a tough edge. We can see this develop as they move from level to level."
The club's U13s made it to the Roinn B Division 2 final where they lost out to Ballinagh by 7-9 to 1-11. While 1-11 would be enough to win most finals a gritty Lacken side played their part in what was a thrilling and exciting final.

The final scoreline was not a true reflection on the game as a contest as the large goal tally registered by Ballinagh gave the final outcome an unbalanced look. Three first half goals gave Ballinagh a 3-5 to 0-4 advantage but instead of dampening the spirit of their neighbours, Lacken came out for the second half full of intent and made Ballinagh fight all the way to the finish line. Indeed the final score may have been closer if Lacken had not tried to bring down the deficit through goal attempts. With all said and done Lacken can indeed feel proud of their performance and will no doubt be back next season to contest another final.

Lacken: Jimmy Reilly, Niall Brady, Thomas McKiernan, Ronan Halton, Conor Murray, David Wilson, Ryan Coyle, Paul Leddy, Colm Brady, Sean Martin, Shane Moynagh, Tristan Lynch, Mark Wilson, Peter Galligan, Wayne Macken.  
Indeed a welcome sign of the club's our coaching progress was again highlighted this season when the U-14 squad made it to the final of the Roinn A championship final. For Lacken getting to a final of an under-14 competition could always be called progress but making it to the final of the premier U14 competition final in the county was indeed a tremendous success.
The club is well served by coaches Jimmy Galligan, Davey Donohoe and James Moynagh who guided Lacken to this final.
They came up against one of the strongest underage club's in the county in Ramor United and while Lacken lost out by 0-18 to 0-5 it was an experience that they will learn from.

Conditions on the day were very poor but full credit must be given to the team who made Ramor battle for their silverware. The scoreline did little justice to the efforts of the Lacken boys as they battled from the start to the final whistle. There was very little between the sides at the interval 0-3 to 0-7. Ramor got of to the better start of the second half but true to the spirit of the Lacken club they battled through to the final whistle.

Lacken: Jimmy Smith, Thomas McKiernan, Tomas Galligan, Ronan Halton, Jason Halton, Davy Wilson, Phillip Moore, Paudie Donohoe, Dean Owens-Brady, Shane Moynagh, Paul Leddy, Dylan Donohoe (0-3), Colm Brady, Killian Galligan, Stephen Daly. Sub used: P. J. O'Reilly.
The work at under-16 level through the efforts of Martin Brady and Eugene Clerkin helped develop the talent that came through in the club's minor team this year.

The minors defeated Kingscourt in early May in the Division 2 final by a single point. The final scoreline 3-9 to 4-5 shows what a competitive game it was between the two sides. Lacken had to start the game with the loss of one of their regular starting fifteen, Martin Brady through appendicitis.

"I felt that the team on the day played well and were full value for their victory" commented Finbar. "We had some great individual performances with Stephen Brady notching up a personal tally of 2-4. His performance at full-forward was a constant threat to Kingscourt. Declan Brady playing at centre half back also gave an outstanding performance and was backed up by a hard working defence.

"Eoghan Donohoe at midfield was also in superb form and the work-rate of fellow midfielder Liam Hyland was also impressive. The coaching staff of Daniel Leddy, Brian Gaffney and myself is immensely proud of the entire team."
Lacken: Ryan Galligan, Garry Cronin, Damien McKiernan, Niall Halton, Karl Reilly, Declan Brady, Thomas O'Reilly, Liam Hyland, Eoghan Donohoe, Karl Clerkin, Conor Finnegan, James Galligan, Ryan Smith, Stephen Brady, Craig La Nauze. Subs: Brian Wilson, Oliver Shanaghy, John Brady.  

In talking about the underage structure at the club, Finbar showed his passion for the club's outlook at this level.
"We reached a Roinn A U14 final and also a minor Division 2 league final. All this I believe has been achieved through excellent coaching as we are working from such small panels. When you consider that six of the current minor team also played in the 2008 Division 3 minor championship you get a feel for the size of panels we are working with," said the Lacken head coach.

"We have used all the grades as stepping stones in the development of players at the club. I feel justifiably proud that as the players progress through the ranks they have not dropped out of football. We have successfully guided players through underage level up to the second team. This method paid a handsome dividend last year with our junior team winning promotion from Division 5 to Division 4. We have successfully integrated a number of the more mature minors into this side with the result that some them have been getting playing time on the senior squad."

Much of the great progress made at the club is down to a strong and energetic executive committee, Chairman, Pauric Mahon, Vice Chairman, Davey Donohoe, Secretary, Marie Brady and Treasurer Michael Wilson.
"They have been forward looking in their approach to the club and have helped and encouraged all to put good structures in place. While they are at the front end of the club we also have many members who work selflessly in the background. Two members instantly spring to mind in Pat Smith our grounds man and Sean Delaney who works at all our training sessions looking after the needs of the players," said Finbar.

When asked what he hoped would be a realistic outlook for the club, Finbar had little hesitation in replying: "I believe that we have the players to make it to a championship final. We just have to develop the cutting edge that brings teams past the winning post. We are quite young overall with some very talented players coming on stream so I think it is not beyond the club to make it to a championship final." 

 Camogie 
Lacken, who have stamped their authority on the Cavan camogie scene over the past few season, have once again proved to be the kingpins of the 'cumann' with their senior championship victory over rivals, Crosserlough.
This win firmly cements the club as the strongest senior club in the county. Having lost out last year in the final to old rivals, and former Cavan kingpins, Castletara, Lacken were not to be undone this year registering a superb final victory over Crosserlough.

Lacken have also been influential in providing the backbone for the successful Cavan intermediate camogie squad with nine players from the club involved. The recent great run in the All Ireland Division 4 championship where Cavan lost out to neighbours Monaghan by a single point saw nine of the Celtic players involved. Annie Lynch, Niamh and Aoife Brady, Rosie Crowe, Roisin O'Keeffe, Maire Brady, Sinead Brady, Susie Mulligan and Lisa Bennett have all provided influential performances throughout Cavan's great run. Tweet

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