'Maybe next year
December 31, 2010When Darren Chapman took the reins as Mullahoran manager at the start of this year his objectives were plain and simple. The Fermanagh native wanted his new team to hit the heights which they experienced in 2006 when they reached the Promised Land and captured their first Cavan Senior Football Championship crown in eight years. Half the time had passed since Sean Smith held the biggest prize in Cavan club football in his hands at Kingspan Breffni Park and, as this season progressed, the genuine belief out Killydoon way was that 2010 could be the year to do it again.
Mullahoran's season commenced earlier than others, as they entered the Ulster football league for the tail end of the winter months without the services of county trio Eddie O'Reilly, Paul Brady and Dermot Sheridan. The competition gave fringe players in the squad the chance to shine in front of the new management and after coming through the group stages with a 100 per cent record, Chapman knew he had winning ingredients in his crop.
The team came through the knock-out stages to advance to the final at Emyvale, where they were eventually beaten by former Ulster club champions and Derry kingpins, Ballinderry.
"At the start of the year Darren Chapman was appointed as manager and you knew by him that he was a winner and that he just wanted to win at all costs," said corner-forward, Danny Brady.
"We entered the Ulster league and we won all our games in the group stages and reached the final against Ballinderry. It was played through February and March and reaching it gave us great confidence heading into the league."
Brady, who was deemed Cavan senior 'Footballer of the Year' after his club's triumph over the Gaels in 2006, believed the team's run in the competition helped them carry momentum with them into the league and it showed when Castlerahan were visitors to Our Lady of Lourdes Park in April and headed back to Ballyjamesduff on the receiving end of a six-point defeat.
Wins over Gowna (0-13 to 0-10), Killygarry (0-10 to 1-5), and Cuchullains (1-13 to 1-9) brought the team towards mid-May undefeated, before under-lining their intentions for the season by giving Ramor United a 1-14 to 1-6 thumping in Virginia. Belturbet were also put to the sword on a 1-10 to 0-8 score-line, but the Chapman's charges would experience defeat for the first time in the campaign when they journeyed to Terry Coyle Park for a showdown with the champions, who claimed a 2-12 to 1-9 victory.
Two weeks later and a 0-12 each draw at home to Lacken saw Mullahoran's winless run stretch to two games. Victory over Lavey and Killeshandra had them in good shape in the table approaching the championship though, despite defeat to high-flying Kingscourt.
"We played Castlerahan first and beat them well. Eddie and Dermot were back at that stage but Paul still had handball commitments," said Brady.
"We went on to win the next four or five games before the Gaels beat us in Terry Coyle in May and then we lost to Ballinagh by a point. After that I think the only other game we lost before the championship was to Kingscourt.
"We were unbeaten at home all year up until the last league game against Redhills, but we were sure we were through to the semi-finals at the stage but it ended up going to a five-way play-off instead."
Mullahoran went into their championship campaign still minus the services of two valuable components in Ciaran Shiels and Eddie O'Reilly. Their opening game was against Belturbet - a side which they dumped out at the quarter-final stage in 2009 - and the Rories had come to Breffni Park at the end of July with designs on avenging the defeat.
"Belturbet, Denn and Gowna were in our group," Brady explained.
"Things had been going well for us up to the championship and we were confident, but at the same time we knew we were in a tough group. As a fella says we were in 'the group of death'.
"We dominated for most of the game against Belturbet, but we kicked 20 wides and that let them back into the game and with five minutes to go they were two points up. In fairness to the lads they did well to pull a draw out of it in the last few minutes."
In the end, Mullahoran needed a coolly struck free from young attacker Enda O'Reilly deep into injury-time to avoid an opening defeat and salvage a point on a 0-10 each score-line.
Chapman's men knew they needed to up the ante if they were to overcome old foes Gowna - a side which Brady and the Dreadnoughts have had healthy rivalries with down years, although he admits that the rivalry isn't what it was.
On the August Bank Holiday weekend, a 0-15 to 0-7 victory demonstrated a rare gulf in class between two acknowledged contenders titles and further fuelled speculation that this indeed was Mullahoran's year.
"We played well against Gowna and we beat them well," said Brady. "The rivalry between the two teams isn't as great as it was. It's still there, but player-wise it's not as strong as it was. We're after getting the upper hand on them in recent years and they're waiting on a lot of young lads to come through for them, so I'm sure it will be back."
Mullahoran would need no further motivation going into their last game against finalists of the previous two years Denn. The Crosskeys men sent the Dreadnoughts crashing out of Cavan SFC at the semi-final stage last year, denying them a final place, and Brady and co came to Breffni Park hungry for revenge. In a ten-point victory, brothers Philip, Paul and Danny Brady were the goal-scorers to help usher Mullahoran into quarter-finals.
Castlerahan were picked out of the hat and according to Brady at the time, it was the toughest draw his team could have hoped for out from the champions.
However, the Ballyjamesduff side didn't live up to his expectations and once Mullahoran coasted three points clear in the opening 12 minutes through the scores of Philip Brady and Enda O'Reilly Mullahoran never had to look back, as their top pair combined for ten points along with Paul Brady, while Seanie Smith and Killian Brady held firm at the back to seal a 0-10 to 0-5 win and a mouth-watering last four clash with Cavan Gaels.
Mullahoran (SFC v Castlerahan): Eamonn Brady; James Reilly, Seanie Smith, Daniel King; Daniel Smith, Killian Brady, Fergal Brady; Christy Shiels, Dermot Sheridan; Paul Brady (0-1), Paddy Brady, Tomas Nannery; Danny Brady, Philip Brady (0-3, 2f), Enda O'Reilly (0-6, 5f). Subs: Michael Brady, Daniel Lynch, Raymond Lynch.
After a flying start, the challengers were 0-4 to nothing in front and an upset looked to be on the cards, but the Gaels regrouped at half-time and an Enda King goal along with seven points from Sean Johnston proved Mullahoran's undoing as the town side advanced to an 11th consecutive final, while showing the Dreadnoughts the exit door for another year.
"A lot of people were reading into the Gaels' form before the game. They going along putting out teams that would juts win games, but we knew they were going to be up for it," Brady stated.
"We were flying at the start and went up by four points before they got their first score. At 0-5 to 0-3 we had a chance of a goal, but it didn't happen and I still maintain had that went in we'd have got to the final. We were still confident at half-time, but in the second-half they scored 1-2 in the first few minutes. They dominated us around the middle and we just couldn't get the ball into Philip (Brady) and Enda (O'Reilly), who had been good for us all year, in fairness."
As for their arch rivals' shock defeat in the final, Brady said: "I thought Kingscourt would be hard beat, but in saying that I still fancied the Gaels.
"They (Kingscourt) were flying in the second-half of that game and I think if it were us the Gaels had been playing they would have approached the game differently. They seemed to abandon their sweeper system in the second-half and it worked against them in the end.
"It's good to see a different team win it, but it's just a pity that it wasn't Mullahoran," added the Dreadnoughts' veteran.
Now the hope is that Darren Chapman will continue on as manager with the club, after being pipped to the Fermanagh senior manager's job by Lisnaskea native John O'Neill.
"The players would like to see him there next year, so hopefully he will stay. He gets the best out of lads and that's what you want in any manager," said Brady.
"I know he was disappointed after the Gaels game, but we all were because there was a feeling that this could have been our year, but it wasn't to be. In hindsight Eddie O'Reilly and Ciaran Sheils were big losses for us, especially in the Cavan Gaels game. If we had had them two maybe things would have been different for us, but I suppose it just wasn't to be."
However, Mullahoran certainly would leave their season empty-handed, with underage, hurling and handball success obtained.
U14s clinch league title
In June the club's Under 14 footballers edged an epic final against Cornafean on the new 3G pitch at Kingspan Breffni Park to claim the Roinn D league title.
Not much had separated the teams throughout the hour, as Mullahoran carried in a slender 0-6 to 1-2 lead at half-time after scores from Aaron Fagan, Niall McGahern and Shane Sheils. In the second-half, David Reilly blasted in an early goal for the Dreadnoughts and it seemed as though they were going to stride their way to victory, but Cornafean came roaring back with two quick goals to steel the lead.
Mullahoran levelled with a brilliantly struck '45' from Fagan and a then took back the lead with a fine point from McGahern on the hour mark, and were also denied to goals thanks to outstanding stops by Daniel Cullivan in the Cornafean goal, but the late points were still enough to get them over the line to victory.
Mullahoran (U14 Roinn D final v Cornafean): William Reilly, Patrick Brady (0-1), Sean McKeogh, Colm Reilly, Colm Mussi, Adrian Rabbitte, Cian O'Reilly, Shane Shiels (0-4), Glen Brady, Eddie McGahern, Niall McGahern (0-2), Aaron Fagan (0-4), David Reilly (1-1).
"The Under 14s had a good success against Cornafean and it was a brilliant final," said Brady, who has been heavily involved with the underage scene in the club over the past five years.
"The Under 10s won the community games and went on and won an Ulster title in July, which was a great achievement. Myself and Dermot Sheridan trained the Under 16s and the minors over the last couple of years. We also set-up a coaching corner last year where juveniles come out and train and play blitzes ever Saturday morning in Mullahoran. Last year was the first year of it and we're just trying to build it up all the time."
Hurlers cruise to more success
Mullahoran St Joseph's made it look easy again this past season as they emphatically defeated Woodford Gaels in both the 11-a-side senior hurling league final and in the county senior hurling championship final to keep their winning-run untarnished. At the end of July the Saints overcame their counterparts by a comfortable 4-23 to 1-5, with Hugh Briody the top-scorer on the day with 2-4 and Ronan O'Hagan and Dominic Crudden adding the other goals.
Two months' later Joe's made history by claiming their 21st Cavan SHC title in-a-row, while also becoming the first side in the country to win a county final on a 3G surface (at Kingspan Breffni Park). A George Bagnall goal had them on their way inside the first ten minutes, as they led by 2-8 to 0-1 at the break, with Briody bagging the other major. In the second-half, O'Hagan, Philip Brady and Jamie Rosney struck over further points before another goal from Briody saw them bring their tally up to 3-16 to set-up an Ulster championship date with the Antrim champions in October.
Brady wins sixth consecutive US Nationals
In June, the club's dual star Paul Brady added more silverware to his cabinet by claiming his sixth consecutive US Nationals title. 'The Gunner' defeated Missouri's David Chapman in the final of the USHA Four-Wall National Championships, at the University Of Texas in Austin. Brady qualified for the final without letting any of his opponents score double-digits and did likewise in the decider by handing number two seed Chapman a 21-8, 21-9 defeat. Tweet
