While Shannon Gaels never made any great strides during 2001, they didn't lose too much ground either, so the prognosis remains reasonably healthy as they go into the 2002 season intent on giving the Cavan junior football championship a real bash. Competing in Division Two of the Cavan football league, Shannon Gaels endured a most disappointing 2001 campaign and had to dig deeply in their closing fixtures to earn survival. Ultimately, they were perhaps a tad fortunate to escape with their Division Two status intact, given that they had got off to a terrible start. But credit where credit's due: when the time came to stand up and be counted, they were more than up to the task. Of their final three fixtures, the Gaels won two and drew the other, escaping the drop in a fashion of which even Houdini himself would've been mightily proud. 'Shannon Gaels - the Great Escapologists'. It's a bit of a change from 'Shannon Gaels - the Great Contenders', which would've been a more fitting sobriquet following their IFC semi-final appearances of 1999 and 2000. However, the latter wasn't appropriate in '01 as Shannon Gaels made no impact whatsoever in either league or championship. Okay, it was a step backwards, but still club Treasurer Cathal Maguire - who doubled up as a first team selector for the past three years - chooses to look upon the year just ended as a blip rather than a setback: "Over the course of the year, we managed draws with three of the teams that finished in the top four in Division Two, which gives a firm indication of what the team can achieve on their day," he points out. "The strength is there and we know we're not too far off the mark once we get our full team out and put together an injury-free run." To an extent, the end of 2001 also marked the end of an era as the management team of Eugene Walsh (manager) and selectors Anthony Forde, Anthony Murray and Cathal Maguire stepped down after three moderately successful years at the helm. During that time, Shannon Gaels advanced a division in the league and challenged for junior championship honours. "At the beginning of 1999, we were in Division Three and our objective was to move up to Division Two, which we achieved straight away by winning the league. We played out of Division Two in 2000 and 2001 and have managed to consolidate that position, even if last year was a bit of a struggle." As regards the junior championship, Shannon Gaels reached the semi-final in 1999 and 2000 but were eliminated at the quarter-final stage last year. What was the club's objective for 2001? "Our aim was to win the junior championship and to maintain our league status," Cathal reveals. "We'd done well in the championship on each of the previous two years, losing two close semi-finals to Drumlane [who went on to win it] in '99 and [last year's winners] Drumgoon in 2000. We had been there or thereabouts so we had every reason for optimism. But for some reason we just didn't get going at all and Kildallon beat us well in the quarter-final. We had some injuries - full back Frankie Rafferty was a big loss and that left us in a lot of bother - but it must be said that we have no excuses and the best team won, deservedly so. Kildallon were much fitter and sharper and they pushed Drumgoon all the way in the final." The league campaign was no more convincing: "We got off to a really bad start and were fighting relegation from the halfway stage. Only we took five out of the last six points, we'd have been relegated. We played well against the better teams in the division, which is encouraging, but we showed no consistency whatsoever." Considering how well Shannon Gaels had done in 1999 and 2000, would it be fair to say that they lost ground in 2001? "That would be fair to say," Cathal concurs. "We were sixth in Division Two in 2000 but this time finished close to the bottom. But we're not losing heart. We still have Anthony Forde on board - and he'll be Cavan captain this year. We also have Eamonn Reilly, who's on the Cavan under 21 team and has also been called in by the seniors, so things are looking good." Forde - Cavan's Footballer of the Year and a strong contender for an All Star last year - is undoubtedly the Gaels' star player. Often such players are lost to their clubs because of the huge demands placed upon them, but this isn't the case with Forde and Shannon Gaels: "He only missed two league matches all of last year - one due to injury and one because of his commitments to Cavan," Cathal reveals. "Anthony is extremely committed to the club. It takes a lot of effort on his behalf to travel up from Dublin for games, but he gives it 100%." Cathal is very optimistic about Shannon Gaels' prospects for the coming season, when their fortunes will be guided by former Fermanagh and Mullahoran manager Hugh McCabe, who hails from neighbouring Belcoo. Hugh has enlisted the services of Sean Flanagan and Anthony Murray as selectors: "I feel that having been so close in the championship in '99 and '00, that Hugh's experience and track record might be enough to bring us that vital step further to win the junior championship. It's well within our capabilities." One of the highlights of Shannon Gaels' 2001 season was that they fielded an under 21 team of their own for the first time in over 20 years. "We had been mainly playing in amalgamations with other teams in west Cavan, but decided that this time we had the numbers to go it alone. We did really well considering how long it had been since we'd had a team of our own. We beat Mountnugent and Templeport in the championship, before losing to Cormore Gaels - which is an amalgamation of Gowna, Arva, Killeshandra and Cornafean - in the quarter-final. "Ciaran Fitzpatrick managed that team and we're delighted with how things worked out. It bodes well for the club that we now have the numbers and we're hoping to go solo again this year. When you're amalgamated, only four or five of your best players get a game. This way, more of our own players get to play and it's a great way of getting them involved and keeping them interested." More good news on the underage front is that Shannon Gaels reached three underage finals during the course of the year - the under 12 league, the under 14 league and the under 14 championship. Pascal Oates did a superb job as manager of those successful sides. Cathal continues: "We've also been involved in Scor for the past couple of years. Patricia Maguire [Cathal's sister] won the Ballad Singing competition in 2000, while our Set Dancers won the Cavan County title last year and got to the Ulster final. It's great to see the social aspect of the club being developed and hopefully that will continue." Two-thousand-and-one also saw Shannon Gaels come second once more in the Club Grounds of the Year awards, a competition in which they regularly win prizes. With improving infrastructure and means of transport, Shannon Gaels' peripheral location is no longer the problem it once was: "It's getting a lot easier. We're now only 40 minutes from Cavan town and an hour from Virginia. Things are a lot easier than they used to be. "The biggest problem we face is that only seven or eight of the senior panel live in the area and everybody else either works in Dublin or they're at colleges throughout the country. They can't get to Blacklion for training during the week, so we have training both in Dublin and at home." Cathal Maguire has been involved with Shannon Gaels in various capacities since 1995 and has been Treasurer since 1997. The rest of the committee for the coming year is: Terry McGovern (Chairman), Anita Maguire (Secretary), Patsy McCorry (PRO). Anita is Cathal's sister, as is the aforementioned balladeer Patricia Maguire who, as a nurse, doubles up as the team's first aid expert. Their Dad, Peter, is one of the main caretakers on the beautifully-appointed Blacklion grounds. In stark contrast to the club's geographic isolation, Shannon Gaels are well represented at County Board level. Tom O'Reilly is a former Irish officer and is now going into his second year as Cavan delegate to Ulster Council; Francie McManus is an executive of the County Board; Anita Maguire is Secretary of the Communications Committee. The club's future is in very good hands indeed. Tweet

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