Emyvale Scor big
December 31, 2009Emyvale flew the Monaghan flag high and proud at the national Scor finals in Killarney in mid-April 2009. The Ceilidh Dancing team scooped All-Ireland gold, while the Set Dancing team finished as national runners-up - a superb achievement.
By all accounts, the Ballad Group combination should also have been present at the All-Ireland finals, but they were unluckily beaten in the Ulster phase of the competition. Still, it was a magnificent year overall for long-serving trainer Gerard McQuaid and the wonderful Scor participants of Emyvale.
There were scenes of tremendous triumph and joyous celebration as the All-Ireland winning Scor team was bussed back into north Monaghan to a rousing reception. After a lap of the village, the heroes went to the Leisure Centre, where Master of Ceremonies Seamus McCluskey introduced the All-Ireland winners and offered congratulations on behalf of the assembled throng. County chairman John Connolly, Eilish McEntee, Marion Donnelly and club chairman Padraig Treanor were also on hand to offer their congratulations. The Scor champions received a boisterous standing ovation and then treated the crowd to a rendition of their winning "Three Tunes" routine.
The Ceilidh Dancing team that brought All-Ireland glory to Emyvale was: Peadar Sherry, Donal Kavanagh, Gerard McGonnell, Stephen Maguire, Vanessa McGee, Mary Kirke, Lorna Matthews and Riona Kavanagh. Gerard McQuaid was team mentor and Ronan Sheehan was a member of the team when they took the Monaghan title but unfortunately had to pull out through injury just days before the Ulster final.
Bringing a second All-Ireland Scor crown to Emyvale represented a spectacular success for all involved - just reward for each of the competitors who have given great service to the club over the years in Scor. This amazing success would not have been possible without the long years of hard work that went into organising Scor teams on behalf of the club, none more so than from Gerard McQuaid, who has given a lifetime of service to Scor in Emyvale and beyond.
The all-conquering Emyvale troupe certainly did it the hard way. Donal Kavanagh stepped into the breach after Ronan Sheehan had injured his leg just before the Ulster final and they went on to become the ONLY Ulster club to take an All-Ireland title back from the '09 Scor finals in Killarney. This was only the sixth ever All-Ireland Scor title to go to Monaghan (the first since 1996) and Emyvale have garnered two of those.
Mary Kirke - formerly Mary McQuaid - completed an extraordinary feat by taking an All-Ireland medal in Killarney in April 2009. She was also a member of the Ballad Group that claimed Emyvale's other All-Ireland back in 1983. For that incredible feat, Mary (the only Monaghan person with All-Ireland Scor medals in two different disciplines) was honoured with the GAA Writers Personality of the Month award - the first time the monthly gong went to a Scor performer.
Emyvale's All-Ireland triumph was the pinnacle of a superb year for Scor in Emyvale and in the county of Monaghan in general. It's poignant that this national success coincided with the 40th anniversary of Scor and Emyvale thoroughly deserved the recognition considering the sterling work they have done over the years. As Monaghan's Cultural Officer Pauline Rooney noted at the time:
"Emyvale's success has given Scor in the county a huge lift and with Scor Spraoi, Scor na nOg and Scor Sinsear doing well, I'm optimistic for the future. I'm delighted for Emyvale because they've given everything to Scor over the years and they richly deserved another All-Ireland title. They've been with Scor from the very beginning and they've never let us down, even when Scor in the county was at its weakest. The successful clubs in Scor are the ones who put in the work and keep trying, and Emyvale are a model club in that regard.
"They proved themselves to be in a class of their own in Ulster and in Ireland and they really showed all clubs in the county just what can be achieved with practice, perseverance and a never-say-die attitude. I hope Emyvale's success can be an inspiration to all other clubs in Monaghan and that we'll see new entrants next year."
Pauline added: "It would be remiss of me not to mention the contribution made by Emyvale's trainer Gerard McQuaid, who is tops in everything he does."
Gerard himself was delighted with how things worked out. He was quick to pay tribute to all those from Emyvale and all over the county who supported the dancers in their quest for glory and told us that he was overwhelmed by the amount of cards and phone calls and texts he received acknowledging the historic win.
He's been heavily involved in Scor in Emyvale and Monaghan since its genesis and was a member of the Ballad Group team that scooped the county's first-ever All-Ireland title back in 1983. That team comprised Finian McCluskey, Eithne McCluskey, Terence Connolly, Mary McQuaid and Gerard McQuaid. "We've been involved in Scor since its inception in Monaghan," he confirms. "The Oriel Man, Seamus McCluskey got it up and running in Emyvale and my mother Peggy was also involved in the early days. In 2009, we took part in the Ceilidh Dancing and Set Dancing All-Irelands, while the Ballad Group - for whom we had high hopes - were narrowly beaten into second in Ulster. It was great to win the All-Ireland because this was a very important year historically - the 125th anniversary of the GAA and the 40th anniversary of Scor."
As the Scor finals in Killarney coincided with Congress, it added a bit of extra flavour to the whole weekend. Gerard says the Emyvale team was supported in every possible way by their own club and from County Board level. It was the first time a Set Dancing team had come out of the county and also the first time a club from Monaghan competed in two All-Ireland finals on the same day.
How can they follow this up, though? What's on the agenda for Emyvale Scor in 2010? "The Ceilidh team have won their All-Ireland now, so we might let them rest and go all out for the Set Dancing and Ballad Group All-Irelands. We'd certainly be hoping to go close with the Ballad Group next year. We've had a good record over the years but we've found All-Irelands hard to come by. We've had more than our fair share of runners-up medals in solo singing (Amelia Murphy) and recitation (Edel McMahon).
"I knew we had great potential this year, but that was often the case in the past too, and we didn't get the All-Irelands. It's in the lap of the Gods to an extent and we were just glad to get the breaks this time. But this team really knew what they were about and that was their second All-Ireland of the year - they also won at the All-Ireland Dance Championships in January.
"It's all voluntary and it's hard to get people to commit to Scor. I'm grateful to everybody who has contributed over the years and this All-Ireland is for all of those people. We practise in Emyvale Leisure Centre twice a week coming up to competitions and every second day in the run-up to an All-Ireland. The junior team starts in September, so it's a long year. We're absolutely delighted for all the people who have worked so hard over the years from junior up to senior and those who have been competing in All-Ireland finals since the early '80s.
"This is for all those who worked so hard behind the scenes year in and year out. They are the backbone of Scor. The winning is great, but when a person goes up and gives their best that is all you want. Once you see a good, honest performance, it makes it all worthwhile." Tweet
