After making the step up from junior football at the tail end of last season, it was vital that Currin held their own in the middle grade in 2010. That they did and there were some impressive league wins along the way as selector Eddie Burns explains. 

The 2010 season may have ended without any silverware for Currin, but despite this many in the club will consider the 2010 campaign to be one of their most successful seasons ever.
The famous old club created history for themselves when they managed to retain the Intermediate status which they fought so hard to secure in 2009.
On the previous occasion that Currin had won promotion, back in 2004, they went straight back down to Junior Football and as a result they began this year determined to stay up and establish themselves in the middle tier of Monaghan football.
According to team selector, Eddie Burns, they were delighted to have achieved that goal, but on reflection believe they could have done even better than finishing fourth from bottom. However, he feels that the confidence gained from the season will help them push on over the next couple of years and perhaps even challenge for a place in Senior football.
"We came up through the league last year and after the experience of 2004 when we went straight back down, we set out at the start of the season to make sure we stayed up and it was a fantastic achievement.
"I think maybe because we spent so long in Junior football that there was a feeling among some players that we weren't good enough to stay up but I think we proved over the season that we can compete at this level," said Eddie who was selector with Declan McCabe alongside manager, Ray McCarron.
"We put in some great performances over the campaign and I suppose the encouraging thing was that we were competitive in every game and no team beat us by more than three points," added Eddie who suggests that with a bit more self-belief the team could have achieved much more.
"There is no doubt that we did great to stay up and would have settled for that at the start of the year, but looking back I think we could have made the league semi-finals. But the important thing for us is to take that belief into next year and push on from there. The biggest step for us was probably getting out of Junior football as it is very competitive down there. Intermediate is also very competitive also and I found that there isn't much between the teams but overall we proved we are as good as any.
"The biggest thing I can take out of this season is that I no longer consider Currin to be a Junior club and now we have to look forward to improving ourselves over the coming years.
"We can't allow ourselves to get drawn back down and I believe that we have the ability to challenge for honours in the Intermediate grade. On the evidence of this year, we are there or thereabouts and we really have to look at pushing on and getting up to Senior," he explained.
They may be lofty ambitions for a club that spent so long in Junior but the selector sees nothing wrong with aiming high as he reflects on a very satisfying season in which there were many highlights.
"We had some brilliant wins along the way but the one that stands out was probably the first game of the year when we beat Aughnamullen away from home. That was a brilliant way to start the year and it really gave us the belief we needed. It is a tough league and if you lost a few games at the start of the year it could really knock you back.
"Our next game was against Donaghmoyne and we were seven points down in ten minutes but we showed great character to come back level at one stage, only to lose by two points in the end. It was good to be able to compete with the top teams and we also gave Tyholland a great game on their own pitch.
"One of the big results of the season was undoubtedly the day we secured our place in Division 2 when we drew away to Emyvale. That was the second last game and we needed a draw to be safe which we managed to get. There was a brilliant atmosphere that day and it really was a great feeling to come away with the draw as we didn't want to have the pressure of going into the final game needing a result," continued Eddie.
"We are looking forward to next year and hopefully we can kick on but we know it is going to be very difficult as there are some very good teams in the grade all battling to go up."
Although the Currin league form was impressive, they were unable to make an impression on the Championship as they lost heavily to Rockcorry in the opening round in June on a scoreline of 0-21 to 0-8. However when the competition resumed in August, they came up against Aghabog and recorded a very comfortable 1-19 to 0-4 victory.
That set up a meeting with Aughnamullen in round three but in what proved to be a very entertaining and closely fought encounter, Currin were unlucky not to advance as they lost out by 2-6 to 1-11.
However, the season will be remembered for the exploits in the league and the achievement of staying up means that Currin will celebrate one of their most significant seasons as an Intermediate club. In 2011 Monaghan's oldest and Ulster's second oldest club will celebrate 125 years in existence as Eddie explains.
"Next year we will celebrate our 125th anniversary and it really is a big year for the club. We will have a few events to mark the occasion and probably the main one will be a gala ball at the end of next season.
"It is going to be a very special year for Currin but I suppose the best way we can mark the occasion is by getting a bit of silverware and there is no doubt we will be going all out to achieve that."
Unfortunately for Currin one of their best known members will not be with them to celebrate the 125th anniversary after the passing of Eddie's mother, Rosaleen Shannon, in August.
"Aside from my personal loss, her death is a huge loss for the club as she was such a big personality at Currin. Rosaleen will be sadly missed by everyone at the club as she has been involved here for many years.
"She was Registrar for years and always involved in what ever was going on, particularly fundraising and was heavily involved in the push to get the lights erected at the field in recent times," explained Eddie.
It certainly would be a fitting tribute to the memory of Rosaleen if the club were to continue to make progress and enjoy a very successful 2011. Tweet

Most Read Stories