Location, location, location
December 30, 2010Drumhowan are the unsettled spirits of Monaghan football, seemingly determined not to stay in the same place for any longer than a few months. Having slipped down from intermediate level the previous year, they enjoyed a remarkable 2008 campaign, winning the junior league and championship double to return to the middle grade in spectacular fashion. In 2009, they continued on an upward trajectory by capturing the intermediate league title (as well as contesting the IFC final).
Twenty-ten saw the Tullycorbet parishioners return to senior ranks but it was to be a short-lived reunion as a spate of injuries to key personnel at crucial times wreaked havoc with their prospects and saw Drumhowan prop up the field in Division One. Thus, they are preparing to return to intermediate ranks. However, the wealth of experience garnered in the recent past - not to mention an inherent winning mentality - means that the Geraldines' next port of call should be senior. Promotion is a realistic objective for the team next year and they will definitely feature amongst the favourites for intermediate silverware in 2011.
David Millar, who was a member of the county U21 team that reached the 2010 Ulster semi-final (and is eligible for U21 action again next year), has been on the Drumhowan first team for four years and has experienced plenty of ups and downs during that time: intermediate - junior - intermediate - senior - intermediate - ????. Where next for the nomads? After two superb seasons, where they had things pretty much their own way at junior and intermediate level, was 2010 a reality check for Donal McAdam's charges?
"I suppose it was, but it wasn't that we needed one because we went into the year with our feet very much on the ground. We weren't getting carried away and we knew it was going to be a difficult year, but things didn't go for us at all.
"We were a wee bit unlucky with injuries. Our captain Darren Duffy got a viral infection and was out for five weeks. That was a major loss at a time when we were flying fit and should have been capitalising on it. We dropped valuable points around that time and lost ground mainly because we were lacking leadership in the team.
"After Darren came back, Dermot McDermott picked up an injury and he tried to play through it but had to pull out, which was another big blow. The result was that we never really got our full team out and it was only towards the end of the year when we started to find our championship form. But of course it was too late at that stage…"
What was the goal for the year? Survival? "Our obvious aim was to stay up but we actually set ourselves a target of reaching a semi-final. If you set soft targets, then you will underachieve. But if you set your sights a bit higher then you are more likely to go out and try to win every game."
Looking forward to 2011, what will be on the Drumhowan agenda? "We would hope to go back up. It was important to try to finish the year with some good performances, even though we knew we were relegated. The year we went from intermediate to junior, we won our last game and that set us up for the following year. So we kept it going right to the end, trying to lay down a marker for next year."
Drumhowan were paired with Castleblayney Faughs in the first round of the 2010 Monaghan senior football championship. They had beaten the Faughs by 1-7 to 1-4 in the league at 'Blayney in mid-May but narrowly lost the return at Drumhowan a week before the championship encounter. At Ballybay on Sunday, August 22nd, Castleblayney won a one-sided contest by 1-22 to 0-7. The Drumhowan team on duty was: Enda Duffy; Darren Duffy, Damien Duffy, Dermot Mooney; Patrick Mulligan, Niall Mooney, Kevin Mooney; Anthony Mulligan, Dermot McDermott; Colm Lambe (0-2), Stephen McGinnity, Kieran Mooney; David Millar, James McElroy (0-3), Christopher McGinnity (0-2). Subs: Enda McElroy for Kieran Mooney, Brendan Duffy for C Lambe, Paul McGuirk for Kevin Mooney, Kieran Deery for S McGinnity, David Caulfield for C McGinnity.
In the losers' section, Drumhowan were drawn against familiar opposition in Monaghan Harps. The town side led by nine points after 20 minutes but the Geraldines battled back valiantly to lose by just two points in the end, 1-12 to 3-4. Harps led by 1-7 to 0-1 but goals from James McElroy (penalty) and Colm Lambe closed the gap to four by the interval, 1-8 to 2-1. A third Drumhowan three-pointer from Stephen McGinnity forced a tense finish but Harps held on despite being reduced to 13 men. In such a close game, the absence of David Millar arguably proved decisive. The Drumhowan team that day was: Enda Duffy; Darren Duffy (0-1), Damien Duffy, Dermot Mooney; Liam McGuirk, Niall Mooney, Kevin Mooney; Anthony Mulligan, Dermot McDermott; Paul McGuirk, Kieran McElroy, Kieran Mooney (0-1), Steven McGinity (1-0), James McElroy (1-1), Colm Lambe (1-1). Subs: Patrick Mulligan for P McGuirk, Enda McElroy for A Mulligan.
The backroom team in 2010 comprised Donal McAdam, Martin Duffy and Declan Smyth (trainer). "We did a lot of work in the Boxing Club in 'Blayney and that set up a good base because the boys were all in good shape. Unfortunately, when we played Castleblayney in the championship, they were on top from the word go and we just didn't perform. Or, more accurately, weren't let perform…"
As for his part with the Monaghan U21s during the year, David continues: "It was great. The problem with county football is that sometimes you don't get to give your full commitment to the club. But I wasn't withheld from the club this year. In the past, there were times when you might go six or seven weeks without playing club football, which nobody likes. Playing at that level was great for experience and for fitness, because the football at county level is a lot sharper."
David is doing a course in rehabilitation studies in England at present and hopes to graduate in May/June, at which point he can make a decision on how best to pursue his career as a physiotherapist. As well as Drumhowan's intermediate campaign, he hopes to break into both the Monaghan U21 and senior squads at some stage in 2011. Tweet
