The heart is still in Clontibret
December 30, 2010A lot has changed since Cyril Hughes left his home in Clontibret for the biggest smoke of them all way back in 1963. Marriage, fatherhood and retirement have been things which Cyril has experienced since he made the big trip across the Atlantic at the tender age of 18 and he now resides happily at home with his wife Margaret in Rockland County, NY.
Back home, things have changed too, with the economy is in tatters and the footballers of Monaghan being a force to be reckoned with on both the provincial and All-Ireland stage, while Cyril's Clontibret are the top guns of Monaghan club football. When Cyril left in 1963 it was Castleblayney that captured the Mick Duffy Cup that year and went on to record four more triumphs in-a-row, before Clontibret stopped the Faughs' quest for six - claiming their eighth in the meantime.
'Blayney would go on to dominate along with Scotstown up to the millennium, with Clontibret claiming titles in 1994 and 1997. 2002 and 2006 were also years of senior championship glory for the O'Neills men and since the latter year they've been the team to beat in the Farney County. That's news that Cyril has been glad to learn when he trawls through the internet sites looking for the latest on his home club.
"I try and get back home every three or four years, but I still stay in touch with what's going on back home through circuit TV and the internet," stated Cyril.
"I left home in 1963 and I'm now living in Rockland County, it's about 25 miles outside New York City. I worked for the Department of Transport for the city and retired in 1997.
"I'm working for the local school district's Department of Transport now. There's two districts I'm working in. One is the Westchester school district and the other is the Sleepy Hollow school district," he explained.
In his first few months in New York, Cyril worked in a city bank before spending three years in the US Army. From there, he went on to serve in the Air Force for a total of 23 years, which he retired from in 2003.
Despite the busy schedule, Cyril managed to serve one of his local GAA clubs in his 20s and now relishing what 2011 brings after three new pitches for Gaelic games were recently opened in his home town, where he says the GAA scene is alive and kicking.
"I played with the Brooklyn Shamrocks when I came over here first," he said. "I played as forward when I playing with them and I'm not a guy of big stature so I probably would have found it tough playing back home.
"We just opened a few new football fields here in Rockland County. We've got three fields, a seven acre lot and a fantastic number of kids playing here. There could be over 100 kids out training and playing here at the weekend, which is great for the Irish community here. Hopefully in a couple of years we'll have a competitive senior team out here."
Cyril will be hoping that the Rockland County GAA scene can emulate the turnaround that Monaghan Gaelic football has in the last five years. Under the guidance of Corduff man Seamus McEnaney, the Farney men have transformed themselves from one of the minnows of Ulster football to one of its powerhouses; maintaining their top flight status in the National Football League this past season at the expense of former All-Ireland champions Tyrone and knocking on the door once more for a coveted Ulster SFC title.
"Monaghan didn't have a bad year," Cyril stated. "They started out great to survive relegation in the National League and in the championship they get a great win over Armagh in the first round. I suppose you could say that they were second best in the Ulster final, but Tyrone really are a great team."
Thankfully, for Cyril, there was some consolation to be had before 2010 was out, as Clontibret claimed another Monaghan SFC triumph over Magheracloone in dramatic circumstances after a replay in Inniskeen.
The defending champions needed a last-minute penalty save from Paul McElroy to hold on to their title after All Star Tommy Freeman was given the chance to win it from the penalty spot.
Vinny Corey's early goal had the winners in the driving-seat from early on, as the deadly accurate Conor McManus sent over points that had Clontibret in a 1-5 to 0-4 lead at half-time. Freeman and his brother, Damien, had fired most of the scores for Magheracloone at this stage, but when Rodney Gorman lashed over a superb point a minute into the resumption they were five points adrift.
However, the Mitchells fought back gamely and narrowed their deficit to two come injury-time when captain James Ward was axed down in the square and everyone held their breath before Freeman's shot was sensationally blocked by McElroy to save another Mick Duffy Cup triumph for Clontibret on a 1-11 to 0-12 score-line.
"When Clontibret beat Magheracloone in October it was a very important win for finalising their year. If they had lost that 2010 would probably have been seen as bad year for Clontibret, but winning a county final makes such a huge difference," said Cyril, who also explained that there are some common factors between the current Clontibret side and the one that claimed the title back in 1958.
"I can remember the Clontibret 1958 team that had John Rice and Benny Mone on it. I can definitely see some similarities between that team and the team playing now and I guess Benny would be an uncle of the two Mones (Dessie and JP) that are playing now with the team."
Born and raised beside the chapel in Clontibret, Cyril served mass as an alter boy and played football with Moys National School. He didn't go to secondary school, but still ended up receiving a third level education in the Air Force after he'd moved to the US at 18 years of age along with his two brothers and uncle.
Over there things blossomed, as he earned himself a fantastic position with the Department of Transport in New York, met his wife Margaret - a Limerick lady - and learned one very true phrase in the process: "No matter what walk of life you go, there always are Irish people somewhere right at the top."
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