In celebrating their 125th anniversary Currin Sons of St. Patrick send out a message about their future as much as their past. 2012 will see the club compete with the best in the senior football championship, something that brought great pride to all associated with Currin.

Currin GFC has a lot in its arsenal; ambition and fortitude being some of the heavy artillery which they bring onto the field of battle.
We scarcely needed reminding, by dint of their 125th celebrations this year, that Currin Sons of St. Patrick boasts a special place in the Oriel county GAA family.
However tradition, on its own, never won a game, never removed the rough edges from a promising starlet, never recruited a single youngster to the cause.
That tradition did help though, one supposes, to inspire the club's flagship team to secure senior status in 2012 for the first time in the club's illustrious history.
On Saturday, November 19th last, all belonging to Currin and a lot of others with nothing but goodwill and praise for the club gathered to celebrate their 125 years in the GAA family.
The gathering took place in the Hotel Kilmore, Cavan town with approximately 500 people united in the belief that Currin still means something special to an awful lot of people in the same way that it effected lives back in the 19th century.
It was appropriate too that Tyrone team-manager Mickey Harte, someone who has given so much to the GAA in modern times, should be the club's guest of honour on the night.
It didn't go unmentioned, of course, that many a time the bold Mickey and Currin's chairman Hugo Clerkin crossed swords.
It was good too that the wider GAA family was remembered. In that regard, much praise was heaped on the local ladies (and their Clones team-mates with whom they amalgamated) who captured the 1973 Monaghan Junior Championship camogie title and who were guests of honour on the night.
There was joviality, nostalgia and entertainment aplenty at the Hotel Kilmore and there was fundraising too.
An auction livened up matters no end and lightened pockets too! Items such as a specially commissioned, hand crafted mirror - emblazoned with the Currin crest - by a local artist was sold off and raised a handsome 100 euros.
There were other fine items which helped bolster the coffers of the Scotshouse-based club; a framed, signed 2011 Kerry jersey caught the eye (and money) of several keen bidders. Then there were concert tickets for Des Bishop.
Not everyone was in a position to appear on the night. County Board Chairman Paul Curran couldn't make it but managed to address the gathering by video which was well appreciated.
With MC David Rafferty (Chairman of the organising committee) doing an excellent job on the night, the dinner/dance and assorted distractions proved exceedingly memorable.
Club Chairman Hugo Clerkin was a welcoming presence also and the guests who came from afar would have appreciated his warm cead mile failte.
Music was provided on the night by Joe Murray and the Texas Wildcats. It proved to be a fine appetiser for the club's AGM on December 3rd.
The night of celebration at the Hotel Kilmore also proved to be the glistening icing on a fabulous 2011 cake.
The club's celebration of their anniversary began on March 26th when the club staged a full day's activity and football for all ages.
Matters got underway at 1.30pm with the under 8s and 10s taking on their counterparts from Aghabog.
Just under two hours later, Currin's premier team took on neighbours Redhills for the right to lift the Maguire Cup.
Then at 4pm, a Reserve Football League game saw Currin host Blackhill in what was the season's opening fixture for the Sons of St. Patrick.
At 7.30pm that evening, the main feature came alive when the floodlights at Pairc Churraichin shone brightly on Currin and Clones stars from yesteryear in what turned out to be a very enjoyable Masters challenge game.
Currin's bread and butter has invariably been their league form, year on year, and in the past year, that tradition held firm which added greatly to the feel-good factor in Scotshouse and its environs.
The Gerry Glancy/Michael Slowey-managed Currin intermediate players proved to be a credit to themselves, their families and their club in 2011.
Back playing senior football was always the goal for gaels in Currin in 2011 so, in that regard, the sweet spot was most definitely found.
The IFC and the avenue of the league were treated with equal respect as means by which senior football could be attained in 2012.
That promotion to senior ranks was achieved is a measure of the ambition, resilience and loyalty at the core of the Currin club.

The promotion to the senior ranks for the first time ever was a proud day for all associated with the club and the fact that it came in the year of their 125 celebrations was even more special.
A fine record of 11 wins, two draws and just five losses in their league programme saw them finish second in the table and earn a semi-final place. A 1-13 to 2-7 win over Corduff at Scotshouse meant more than just a place in the final against Carrickmacross; it meant automatic promotion to the senior championship for 2012.
The final against the already crowned intermediate championship winners Carrick didn't go according to plan as Currin fell to a 0-12 to 3-11 loss. The margin was harsh on Currin, and perhaps the fact that they were already promoted affected their mindset.
But even that didn't distract from the fact that the club could now call themselves a senior side.
The Currin side that contested the IFL final was: F Connolly, S Brady, C McCaffrey, E McCaffrey, S Beattie, C McCaffrey, M Quigley, F O'Callaghan, D Clerkin, B Clerkin, P O'Callaghan, S O'Connor, J McCarron 0-4, C Kierans 0-1, S Smyth 0-7. Subs - T Maguire, G Beattie.

Currin gaels appreciate the significance of their illustrious past but they are all too cognisant of the need to build an even more illustrious future.
In striving to underpin the club's proud tradition and, more importantly, provide for the future well-being of their club, gaels in Currin are working overtime to nurture success at underage level.
Good, commited people are working as coaches at the club and there's as much hard work going on in Currin at every level as there is at any other club in Monaghan even if that doesn't always show in the way of silverware.
For the most part of 2011, the underage section of the club could be found training twice per week - on a Wednesday evening and on Saturday mornings - and lots of new people came on board over the course of the year to look after the up and coming talent.
The development of new grounds and clubrooms during the year signalled the club's ambition and determination to be a force for many years to come.
Such off-the-field work has a habit though of spawning an overwhelming degree of expectation among those on the fringes of the coalface.
In the best tradition of sporting cliches' hope springs eternal in small clubs like Currin but the 'numbers game' does its best to undermine the cause.
In truth, the 'numbers game' has been the only game in town down Currin way for longer than most local gaels can rightly remember.
Making the most of limited resources has been a constant challenge down the years at Currin and these times offer no less of a challenge in that regard. But Currin have met all those challenges with stoicism and fortitude.
Drawing from a catchment area that stretches from Drum over to Scotshouse and back to the Connons, the Currin underage mentors depend on maximising the numbers that come on stream at Scotshouse National School and Connons N.S.
These times are arguably Currin's most successful ever. Winners of the Dr. Ward Cup as recently as 2004 and 2009 served to give the club much needed self-confidence and belief to continue to reach for the stars.
If 2011 saw the current Currin standard bearers land on the moon, then in what year will they make their acquaintance with the heavenly bodies?
Methinks their admirers will not have too long to wait. Certainly not 125 years! Tweet

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