The fledgling Feargal O'Hanlons club continued to make progress in 2004 by fielding at adult level for the first time. All they need now is a pitch, a place to call home. And the club executive has a plan. As the county's youngest GAA club, Feargal O'Hanlons have more that their fair share of trials and tribulations to contend with. Not least of these is the fact that the Monaghan town club still has no place to call home. If the club is to have any chance of prospering, then securing a home venue is vital. To date, this has proven a frustrating obstacle but the club committee is confident that a resolution is about to be reached. The O'Hanlons are hoping to be granted permission to use the previously redundant grounds at Mullaghdun. If they are successful in their bid, then the nascent club will be much better positioned to set about the onerous task of establishing themselves. With their very future hanging in the balance, these are testing times for a club yet to celebrate its second anniversary. But, then again, the odds have been stacked heavily against the O'Hanlons from the outset, so nobody's going to walk away now. As it accounted for 50% of their existence to date, it goes without saying that 2004 was a landmark year for Feargal O'Hanlons GFC. The club fielded an adult team for the first time, taking part in the junior football championship as well as Division Five of the all-county league. Though they failed to win any matches at adult level, it was nonetheless a worthwhile exercise as the O'Hanlons are gradually finding their feet. As secretary John McAleer notes: "Even though we didn't win any games, we were happy just to have fielded at adult level for the first time. It was all about introducing players to the club and trying to get them interested in playing at this level. In that respect, we were reasonably successful." Considering that O'Hanlons started out originally as a juvenile club in 2003, the formation of an adult club within twelve months represents impressive progress. What was the thinking behind setting up the adult team so quickly? "It gives us a voice at County Board level," John reveals. "Juvenile clubs don't have a voice at Convention and we wanted to be able to get our views across. To do that, we had to field an adult team, so we decided to press ahead and go for it." This is no small undertaking, especially when you're trying to attract players who might not have played any football for a long time. John knew it was going to be difficult, but admits that the task proved even more pressing than the club executive had anticipated: "It's been a lot tougher than we thought because we have to play all our games away, which is a huge disadvantage." In the junior championship, O'Hanlons had two very tough matches - against Currin (who went on to win the junior league) and Blackhill (who contested the JFC final). They were soundly beaten on both occasions but at least they got to sample top grade fare for the first time. The lack of playing facilities is a huge disadvantage. It's a situation the club committee is doing its utmost to rectify, as the secretary notes: "We've been using the County Board grounds at Mullaghdun for training, but we can't play our matches there. The field has great tradition, as it once hosted an Ulster final. It's an old CBS field, which was also once owned by Monaghan Harps. We have drawn up a plan to carry out a development at Mullaghdun, if the County Board agrees to give us a lease on the property." Despite the obvious drawbacks, Feargal O'Hanlons acquitted themselves well as adult level in 2004. They started out with a core group of 30-40 lads, all of whom had played gaelic football before at various stages but had dropped out. Here was the ideal opportunity to resurrect their careers. "We had some young lads, but the majority of the players were getting on a bit and I even had to play some games myself," says John. "We had mostly lads who had played years ago at juvenile level either with the Harps or one of the other clubs in the area - Tyholland, Threemilehouse or Clontibret." Club chairman Brendan McKenna, who hails from Newbridge in Derry, was in charge of the junior side and everybody rowed in to lend a hand with training. Conditions were far from ideal but there was no sign of any towels being thrown in and everybody gave it their best shot. "We're still trying to get ourselves established," the club secretary continues. "But we need a home and we're really hoping to get Mullaghdun. We have a development plan to put dressing-rooms etc. in place so we're hoping to get the green light. "Our plans for Mullaghdun include a full-sized pitch, dressing-rooms, meeting rooms and toilet and office facilities. They're fairly substantial plans and we've raised the necessary funds through our weekly lotto. It would be an ideal home for us, because the field has history to it and has been lying idle for some time. It's also close to what has become our main catchment area, so fingers crossed we'll get it. "If we're turned down, we'll be snookered. We can't realistically expect our young lads to go out and get togged out at the back of a ditch - those days are gone. We need proper facilities to make the club more attractive to prospective members. At the moment, we 're training our U11s on the Monaghan United astro turf pitch and that's costing us £50 an hour, which we would save if we had our own ground." The Feargal O'Hanlons have received a good reception from the other clubs in the county, most of whom are sympathetic towards their plight. Founding member John McAleer is in no doubt that the formation of the new club was a practical move: "We have a population in Monaghan town of approximately 10,000, with 1,800 kids baptised in the parish in the past eight years, which means about 900 boys under the age of eight. There's no way one club can cater for numbers like that. There are 1,100 houses due to be built here in the next eighteen months, so the need for a new club in town was apparent. "At the moment, we are drawing mainly from the Mullaghmatt/Cortolvin/Killyconnigan area, which has never really had a representation. There has been some controversy over the name but it's worth remembering that Feargal O'Hanlon was a GAA man first and foremost, with all the ideals of the Association close to heart. He was secretary of the county minor board and he played McRory Cup with 'The Sem' as well as lining out for the county minors - and the county minor championship is named after him. He was born and reared on Park Street and is an important part of the town's GAA history." As well as instigating an adult team, O'Hanlons also continued to field at juvenile level in 2004, actually winning games for the first time. The U10s and U11s participated in fun games, while the U12s, 13s and 14s entered County Board competitions. John stresses: "We're not here to take players away from Monaghan Harps. That is not our intention. We just want to cater for the lads who have no club. Brendan and myself both have sons who play for the Harps and we never asked them to come and play for us. I played for the Harps all my life myself! There are up to 400 kids in Mullaghmatt alone and successful parishes like The Loop and Slaughtneil in Derry work on less than that." Feargal O'Hanlons has already won two senior county Scor titles - the recitation title in January 2004 and the instrumental crown the previous year. These were important successes as great emphasis is placed on the cultural aspect of the club. John McAleer concludes: "It's not easy but we're here for the long haul. "As club sponsor, Barry Healy Solicitor has given us great support from Day One and we're very appreciative of Barry's tremendous support. We have a lovely white, green and gold jersey with Feargal O'Hanlon's name on the back and we sell a lot of them outside the town. It's a very popular shirt. We also received a big donation from the States and there is a lot of goodwill towards the club from all quarters. If we can get over these early hiccups and give the kids a place to tog out and a home pitch, then we'll get stronger. More people will want to get involved. "We're hoping to make major progress in the next couple of years. We're seeking a ten-year lease on the field at Mullaghdun and it will be an ideal base for our players. We really want to get that field and we'll give it our best shot. We have the money in place. This is it. The County Board's decision on Mullaghdun could make or break the club." Tweet

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