Acting as club chairman is not for the feint hearted but Gerry McGuigan explains that he enjoys the hectic nature of it all to John Graham. When Gerry McGuigan was elected Chairman of the Killeevan Sarsfields club just a year ago he was stepping into virgin territory as he had not been involved in club administration at any level prior to that. However at the end of his first year he can look back with a great deal of satisfaction on another year of consolidation by Killeevan. "I was a bit anxious at the start and there were things that I had to learn but I got alot of help from a lot of people and as the year went on I began to enjoy the work and the involvement particularly on match days. There is always is a bit of a buzz when the team is playing whether that is the senior team or one of the juvenile teams, and it has been a very rewarding year for me personally. "I had a good Committee working with me and I want to acknowledge the great contribution that Caroline Larmer, Patricia Smith, Jane Flynn, Patrick Leonard, and Jim Graham have made but there is a whole host of other people who help out on lottery nights and on match days to keep things ticking over. I have to say a special word of thanks to John Kirwan who acted as groundsman and our pitch was always in pristine condition for any matches that we staged at Sarsfield Park. "On the playing front it was an exciting year with Killeevan in the running in both league and championship at senior level and producing some great displays. We actually played four games in the junior championship, we defeated Aughnamullen in the opening match and then were down to meet our next door neighbours Currin, whom I want to congratulate at this stage on their promotion to intermediate ranks, and that first meeting ended in a draw. We looked like we had the winning of that match and we could have won the replay but we just didn't take our chances and we ultimately paid the price. Following that defeat by Currin we had a game against Blackhill in the qualifier series to give us an opportunity to stay in the championship but on the day we went down by two points and again missed chances proved the order of the day." Team v Blackhill: Brian Conlon, Mark McQuaid, Darren Greenan, Patrick McDonnell, Niall McCooey, Gavin McKenna, Paul Reilly, Ian Larmer 2-6, Colin Quigley, Casement Lynch, Noel McConnon, Dermot Quigley, Dermot Lynch 0-1, Noel Smyth 0-1, David Flynn. Sub used: Paul Hughes. "The League produced some fantastic performances that saw us always in the running for a place in the last four and we qualified in third place with 19 points from our 16 matches having won nine and drawn one, and that put us through to a semi final meeting with our next door neighbours Currin," continued Gerry. "That match was played in Scotshouse and resulted in a victory for the home side which put them through to the final and they eventually won that after a replay and so were promoted to intermediate ranks. I have to pay a great tribute to all of the players who turned out during the year, there were a few occasions when we were short players due to injury and a number of others absent for a variety of reasons but they all put in a great effort and they deserve every credit. "Great credit also to our team manager Ciaran Brennan and his selectors Jim McQuaid and Declan Murray who always had the team well prepared and while their plans did not always work out they were always confident that Killeevan could do well". A club survives and prospers on how it nurtures its young players and the Killeevan under age scene is encouraging. "There is alot of work going on from under tens right up to minor level with Jim Graham and Enda Kilpatrick taking charge of the under tens and our under fourteens were a little bit unlucky to lose out at the semi-final stage in their league to Corduff. "The club entered a team in the under 21 competition but having lost their first game they had little chance of qualifying although to be fair they were playing that game the day after a number of the team were involved in the minor league final. There were quite a few years when Killeevan did not have an under 21 team and the fact that we have one now is very encouraging as it means that there is a squad of players coming through". The highlight of the year for the club had to of course be the winning off the minor football league division 2 under the Patrick Sarsfields amalgamation banner. "We joined with our neighbours Currin in the 13 aside end of that competition. Paraic McCooey and Michael McCarville represented Killeevan on the team management set up with Martin O'Callaghan and Aidan Quigley representing Currin. The team was captained by St. Macarten's College MacRory Cup player, Niall McCooey, and it was his leadership as much as anything else that ultimately brought the minor league division 2 title to the two clubs. "There was a little bit of uncertainty surrounding the date for the final due to Currin's involvement in the replay of the Dr. Ward Cup final and Cremartin involved in the Ulster Junior football club championship but ultimately the game was eventually played on Saturday November 13th with Patrick Sarsfields winning in some style." Paraic McCooey and Michael McCarville felt that it was their "ability to capitalise on chances allied to a number of fine individual performances" that were the hallmark of this comfortable victory over Cremartin in the final in Aghabog. Played before a big partisan crowd this was a game where Patrick Sarsfields proved superior in most departments and we ran out deserving winners. "A strong second quarter saw us recover from a somewhat indifferent start but once Niall (McCooey) and Owen (Morrow) came to grips in midfield things started to happen and five unanswered points between the 15th and the 30th minutes saw us go in four points in front at half-time. The biggest difference between the sides in this game was the ability of our players to capitalise on half chances and this was demonstrated to best effect nine minutes into the second half when Jason Quigley chased after a ball that appeared to be going out for a '45, he kept the ball in play and delivered a goal that put us six in front at that stage. We were lucky some minutes later though when Cremartin missed a penalty our keeper Anthony McGuirk took off a point-blank save from another effort. That seemed to take some of the wind out of Cremartin as we upped the pace to go further in front. We led at half time by 0-8 to 0-4 and then Jason Quigley's goal gave us a distinct psychological advantage. David Flynn added a point in the 11th minute for a seven points lead and then we hit another purple patch that yielded a goal and a point inside four minutes and that effectively wrapped the issue up completely. David Flynn went on a great run before planting the ball in the bottom of the net for an eleven points lead and we were home and hosed". Team and Scorers: Anthony McGuirk, Sean Brady, Shane O'Connor, Shane Corr, Sean Clerkin, Conor McCaffrey, Eoin Morrow 0-2, Niall McCooey 0-1, Stephen Smyth 0-1, Gerard O'Callaghan 0-4, David Flynn 1-3, Richard Burns 0-1, Jason Quigley 1-1. Subs: Diego McAdoo for R Burns, Stuart McDonnell for J Quigley. "Away from the playing side the club has some ambitious plans to develop further facilities at Guardhill and hopefully, if we get a bit of goodwill from the right quarter we will be able to further our plans that would see us develop a second playing pitch and some much needed training facilities. The coaching of our juveniles and the preparation of teams is of paramount importance and if Killeevan is to continue to play a meaningful part in the GAA in the county and look after our youth, as the club has done for over 100 years now in the parish, then the provision of these extra facilities is a must," added McGuigan. "An extra dimension to club activity this year was the involvement of some of our children in the Spraoi Scor and Scor na nOg with a group of young children doing themselves, their families, the club and the parish proud by winning the Novelty Act in the Scor na nOg finals in Corcaghan Community Centre on Friday November 26th. "The basis for this entry was an approach to the club to enter a team in the new Spraoi Scor competition, an idea to get clubs that had not been involved in the social side of GAA activity for a number of years and such was the response that the club entered the Novelty Act in Scor na nOg where they contested the county final against groups from Aghabog and Fergal O'Hanlons. "Under the direction Mairead Larmer the five young girls and one young lad charmed both the crowd and the judges to walk away with title. Full marks to Catherine McGurk, Lisa Hurson, Jennifer Hurson, Paula McDermott, Gemma McGuigan, and Ciaran McDermott while Mairead Larmer and Sarah McGuigan deserve great credit for their interest and their persistence and the fact that Killeevan have now come back onto the Scor scene could mean that we will be in a position to enter teams in the other categories in years to come. "We had our big annual night out last Easter Sunday night when the highlight of the evening was the presentation of the club Hall of Fame to Pat Gilsenan, a former player who represented Killeevan during the Fifties and who also represented Monaghan at Junior level and his anecdotal recollections of his playing days kept the big crowd entertained for quite some time that night. "Easter Sunday night is our big annual night out but every Sunday night we have our weekly Lotto draw which is the main source of finance for the club and no words of mine could adequately express the appreciation of everyone concerned for the support that this fundraising venture enjoys. Without it we just simply would not survive but whether it is the long term solution to funding the club I would not be certain". When Gerry McGuigan took over as chairman of the Killeevan club he indicated that he would give it a go for a year but he has now changed his mind and will be in the position for at least another year such is the level of enjoyment that he has derived from his involvement. "Probably going out after a year would have been a little bit selfish maybe as I am enjoying the work and the involvement so I will be going forward again next year and hopefully I will see further success come to the club". If enthusiasm on the part of the chairman and his committee is the recipe for success then Killeevan will not be far away form the honours list in 2005. Tweet

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