A league final appearance was just reward for Truagh's consistency in 2004. Seamus McCluskey looks back at their path to the Owen Ward decider. Truagh won their first ever senior football title back in 1975 when they captured the Owen Ward Cup for the Senior Football League competition that year. That was a truly magnificent achievement for the most northerly club in the county and it was the spur that set them on a road to higher grade football from that stage onwards. Admittedly, there were a few lapses back into the Intermediate grade, but success at that level soon put them back into the premier division, and they have maintained a great degree of 'Senior Football' consistency over the past decade or so, not to mention the fact that they also reached the Final of the Senior Championship on no less than two occasions, but it is their League performance that we are concerned with here. The year now ending opened with their debut in the recently inaugurated South Ulster Senior football League that is now going into its second season. In this they were paired with five other premier Ulster club teams - Cavan Gaels and Mullahoran from Co. Cavan, Pearse Og and Silverbridge from Armagh, and Devenish from Fermanagh. They gave an excellent account of themselves against these 'outside' opponents and finished in second place, losing only one game, to Cavan Gaels, who finished in the lead position on nine points, while Truagh were only a point behind - eight points from their five games. With the South Ulster League out of the way, attention turned to the Owen Ward Cup, Senior Football League Division One, within the county. The first assignment was against Castleblayney Faughs, and a game against the 'Mighty Faughs' would always pose a serious challenge for any club, but Truagh more than overcame the challenge with a 2-11 to 0-9 victory over the 'Blayney men' on their own grounds on Sunday 28th March. That, in any man's language, was a magnificent start. The next senior outing was not until Sunday 11th April, when Truagh had their first home game - a visit by Carrickmacross Emmets, one of the Monaghan clubs that had reached the quarter-finals of the South Ulster League, but here again the Truagh side saw off the challenge with a magnificent 1-9 to 0-9 win over the south county side. The first reverse of the season came the following Sunday when they failed by the narrowest of margins in their visit to Clontibret O'Neills, the final score there reading - Clontibret 0-8, Truagh 0-7. Despite that reverse, Truagh got back on the winning trail on Sunday 25th April when they had the up-and-coming Sean McDermotts at St. Mellan's Park and, after a close encounter, emerged victorious on a 1-9 to 0-11 score-line, a close shave from an unexpected quarter, but a win nevertheless. Into May and a trip to old rivals Scotstown, and a visit to St Mary's Park was never going to be easy, and so it proved, as the home side came out on top, 1-9 to 0-9, on Sunday 9th May. That defeat was cancelled out, however, when Inniskeen came north to St. Mellan's on Sunday 16th May and the final score-line read - Truagh 1-10, Inniskeen 1-8. On Wednesday 26th May, Truagh travelled to Latton, and the latter have become something of a 'bogey team' for Truagh teams in recent times, as it would prove again much later in the year. The home side prevailed by the minimum margin on this occasion when the final score read - Latton 1-9, Truagh 0-11. There was one more game before the Championship would intervene and this was against Magheracloone at St. Mellan's on Sunday 29th May. A magnificent performance by the home side, as they overcame the future Monaghan County Champions by 1-12 to 1-11. Considering Magheracloon's success in the later championship series, this was a truly fine achievement by Truagh and certainly emphasised their consistency in league campaigns. The Championship then interrupted the League series and there was disappointment in the club when Clontibret proved superior by 2-7 to 1-6 in the first round on the third weekend in June. Truagh had plenty of golden opportunities to win this game, but the woodwork denied them of at least three goaling chances. No wonder the local scribe wrote in the following Thursday's newspaper:- "Gaeil; Triucha could well be forgiven for thinking that Lady Luck had deserted them completely as they trudged out of Scotstown following their defeat by Clontibret in their opening game of he SFC on Sunday last.". Truagh had lined out for that one as follows:- Anthony Treanor, Niall Feely, Barry Cuddy, Neil MacRory, Damien MacRory, Keith Sheerin, Dermot McKenna, Niall McKenna, Mark Kelly, Dermot McKenna (0-1), Rory Treanor, Paraic Treanor, Noel Clerkin (1-2), Gary Meehan (0-2) and Colm MacRory (0-1). Subs used:- Brendan McKenna, Adrian Sherry, Martin Owens and Paul Donaghue. The 'back door' system was still there, however, and hopes were justifiably raised when Truagh defeated Carrickmacross in the next round, but then came a second disappointment, as there was a major upset when Inniskeen proved surprise packets and ended Truagh's championship hopes. The League title aspirations were still very much alive, however. Aghabog were next League opponents, but Truagh came out on top - Truagh 0-15, Aghabog 1-9, at the Aghabog venue. The second half of the League opened with the return game by Castleblayney. It was Wednesday 30th June and Truagh proved that their first victory over the Faughs had been no fluke when they again overcame the green-and-gold brigade, this time by 0-12 to 0-11. It may have been a narrow victory, as would the next win over visitors - this time it was Truagh 1-10, Carrickmacross 0-12, but a one point win is as good as a ten points win any day, and Truagh relished the success. On Sunday 18th July Truagh entertained Clontibret and the visitors repeated their first round win at St. Mellan's, but Truagh got back to winning ways when they visited Threemilehouse to play Sean McDermotts on Sunday 8th August. A place in the 'Top Four' of the competition was now beckoning, but there was a slip up when Scotstown threw a spanner in the works, winning by 3-6 to 1-11 at St. Mellan's on 22nd August. Amends were made when Truagh travelled to Inniskeen and came away with a three points victory, 1-9 to 0-9. Into October and the 'bogey team' from Latton again scuppered our chances at the Latton venue on Sunday 2nd, and things looked even bleaker when we travelled the long distance to Magheracloone and again returned home empty-handed. All was not lost, however, and we secured our semi-final place when Aghabog conceded the points of their final game on Sunday 10th October. As Magheracloone had finished in top position in the League, we had to travel to the south county venue for the semi-final, and, with Magheracloone just having been crowned County Senior Football Champions for the first time ever in their history, it looked as if it would be 'curtains' for the Truagh side in this semi-final. As it turned out this could not have been further from the truth. What a surprise was in store for the new champions, and for everybody else in the county, as Truagh triumphed on a 2-8 to 1-8 score-line on Sunday 31st October. A great first half performance had laid the foundations for this deserved victory and at the interval Truagh held a comfortable 2-5 to 0-4 lead, but the home side came out for the second period with all guns blazing. Truagh held firm, however, and ended up creditable winners with this team:- Anthony Treanor, Damien MacRory, Keith Sheerin, Paddy Kelly, Damien McKenna, Rory Treanor, Niall MacRory, Gary Meehan, Mark Kelly, Paul Donoghue, Brendan McKenna, Martin Owens, Mark Counihan, Noel Clerkin and Colm MacRory. Subs used; - Niall Feely, Dermot McKenna, Adrian Sherry and Niall McKenna. Everything was now set for the Owen Ward Cup division One League Final, sponsored by the Credit Union, in which we would meet our old 'bogey team', Latton. Sunday 13th November saw the teams line out at Clontibret, and, as expected, it turned out to be an extremely close affair in which Truagh had their chances to take valuable scores, but failed to turn them into winning ones. Latton were two points in front, 0-5 to 0-3, at the interval, and were still that same margin ahead when the final whistle sounded - Latton 0-9, Truagh 0-7. Disappointment maybe but this had been an excellent Senior League campaign, and the ill luck which plagued the team at the most important times during the year must surely be reversed in the years ahead. Truagh lined out for the Final:- Anthony Treanor, Niall Feely, Keith Sheerin, Damien MacRory, Dermot McKenna, Rory Treanor, Neil MacRory, Mark Kelly, Gary Meehan (0-3), Paul Donaghue, Brendan McKenna, Martin Owen, Mark Counihan, Noel Clerkin (0-4) and Dermot McKenna. Subs used:- Paraic Treanor, Kieran Feely and Adrian Sherry. Despite this late reverse, Truagh had again proven themselves one of the most consistent sides in County Monaghan at the moment, and this consistency mush surely pay rich dividends in the not too distant future. A sweeter smile from Lady Luck would also help considerably, and hopefully, she will be on our side in 2005. Underage teams also fared well While the club's seniors went all the way to the 2004 senior county league decider, Truagh also enjoyed a fairly successful year at underage level. The U21s reached yet another Division Two league final, while the minors acquitted themselves better than expected in Division One. Kieran McKenna, who was on the management team of both sides, says it was a satisfactory year, though he was disappointed that silverware ultimately eluded the north Monaghan men on all fronts. Truagh will remember 2004 as the year when the club acquired a decidedly happy knack of reaching county finals. They reached four deciders in total but, unfortunately, were pipped at the post in all four. The club's last chance of major silverware in '04 presented itself in the form of the all-county U21 Division Two league decider at Cremartin on Sunday December 5. It was a familiar scenario for a club that has enjoyed quite a bit of joy at under 21 level in recent years but they had no luck this time around, losing narrowly to the Fontenoys from Donaghmoyne. Still, they had done well to qualify for the decider with a 100% record and the truly encouraging news is that all but two of the '04 team will be eligible for U21 fare again in 2005 (which will probably see Truagh move up to compete in Division One once more). Throw in the fact that Truagh also did well with a relatively young minor team, and underage mentor Kieran McMahon has every reason to look back on the '04 season with contentment. The 2004 Under 21 FL Division Two final was played at Shamrock Park, Cremartin on the first Sunday in December and Donaghmoyne pipped Gaeil Triucha by 2-8 to 1-8. The Donaghmoyne men took the decision with second half goals from Francis Markey and Eamonn Lynch. Truagh had a number of missed opportunities over the hour, particularly in the first half when they could well have established a greater interval advantage than one point. As it was, Donaghmoyne took the lead for the first time eight minutes after the re-start and never looked back. The U21 management triumvirate comprised Sean Treanor, Sean McKiernan and Kieran McKenna. The latter notes: "Sean Treanor and myself have been involved with the U21 teams for five or six years now and the club has done quite well at this level, reaching five county finals altogether and winning two Division Two titles. "We had a good crop of players again coming into this year and we were confident of another success. This team had won a Division Two championship at minor level, so we felt we'd be there or thereabouts." And so it came to pass: the U21 competition was ran off on an initial league basis, with the teams divided into two sections - north and south. In the north side of the competition, Truagh won all three of their outings, against Emyvale, Sean McDermotts and Clones. However, the competition was played off on consecutive weekends very late in the year (November/December), in conditions that were far from ideal. This meant that none of the teams were really in a position to do themselves justice. Truagh pair Keith Sheerin and Niall Feely have since been drafted onto the county U21 panel, while Neil MacRory was centre back with the Monaghan minors in 2004 and is eligible for minor football again in '05. Neil was also a member of the St Macartan's side that famously reached the McRory Cup final in 2004. As Kieran notes: "There is undoubted quality in the club at minor and U21 level at the moment and the majority of the players will all be underage again next year. With so much young talent in the club, our future looks bright, especially bearing in mind that we already have a decent senior team, which they proved by getting to the senior league final last year." What are Kieran's memories of the December 5th county U21 final? "We didn't perform as well as we could have on the day. We missed a few chances early on and those misses came back to haunt us. We led by a point at the break but it could have been more. Donaghmoyne went five points ahead and we couldn't get back on level terms and ended up losing by a goal. We can't complain about it, though, because we were second best to Donaghmoyne on the day. "The most disappointing thing was that it was the fourth final Truagh had lost at all grades in 2004 and we were hoping to go out on a high. A win there would have got the monkey off our backs, so it was a major disappointment to the players and to the club as a whole. But I couldn't fault the lads, they gave it their best shot and I'm sure they'll come back strong again next year." Did the under 21 football have to take a backseat? After all, the seniors had a good year and many of the lads are on both panels: "Most of the lads were training with the seniors and they had a long season, getting to the Division One league final. But, once that was over, they switched their attention to the U21 competition, which is played very late in the year, so they still got to train together twice a week for six-eight weeks as U21s. All in all, it's a very long season from February through until December, and six or seven of the 13 lads who started the U21 final were also on the senior panel, so they played a lot of football in 2004." Is there any danger of burn-out? "To be honest, I don't think so. They can get a good rest now over the winter and the batteries should be recharged in time for the new season. I'm sure they enjoyed their football in 2004 and you don't feel it the same when you're successful. When you're winning more games than you're losing, it's easier and it doesn't take as much out of you." Kieran was also involved in the Truagh minor management team, alongside Mickey Corrigan and Peter Magaraghan. "The minors were in Division One and probably shouldn't have been, considering that two years earlier we couldn't fulfil all our fixtures in Division Two at U16 level and eventually pulled out. But for some unknown reason, the County Board decided we were strong enough to play in Division One. We appealed the decision but our appeal was turned down." The season started in March/April and, as it transpired, Truagh acquitted themselves extremely well, recording some great wins including a superb victory over Clontibret. "Realistically, going into the year we didn't have any great hopes, so we were very happy with how things worked out and delighted to pick up three wins altogether. Unlike the U21 competition, it was an all-county league and we had to play all the top teams, so we were happy with the result." In the championship, Truagh performed well against a very strong Carrickmacross side in Carrick'. Kieran recalls: "We lost by three or four points but we stayed with them for long periods and the lads gave a very good account of themselves. "We were happy enough with the performance over the year because as far as I know we're only losing one player off the minor team and will have virtually the same side again next year. The U21s are only losing the goalkeeper and a midfielder, so they'll also be strong again in 2005. "In general, the club was very disappointed to lose four finals in 2004 - U16, reserve, senior league and U21. We could have won them all but it's good to know that we're there or thereabouts competing at the highest level. We're Division One at every level from U12 up to minor for the first time in the club's history, and that's a very good achievement." Indeed, the future has rarely - if ever - looked brighter for Gaeil Triucha. Gaeil Triucha, 2004 Monaghan U21 FL Division Two finalists: Ian Treanor, Neil MacRory, Mike Treanor, Alan McKenna, Niall Feely (1-2), Mickey Daly (0-2), Keith Sheerin, Niall McKenna, Niall Coyle, Dermot McKenna (0-1), Ciaran McCarron (0-2), Martin Treanor, Barry Treanor. Sub: Shane Todd (0-1) Tweet

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