Drumhowan - who celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2003 - were honoured when clubman Noel Duffy was voted Monaghan's Youth Officer of the Year for 2002 and received his award at the County Board's annual presentation night in the Hillgrove Hotel in January '03. A deserving recipient of the prestigious honour, Noel is also a true gentleman and a great behind-the-scenes servant to Monaghan GAA. By Gerry Robinson. There are workers in every club who toil away behind the scenes, spurred on by their love of the game, expecting neither gratitude, appreciation nor recognition. Noel Duffy personifies this breed of footsoldier. A clubman. No glory-searching here! Noel was content to bang away at his labour of love, doing his bit for the Drumhowan juveniles and - by extension - the club as a whole. The seeds for the future welfare of any club begin at juvenile level and all input here is critical. He went about his business in a meticulous, tidy and efficient manner, assuming nobody was noticing his valuable but low-profile contribution. Imagine Noel's surprise then when he learned that he had been selected as the county's Youth Officer of the Year for 2002. Naturally, it was a great honour to both the individual and his club ... it was also a shock to the system! Reflecting on the moment he learned he had been selected for the lofty accolade, Noel admits: "It was a nice surprise. I certainly wasn't expecting it. I had no idea whatsoever. I wouldn't have even imagined I'd have been in the running. I didn't even know I had been nominated, so I was shocked when they announced the result at Bord na nOg convention. I was delighted. It's a nice honour to get and I'm sure it's nice for the club to have one of their own recognised at County Board level too..." The 2002 Monaghan Youth Officer of the Year was selected by the County Board in recognition of his services to Drumhowan and also for the exemplary manner in which he acted as a club delegate to Bord na nOg. The Awards night presented a fresh challenge: in a revamp of the format for the evening, the winners of the various awards were interviewed 'live' in front of the large audience. It was a potentially nerve-racking experience but, taking it in his stride, Noel passed the test with flying colours. Sharing the stage with some of the most illustrious and important figures in Monaghan GAA, the personable Drumhowan man was at once honoured and humbled. Of course, you don't get one of these awards for nothing. The County Board picks its winners carefully and it's safe to assume that one doesn't get to the top of the list by resting on one's posterior. To make such an impression, Noel Duffy obviously put the hours in during '02, though he is quick to point out that his contribution prior to then was minimal: "I was out of the country from I was 17 until I was 22 and then spent a year in Wicklow, so I was 23 when I returned to the area and only really got involved with Drumhowan again at the beginning of the 2002 season, when I became Youth Officer. I was only in the position a year when I won the award, so it was definitely a big surprise." So what exactly does the Youth Officer in a GAA club do? Essentially, it's the same role that was formerly handled by the old 'juvenile secretary' position. In a nutshell, it's all about co-ordinating and organising juvenile teams, coaches and fixtures. Noel heads a committee that assesses the players available to the club at various age groups. A decision is made on which competitions to enter and managers are selected for the different teams. The Youth Officer is sent notification of fixtures for all juvenile games from U12 level up to minor and passes this information on to the managers. He also acts as a middle man when the club needs to request having a fixture moved or re-arranged. The Youth Officer provides a vital link between the club and the juvenile board. At the start of 2003, foundation level courses were organised for up to 20 juvenile coaches in Drumhowan and Games Promotion Officer Michael Henry visited the club to oversee these courses. Noel himself had already done the foundation level course himself a few years ago and is involved in coaching with the U10s and U13s Not only was Noel selected as Youth Officer of the Year in 2002, Drumhowan also had a very successful year at juvenile level. They won the U16 eleven-a-side double as well as U14 and U15 Division Three 13-a-side title. Drumhowan also qualified for the 2002 minor Division Two final. It was a busy year all round. "Our teams were on the go right through until the beginning of November. Then in December 2002 preparations for '03 got underway. We had to sit down and decide which teams we were going to enter and what level we were entering them at. "We're up against it numbers-wise because we're one of only two clubs in the county with no school in the area [Blackhill being the other]. All our young lads attend school in Ballybay [where Noel teaches]. "We have to look at the situation each year and review it depending on the numbers available to us at the various age groups." In 2003, Padraig Sherry - who is also Bord na nOg chairman - chaired Drumhowan's juvenile committee, but Noel remained largely responsible for most of the organising. He continues: "Around about January/February, we started to look at things and decided what teams we were going to enter. There were a number of issues to address. For example, was it viable to enter an U13 team?" In the end, Drumhowan decided they would. It was a good call: "We'd had no success at all the previous year at U12 level, but the team improved beyond all recognition. They reached the 2003 U13 final, which was a great achievement but, unfortunately, Aughnamullen, who enjoyed an excellent year at juvenile level, beat them. "Our U14s also got to a final but lost to Oram by a single point. "We had no U15 team this year. Instead, we decided to concentrate on U16 because we knew all the lads would get a game at U16 level. To give an idea of how short we are on numbers: even though the U16 championship is 13-a-side, we had to play field U13s on our team - and we still reached the semi-final!" Meanwhile, the minor team suffered because they lost a number of players from the previous campaign, many of whom were only a month or two over age. The disruptions caused by exams, bad weather and county fixtures didn't help either. Nonetheless, Martin McIlroy still pushed for a place on the county minor panel. Noel feels that the club's minor team of 2002 didn't get the recognition it deserved and believes some of them could have been considered by the county minor management. "They reached the minor Division Two final, and that was a huge achievement. It had been almost a decade since we had a team in a 15-a-side final. The last time it happened was the team with Dermot McDermott and Mark Daly, so we were delighted with that particular side. "Hopefully we have plenty of good talent coming through. We're hoping to benefit from the county development plan. Even though we're drawing teams from the two ends of the parish - Tullycorbett and Drumhowan - there's not a great deal in between." As part of their 50th anniversary celebrations, Drumhowan organised a special juvenile competition over June Bank Holiday Weekend, which was a tremendous success. The club also held a commemorative dinner dance in the community centre, which was attended by GAA president Sean Kelly. Unfortunately, the club's senior team failed to mark the Golden Jubilee year by clinching promotion to the top flight. They were beaten in the quarter-final of the IFC by would-be champions Ahabog and their promotion hopes were subsequently terminated for another season by near neighbours Doohamlet in the semi-final of the Division Two league on Sunday November 9th. It was disappointing, but optimism abounds. Coming through the ranks is a crop of players with the emphasis very much on quality over quantity. The target for the juveniles in 2004? '02 Youth Officer of the Year Noel Duffy: "We'll do it all again. We'll be in touch with the Games Promotion Officer and hopefully get some Level 1 courses under our belt. We'll have committee meetings in December and will sit down in January to decide on our teams and managers. The football starts in February and the juvenile training commences in March, so it's non-stop." Noel comes from a family steeped in Drumhowan GAA tradition. His uncle Michael Duffy was a founder member of the club and his father John Duffy was involved in the opening of Pairc Mhic Eoin in its current carnation in 1985. Another uncle, Hughie Duffy, was groundsman for years and is still heavily involved in the upkeep of the pitch. As if that's not enough, Noel's late grandmother, Cassie Duffy, won the club's first ever draw! How's that for a coincidence. Tweet

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