The folly of judging a book by its cover lies not in the fact that the beholder will necessarily 'get it wrong' but rather that he/she runs the risk of making a misjudgement. Nine times out of ten, what you see is what you get and things are what they seem. First impressions are more often precise than inaccurate. But there will always be the exceptions to the rule that render generalisations ill-advised - and these are the very reason why we should not judge the metaphorical book by its cover. Take the Currin Sons of St Patrick club in Monaghan as an example. On the face of it, it would appear that they are going nowhere fast. Even with the best intentions in the world, outsiders might be inclined to advise Currin to throw in the towel, to call it a day and disband. Or, worse still, amalgamate. However, when we take a closer look at the picture [turn a few pages, begin to read between the lines... ] we realise that seeds are being sown for a revival of the club's fortunes and that an upturn in said fortunes may not be as far around the corner as many neutrals might contend. Under the guidance of hard-working and dedicated club stalwarts such as Francie North, Paudi McQuaid and Pat Connolly amongst others, Currin are making great strides at juvenile level and the signs are encouraging that their future could yet prove to be in save hands. Francis North hopes so. Although he hails originally from Redhills, Francie started playing with Currin circa 1979/80. "Most of the lads I was hanging around with at the time were all from Currin and were playing with the club and I had no problem getting a transfer," he recalls. "I'll have been living in the parish twelve years this March [2002]." When it comes to winning trophies, Currin have never been the most prolific side in the county, although the teams Francie played on did have a bit of a knack for producing the goods on tournament days. As the former club goalkeeper reflects: "We got to a couple of league and championship semi-finals, but never managed to get any further. But we won a number of tournaments, which was better than nothing!" It has been the best part of a decade now since Francie pulled on a jersey. But he has continued to serve the club well in his capacity as a juvenile mentor. How did that come about? "I was approached about six years ago and asked if I had any interest in working with the juveniles. I said I had and I've been involved ever since. A major emphasis has always been placed on the underage arm of the club and Sean Smith (Secretary) and John Boyle (Chairman) have always been very helpful. The development of underage talent has always been a priority in Currin." Fruits were reaped in the form of a minor championship win four years ago and an U12 league success two seasons later. They're not sitting on their laurels, though, and the good work continues unabated: "Myself, Paudi McQuaid and Pat Connolly take the U10s and the U12s. We take both sets of players together at the same time as, with it being such a small club, there would normally be at least four or five players representing both teams, so it makes sense for everybody to train together. Paudi [a local building contractor who is also a key sponsor of Currin] and Pat have been with me from the start and we've taken the U10s and U12s for the past six years. "Martin O'Callaghan worked alongside us for a while but himself and Sean Carruthers are now in charge of the U13s and the U14s." Francie is delighted to be able to report that Currin have a wealth of exciting young talent coming through on the production line. "At the moment, there's no shortage of young stars coming through. Francis O'Callaghan played with the county U16s and has already broken onto our first team. We also had three or four others in for the county U16s this year but that all fell apart because of the Foot & Mouth. "We have good reason for optimism. With the workrate that's been shown by the young lads on and off the field this year, there's no reason why they can't go on to do Currin proud. They were excellent all season long and - perhaps most important of all - they really enjoyed themselves, which is what it's all about ultimately. Arguably the highlight of the year was beating Clontibret in the final of the Maguire Cup, which was no more than the lads deserved." The local school team - managed by head school master Donal Quigley - was determined to get in on the act also, and they made it all the way to the semi-final of their league competition. Of course, it's not all rosy in the garden: "We have serious problems in the club with numbers," Francie concedes. "The population in the area is small and there's no sign of it increasing. The situation is such that we usually have to field with five or six girls on each team up as far as U12 level." What's the solution? "Our plans are to keep going. Some people have brought up the notion of a merger with another club but we're one of the oldest clubs and we've just developed our own pitch so I don't think there's any possibility of that happening. We're proud of our club and we don't want to lose it - it's as simple as that. "We have the bones of a very good junior team but the problem is that the vast majority of them are unavailable for much of the season because they're at different colleges all over the country and we have a lot of midweek games. It's very difficult to get the panel together - even for training - and sometimes we just didn't have a team at all! "We feel we have a very good team once we get all the lads home from college. We've had some good results but college has ruined it and there's no consistency. Our main priority has to be to get the lads all together as a panel and get things going from there. "For example, we have two sons of Hugo Clerkin - Ben and Dick - as well as a son of Aidan Quigley - Michael Quigley - and those are three lads any club in the county would love to have. They were in America for the summer which didn't help, but they're a huge asset to us and can play a big part in our future." And finally, what about the club's U10s and U12s? For how long will Francie remain involved? "I'll stay on for as long as I know I'm still getting the best out of the players. Another objective is to make sure they're getting good coaching and that they're enjoying themselves." the club's view The year 2001 is not one that will be remembered for too long in Currin GAA circles. It was a year that promised much but delivered little. After a few promising games in the earlier part of the year events detiorated at a rapid rate. In the championship Currin lost to near neighbours Killeevan at Aghabog in May. This defeat left us through the new back door system where Doohamlet provided the opposition at Clontibret in July. Currin provided no opposition to a talented Doohamlet side. It was much the same story in the junior league where we finished at the bottom of the table. However, it must be remembered that a number of players were injured during the season and the situation was that the club were rarely at full strength. Also the fact that there is only a small panel of players to choose from. Lets hope that 2002 will bring better fortunes to the club. There is no doubt that with better commitment and organisation that can be achieved especially as there is some fine talent available. Juveniles It could be described as quite a successful year in the juvenile scene. It was the first year in which the club fielded teams in all grades from the Under 10 fun games to under 15. All the juvenile teams played all their games which is an achievement in itself. The Under 12 and 13 teams did well but failed to qualify for the knockout stages. The Under 14 team qualified for the semi-final of Division 3 but were beaten by the eventual winners Eire Og. The Under 15 team got through to the play-offs but lost out to Tyholland. The Under 16 players were joined with Killeevan and played under the banner of Patrick Sarsfields. This team did quite well but just failed to make the qualifying round. In October the Under 12 team won the Paddy Maguire memorial cup for the second year in succession with a great win over Clones after an epic encounter. Great credit is due to all the juvenile mentors for their dedication and effort in looking after the various age groups. Padraig McQuaid, Francie North, Pat Connolly, Martin O'Callaghan, John Boyle and Sean Crothers. Thanks also to juvenile secretary Ann McAvinney for her work throughout the year. 1951 team honoured At the club's annual dinner dance held in the Creighton Hotel, Clones last May the surviving members of the 1951 Dr Ward Cup winning team were honoured. This team has the distinction of being the first and only side to bring the Dr Ward Cup back to the club. It was a great occasion and was enjoyed by everyone present. Sponsors The club would like to thank those who gave sponsorship during the year. Paddy Freeman of the Paragon Bar, Clones who sponsors our junior team. Gerry Maguire who sponsored the trophies for the Maguire Cup and also to all those who helped to sponsor the clubs race night earlier in the year. At this time of year we would wish players, members and supporters and especially at those people who support own weekly draw a very Happy Christmas and peaceful 2002. Currin GFC Tweet

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