Emyvale may have had a rather dismal year "on the field of play" during 2001, ending up at the bottom of the senior league table and being relegated to intermediate ranks for next year, but they are still one of the most highly efficient and most energetic clubs in the entire county, writes Seamus McCluskey. In this they are extremely fortunate in having some of the best administrators to run a club, not just in Monaghan, but in the entire country. Their three principal officials - Michael McAree (chairman), Marion Donnelly (treasurer) and Monica McKernan (secretary) are in a class of their own as club administrators, and they are the envy of most other clubs in the county. Secretary Monica McKernan (nee McMahon), the subject of this particular interview, is a secretary par excellence and has few equals anywhere throughout the length and breadth of Ireland. Monica always had GAA in her blood, and no wonder ... her dad, the late Eoin McMahon, was one of the best full backs in the county in his time and made history in the 1945-46 period when he played in the number three jersey on the Emyvale team than became the first club in the county to capture the coveted "Junior Double" of championship and league (Dr. Ward Cup). It was only natural that his daughter would be a close follower of Emyvale Gaelic Football in later years and, as a youngster, it came as no surprise to see her out practising the game with the Emyvale juveniles during the sixties. In fact she was so good at the game that she was actually picked on Emyvale U12 and U13 boys teams of that particular era. In later years Monica took up camogie and, here again, she proved to be the natural sports-person. In 1979, along with three or four other Emyvale girls, she won a Monaghan Senior Camogie Championship medal with the Monaghan town club and became a regular on county teams at that stage. In the following year, 1980, she travelled with the Monaghan club cailini on a trip to the USA where she starred in several challenge games on the other side of the Atlantic. She recalls playing both in New York and Pittsburg, but her fondest memory of that trip was playing at the famed Gaelic Park, where practically everyone of Monaghan descent in America came out to meet and greet them. At administrative level she also came to the fore and was elected County Chairperson of the Camogie Co Board in 1982 while still a playing member with the county senior team. Later in the 'eighties she was elected PRO for the county and in this she really excelled, as it was she who was instrumental in getting a regular camogie news column published each week in the local newspapers. Prior to that, the game had received scant acknowledgement by the local media, but Monica changed that situation completely and the game has since been excellently and regularly reported and promoted in the local press, particularly through the columns of Monaghan's weekly "Northern Standard." A special Silver Jubilee Committee had also been elected during the 'eighties and Monica McMahon was one of those who spear-headed all their activities in 1987, culminating in a celebrity function in November of that year at which the Guest of Honour included the National President, Mary Lynch; Central Council representative Joe Golden; former Ulster secretary, Patricia McGeogh; and Ulster Council Representative, Bernadette Byrne; as well as various officers and players from previous years. But Monica had picked up her administrative skills much earlier than that, and in the early 'seventies the same Monica McMahon (as she then was) was elected secretary of the Emyvale GAA club and proved such a competent official that she was quickly ear-marked for future leadership in the administration of the club, and it came as no surprise when she took over the secretarial duties of the senior Emyvale club just a few years ago and still holds that position. An expert in modern technology, she has used her skills in adding a real professional touch to the job of club secretary. Naturally, Monica was extremely disappointed with the performance of the Emyvale senior team during the season just completed, but she attributes this to the fact that they were promoted to senior ranks 'empty handed', having appeared in both the Intermediate Championship and League Finals in 2000, but losing out in both competitions to Inniskeen, after replays in both finals. "You need to take a title up with you," adds Monica, "in order to maintain team spirit, because if you don't take the honours up with you then the spirit is never the same, and it was only to be expected that Emyvale would have a difficult year in the senior grade in 2001." That difficult year turned out to be even more difficult than Monica or any other Emyvale club official could have expected, and that coupled with a series of injuries to leading players militated against Emyvale all year, with the result that they experienced one of their worst seasons ever in senior football. "However", says Monica, "there is tremendous hope for the premier team now that they are back in the Intermediate grade as they will be meeting teams of similar standard, and, hopefully, will be more than able to hold their own against the best of them." Regarding youth, Monica added: - "We must place more emphasis on youth as we have a great band of young footballers in the up-and-coming pipe-line at the moment, particularly in the minor and under-16 ranks, and if we can just succeed in keeping this bunch of young stars together, then there is nothing to stop Emyvale getting back to the very top in the not too distant future." Optimistic words from Monica, perhaps, but they could well prove prophetic, as the success of the minor and U16 teams in 2001 was truly a remarkable achievement for the Emyvale club and, with a group of that ability coming up in such strong formation, then Monica McMahon-McKernan could well look back on these sentiments with pride when these words are quoted to her again in five or six years time. Monica also adds that more attention must be given to the Juveniles of the club, and, being a person who places much more emphasis on action rather than on words, she is now chairperson of Emyvale's "Juvenile Section" and is also extremely hopeful of getting a special coach for the juvenile teams in the year ahead. With two young sons of her own, eleven years old Gavan and ten years old Darren, both of whom played on the Emyvale U12 team last year and look like figuring very prominently again in the same age-group in 2002. And, believe it or not, who did Monica rope in to running that same U12 team in 2001 but her husband, Eamonn McKernan, the treasurer of the Truagh Gaels club. Monica's marriage to Eamonn in 1989 was a unique and very welcome union of the two north Monaghan neighbouring clubs, between whom there is intense but friendly rivalry. We sincerely hope it didn't cause any major upheavals in the McKernan household when the sides met twice in the league last season! Getting back to the minor and u16 players of last season Monica rhymed off a litany of excellent young players who will very shortly be figuring prominently in the Emyvale senior rig-out in the not too distant future. She mentioned particularly young college players Brendan McKenna; the McGee brothers, Lorcan, Ryan and Adrian; the Flannery twins and the Curley twins; Emmet Colleran, Niall Callery, Paul and Damien McKenna, Gerard McCaffrey, Jonathan Morrough, Cathal McKenna, Paddy McAreavey, Niall Forde, David Treanor and a host of others, on whom she pins her hopes for the future of Emyvale football. Monica was extremely reluctant to claim any honour or glory for herself in the successful administrative section of the club. "We have one of the best Club Executives in the country," she added, and went on to pay glowing tributes to the work of her fellow officers, club chairman, Michael McAree; club treasurer, Marion Donnelly, games organiser, Michael McCarron; fundraiser, in excelsis, John Sherry, and several others who make the Emyvale Executive Board a shining example for other clubs in the county to follow. In regard to the club's "off the field" activities, Monica is hopeful that the playing pitch at Plunkett Park will be given the "Prunty Pitch" treatment, starting in May next, while the club's recent acquisition of the 'Scarna Inn' has also proven to be an excellent piece of forward thinking, as it has been extremely successful so far. With club officials of the calibre of Monica McKernan, who leads by example, the future of the Emyvale club is in safe hands, and if her ideas for the youth of the club can be put to good effect, then it will only be matter of time (and a very short time at that) until Emyvale are again figuring in the premier grade of Monaghan club football. A mixed bag The year 2001 brought a mixed bag for the Emyvale club with the relegation to intermediate ranks for the senior team but the minor team was crowned league champions. The senior team got off to a great start collecting three points from their two matches. But then the downward trend started. They travelled to Carrickmacross and virtually kicked themselves out of the game. They had plenty of chances to score but missed a dozen in the first half. It was a similar story in the second and they were beaten by seven points in a game that they should have won. This was the start of their downfall and they never recovered. Perhaps a spell in Intermediate football will give the management a chance to build for the future. There are some very good juveniles coming through and with the experience of the older players, perhaps promotion back to senior football is not too far away. The pride of place goes to our minor team who won the Treanor Cup for the first time in fifteen years. Eamonn O'Hara, Scotstown was appointed Team Manager, with Vivion McKenna and Seamus McKenna as selectors, and the team started training in early February. They got off to a shaky start with defeats by Donaghmoyne and Truagh. One of the reasons for this was the change made to the structure of the league making it thirteen aside to facilitate two teams and it took awhile for Emyvale to adapt to this new line out. Once they did, they started playing some great football and recorded some very convincing wins. They qualified for the semi-final where they met next door neighbours Truagh and they played some lovely football to run out deserving winners. They then met Donaghmoyne in the final which was played in Cremartin on the 29th September. It was one of the best displays by an Emyvale minor team for a long time and at half time they led 1-10 to 0-2. Donaghmoyne just didn't know what had hit them but to be fair to them, they clawed their way back into the game in the second half but the Emyvale defence was magnificent and held them at bay. Emyvale went on to record an historical win and there were great scenes of joy and jubilation when the captain of the Emyvale team Emmet Colleran, collected the Treanor Cup from Mark Kellett. It was truly a great performance and we congratulate them on their success. The team was: Gerard McCaffrey, Paul McKenna, Niall Callery, Ryan McGee, Emmet Colleran, Niall Forde, Jonathan Morrough, Michael Flannery, Brendan McKenna, Patrick McAreavey, Cathal McKenna, David Treanor, Niall Mohan. Subs: Damien McKenna, Mark McArdle, John Flannery, Tommy Bowe, Lorcan McGee, Martin Clerkin, Dermot McMeel, Mark Colton, Niall McGuire, Thomas Kelly, Declan Callery. Our U16 team provided the hard luck story of the club this year. They reached the final of the league defeating a much fancied Truagh team in the semi-final. Clones provided the opposition and in an earlier meeting they had finished level so everyone knew it wasn't going to be easy. Emyvale trailed by five points at half-time playing into a strong breeze but in the second half they drew level only to see Clones pull away from them again. Emyvale dug deep and with a few minutes to go, trailed by just one point. Unfortunately time ran out before they got the equaliser and Clones lifted the McCormick Cup. It was very disappointing from the team and team manager Paddy Kelly, with selectors Willie Flannery and Michael McGee, who had put in such a huge effort during the year but on the day, they just didn't play as well as they can. The big occasion seemed to get to them and they never really settled into the game. They have a great squad and if they stay together, there could be a minor double in store for them. The team was: Declan Callery, Thomas Kelly, John Flannery, Killian McKenna, Enda McCrudden, Ryan McGee, Martin Connolly, Michael Flannery, Brendan McKenna, Niall McGuire, Mark Colton, Damien McKenna, Adrian McGee, Brendan Askin, Conor Corrigan. Subs: Jonathan Bellew, Shane Fields, Niall Kelly, Paul Curley, Michael Kelly, Colm McAdam, Sean McMeel, Finbar McKenna, Colin Donnelly, Barry McGuirk. - Emyvale GAA Down but hardly out Less than 18 months ago, the Emyvale seniors were practically poleaxed after receiving a double whammy at the hands of Inniskeen in the intermediate league and championship finals. So how does a club pick itself up from such blows? Long-serving player Raymond Kelly feels that nurturing the grass roots more intensely is as good a way forward as any. Somehow even the dogs in the street down Emyvale way knew that the local football club was going to have a rough time of it at adult level in 2001. After all, it felt as if the guts of the club had been torn out by the Grattans the previous summer with their back-to-back county final triumphs over the north Monaghan side. Even though promotion to the top flight offered a measure of consolation for the Emyvale lads in 2000, team spirit was badly effected by the double defeat. The feeling of despondency from the tale end of the 2000 season was added to by injuries which kicked in the following season (John Finn and Paddy O'Brien to name but two) and a brace of retirements (Eamonn Murphy, Macartan McElroy and Raymond himself included). In this way, the reasons behind Emyvale's tale of woe in 2001 become crystal clear. Though the angst and frustration of those defeats to Inniskeen still radiate from Raymond Kelly's thoughts as he reflects on the travails of 2000 and 2001, there is a suggestion that he feels that his beloved club can regain ground. "Emyvale shouldn't be afraid to take on any club at intermediate level in the coming year but the players need to give the necessary commitment for the club to bounce back into senior ranks. "The club has the talent to win back its place in senior ranks and with a fresh start and a new backroom team, maybe the lads will renew their appetites and do well. After all with the likes of Tyholland and Ballybay removed from intermediate ranks, the players should fancy their chances of beating the rest." One of the most commited and loyal clubmen at Emyvale over the last 20 years or thereabouts, Raymond doesn't pull any punches though in assessing just where things have gone wrong at the club in latter days. At 35 he has been around long enough to understand that players only get the results their hard work on the training ground merits. In this regard, he feels that the commitment shown by the players as a unit in recent times has been less than what it ought to have been. "Even when we got to the intermediate league and championship finals in 2000, we were working from a panel of not much more than 18 players, But I don't think the players as a group had recovered by last year from the body blows of losing those two matches to Inniskeen. Heads went down, big-time, and team spirit suffered accordingly. "Not winning anything in 2000 was a hard pill to swallow and it was the lack of silverware that made the year so disappointing. We had made a big effort but ended up with nothing to show for it. You can't beat winning to lift a club and when we didn't come good in the two finals, the effect on morale was devastating," adds Raymond, husband of Fionnuala and father of Jack (5) and Ryan (two). As someone who always loved training and playing from the time he first played senior football with Emyvale at the age of 15, Raymond took a while to arrive at the decision not to throw in his lot with the team in 2001. After all, who wouldn't want to add to a bevy of medals which included junior league and championship, Hackett Cup, under 21 and Kerley Cup medals. However, apart from a couple of cameo appearances - "when I was so unfit I shouldn't really have been playing" - in the early stages of the league against the likes of 'Blayney, Raymond didn't make any contribute to Emyvale's campaign in 2001. "I lost my appetite and enthusiasm for the game after what happened in 2000 plus the fact that I just hadn't the time to give to training because of the pressure of work and wanting to spend more time with my family. "Five years ago I would have went anywhere and done anything for the good of the team but last year I just found I hadn't the time or possibly the inclination to give 100% to the team," the self-employed Emyvale-based tiling and flooring specialist. Given Raymond's record of commitment and achievement over the years with his native club, it's hardly surprising to learn that he has had reason to feel disappointed at the less than commited approach by some present day players. He feels that young fellas don't have the same innate interest in playing football and representing their native club as their clubmates from past times. But what of the game itself? Has it changed in his time? "Definitely. Gaelic football is a game for young, single fellas. Even at club level the demands on your time are unbelievable. The game isn't as physical as it was years ago either and I don't think there's the same depth in strength in terms of quality players nowadays. "It's also much more a game for athletes now. Fitness is the big thing. Players can run faster and for longer because the emphasis at every club has been so much on getting players fit rather than honing their football skills. But I don't think the players nowadays are any better at taking their points or finding their men with a kick pass." And the way ahead for clubs? "I think coaching the skills of the game has to become the most important aspect of a club's work at all age groups. Training for underage players especially has to be made more interesting and has to be varied so that they'll want to turn up and learn the basics of the game. "There's been a lot of good work at underage in Emyvale over the years but much more work needs to be done because for too many years we had very little talent coming through from minor ranks. "It was great to see the minors winning the Treanor Cup in 2001 but disappointing that they weren't able to add the championship title as well. Hopefully though a good few of them will be encouraged to join in with the seniors for training. "A club needs to have a strong senior panel if its to be successful and the more fellas you can bring on from minor and under 21 levels the better your chances of gaining success at senior level. "Unfortunately too often over the years we had to work with a skeleton squad at senior level because not enough young fellas came through from underage ranks. "The fellas on the Emyvale teams that won the junior double in 1985 and reached the senior championship final against 'Blayney afterwards were the same players that were playing on the senior team up until a year or two ago. There was very little fresh, young blood introduced over those years." "We need to introduce new blood to the senior team over the next year or two and try and make sure that their interest and commitment is maintained once they do get a few runs with the seniors." Leave it to Raymond and co. to ensure a better future for Emyvale. Tweet

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