Despite the fact that he's barely into his thirties, Seamus Coyle has built up a very impressive curriculum vitae within the 'oftimes claustrophobic world of Gaelic games. A commited Gael, his loyalty is divided equally between club and county. Kevin Carney reports High expectations among the local faithful have enveloped the Latton club year in, year out like the morning dew covering Pairc Ui Raghallaigh. For stalwarts like Seamus Coyle, however, the non-realisation of such dreams is not something which is likely to prompt him to throw in the towel. No, Coyle is most definitely in for the long haul. Even if he tends to agree with the countywide notion that the Latton seniors are the great underachievers of the last ten years, the long-time club administrator isn't prepared to jump ship. It's Latton or nobody for him, one would imagine. When the likes of Davin, Cusack and co. got together to establish the GAA back in 1884, they would doubtless have had the likes of Seamus Coyle in mind when they sought to recruit willing and able disciples. But while our man Coyle has undoubtedly been good for the O'Rahillys and Monaghan GAA fraternities, the man himself insists the relationship he has enjoyed with the GAA at club and county levels has been very much a two-way street: "I have gotten tremendous enjoyment from my involvement with the GAA. I have met and worked with some great people who do some unbelievable amount of work, all on a voluntary basis. "The GAA is a great organisation but its the people within the Association who make it great and over the course of my time with Latton and the Monaghan County Board, I have come to appreciate and marvel at the number of dedicated and loyal members that are spread right throughout the county," Seamus enthuses. Whatever about Seamus's appraisal of the work ethic and sincerity of the GAA's foot soldiers, there is little doubt but that he is a man who delights in looking at the glass as being half-empty rather than half-full. Seamus Coyle's enthusiasm is positively infectious. His competency as a GAA administrator is beyond reproach and those who recognise his modus operandi better than most will tell you that it'll be a surprise if he doesn't rise up the ladder quite spectacularly over the coming years. Either way, Seamus Coyle's involvement at various levels of the Association can be summed up as a veritable labour of love - a love affair that began at a very early age and doesn't look like it will ever hit the rocks. The 31-year old hails from a mad-GAA household. He inherited his gra for Gaelic games from his dad and uncles, one of whom, Jimmy Coyle, was a fine footballer in his day and was deemed good enough to be handed a place on both Cavan and Monaghan senior football teams. Of course the Coyle family has been inextricably linked with the Latton club since the club's foundation in 1917. For the first half-century of its existence, the O'Rahillys played their games in Coyle's Field, land which is still owned by Seamus's family. Treasurer of the Latton club since 1990 and PRO since 1988, Seamus seems to have been at the coalface of Gaelic games affairs in his native area for even longer such is his profile and workrate at the O'Rahillys. Reflecting on his work to date with the club, Seamus says he has been fortunate to have been present over the course of what is inarguably Latton's halcyon period. "I've been really lucky in that I've been part of the club's administration during what could be termed Latton's golden period of the late eighties, early nineties. "Those were brilliant times for the club. The club reached the junior final in 1980 but unfortunately lost out to Eire Og. But then in 1989 we won the junior league and championship double and went on to win the Hackett Cup in 1990. It's been great that we've been able to remain in the senior grade ever since. "One of the highlights for me over the last ten years or so was our success in reaching the senior championship final in '96. That was an achievement never to be forgotten." Things could have gotten even better that year though? "Certainly, but it wasn't to be. It was the first time we had reached the county final since we actually won it back in 1930 and I think the euphoria of the occasion got to some of our lads. "I remember we played some great stuff early on in the match against what was one of the best 'Blayney teams ever. As the game went on though, I feel the Latton players felt they somehow weren't entitled to be in with a shout of winning the game and 'Blayney used their great experience to ease their way to victory." Latton did, of course, have gained varying degrees of revenge over Blayney over subsequent years for their '96 final defeat- the club's first round championship victory in 2001 over the Faughs being a case in point. "With a new management team of Tony McGorman, Gerry Connolly, Brendan Fitzpatrick, Patrick Hamilton trainer, and in place, there was a belief in the club that we had an experienced team along the sideline and the material on the field of play to make a big impression in 2001. "The commitment shown by the players in 2001 was exceptional and they really did themselves proud by beating 'Blayney in style in the championship game in Aughnamullen. "Beating 'Blayney raised the hopes of everyone involved in the Latton club but unfortunately the lads just didn't perform against Truagh next time out but it's a young team, a team that's still maturing and one that will have learned from their experiences over the past year." Interestingly, Seamus believes that the Latton players have both the temperament and the ability to mix it with the best there is in Monaghan, including the Faughs, but he feels that the players need to find that extra bit of self-belief to make it to the winners' enclosure in the coming year(s). "The seniors showed just how good they are in winning the Ulster Sevens tournament in Truagh and then again in the All-Ireland Sevens competition in Kilmacud on the eve of the All-Ireland where they beat teams of such quality as Sarsfields from Kildare and Omagh St. Endas." So how does the current County Development Officer (elected in 1998) and County Liason Officer (elected in 1999) think the present county squad compares to the Latton teams of yore? "It's difficult to compare teams from different eras but I would say the current team is as good a squad as I've seen in my time. "With players of the calibre of the Coyle brothers, Owen Lennon and Stephen Fitpatrick, the current side has fellas who are likely to figure on county teams for years to come and if the team as a whole can mature and gain further experience and perhaps win an Owen Ward Cup in the next year or so, I have no doubt but that they'll be knocking on the door of a championship win very shortly." Seamus is convinced that an Owen Ward Cup success is a pre-requisite for Mick Duffy Cup joy. He says Magheracloone, with a recent double in this respect, have that wee bit of an edge over Latton right now but that neither club, nor Truagh, are far off the pace currently being set by 'Blayney. A man with inside information, Coyle's thoughts have to be respected. Now where's that bookie gone to? No Latton up Latton O'Rahillys made the kind of waves in 2001 that would keep even the most sado-masochistic surfer happy. Gerry Robinson speaks to Stephen Fitzpatrick, a young man who enjoyed a brilliant year on three fronts, impressing with: the Latton seniors as they made bold bids in both league and championship; the Monaghan minors (who reached the Ulster final); and the Monaghan Vocational Schools team which tasted All-Ireland glory in the spring. Simply put, it was a great year for Latton. They stood up to be counted amongst the senior grade's big boys and can consider themselves extremely unfortunate not to have finished the year with some silverware tucked safely into some unmarked locker in their rural clubhouse. A sensational championship victory over Castleblayney Faughs (who subsequently won the Duffy Cup via the back door) was arguably the highlight of a season which saw the O'Rahillys establish themselves as one of the county's foremost forces. An uncharacteristic off-day against Truagh Gaels in the SFC semi-final cost the Latton men what would have been a titanic meeting with 'blayney in the county final and they were also unlucky not to make the last four of the Division One league. It would be all too easy for Latton to now sit back and clap themselves on the back, wallowing in the achievement of a reasonably satisfactory season. But, encouragingly, they're not prepared to do so. Instead they intend to use '01 as a basis from which to build for a successful future. They 're close to the big time now; they know that if they can build upon their 2001 showing then they'll become a power to be reckoned with. They certainly appear to have the players. What club in the county wouldn't love to boast a talent such as Stephen Fitzpatrick? The young wing back was prominent for Latton throughout the season and also collected an All-Ireland medal with the Monaghan VS team and helped his county reach the Ulster MFC final. Was he happy with how things went on the club front? "We were happy with the win over 'blayney and getting to the championship semi-final but we just didn't perform on the day against Truagh. We had put in a lot of effort all year and were disappointed to see it all end in a one-point defeat. "We were also annoyed with the manner in which our league campaign ended. We were relying on Castleblayney to beat Truagh in their last game. That would've given us a play-off against Truagh for a place in the semi-final and we'd have really fancied ourselves, but 'blayney gave Truagh the points which was really disappointing. It was a big blow because the league had probably been our main priority for the year." It was certainly less reward than Latton deserved. "We played some really good football during the year. Of course, there were days when we went out and it just didn't happen and we didn't click, but when we hit form we were very difficult to beat. In the championship against Carrickmacross and Castleblayney we were flying and everything was happening for us." Difficult as it is to believe, it was actually only Stephen's second year on the Latton starting XV. He says he is very encouraged by the way the team is shaping up. "It's a very young team, with the average age in the low twenties, and all the players are coming through at the right time. "We're coming close to peaking. I'm looking forward to next year already! If we get a couple of wins early on in the season, that should set us up nicely for the year. Tony McGorman, Gerry Connolly and Paddy Martin did a great job in charge of the team in 2001. They really worked with us on the coaching skills and Paddy had every player on the team fitter than ever before." Sadly, in spite of the heroic defeat of the Faughs, the abiding memory of Latton's year is the unexpected championship semi-final reversal at the hands of Truagh at Scotstown. It's one that sticks in the players' throats like some unsavoury morsel of discontentment: "We were expecting to win the game, although I'd say we were more confident than cocky. Without taking anything away from Truagh - they did the business on the day - things just didn't go for us. We'd beaten them well in the league twice and the whole thing was very disappointing. "I think we could've beaten Castleblayney in the final. We'd certainly have given them a run for their money. Everyone was saying that our defeat of them was a one-off and that we just happened to catch them on the hop, so we'd have had a point to prove and " honestly believe we'd have taken them." Meanwhile, the Monaghan Vocational Schools team that Stephen featured on refused to bend a knee, marching to national glory under the astute leadership of county legends Hugo Clerkin and Paddy Kerr. A student at Ballybay Community College at the time of the All-Ireland win, Stephen lined out at midfield on the triumphant VS combination. "We had a good team with strong players in every position and we were really up for it from the start of the year," he reflects. And the county minors made many friends with a superb run to the Ulster final, wherein they tested Tyrone to the limit before losing narrowly. "We beat Donegal in the first round and Cavan in the semi-final. We lost the final to Tyrone by six points but it was a closer game than the scoreline suggests. We played well on the day and matched Tyrone all the way but didn't take our chances at vital moments." Finally, what are Stephen's hopes and expectations for the coming season? "We're going to be aiming for both the league final and the championship final. If we can get to the finals, then we'll see what happens. There's no point saying we'll win this or we'll win that; the important thing is to put ourselves into a position where we can win something. Our objective is to win a championship within the next two years, but we may have to win a league first before we can win the big one." In the middle of October, at a time when most footballers were settling into their winter break, Stephen Fitzpatrick resumed training with the county under 21s who were already beginning preparations for their 2002 campaign. It sure was a busy year for the young Latton man... U15 hurlers big day The under 15 hurlers of Latton posted notice of their intention to shake up the status quo within the corridors of power in Monaghan hurling circles with a hugely-impressive county title triumph at the expense of Inniskeen Grattans last October at the well-appointed Carrickmacross venue. The young Latton crew proved themselves worthy winners of the title having disposed of the challenge of defending champions Castleblayney Faughs in the semi-finals. Latton's fine 7-5 to 4-3 win over the Faughs in Aughnamullen not only booked a place in the final but also served as sweet revenge for their defeat to the town team in the corresponding under 14 final in 2000. Still team-manager Gerry Naughton and his charges weren't about to take their final opponents for granted and in a nip and tuck decider, Latton needed to play to their optimum best to win the day. In a match which saw both sets of players do themselves and their clubs full credit, the winners-elect played the better hurling overall on a near-perfect day for hurling. Latton were particularly strong up the middle where the triumvirate of Bernard O'Brien, Brendan Naughton and Karl Conlon were outstanding over the hour. Always looking like potential title-winners, Latton sped from the blocks and deservedly led at half-time. On the restart, Inniskeen came back strongly but Latton's greater skills and fitness combined to edge them past the winning post on foot of a 3-3 to 1-3 scoreline. The following is the Latton line-up, including scorers; Ross Connolly, Gavin Smith, Bernard O'Brien, Shane Lavelle (1-0), Michael Connors, Edwin Lennon, James Coyle, Brendan Naughton (0-1), Karl Conlon (2-2), Francis McGuinness, Tiernan Shannon, Owen Duffy, Pauric Duffy, Deaglan Connolly, Sean Mooney. Subs; Fintan Lennon, Rory Fitzpatrick, Patrick Connors, George Connors, Vincent O'Reilly. Tweet

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