The first half of 2005 saw Seans in flying form. The second half cemented their propulsion through the relegation trapdoor. It's difficult to sees things with a rosy hue when the thorny issue of seemingly perennial injury is eating away at your innate positive psyche. Sometimes wear and tear of the mind can be as draining to a footballer as tears and breakages of ligaments and bones. Conor McElvaney has been under the cosh on both fronts over the last three years and it would be understandable if both his mind and body shouted 'enough' in unison Because of injuries, the Sean McDermotts star has failed to see out any of the last three seasons. It's been a run of ill-luck which has tested his body and will to the full. Three years ago it was a partial tear of the cruciate ligament in his knee; the following year a smack in the jaw and ankle trouble kicked in and last year a broken leg. "They say things happen in threes so hopefully 2005 will have seen the end of the run of injuries but I have to get the leg 100% before I look at next year," Conor says. As if 2005 didn't unearth enough troubles for Conor and Co. around Corcaghan/Threemilehouse way, a painful fracture of his fibula was all that was needed. Worse still, the break happened at the most inopportune time possible for the seasoned clubman and all belonging to Seans. Faced with a relegation play-off against Ballybay, Seans needed to be at their best to avoid relegation to intermediate but they didn't count on losing two of their finest. Just six minutes into the match in Clontibret, Conor gained possession and attempted to get his side on the forefoot and heading for the Pearse Brothers goal. "I got the ball and went to turn right but just at that point one of their defenders came into tackle and our two legs clashed accidentally. "My ankle got stuck in the ground as I turned and it got disclocated and ended up with a break in the fibula. "I could hear the crack and knew immediately I was in trouble. My leg felt like it was on fire and after a while I was on my way to hospital in Drogheda," Conor recalls. Just to rub salt into the Seans' wound, ace midfielder Niall McGuirk was forced off injured hardly more than four minutes after his team-mate's painful fracture. Conor says he personally went into the do-or-die tie with Ballybay in upbeat mode as the team was bolstered by the return of several players after injury and suspension. Hearing the news the following day of Seans' relegation saw Conor having to come to terms with the double whammy of at least four months out and relegation to boot. "I wouldn't worry about myself; the big blow is the club going back down to intermediate especially after all the work that was done on the development of the club grounds "We wanted to go a long way to matching the work off the pitch with some good wins on the pitch and it would have been nice to be still playing senior," Conor laments. It seemed like the Gods just weren't prepared to play ball with the Saffrons over the course of the past year. From the moment key man Christopher Connolly got injured in the first game of the season, it appeared as if someone or some party had the hex on Seans. And yet the first half of the 2005 season went swimmingly for the Threemilehouse-based gaels. Everything hinted at a year to remember rather than one to forget. The coming year will see Seans face into local derby battles with the likes of Eire Og, Aghabog, Clones, Monaghan Harps and Emyvale. Conor says that Sean McDermotts really ought to have avoided the drop but the numbers game worked against them to a large degree. "We have a small panel and once we got a run of injuries, we were in trouble. I think we had five fellas out injured at the same time during the year. "Up until the middle of June - when we had no injuries - we were lying in third place and had won something like seven out of our first nine games. "Then after the injuries kicked in we went nine matches on the trot without a win which was a disaster and got us into relegation trouble." The second half of the 2005 season was a sore disappointment to the Saffrons who had geared themselves up at the outset for a possible top-four position in the league. Seans hoped to do as well as they could in the championship but the greater focus was on retaining their senior league status. A tilt at the championship could wait. And yet the form the club showed initially in the championship last season showed more than a hint of promise that it too could be eyed with some ambition. In the first round match on May 15th, the underdogs only lost out by 1-13 to 1-16 but the suspension of Patrick Kieran was the portent of the ill-fortune just on the horizon. The defeat to the Mitchells was followed by a similar result in the backdoor system when Tyholland proved masters in Scotstown in comfortable fashion. Still victory against Magheracloone in the league on the Tuesday following the championship by a handful of points continued the club's rollercoaster season unabated. It appeared as if Seans had league matters very much under control and only a slim defeat to Truagh prevented the McDermotts' crew from topping the table. But not long after beating would-be SFC winners Latton in the league, things began to go belly-up for Seans. The slippery slope beckoned. "I suppose every team has its own excuses but our slump definitely only started when the injuries and suspensions piled up together," 26 year old Conor proffers. "2005 was a year of ups and downs for us; a year of two halves which had us flying at the start but then struggling in the second half. "We hadn't really any luck all year, especially at crucial times in the year when we were flying and building up a good head of steam in the league. " I remember when we beat Ballybay in the league at the end of July, Michael McGuinness came on for me after I got injured after just five minutes and then he got hurt. Conor has been playing for Seans' premier team for all of nine years now and confesses that the past season has arguably been his most disappointing one to date. Of course, 2004 packed a fair punch to Seans' solar plexus too but it winded the club rather than knocking them out. Still some people could see the haymaker coming. "We beat Scotstown in the last game of the season with a goal in the last few seconds to stay up and put Inniskeen down after they lost to Clontibret. "Looking back, the writing was on the wall a bit but then when we got in Danny Clerkin as manager, 2005 started so well and things were going great. "There was a good spirit in the camp at the start of the year and winning the Ulster league final against Drumgoon was a great boost to the team's confidence." What was the team doing well that put them on the forefoot at the start of the 2005 campaign? "We were just playing with a great spirit and confidence was good plus our workrate and fitness was first class," says the erstwhile senior county trialist. "The whole thing really unwravelled in the last three games of the year. "We lost to Carrick - who were bottom of the table at the time - after we were beating them well only for them to get a goal either side of half-time. "Then after a six weeks break we lost to Truagh in the final game of the year after we had beaten Ballybay to give ourselves a great chance of avoiding a play-off." So, two weeks later, Seans faced the same Ballybay team they had earlier beaten in the run-in to the finishing line. But shorn of the services of Conor and team-mate Niall (McGuirk) inside the first ten minutes, Seans slipped into the abyss with a late Ballybay flurry making the difference The 2006 season will see Conor's career turn full circle as it was into the intermediate environment that he stepped into as a 'senior' debutant when just seventeen. Regaining the IFC won last time in 2002 under the tutelage of Nudie Hughes will now be the task confronting Conor and co. For his part, the former county minor and under 21 ace is convinced that Seans can't take a return to senior ranks at the first time of asking for granted. "I wouldn't be too sure that we can rebound straight away. "We will be struggling for numbers again, I think, especially if we have the same bad luck with injuries. "But we won't fear any team and the football at intermediate level isn't as intense as senior. "Intermediate is a bit of a lottery but I'd be optimistic that we'll be back senior within the next couple of years." The late Cormac McEntee It was with a sense of deep sadness and loss that the club learned of the death of Cormac McEntee. A life long President of Sean Mac Diarmada G.A.C. Cormac was very much respected and held in high esteem, not only by everyone in the club but by all in our community. Possessing a very friendly disposition and easy going attitude Cormac always had TIME, time to talk, time to listen, time to advise and often his wise council resolved many a situation, like many in our community, club officials too were often grateful for his wisdom and advice. An ardent G.A.A. man Cormac played his football with the Threemilehouse club and was one of the last surviving members of his playing era. A keen follower of the Monaghan county team, Cormac was a regular at inter county matches. But it was "The Seans" that he was particularly passionate about. For ever taking a keen interest in club affairs and particularly so our most recent pitch development, not to mention giving a lifetime of loyal support to all football grades in the club. Quietly proud of his, and his families contribution and commitment to our club and to the GAA and equally proud that his grandchildren carry on the great tradition of their grandfather. Go ndeana Dia trocaire ar a ainm Tweet

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