Paula Corrigan is the new Secretary of Swanlinbar GFC. She has taken on the job with both eyes wide open. It seems like Paula Corrigan is wont to climb the GAA's pecking order in her native Swad whether that's in her grand plan or not. After just one year as Public Relations Officer of the west Cavan club, Paula was fast-tracked by the local gaels into arguably the most demanding of administration positions. Paula was the club's reliable and competent PRO in 2008 but, for the coming year, she'll act as Secretary of Swanlinbar having been elected unopposed at the club's most recent AGM. She insists that as she made her way to the Annual General Meeting, she had no inkling of the proposition that awaited her when the election of officers came around. Whatever talk there may have been on the grapevine about the decision of long-time Secretary Padraig Gilheaney to step down, Paula says she was out of the loop on that one. "I didn't have a notion about what was coming," the hard-working club officer says of her elevation up the ranks. I suppose Padraig (Gilheaney) just wanted a break from the job. "He was a long time at it and deserves the rest but it'll be a hard job to fill his shoes. I can only give it my best shot though and hope that that's good enough at the end of the day." And so how much rail-roading was needed before she ultimately agreed to get into the mother and father of all GAA club harnesses? "About ten minutes," she quips. "I don't think I had much choice, one way or the other. There was no election so I was straight into the job. I'll have to make the best of it now. "I'm going into the job with my eyes wide open and won't have anyone else to blame if it doesn't work out for me. I'm fully aware of the workload that's involved as Secretary." Paula made her maiden voyage last year as a member of Swad's parent committee. In 2009 she'll be joined on the committee by another member of the fairer sex, Agnes McGovern. A full-time employee of the Derrylin-based Quinns operation, Paula is well versed in the workings of the body GAA, having been born and reared in a Gaelic games-mad household. Her father Ciaran McGovern is a former chairman of Swanlinbar GFC and joins Paula on the 2009 senior committee. A gra for matters GAA are, essentially, in Paula's genes. Indeed, Paula is one of the few families in Cavan who can claim to be of Sam Maguire Cup-winning stock. Her Granduncle was Owen Roe McGovern of 1947 Polo Grounds fame. As they say in the vernacular, she married into football as well. Seasoned corner-back Seamus Corrigan is her proud husband. Both were disappointed by the events of 2008. "It was a disappointing year overall," Paula opines. "The (intermediate) championship proved a bit too much although we didn't have the best of luck with injuries and sending-offs." As the record books will show, Swad let Kill off the hook, big-time, in their opening championship salvo. The replay saw Swad go down by 2-6 to 1-16. Swanlinbar played well in patches but, after throwing away a nine point lead in the drawn game, the team seemed to lose some of its self-belief when the heat was turned on. Things looked ominous for Swad as Kill raced into a comfortable 0-4 to 0-0 lead with just eleven minutes on the clock. Swad busily circled the wagons though and Robbie Prior belatedly opened the scoring for his team with a point from a free. Things gradually improved for the blue and whites with a rejuvenation of Swad spirits serving to change the shape of the contest. Swad's countyman Mark Cunningham added another point from a free before Gearoid McKiernan took the oppportunity to steal the limelight. The strapping county minor star won the kick out in the middle of the field and ran at the Kill defence before blasting to the back of the net for a brillant solo goal. McKiernan's magic suddenly had Swad in front, 1-2 to 0-4, for the first time in the match and left Kill looking vulnerable for the first time since the opening whistle. Kill replied with a hat-trick of points but once more Gearoid McKiernan was at the heart of matters, winning the kick out in midfield and launching a long ball into Robbie Prior. The long-time chief-attacker for Swad proceeded to make no mistake by rifling the ball to the back of the Kill net with some aplomb. Swad dug deep once again and Robbie Prior and Mark Cunnigham added two points to edge Swad into a 2-4 to 0-9 lead at the half-way mark. Swad showed their ambition and determination to stay in front within seconds of the commencement of the second half with Mark Cunningham converting a free. Kill proceeded to take a firm grip at midfield and Swad were left threading deep water and two scoreable frees were spurned to add to their woes as the final quarter advanced. As things panned out, Kill struck the killer blow in the 50th miniute by goaling to leave Swad trailing by 2-5 to 1-14. To their credit, Swad battled to the last and John Cunningham pulled one back for Swad but it proved to be the last score of the game. "The sending off of Mark Cunningham against Kill was a very big blow to the team," Paula reflects, "because we had a good chance for us to beat them. "We should have beaten them (Kill) the first day after going nine points in front but we let them come back at us and get the draw which I think hit morale fairly hard. "It was hard to keep the momentum going after the defeat to Kill. It was eleven weeks between the Kill game and the next one against Killeshandra in the backdoor. "Unfortunately we were never really in the running to get the points against Killeshandra and they won fairly easily after a couple of goals broke the back of our challenge." Certainly, Swad's 0-7 to 2-12 defeat at Templeport had much to do with the blue and white's concession of two goals in the space of two minutes during the final quarter. The game was one of a series of contrasts with the first half a very evenly-contested affair during which time both sides arguably produced their best football. The west Cavan crew showed a good appetite for the fray initially and thanks, in part, to some fine points from Damien Leydon and Michael Curran, were deservedly on level terms, 0-3 apiece, with 19 minutes on the clock. In trying conditions made particularly awkward by the slippery conditions, a series of goal chances were carved out by both teams during the opening moiety but on each occasions the respective 'keepers were a match for their direct opponents. Swad had two decent goal chances but each time Robbie Prior and Michael Cunningham were left frustrated by the agility and alertness of the Killeshandra goalkeeper. Similarly, Gerard Scollan performed heroics at the other end for Swad with his 18th minute penalty save was particularly inspirational. Powered forward by an in-form half-back line, Killeshandra sought to nip into a quick lead in the second half after the sides went into the break tied at 0-5 apiece. Swad decided to relocate John Cunningham from midfield into full-forward but whatever they gained on the swings from doing so, they seemed to lose on the roundabout. Without Cunningham alongside, high-fielding Gearoid McKiernan seemed over-burdened in the vital diamond area of the field and Killeshandra began to chisel out a clear majority of Still, Swad hung in their despite conceding three further points entering the final quarter as they sought to eat into the Leaguers' 0-9 to 0-6 lead with 17 minutes left to play. However things went down hill, big-time, for Swad thereafter with two majors being plundered by Killeshandra in expert breakaway attacks. And thereafter? "We were beaten by Laragh and then by Drumalee which put us back down to junior. It was really disappoining having won the (junior) championship two years ago," Paula admits. "We're hoping the lads can come back strongly in 2009. A lot of the younger lads will be that bit more experienced next season and hopefully will have learned from 2008." As for Swad's ACFL campaign, Paula says the team experienced a sluggish start but a finish that wasn't quite potent enough to seal an anticipated promotion-winning berth. "The consensus among those at the AGM was that we've a young team that will hopefully get better. It's not all about winning but we'd like to experience another championship win. "It's important that players at underage level have good role models to look up to at the club and if those role models are winning county medals, well then all the better for everyone." Tweet

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