On the back of making history to capture the first ever Ulster Championship crown in the intermediate grade, our ladies achieved league promotion from Division Three this season before exiting in the group stages of the All-Ireland Intermediate Football Championship. Picture the scene, Aisling Doonan has already burst the Fermanagh net with a thunderous penalty, and along with her the other forwards just can't stop tagging on the points that pave the way for eventual victory. Celebrations spark-off in Clones at the full-time whistle as Cavan have just captured the Ulster IFC for the first time, prompting Doonan along with Patricia Lynch and others to go absolutely nuts. Grainne Smith, Laura Corrigan, Pamela Crowe and Claire Murtagh are all there, while star forward Bronagh Sheridan is hobbling along on one good foot from the dug-out getting ready to join in the carousing, team captain Ailish Cornyn is making her way towards the main stand ready to hoist the cup. This looked like a sign of good things to come from Eamon Lynch's side, with an All-Ireland title next up on the agenda, who could deny that this talented outfit weren't to go all the way on the evidence of an awesome performance against their rivalled Erneside neighboursWhat a difference a few months can make. Following their provincial triumph in July 2007, the Breffni Ladies fell hard in their attempts of running towards All-Ireland glory with defeat to Wexford in the last eight at Ballyboden, home to the St Enda's club in Dublin. It was there where the cracks of what looked like becoming a great team began to chip. The year's opening training session for 2008 saw Eamon Lynch with some very notable absentees. Pamela Crowe, Laura Corrigan, Elaine Costello and Grainne Smith had all ruled themselves out of an appearance in a blue jersey for the entire season, between both commitment and travelling purposes. Skipper Ailish Cornyn, Claire Murtagh, Joanne Moore and Renee Murphy were also set to depart from the squad come the summer's championship for similar reasons Nevertheless, the Gowna native set the first objective for the team early on in the year - promotion from Division Three of the National Football League. With Cornyn's departure from the panel impending, crafty attacker Aisling Doonan was handed the reins of captaincy for a season that had plenty of questions for the Breffni women to answer: Could they cope without their exiled members? Could they achieve what they had failed to the previous year with them, and make the jump to Division Two? To help fill the vacancies left behind from the players of 2007, Lynch drafted in the likes of Grainne McGlade, Sheana Kiernan and Lavey prospect Rachel Jordan into the squad, with Bronagh Sheridan also fit and ready for duty following recovery from that ravage ankle injury which kept her sidelined from last summer's main stage. And so, Lynch and his somewhat new-look Cavan side began setting about seeking promotion into Division Two for the close of the decade. An impressive run that read as five wins from five against Louth, Roscommon, Offaly, Carlow and Derry (semi-final) respectively, led Cavan to the division final where they faced off against a Limerick side, who would have felt some kind of advantage lay with them given the decider was to played in Semple Stadium, Thurles, which nestles right beside them. However, the Blues travelled south confident that with a good performance the Division Three title could be theirs, and ultimate promotion to the second tier for 2009 along with it. The game's start on that bright May afternoon really could not have been more ideal from the Breffni County's point of view. Midfielder Patricia Lynch, daughter of manager Eamon, remembers that Cavan had the game all but rapped up by the break until Limerick struck for goal early in the second-half. "We were all over them in the first-half," said Lynch. "They (Limerick) got a goal early on after half-time that brought them back into the game, but we played well in the second-half though and got a late goal that finished it off for us." Cavan sailed into a 0-8 to 0-2 lead at the interval with Aisling Doonan, Roisin O'Keefe and Bronagh Sheridan hitting over the singles that put them into a cushioned lead by the break that could well have been more had Sharon Cassidy's effort late on hit the net. Sheridan's second point of the game looked to have Cavan yearning for more of the same early in the second-half, but a goal from Emer Enright restored the Treaty Ladies' bid for the title. Dympna O'Brien soon backed up the game's opening major by sending over her fourth and final point of the game, cutting the deficit to just a point one. An experienced Cavan side showed steady composure though in the closing stages and when Brid Boylan crept in from the right corner to fed Renee Murphy with a splendid pass, the substitute made no mistake as she netted her side to a 1-9 to 1-5 victory, assuring the leap to Division Two was made. Cavan (Div 3 final v Limerick): Christine McCutheon; Joanne Moore, Siobhan McGorry, Sheana Kiernan; A Harton, Ailish Cornyn, Donna English; Patricia Lynch, Claire Murtagh; Bronagh Sheridan (0-2), Aisling Doonan (0-3, 2f), Claire Kearns; Sharon Cassidy (0-1), Roisin O'Keefe (0-2), Brid Boylan (0-1). Subs: Mona Sheridan, Renee Murphy (1-0). After the game Cavan manager Eamon Lynch was ecstatic with the fact that his team would be competing at a higher level next season. "Cavan Ladies will be playing Division Two football next year. I think it's good for them. I think it's what they need," enthused Lynch. "You need strong matches in the league coming up to your championship. Now we fought two strong matches, Limerick and Derry both. You need those matches all year. "I would be very, very surprised if our girls are not fit for Division Two football," he added. Some of the players' performances that day did not go unnoticed either. Both Ailish Cornyn and Bronagh Sheridan earned call-ups to compete with the Ulster team in the inter-provincial championships at Athlone in May. The northern province eased towards the final where they saw off Munster by a considerable margin that included Sheridan's second-half penalty to collect the Mick Talbot Cup. With the league title safely secured, Cavan now turned their attentions to defending their Ulster Championship crown against their bitter Fermanagh rivals in the closing days of June. This time however, Lynch's team would have home advantage at Kingspan Breffni Park. As they had in Thurles, Cavan began the game in positive fashion, going 0-3 to 0-1 ahead in the opening stages thanks to the scores of Aisling Doonan, Roisin O'Keefe and Sharon Cassidy. They extended it to four before Aisling Moane's goal just before half-time was backed up by Marcella Connolly's point to leave things level at the break. A Brid Boylan goal minutes into the second-half got Cavan off to the ideal restart, but the Ernesiders kept picking off the points even when Bronagh Sheridan's late point looked to have stolen it for the hosts late on, but Caroline Little's white flag four minutes into the added on time saved a replay in Enniskillen for Fermanagh. "We had plenty of scoring chances and we should have won that first game," Patricia remembers. "In the replay in Enniskillen we just didn't go out with that same attitude I thought. The game was on a Tuesday evening and we were playing Limerick the following Sunday, we weren't happy about that but we played it anyway and ended up losing to them (Fermanagh). Cavan's dream of successfully defending the Ulster IFC title died in Brewster Park ten days later, as Fermanagh gained revenge for the previous year's defeat on what was a bleak Tuesday evening when Eamon Lynch's charges would return back across the border trophyless. Five days later Cavan were forced to battle it out with another side seeking revenge in Limerick but would pass the test with flying colours by 2-15 to 1-11 to win their opening game in the group stages of the All-Ireland IFC. Losses to Clare and Tipperary followed though and left Cavan depending on the other result in the group as they went to battle with Roscommon. Despite overcoming the Rossies challenge, the Breffni Ladies still didn't have the sufficient points stored to advance to the semi-finals and it was Tipp and Clare who would progress to the last four, with both meeting each other again in the decider in September at Croke Park where the Premier County would emerge victorious on a score of 0-14 to 1-8. Cavan now look forward to the 2009 season that beckons for them in Division Two of the National League, hoping to put their three crushing defeats of the past 12 months firmly behind them. With players poised to return to the setup, Patricia Lynch has no doubt that the objectives for the coming year will mirror those of the previous term in that Cavan can achieve the coveted All-Ireland glory that they so desire. "They will be the same as this year," she says. "We will have everyone back and ready. With a full panel of players it will be totally different to last year and hopefully that's what will happen." Tweet

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