Templeport Secretary Tony McCann has been a long time in the hot seat but, as he explains here, 2005 looks set to be his busiest and most rewarding to date. All belonging to Templeport St. Aidan's GFC are counting down the days to May 2nd, 2005. Talk about a red letter day! Suffice to say that the second day of next Summer promises to host one of the greatest events in the history of the proud west Cavan club. The official opening of the club's new grounds and attendant facilities has fairly whetted the appetite of all and sundry in the parish. And talking to the GAA club's serving secretary Tony McCann, even the uninitiated can almost feel a tingle going down one's spine. Tony makes it sound like the upcoming spectacular is just the far side of Easter such is his enthusiasm and level of anticipation. Thing is, such is the level of work that has been put into the project bye a whole host of dedicated club members - that one can imagine how they might be wishing the day was already done and dusted! "I don't expect anything to go wrong in the run-up but come May 3rd there'll be a lot of people within the club very much relieved and I'll be one of them," Tony confesses. Truth to tell, it's been a long, hard slog for those at the coalface as the new base for the green and golds has taken shape over the years. D-day is fast approaching though and, for his part, Tony is just keeping his fingers crossed that the special guests will be present and on time on the appointed day. "All going well, we have the two pitches finished - the main one and a training pitch - and ready for Cavan and Dublin to play on in the main game on the 2nd. "We're just waiting for the grass to mature and then it'll be all systems go and hopefully everything will go right on the day." Given the blood, sweat and (nearly) tears that have been shipped by the hard-working GAA folk over the course of bringing their ambitious project to fruition, it's difficult to imagine the self-same troupe leaving anything to chance as they approach the winning straight. There's simply been too much time, effort and commitment put in by Templeport GFC's stalwarts for things to go astray at this juncture. In addition, over one million euros will have been spent on the club's development by the time the polish is put on the project by means of footpaths, fencing etc. A lot of money, a lot of everything put into the mix then Tony? "Yeh but it's all worth it once you see how much of a lift it has given everyone in the club and everyone in the community as a whole. "The completion of the whole development work has put a spring into the step of us all and to see 35 fellas training on the new pitch from the beginning of this year is a great, positive thing to come from the work," enthuses the Belturbet native. There's no doubt about it. The good folk in Templeport are a progressive lot, very progressive and it's no wonder that so many 'erstwhile apathetic GAA observers in the locality have been brought into the fold by dint of the lead they've been given by Tony and co. The uptake on the club's life membership was fantastic, reaping a near 70,000 euros dividend. Another 30,000 can still be raked in yet, Tony surmises. Other successful fundraising ventures such as the club's Christmas draw brought in around 28,500 euros - another indication of the goodwill directed to the club. Add in a healthy helping (around 120,000 euros) received from the national lottery and income from the discos at the local Resource Centre the sums begin to add up. But when one considers that Templeport were one of the quickest out of the blocks - tailing neighbours Kilnawley in the process - in selling the £100 tickets many moons ago, their fundraising achievements in more recent years isn't too surprising. Tony expresses the hope that when May 2nd has come and gone, the remaining monies owed by the club will be "well under control and fairly easy to service without any major fundraising needing to be done." Monday, May 2nd can't come quickly enough, it appears, for the gaels of Templeport. That said, the day before the official opening should be a day to remember too. Templeport's finest will be in action on Sunday, May 1st and an expected attendance of some 400 people at a banquet later that evening will cement the feel-good factor among the local and visiting faithful. 2005 marks Tony's sixth year as Secretary of Templeport St. Aidan's. As any club person will tell you, a secretary's lot for one year is tough never mind sixfold. But before any kudos is laid at Tony's feet, he's in like a shot to throw bouquets, left, right and centre. He's fulsome in his praise for the club's army of lotto sellers (who sell the tickets principally in the Ballyconnell, Bawnboy and Ballymagovern areas), club Treasurer Frank Coll, the club's field development committee members, and last but not least, the 'leader of the pack' a.k.a. Thomas Doonan, Chairman of the club. "Thomas is the kind of fella who just won't take no for an answer. Everyone does their bit but Thomas had the vision and has led by example from day one." And with John Joe Martin's help in persuading Dublin boss Paul Caffrey to commit his charges to the official opening and Eamonn Coleman's crew on call, Templeport's Gala day should be all the reward the club stalwarts need and deserve. Former GAA President Sean McCague and incumbent Sean Kelly have been invited to attend the official opening and by that stage in the year, Tony and his fellow club members hope that the green and golds are well positioned to secure silverware in either league or championship campaigns. Tony was pleased to see former club players Declan Beatty (manager), Gareth Edwards (selector) and Manus McManus (selector) take up the challenge of guiding the club's seniors for 2005. "I'm optimistic that things can go as well for us on the field this year as off the field. "I'd be surprised if we don't win something major over the next three years. "It would be a major plus for the club if we could win promotion or win the junior championship. "Last year we weren't that far off the mark; we ran Butlersbridge close, drew with Shercock and weren't disgraced in our match with Redhills. "There's a good buzz about the club at the moment and come May I expect things to be even more lively around here," Tony concludes. Review: Templeport Ladies I can safely say that 2004 was a successful year all round for Templeport ladies, who seem to be going from strength to strength. Having had the championship taken from us this year we never gave up as we set our sights on the league title. A long absence of silver wear in the club made us more determined to fight for our well deserved place in Division 2. I would be lying if I said it was easy, as it wasn't. We trained from the beginning of the year right up to the cold, wet end. This however couldn't be done without our inspiration leader and backbone of the team, Adrian McGovern. We pushed ourselves to the limit and in beating Gowna, brought home the first bid of silver wear to west Cavan this year, which made all the hard work worth while. A well deserved mention must also go to Fr. Tom McKiernan, Martha Brady and Katie Donohoe on building up such a hard working, well spirited U12 team. The future of Templeport ladies can be seen with these talented young girls, determined for success. Watch this space!!! Also the U16 and Minor teams who put in a great effort in reaching both semi-finals this year but unfortunately losing out to Killygarry and Lurgan. On behalf of Templeport Ladies I would like to congratulate our captain, Martha Brady on managing to plan a wedding as well as giving her full dedication to football this year and we wish both Martha and Peter all the luck and success for the future. Templeport Ladies PRO Tweet

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