The twin ravages of emigration and economic hardship have served to help thwart the ambitions of the gaels of Corlough for many years. Now though the green and whites are on the crest of a wave as confirmed by club treasurer Hugh McManus and epitomised by the club's ongoing ground development work. Hamstrings suitably stretched, the wind at his back and with a dry ball at hand, Hugh McManus could almost drive the ball to Corlough's work-in-progress, a.k.a the club's new pitch development. Being the treasurer of the club, it's handy when you reside so close to Corlough GFC's headquarters. Not that mileage expenses ever comes into it as far as our man McManus is concerned. Like so many others on the committee alongside him, Hugh views his work for, and on behalf of, the Corlough club as a veritable labour of love. And it's been a laboursome time of late for all concerned with the green and whites as they attempt to get things right both on and off the field of play. It's been shoulders to the wheel, noses to the grindstone and more besides. Recent times in Corlough have seldom been anything less than demanding for gaels and non-gaels alike as people have strived to catch hold of the tail of the Celtic Tiger while, in football parlance, keeping a tug on the jerseys of latter-day high-flying neighbours. Those true to the cause though in Corlough are as stout-hearted and as committed as you'll find anywhere in the county. Despite the club's lack of success, the club boast as many stalwarts as the Gownas and Cavan Gaels clubs of this world. "There has been a lot of great workers in the club down the years and we've a good working committee at present too. Good, loyal servants of the club like John Magee may no longer be with us but fortunately there are always others who come along to step into the breach. "The club also gets great support from the community. Sean Feehan's gesture in donating the land for our new pitch is a case in point. That was a very generous thing to do, especially given the value of land these days. "The donation of the land is typical of the Feehans' commitment to the club. Sean himself is an outgoing senior selector and a former player while Noel and TP played for years while their father Joe was a selector back in the seventies," Hugh explains. In small, tightly-knit communities like Corlough, the business of having a grá for the local GAA club is very much an inherited thing for the most part. Hence you get a lot of the same families, like the Feehans, backboning the club for generations. Ironically, Hugh doesn't mind admitting that his own GAA pedigree is nothing to sing from the roofs about, save the support rendered to the club by his late brother P.J. and his father Hugh, though he's proud of the contribution he has made to Corlough GFC to date as a player (current) and a long-standing club officer. He has been treasurer, for instance, for the last five years. As club treasurer, Hugh has naturally been preoccupied with ongoing work at the club's new pitch for quite some time now. He understands and appreciates just how much a new home will mean to everyone at the club. Over the course of the last five years, the Corlough players have had to make do with playing their home matches away from home while waiting for their planned pitch development to reach fruition. Home games have, thus, been invariably played at host grounds nearby such as Kinawley and Teemore in Fermanagh, Aughawillan in Leitrim and across Breffni territory in Templeport, Kildallan, Swanlinbar and Cornafean. "It'll be a big boost to the players and everyone else when we are able to play on our own pitch. There's no doubt in my mind that we lost some matches at 'home' that we many not have lost if we'd been playing on a pitch we were familiar with. "The fact also that our 'gate' would have been effected by our supporters having to travel away to our home games didn't exactly help our finances or morale within the club." With the actual playing pitch now completed, work on the erection of dressing-rooms (four) and an expansive car park will continue right into the upcoming summer months leaving open the possibility that a match or two, or three (challenges etc) will take place to mark the unofficial opening of Corlough's new playing facility. Hugh explains that the development of a new ground was essential for the future of Corlough GFC. The existing pitch wasn't the requisite size for a gaelic football match and there were no feasible means by which the club could expand the playing area. Of course, despite being afforded the site for the development free of charge by Sean Feehan, the construction of the aforementioned ancillary facilities has put a certain degree of pressure on the club treasurer and co. Fortunately for those on the fundraising committee, the club lotto continues to be very successful. "We haven't had to borrow very much money, thanks mainly to the success of our lotto which we sell locally plus in areas like Ballinamore, Bawnboy, Swanlinbar and Ballyconnell. "We also ran a £10 ticket draw last year which we sold as far away as Carrick-on-Shannon, Mountnugent and Kinawley and which eventually brought us in around £40,000 which was a big help in funding the current development work. "Then there's the race nights we run and the generous sponsorship we receive from the likes of Martins' buses, Ronan Kellegher, McVitty Transport, Eugene O'Rourke and Aidan McGovern. We generally do well on the financial front," Hugh enthuses. Now if only the number of euros garnered by the green and white brigade could be matched by numbers at training and match days, then all at Corlough GFC would be more than just a little bit optimistic about the club's chances of being a senior club with appropriate facilities to boot. "The number of players we have available to us now is a lot better than it was a few years ago and we're hoping that that will be the trend in the coming years now that there's a lot more work available in the area. "Most of the players we have at adult level are very keen and some of them travel home regularly at weekends from college to play with us which also helps in trying to get out settled teams for matches," adds Hugh who has been involved as a committee member since 1994 while togging out as a player at adult level since the late 80s. Like many of his contemporaries, Hugh began his junior football career with Corlough at a relatively young age. Like many of his peers, he has already a lot of mileage on the clock despite the fact that he is still only 30 years of age. In the short-term at least, Hugh maintains that those of a similar age to him will be asked to commit themselves to continue playing so as to allow time for the emerging talent at the club to reach a level of physical maturity befitting junior football. "Over the past few years, our record hasn't been great but a lot of that is down to the fact that we simply haven't had sufficient numbers of players to get a good-sized panel together. That was the major reason why we failed to consolidate our promotion up to division two a couple of years ago. "The hope is that a lot of the good, young underage talent currently in the club will come through to bolster the junior panel. Success has been achieved by our under 12s and under 13s in recent years and we're hopeful that they'll progress to win even more trophies in the coming years. "We also had a very good under 16 team last year with the likes of Joseph Prior and Danny Crosse showing good potential. With a bit of luck and further good coaching, a few of those lads should be able to take their place on the junior panel in the coming year. We need them on board because, on the law of averages, we're going to lose a few players along the line," adds Hugh who is fulsome in his praise of the work put into the development of underage talent down the years by Michael McGovern. With the club expected to benefit from the noticeable rise in the local population, Hugh reckons the long-term future of the club looks promising, especially if as he predicts the youngsters continue to be well-looked after. And in the short-term? "Well the fact that our team-trainer Patsy Prior has decided to stay with us for at least another year is a great boost to the players and if we get a good start to the league and get a favourable draw in the championship we'd be hoping to do a lot better this year than last. "Last year was disappointing in that we lost out to Lavey and Arva by a single point early in the league and got it hard to pick things up and then we got a tough draw in the championship when we're were pitted with the likes of Drumgoon and Butlersbridge. "We're all optimistic that we can put together much better results this year. If we don't it won't be for the want of effort on the part of the committee or the players either." Tweet

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