Gene McCabe was a star player on the great Mullagh team of the early 'fifties. The tenacious full back enjoyed an illustrious career, and had represented Cavan at all levels before his eighteenth birthday. A contemporary of such legends as The Gunner Brady, Paddy and Edwin Carolan, and renowned thespian TP McKenna, Gene will forever be remembered as one of Mullagh's favourite sons. Though he's been domiciled in the capital for 35 years now, Gene McCabe will always be a Cavan man - and more specifically a Mullagh man - first and foremost. In the 1950s he beguiled and mesmerised football fans in the Breffni County (and beyond) with his wickedly effective brand of defending, and the Mullagh man was decidedly unfortunate not to have featured on the Cavan panel that clinched senior All-Ireland glory in 1952 (having figured in the preceding national league and McKenna Cup campaigns). Gene won a Division One league medal with Mullagh in 1950 (the final actually took place in '51) and twice came tantalisingly close to garnering SFC glory with the east Cavan outfit. He also collected two county junior football championship souvenirs (one with Mullagh; the other with Cross) as well as a similar success in Donegal. His story is a remarkable one, evoking nostalgic memories of a time when Mullagh football was up there with the very best in the county. 'Eugene' McCabe from Mullagh was always known as 'Gene' in football circles. He developed his interest in gaelic football whilst attending the famed St Pat's nursery in Cavan. During his final year at Pats, he captained the junior team and also figured prominently on the senior (McRory Cup) side. The Mullagh prodigy was a sub on the inter-provincial colleges team in 1950. Ulster overcame Leinster in their semi-final at Dundalk and subsequently defeated Munster in the Croke Park final - after a replay. (Nineteen-fifty turned out to be a phenomenal year for Gene...) There were some terrific footballers in that Ulster colleges side, not least of whom were the McKnight brother (John and Felix) from Armagh and Kevin Mussen, who in 1960 captained Down to All-Ireland glory and in so doing became the first man to bring Sam north of the border. Gene's performances on the college circuit attracted much attention, most notably from the county selectors. In 1950, he had the distinction of representing Cavan at minor, junior and senior levels ... all before his eighteenth birthday (which fell in November of that year). Offaly provided the opposition for Gene's senior intercounty debut in a national football league match at Kingscourt. It was a pertinent day in Cavan GAA history, as he recalls: "That was the day Mick Higgins was made Cavan captain. John Joe Reilly had died a couple of months earlier and I can still remember the goings-on in the dressing-room before the Offaly game and Mick being appointed captain." Of course, Higgins would famously lead the Breffni Blues to national glory two years later... Football wasn't the only game at which the young McCabe was proficient. He was also adept in the handball alley and won an Ulster junior colleges 'doubles' title with St Pat's in 1950. His partner on that occasion was Gerry King from Tullyvin who subsequently went on to join the Garda Siochana. Gene also won a Dublin junior 'doubles' championship partnering Owen Daly in 1955 and the pair went on to contest the county intermediate final the following year. The multi-talented Gael started playing with Mullagh in 1950. Mullagh were entered in the senior championship, a status due largely to the presence of Edwin and Paddy Carolan (both of whom were on the Cavan team) in their ranks.. They reached the semi-final of the senior championship and took mighty Mullahoran to three games before losing narrowly in the second replay. Over the three matches, they had given as good as they got and they certainly didn't deserve to lose. Naturally, defeat under such circumstances was a bitter pill to swallow: "We should have won the first replay," Gene recalls ruefully. "We scored a good goal in the second half but one of our players buried the 'keeper into the back of the net after the ball had already gone in, and it was disallowed. "We eventually faltered at the third attempt and Mullahoran went on to win the championship. We also had our chances on the day of the third game in Cootehill. We missed a close-in free right at the end with the scores level and they went straight up and scored the decisive point from a free at the other end. "It was a huge disappointment because we had built ourselves up to win it. Mullahoran and Cornafean would have been perceived by anyone from our side of the county as almost invincible and it was frustrating to come so close to beating them." Mullagh fared better the following year when they travelled to Cootehill and this time won their semi-final - at the expense of Cornafean. This qualified them for a final tilt at Lavey and they went into the final in Virginia as hot favourites. But - again - it wasn't to be. Reflects Gene: "We were over-confident. We expected to win and it took us too long to get going. Johnny Cusack had a magnificent game and he beat us on the day. Himself and Peter McMahon took over at centrefield in the second half and there was nothing we could do to stop them. It was a huge disappointment because it never even entered our heads that we might get beaten." In between, Mullagh earned themselves some degree of consolation when they scooped the 1950 senior league title, defeating none other than Mullahoran in a delayed final which actually took place during the 1951 calendar year. That was the only major senior title won by what was effectively a star-studded Mullagh side. The Carolans were established county players, while both Mickey Brogan and Owen Daly represented Cavan at junior level. Patsy Clarke also played for Cavan, as of course did Gene McCabe himself. The diminutive Jimmy Brady was another wonderful footballer, as was TP McKenna, who won a McRory Cup with St Pat's. TP was an exceptional talent - certainly up to county standard - but acting took over and he gradually drifted away from football. The Mullagh team lapsed a bit after 1951. Then The Gunner arrived in town. Mullagh went back to junior level and conquered all-comers to annex the 1955 Cavan JFC. The following year, they resumed their place amongst the elite of Breffni County fare. It was to be a watershed year in the club's history, aptly described by Gene (without a hint of exaggeration) as "the year that finished football in Mullagh for ten years." Following their second round defeat of Kingscourt, Mullagh faced Cornafean at Breffni in the semi-final on a dreadfully soggy day. What ensued was a dogged and highly controversial match. Gene takes the story up: "With ten minutes to go, we were locked on three points apiece, which gives a fair indication of the type of day it was. Paddy Carolan picked the ball up on the 40 and cut through the middle. The centre half took him down with a boot from behind. Paddy got up and there was an exchange of words but the situation seemed to have been diffused. "Then, one of the linesmen, a man named Paudge Masterson, who was chairman of Cornafean at the time, stormed onto the pitch and headed straight for Paddy. The Gunner put himself in line with Masterson and flattened him. It took 15 or 20 minutes to clear the pitch after that. "The free was taken from us and the ball was thrown up. Cornafean eventually came up and got the winning point. That match had drastic long-term consequences for Mullagh. The Gunner got a month and Paddy Carolan got six months. "It was harsh in the extreme and - even though he was only 27 at the time - Paddy never played a game of football again. It was a huge loss to both club and county. It was very sad to see a guy of that age retiring. Incidentally, both Masterson and the player who committed the original indiscretion got off..." Mullagh fell by the wayside and didn't field at all the following year. Gene played for Cross, at the opposite end of the parish, for the remainder of his career (1957-60). He won a JFC medal with Cross and also played (on the sly!) with Falcarragh in Donegal around this time, collecting a junior medal with them as well. Moreover, Gene played with the Civil Service club in Dublin for one season and lined out for the UCD intermediate team, contesting a Dublin IFC final in their colours. Even though it was only the college club's second team, they still boasted a fair smattering of strong intercounty players, including Aidan Brady from Roscommon to name just one. But, in truth, they had numerous footballers of that calibre. Gene McCabe's colourful career ended abruptly in 1960 when - with the home place in Mullagh now sold and a storm brewing in his mind over whether he should be declaring for Cross or Mullagh - he decided that the handiest thing was to just hang up the boots altogether. That's the way things were done in those days. U-turns simply didn't exist! Gene spent his professional career as an engineer firstly with the council and then the ESB, working in counties Donegal, Longford, Dublin and Wexford at various stages in his life. He has been based in the city for 35 year now and, although he has no active involvement as such, is a member of the thriving Kilmacud Crokes club. An extremely lucid, enlightening and eloquent man, he still plays tennis and golf to stay in shape and is an avid Cavan supporter. The convivial former Cavan footballer was at Newbridge for The Breffni County's 2003 NFL opening round defeat of Kildare and - true to form - derived a tremendous degree of satisfaction from that success. As they say in some circles: the more things change, the more they stay the same. Tweet

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