Cornafean, Mullahoran, Crosserlough, Kingscourt. Great teams who have dismantled the senior grade at various times over the past century. Without a doubt Cavan Gaels can join this elite group. If we are to look at the structure of the Cavan Town based club, there is little doubt for any football pundit that this is a club that can and probably will be to the forefront of Gaelic football in the county for the foreseeable future. The comparisions to the great runs by Crosserlough (seven in a row), Laragh, Kingscourt and Gowna is offset when you take into account that the Gaels have not just put their imprimatur on the stock of senior football but have predominately dominated underage and junior proceedings over the past eight years. This is a factor that should and will cause concern to the chasing pack of clubs throughout the county. This season alone, the town club have won the senior championship (three - in - a - row), the senior league (three - in - a - row), the junior 1A championship and the U-16 championship. Mark Gillic, the Gaels Secretary feels that the growth of the club comes down mainly to the great work at underage level which has been done and is still a work in progress. "The club took the initial steps back in the late 1970s to start a underage programme under the guidance of Tony Looney and J. J. O'Reilly and to this day, it has grown and produced the results that we now see on the playing pitch. The present senior team has come through the ranks with many of the side past members of the first ever Cavan team to win an Ulster club minor title. Indeed, many of them were also on the side that lost the following year, so as you can see, this group have the ability to win on the provincial stage. The club have adopted a policy that any young kid from the age of 8 upwards who wishes to become involved, can attend the coaching sessions on Saturday mornings at the club grounds at Terry Coyle Park. The town which is now expanding at a rapid rate has many foreign nationals domiciled in the area. I feel that it will be great to see the children of these families coming to take part in our Gaelic games and hopefully add a new dimension to our games. The Gaels have adopted a policy of coaching throughout the entire year and only take a break when the weather prohibits their activities. So this continuous approach to coaching is down to the great work of the underage coaches whose dedication and commitment have laid the platform for all the underage success. The club has broken down the training for U-8 to U-12s on Saturday mornings where upwards of 130 kids are involved. The U14s, U16s and minors all train on their own respective nights, while the senior squads also have their allotted time. So as you can see the coaching and running of the playing side of the club has now become quite a task. Over the past eight years the club has won seven minor titles and while we expect a natural drop-off rate, we would hope to see the fruits of many of these talented players coming into the senior squad over the next year or two. Many of those minors have gone to college both here in Ireland and England. With the demands of the third level education we only see many of them fleetingly. In the past, we have seen when they have finished their studies they return and give a full commitment to the club," stated Mark. "As how the club will approach the playing future is a question which needs to be addressed. While we have a great crop of senior panellists, we find it very difficult to field two teams over the months of May to June. It is during this period that many of the side are on county duty and many more of the panel are committed to exams at third level and leaving cert. All of these seem to have hit us hard over the past two years but with the age profile of the senior team now reaching 24 we envisage that in the next year to two, a further crop of third level students will be freed up to become members of the senior team. At present, many of our players are committed to playing football at many levels. While the club would love to have first call on their services, that is not the case in instances. We have players involved at county level, senior, U-21 and minor and with many of them doubling up at third level, the demands on them are too great. The risk of burnout and injury increases alarmingly for these talented players. It is a fact that Gaels who won the inaugural South Ulster league back in 2003 as a senior team, played the most competitive games of any club in the province. Align this to the fact that the club has contested every senior championship final since 2000 to the present year, winning three and losing two, to a great Gowna club, then you can see the demands on the shoulders of the present senior squad. The age profile of the present team is around 24 so many of them while still quite young have played a lot of competitive football throughout that period. With that kind of competitive spread, the handling of players at club level needs good management and a clear and thoughtful outlook". Mark is quick to point out that while the club are riding high at senior level, they would dearly love to be the first Cavan team to take a provincial title. "I know that there are a number of very promising senior teams in the county and that we would have to be at our very best throughout any championship campaign to be able to progress to a senior final. As a club, that would be our aim, to get back into an another senior football final and hopefully win it. If we had our full panel of players to chose from and in a healthy state, then I think, we could give the Ulster club a good rattle. I also feel that if we could traverse the Ulster campaign, the latter stages of the club championship, playing in better weather conditions could possibly suit the type of football the Gaels play. No doubt, Mullahoran, Gowna, Castlerahan, Belturbet, Kingscourt and some of the other senior clubs in the county will have something to say in that direction, all of whom have in the past beaten us." Chairman's outlook While the club have been gaining a reputation on the playing fields of the county, much work in the background is presently taking place to provide facilities for the large playing population. Under the stewardship of Chairman Aidan Elliott who now has been in the 'hot seat' for the past three years, the club has seen to-date a golden era of success. The Cavan Town businessman has adopted a professional approach to the running of the club and feels that the growth in human terms has to be matched by development of facilities. According to Aidan: "We have a membership of over 250 which is quite large and that is not counting the juvenile section. At underage level we are blessed with the fact that we have a small but tremendous crop of coaches, whose work has created our present position. We have over 130 children attending coaching sessions on a Saturday morning and we would hope to be able increase our coaching panel with some new blood. I would hope to be able to attract more people into the administrative section of the club which is now expanding at a fast pace. "I have decided to remain on as Chairman for another year as I feel that there is a number of projects that I would like to see completed before I retire. "Presently we are in the process of finalising, hopefully, our new playing complex. We are at the stage, hopefully, that we just have a few minor hiccups to overcome. The plans are all drawn up for two new playing fields. One will have the same dimensions as the present playing area of Croke Park, while the second will be the same as the present field at Terry Coyle. It is hoped to have both playing areas fully floodlit. Also included on the plans are a training area and new dressingrooms, which will house a modern gymnasium. While we are attempting to create a new complex for the club, as a traditionalist, the name Terry Coyle will remain as it is synonymous with football in Cavan town." Ladies football Aidan feels that an area of the club that could be worked on is the acquisition of a ladies football team. "In the past it would have been difficult to field ladies teams as there were a number of drawbacks to such a venture. Now with the proposed new complex on stream, this is an area that I will actively pursue. The proposed new dressingroom complex has made provision under Croke Park guidelines for ladies football, (senior and underage) with their own separate changing facilities. I now feel that with the new plans in place we can work hard a forming a ladies section to the club." Supporters Club Aidan is anxious to bring other facets to help promote the club and to this end is glad to see a supporters club which was formed at the end of last season. "A supporters club is vital to our needs. It gives an outlet to many people who have an interest in the Gaels to meet and help give support to the teams. The club has now created a strong identity with many former players and officials making the journey to Cavan to see the team play. This has been a great inspiration and social occasion for all of us at the Gaels. As a committee, even in its short life, they have done tremendous work for the club overall. We also have a long-standing and equally hard-working bingo committee which have helped to finance the club from its foundation." Too many demands on players Aidan felt that many of the top players at the club and indeed other clubs are subjected to too much pressure. "With many of the top players involved at county level, third level football and trying to cope with playing for their clubs, the stress on these young men is far too great. Serving three masters would be a problem for anyone and the pressure of modern day football, especially at county level, creates its own demon. Some forward thinking needs to be done as to how to bring the county versus the club to a suitable conclusion for both parties involved. This season alone we suffered severely with many of the county players unable to play for large sections of the season and the loss of county players, Darren Rabbittee and Mickey Lyng was a definite drawback going into the Ulster campaign. As a club we try to employ a scientific approach to our methods and take advice from the top coaches in the province. We have over the past few seasons enlisted the services of some of best recognised coaches to help us prepare and better understand the demands on players who have to cope with these kinds of pressure," concluded Aidan. According to former Gaels captain and stalwart of the club, P. J. Carroll: "I think that the future of the club will depend very much on the vision of the people at the top table. The Gaels have now a real chance of placing themselves in a position of a superb club, something on the lines of the big clubs in Dublin. The future of the club will depend largely on how the large panel of players are managed. Having won so many minor titles over the past eight years, and even allowing for the natural loss of playing talent, what is now at the club's disposal is enormous compared to most clubs in the county. For most senior clubs in Cavan, a panel of twenty five players would seem to be the average while the Gaels were able to field strong teams this season, without the presence of county players, which totalled nine of the senior panel." The phenomenal success rate at both underage, junior and senior ranks has been marked with a succession of trophies that can only add a belief to the town's club quest for further honours. As a club, their ambition is to be the first Cavan club to win an Ulster club championship. So far, like all other clubs from Cavan who tried to make the breakthrough, they too have failed. Many felt that this could have been their year, but the loss of three of their most prominent footballers, Darren Rabbitte and ace forwards, Paul O'Donnell and Michael Lyng proved to be too great a hurdle to overcome. However, it was felt that even without this trio, the Gaels did have the chance to overcome the challenge of Derry side, Ballaghy, but failed to take their chances. When the town side, reassess their year, they will look at the failed attempt in their Ulster campaign as a an area that they will hopefully redress over the coming seasons. Mark Gillic, secretary of the club feels that this part of their football campaign is something that the players are anxious to address. While next season will provide its own challenges and the murky waters of championship football in Cavan flooded with many possible pitfalls, the Gaels will realistic be setting a place in the county final as their first priority and hopefully a victory and another attempt at 'Ulster'. Gaels blow all-comers away 2005 saw Cavan Gaels cement league and championship title successes for the third year in a row. Here's how they managed it. January 2005 and outgoing Cavan Gaels boss Gerry McCarville is contemplating whether or not to remain at the helm of the county town side. The word on the street is that McCarville won't walk away, at least not before he has convinced himself that he has gotten the optimum from current squad of Gaels' players. Although the Tydavnet native is wont to keep his cards close to his chest, he conceded talk at that stage that he couldn't bear to ignore the chance of another crack at the Ulster title was quite a way off the mark. "Before you get into the Ulster club championship you have to win the county and that's not easy - even in Cavan despite what some people think," the former Monaghan and Ulster star insisted. One year later McCarville is still in the harness in his adopted club with another SFC and ACFL Division One title to his credit. So how did McCarville and co. manage to accrue yet another brace of titles? First off, did anyone really believe that the blues weren't capable of again hoovering up the big prizes? The Gaels' ongoing domination of the Cavan football scene was reflected by the inclusion of nine of their number in the squad of 33 which Eamon Coleman selected for the county's NFL Division 2B campaign in late January 2005. The defending senior league and championship holders had by far the greatest representation of any club on the new panel with, co-incidentally, their county call-ups matching the number of cups the club won at all grades in Cavan in 2004. There was a measure of disappointment on both the county and provincial club fronts when it became clear that Cavan Gaels were not interested in entering the novel 2005 Ulster club senior football league. Kingscourt Stars duly assumed the role of Cavan's biggest hope of going the distance in the newly expanded competition. However the gulf between senior football champions Cavan Gaels and the rest of the chasing pack in the county were further illuminated by the poor displays of the various Cavan clubs in the inaugural Ulster Senior Football League with none of them making the final eight of the competition. And after just three weeks of the new domestic football season, the script had a distinct feeling of deja vu about it. Unsurprisingly the all-conquering champions resided at their increasingly permanent berth atop the ACFL Division One with the odds on them remaining there 'till season's end as short as a French Foreign Legionaire's haircut. In the month of Spring, they had already a noticeable spring in their step with a 1-10 to 0-10 win over Ramor United (thanks in part to a Ciaran Flynn 8th minute goal) marking their third league win on the trot. However there were a few hiccups along the way to the Elysian fields. The defending champions Cavan Gaels suffered a rare defeat when they went under to a spirited Belturbet side by 1-8 to 1-11 in an entertaining ACFL Division One encounter at wintry Rory O'Moore Park in late March. The Gaels - fielding just four of their 2004 SFC winning side - were always in with a shout of gaining the spoils. But after edging into the lead by 0-6 to 0-4 at half-time, Belturbet couldn't have expected such a glorious opening five minutes after the restart with a goal by Kevin McConnell after some sloppy defensive work by the Gaels and a point by Ronan Reilly suddenly leaving the county town side six points in arrears. Belturbet still held a four point lead by the third-quarter stage when Aaron Donoghue pulled off a great save to deny Eddie O'Hanlon what seemed like a certain goal following good work by Dominic Reilly and James Doonan. Minutes later at the other end of the field, Eoin Elliott produced an equally good save from Jason Reilly only for Ronan Reilly to convert the resultant '45 to leave the Gaels trailing by 0-7 to 1-10 with 58 minutes on the clock. Things looked dead and buried at that juncture but then substitute Michael Cooke hatched a goal for the Gaels out of nothing with just over a minute to play to put some serious pressure on the O'Moores But a fine Jason Reilly point helped steady Belturbet's nerves as the game went into added on time. The champions pressed forward to the finish but their sole reward for a lot of intricate play was a Gavin Duffy point some five minutes into overtime. But the would-be champions stuck to their task and their gritty 0-10 to 0-9 win in May at home to Ballyhaise said a lot about their character and will-to-win. In an archetypal see-saw affair, the in-form Alan O'Riordan came to the champions' rescue and two converted frees in injury time served to secure the spoils for the Gaels. Championship time raced forward and in Section B, the defending champions saw themselves pitted with Crosserlough, Lacken Celtic and Drumgoon. After a stuttering start to their group matches, defending champions Cavan Gaels showed some turbo-charged form in dismissing Drumgoon by 2-12 to 1-2 at Kingspan/Breffni Park. The county town side comfortably copper-fastened their place in the last eight with a goal by county star Nicholas Walsh just three minutes into the second half catapulting the raging hot championship favourites into an emphatic 1-6 to 0-1 lead. Breffni blues attacker Seanie Johnston was top scorer with a four point half-time lead for the winners for whom three of their defenders also made the scoresheet.as the Gaels cemented their place in the last eight. Thereafter the county town side were pushed all the way at Kingspan/Breffni Park by rank outsiders Castlerahan before edging home by 1-14 to 0-14 in the best match of the quarter-finals. Gerry McCarville's side struggled to shake off the underdogs' challenge despite the benefit of a 9th minute goal by county star Nicholas Walsh which helped the county town side ease into a 1-8 to 0-7 lead.Walsh poked the ball home from a rebound after Castlerahan 'keeper Charlie Clerkin made a fantastic double save to deny Cathal Collins. The county town side had another gilt edged chance to goal in the 16th minute but Paul O'Donnell delayed too long which allowed Castlerahan's Emmet McBreen to clear the ball off the goal-line. Castlerahan hung in there and closed the gap to just two points late on but a point from injury-plagued sub. Micheal Lyng copper-fastened the Gaels' progression. Mid-September and Kingscourt Stars were put to the sword in a thoroughly lop-sided semi-final on the back of a 2-19 to 0-5 scoreline. The Gaels were as impressive as their opponents were disappointing and the fact that the Stars managed to score just a single point in the second half says a lot about how things went belly-up for them when faced by their strongest opponents of the season. A fit-again Micheal Lyng contributed 1-6 to his side's tally which helped greatly to consolidate the Gaels' 0-7 to 0-4 interval lead. Kingscourt's slim hopes of rescuing an increasingly hopeless situation were finally guillotined in the 51st minute when substitute Cormac Nelligan goaled after Lyng did the spadework. Nelligan's major steered the Gaels into a 2-13 to 0-4 lead and that was basically that. Meanwhile Mullahoran set up a repeat of the 2003 and 2004 Cavan SFC finals when they mastered neighbours Gowna by 0-9 to 0-8 in a titanic semi-final replay at wintry Kingspan/Breffni Park on Saturday last. In the event while the scoreline changed, the result of the 2005 blue riband decider was the same with the defending champions winning out by 0-12 to 1-6. Despite playing against the wind, Cavan Gaels trailed by just 0-4 to 1-3, the goal coming from a Danny Brady penalty in the 18th minute. The Gaels had begun the game impressively and points from man of the match Micheal Lyng, Anthony Forde and Seanie Johnston left them 0-3 to 0-0 in front by the 4th minute. Amazingly the would-be winners weren't to add to their tally 'till two minutes before half time. Two points by Lyng inside the opening five minutes of the restart left the county town side just one point adrift and by the 10th minute they were on level terms by dint of an Anthony Forde point. The sides were still level, 0-8 to 1-5, by the three-quarter hour mark but slowly the Gaels took a grip on the exchanges and with 15 minutes to play Enda King edged the blues in front. Mullahoran did everything they could to get back on terms thereafter but when Seanie Johnston pointed with ten minutes left to put three between the sides, it became all too obvious that Mullahoran needed a goal(s) to deny their opponents. However the Gaels' rearguard never looked liked being breached leaving the blues to celebrate a magnificent hat-trick. Cavan Gaels (SFC final v Mullahoran); Eoghan Elliott; Gearoid Collins, Eamonn Reilly, Shane McGlade; Gavin Duffy (0-1), Nicholas Walsh, Pauric Smith; Enda King (0-1), Cathal Collins; Cormac Nelligan, Micheal Lyng (0-4), Kevin Downes; Mickey Graham (0-1), Anthony Forde (0-2), Seanie Johnston (0-3). Subs; Niall Collins for Cormac Nelligan; Dominic Reilly for Kevin Downes. The following December, the Gaels cemented yet another double with a 1-9 to 2-4 win over Gowna in a fractious ACFL Division One final at Mullahoran. Despite some solid Gowna resistance, the county town side looked extremely comfortable as they led by 1-3 to 0-1 by the end of the first quarter with a sweet goal from man of the match Cormac Nelligan working the oracle for the Gaels. As the state of the pitch turned from yielding to extremely soft, the exchanges became increasingly robust and the quality of play suffered accordingly. Most of the play was centred between the respective 45 metre lines and the threat in front of both goals was less than potent as the defences, for the most part, held sway. But when Niall Collins fired over a neatly-judged free to put his side six point in front after 20 minutes the game looked like drifting away from the Loch Gowna men. However a goal by Padraig Brady - after a long delivery from county star Paddy Brady - in the 21st minute served to give Gowna renewed hope and a certain degree of momentum. And when county 'keeper Eoghan Elliott was forced to withdraw through injury in the 24th minute, Cavan Gaels suddenly looked vulnerable. However a point from substitute, county attacker, Seanie Johnston seemed to settle the Gaels as the first half raced to a hectic finale. Another melee moments later heightened tensions though and as the game entered added-on time, the challengers again hit the jackpot with a goal in the 32nd minute to cut the Gaels' lead to 1-6 to 2-1 at the interval. Off-the-ball shenanigans proceeded to dominate proceedings in the third quarter and the straight-red card dismissals of Alan O'Riordan (Cavan Gaels) and Cathaldus Harten (Gowna) added to the maelstrom of fever pitch excitement. A trademark long-range point from Dermot McCabe in the 42nd minute had Gowna ahead for the first time, 2-4 to 1-6. Stalemate was largely the name of the game for the last half of the second half and extra-time seemed the best bet when Eamon Reilly drew the Gaels level by the three-quarter hour mark. But the Gaels were rocked when influential midfielder Enda King suffered a nasty knee injury and was forced to retire entering the final 12 minutes of the game. However two late, late points from county team-mates Anthony Forde and Nicholas Walsh sealed the win for the defending champions who had a second player, Sean Reilly, sent off after yet another free-for-all in the dying minutes. Cavan Gaels (ACFL Division One final v Gowna); Eoghan Elliott; Shane McGlade, Cathal Collins, Karl Crotty; John Gurhy, Eamon Reilly (0-1), Anthony Forde (0-1); Nicholas Walsh (0-1), Enda King; Gavin Duffy, Sean Reilly, Kevin Downes; Alan O'Riordan, Cormac Nelligan (1-3), Niall Collins (0-2, one free). Subs; Sean Johnston (0-1) for Kevin Downes; Charlie Nelligan for Eoghan Elliott (inj); Mickey Graham for Niall Collins; Dominic Reilly for Enda King (inj). Tweet

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