The disappointment of not gaining promotion to Division 2 this season was offset when Munterconnaught, after a replay, had a well-deserved victory over Shercock on a scoreline of Munterconnaught 2-9 to Shercock's 0-5 to claim the Division 3 league trophy. Finishing third in their league campaign just two points behind second place Kildallan, the East Cavan side will start favourites next season to gain promotion from this division. While the ultimate aim of the club was to gain promotion to Division 2 this season, they will now look back on a season that showed much improvement and a promise that the club is now set to gain higher honours in the seasons ahead. According to their affable PRO Aidan O'Dwyer: "Overall we are pleased with the way things went this year for us. For the first time in over thirty years we captured a league title when we defeated Shercock in the Division 3 final. The last time we won a league title was back in 1972, and the last time we tasted any real success was back in 1994 when they took home the Junior Championship. We finished third in the league just two points behind Kildallan who gained the second automatic promotion spot. We have a relatively young side and this year, we fielded our own U-21 side. This was a great boost to the club even thought we exited at the semi-final stage to a very strong Lavey side. The fact that we were able to field a team in this competition shows that we have a youthful set-up, a fact brought about by the great work of those people involved with underage football at the club for many seasons. The work that has been done at underage level over the past ten years is now beginning to show its rewards as we have a young squad of talented players at our disposal." According to Aidan: "We showed a great deal of character in many of our games throughout the season. It was very evident in the replay of the Division 3 league final when many people felt that we had left it behind us. Such is the character of this team that we displayed a determination and commitment to deservedly take the honours when we accounted for Shercock by 2-9 to 0-5. We got off to a great start in that game when the talented Stephen Sheridan hit the back of the net for an early goal. His strike set the tempo for the remainder of the game. With youth and a will to win on our side we managed to overcome the challenge of Sherock. Of the team that lined out in that final twelve of them are presently U-21 and that in itself is a good omen for the club in the future", stated Aidan. Aidan likes to point out that on final day Munterconnaught while over three-quarters of the team were U-21 there was great performance from the 'older' members of the squad, namely Val Yore who was outstanding and Declan Hetherton who gave a man of the match performance in the final replay. Jamie Hetherton, Declan Hetherton, Peter Cullen, Tommy Brady and Danny Nolan also gave commanding performances and in a well oiled forward division, John McCabe, Brian Cullen, Darragh Carroll and Stephen Sheridan were in particularly fine scoring form. Munterconnaught - Terry McCabe; Jamie Hetherton, Donal Heery, Val Yore; Mark Flynn, Peter Cullen, Declan Hetherton; Enda Yore, Danny Nolan; Tommy Brady, Brian Cullen, Michael Brady; Stephen Sheridan, John McCabe, Darragh Carroll. Subs - Anthony Dunne for E. Yore, Brendan Plunkett for D. Carroll, Shane O'Reilly for M. Brady, Gabriel Dwyer for B. Cullen and Dermott Reilly for J. Hetherton. Aidan also points out, "In Enda Yore we had 'captain fantastic'. Enda has given tremendous commitment to the club and this year he played a true captain's role. Now resident in Kingscourt, he rarely missed a training session or a game and he was certainly the 'glue' that cemented this young side in victory." The hope for the club is that this victory will imbue a desire in this crop of young players to chase further honours. The example of the older generation of players will hopefully see players of the calibre of Peter Cullen, Daniel Nolan, Stephen Sheridan, John McCabe and Darragh Carroll take the lead in the years to come. Underage At underage level, we had little success but according to Aidan that will hopefully change in the future. "Presently our catchment area has expanded with the influx of many new families from Dublin. They have settled well into the community and are making a great effort in joining the club at underage level which will be vital to future progress. New Team Manager Team manager, Michael Plunkett, has made the decision to stand down this year after a very successful run in winning the Division 3 title and taking the U-21s to the Division 2 championship semi-final. Michael's post will be filled by the well-known Gerry Hanley. Gerry who hails from Galway but is resident in Munterconnaught, has been associated with GAA at both county and club levels where he worked with Cavan and was a member of the former All Ireland club champions Corofin. The club have managed to keep the link from the past manager to the present one with the retention of selectors, Vivian Connell, Michael Hetherton and Seamus Kiernan. Gerry role will be made that little bit easier with the input of his three selectors. Club Development According to PRO Aidan O'Dwyer: 'the club are presently looking at a feasibility study of acquiring in conjunction with Knocktemple National School a second pitch which could act as a training ground for the club and a playing area for the school. This is something that will be seriously looked at and a cost study embarked upon to enable us to see how much will be needed to upgrade the present facility. With growing numbers of newcomers to the area the school itself is now seeking to build a new classroom to accommodate the influx of new children to the area. It is vitally important that we acquire this second training area as it will alleviate the present overuse of the our one playing field." Scor This is an area of the club that is presently dormant but it is something that Aidan feels should and will be revived for 2006. "We had a great reputation in Scor where we won many events and made it through to the All Ireland decider on a number of occasions. In the past we had to work from a small catchment area but now with so many new families living in the area it is time to take another look at the Scor option and revive a tradition that was once strong. Many of the new families have expressed interest in being involved and this is something we are delighted about. I feel that it is a side of the club that is important as it involves many aspect of our culture and allows people who are not keen to play football to get involved with the ethos of the club. We built up a strong reputation for our participation in Scor in the past and I now feel the time is ripe to revitalise it in our club once again. Hopefully, we can look forward to vibrant Scor section of the club in 2006." Tribute Having won their first league title in over thirty years, Aidan said that he would like to pay tribute to their President, Luke Kiernan. "Luke was Chairman of the club for over forty years and his unwavering commitment to Munterconnaught needs to be recognised in this year when we won a league title. Luke has been a solid and ardent advocate of football in Munterconnaught and never waned in his drive for the club even in its darkest days. To him we owe a great deal of gratitude, as he never allowed football in the area to die." Proud Record As PRO to the club Aidan O'Dwyer has also given unstinted service in the promotion of football in his area of Munterconnaught as well as having a great interest in football in the county. Aidan who attended over thirty County Board GAA conventions was unable to attend this year's convention due to pressure of business. However, according to the man himself, "I will be back as I have a great interest in the GAA at local, county and national level." Tweet

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