The recently held Cavan GAA Gala Corporate Night, was not just a GAA 'Oscar' night of glitz, it was more importantly, a strong message to all those involved in the GAA in the Breffni County that many of its supporters believe in the future of the game within the county and are willing to put their money where they mouth is. The occasion which was organised by the recently appointed County Administration manager, Liam McCabe, and his hard working committee, and realised a financial windfall in excess of €170,000. The response to the the proposal of launching such a venture was according to the County Administration manager, Liam McCabe: "an outstanding success and a great boost to all of us involved in the promotion of Gaelic games in Cavan." This was the first ever Friends of Cavan GAA corporate night and it proved to be a magnificent occasion. Upwards of fifty tables at €2,000 a table were eagerly snatched up as it became evident from an early stage that the whole organisation was indeed going to be a remarkable success. The attraction of meeting up with old acquaintances and renewing former links was evident on the night as many of the patrons regaled each other with past stories and future hopes. The impressive prize list on offer to those who were in attendance not only provided a focus of humour and banter but more importantly realised a large cash windfall as they went on offer in an auction. An array of attractive prizes were on offer on the night with trips to New York, The Belfry, Croke Park, Old Trafford and a novel prize of a chance of owning your own racehorse. The prizes alone were inspiration enough to attract even those who could be on the fringe of GAA. According to the affable Liam McCabe: "I can honestly say that I was surprised and amazed at the response we achieved on this our first outing. When I was appointed to the position of Co. Administration manager, one of my remits is to try and identify areas where we can raise funding which would help prepare all the county teams, and to this end, we opted for the gala night. The Co. Chairman, George Cartwright pointed out that this idea had been floated a number of years ago and that many of the people that were prepared to be involved back then were still very active in the Association. They had the expertise and were prepared to come on board. It was decided from the outset that this would be an exercise to raise as much capital venture as possible and still provide an night that would be enjoyable and memorable. The initial response was something that took us all by surprise as the fifty tables were sold out in a matter of weeks. This, I believe, was a remarkable achievement, as we did not have to put a lot of effort into getting people interested. I think that the enthusiasm of people from the county, even those living outside it and those from abroad, was heartening. The concept for the night was eagerly pursued especially by those who had seen its potential when it was last raised and the final outcome was a real satisfaction for all of us involved in the organisation." Annual event? So successful was the occasion that according to Liam: "Firstly we did not expect to raise as much capital and the smoothness with which the entire proceedings progressed was great. From start to finish we did not encounter a single setback. While the night was a fabulous success, we have not made any firm commitment as to whether we will make it an annual event or not. It is something that we will certainly look into and while we have thought about, it has not been decided what to do next year. We will, as a committee, sit back in the cold light of day and review the entire night and see if is viable to run it on an annual or bi-annual basis. This is something that we will do in the near future." Auction and Raffle While the table allocation was a veritable success, the novel idea of providing a raffle and an auction on the night also proved to be a worthwhile exercise. A raffle for a giant plasma TV and DVD proved to be highly popular but the the auction on the night proved to be a real money spinner. In a highly charged and entertaining atmosphere some of the items on auction pitted bidder against bidder more reminiscent of Sothebys in London than a GAA night at the Hotel Kilmore. Among the items up for auction was the football boot of one of Cavan's most prolific and prominent forwards of the past ten years, Jason 'Jayo' O'Reilly (Belturbet Rory O'Moores). This was the boot that scored the vital goal in the Ulster SFC final against Derry in 1997 and realised a staggering E3,700. The other big money spinners on the auction panel were the racehorse and golf trip to the Belfry. The budding racehorse owners bidded their way to a E15,000 final bid while the trip to the Belfry went for E14,500. County Teams In this his first serious attempt to raise finance to fund all the county teams, Liam and his committee can take the plaudits for such a bountiful night. "The finance realised on the night will go towards the preparation of all the county teams from underage right up to the senior level. We would envisage that all the teams and development squads should benefit from this finance. We are also looking at upgrading the gymnasium in Breffni and installing state of the art equipment for the use of all players. The improvement in the gym at Kingspan Breffni Park will commence towards the end of February and should be completed in approximately two weeks. The hope is that with the enthusiasm displayed by those present on the gala night and the commitment from those involved at all levels of inter-county football, that in the not too distant future, Cavan can awaken from its football slumber and take its rightful place among the elite of the sport," said Liam. Hard working committee The event, which is now recognised as one of the most successful ventures ever undertaken by a Cavan GAA committee was according to Liam down to the expertise, enthusiasm, and dedication of the entire committee. "To this end, I would like to sincerely thank all of the committee: George Cartwright, Mark Gillick, Tom Boylan, Declan Woods, Donal Keogan, Terry Hyland, Declan Sheridan, Cathal Brady, Niall Dolan, Noel Rodgers, Martin Lynch, Brian Tierney, Gerry Brady, Eugene Kiernan, Ciaran Callaghan, Ross Mealiff, P. J. Galligan, Joe Gormley, Paul Henry, Jimmy Galligan, Paddy Keavney, Paddy Sheanon, Brendan Neligan and Martin Cahill. "I would also like to thank all the people who attended on the night and to all those who donated so generously," stated Liam. Chairman Co. Board Chairman, Mr George Cartwright, who officially opened proceedings thanked all for their continued support of Cavan GAA. He thanked the sponsors, Aidan Elliott Construction and Cathal Brady, Brady's Garage, Cavan. for their generosity and commitment to football in their home county. Aidan was a former goalkeeper, with the Cavan senior football team and is presently Chairman of Cavan Gaels, while Cathal, is a member of the Brady family, (Arva), whose name is synonymous with GAA in the Breffni County. UTV sports presenter, Adrian Logan acted as 'Fear an Ti' for the night while the special guest was RTE pundit and former Kerry football legend, Pat Spillane. Spillane provided probably the best laugh of the night when he quipped: "Ulster football is currently very strong, however, 'one in a row' All Ireland wins are not recognised in Kerry." . 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