An integral member of the Cavan Ulster championship winning team of 1997, Terry Farrelly hasn't been seen in the county colours since 2000 because of injury. But having remained injury-free last year, his hopes of playing for Cavan again have been rekindled. Having been plagued by injury over the past number of years, things are suddenly looking up again for former county star Terry Farrelly. Farrelly's problems started in 2000 when he suffered a groin injury. But no sooner had he undergone surgery on that injury when his ankle started giving him problems. However, after playing a full part in Cuchulainns' intermediate championship campaign last year, Farrelly is hopeful that his injury nightmare is behind him and is refusing to rule out a return to the county colours. "My last game for Cavan was in 2000 when we lost to Derry in the Ulster championship," he says. "There is always the possibility of me playing for Cavan again but I know that I will have to get myself completely right before that can happen. I thought my problems were behind me when I had my groin operated on by Gerry McEntee, the ex-Meath footballer, but then the ankle injury flared up in 2002 and set me back further. "But after resting it in 2003, I felt it came right last year. I had a scope last November and I'm hoping that will be the end of it. I'll see how things go this year and if the ankle holds up, I might have another crack at the county scene." A county minor in 1994, Farrelly went on to play for the under 21s for two years and featured at midfield on the Cavan team which lost the 1996 All-Ireland final to Kerry in Thurles. The following year, the Cuchulainns player established himself at corner back on the senior side and played a key role in Cavan's capture of the Anglo-Celt Cup after a 28-year absence. "That was a great time to be involved with the county team and I don't think I fully appreciated it at the time," Farrelly recalls. "Martin McHugh had taken over as manager the previous year and brought a high level of professionalism to the set-up. He got the best out of everyone and to win the Ulster championship after such a long wait was a dream come true for all of us. "I managed to get my place in the team at corner back and when Damien O'Reilly moved up to the forwards, I filled in for him at full back." Disappointment followed for the Breffnimen when they lost a very winnable All-Ireland semi-final to Kerry at Croke Park. Not surprisingly, Terry is still haunted by that defeat. "It's a big regret of mine that we didn't beat Kerry that year. When Fintan (Cahill) scored the goal before half-time, the game looked to be set up for us. But unfortunately we didn't get enough ball into the full forward line in the second half and that cost us victory in the end. "I think if we had beaten Kerry, we would have gone on to beat Mayo in the final. It was a very open championship that year and with a bit of luck, we could have won it." Farrelly is disappointed that Cavan never built on the achievements of '97, but he remains hopeful for the future nonetheless. "We've had a few lean years since then but I think we may be about to turn the corner. Eamon Coleman has put together a good, young team which has great potential. I thought Cavan were unlucky last year because they came very close to beating both Armagh and Derry in the championship. Armagh went on to hammer Donegal in the Ulster final, while Derry ended up playing Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final." 2004 was a successful year for Terry's club Cuchulainns who, despite losing the intermediate championship semi-final to Lacken Celtic after a replay, ended the year as Division 2 league champions. It was the east Cavan club's first adult success since 1993 when they beat Lacken to win the intermediate championship. Managed by Owen Farrelly and his selectors Tony Lynch and Paddy Farrelly, Cuchulainns topped Division 2 but still had to beat Ballinagh and Swanlinbar to be crowned champions. "We lost three games all year and two of those were in the league. With Ronan Carolan and Fintan Cahill having retired in recent years, you could say I was the elder statesman of the team. It was great to win our first title in 11 years and we're all looking forward to playing against the top teams in Division 1 this year. It should be a good experience for the likes of Adrian Tate, Killian Lynch, Seamus Clarke and John Flanagan who are all outstanding prospects," Terry says. The league final, which was played in Ballinagh a couple of weeks before Christmas, was a close affair which was in doubt right to the final whistle. Cuchulainns were the dominant side in the first half and helped by a Killian Lynch goal, led by 1-5 to 0-3 at the interval. Swanlinbar came more into the match in the third quarter and they looked to have turned it around when they led by 1-8 to 1-6 with just over 10 minutes remaining. But with under 21 star Seamus Clarke in fine scoring form, Cuchulainns finished strongly to win by 1-9 to 1-8. Cuchulainns also had high hopes of winning the intermediate championship, but their interests were ended at the penultimate stage by Lacken (ironically Cuchuallains had beaten Drumlane after a replay in the previous round). A late point from county star Finbarr O'Reilly denied them victory at the first attempt while in the replay at Bailieborough, Lacken staged a great comeback to win by 0-15 to 1-10. After leading by 0-7 to 0-6 at the break, Owen Farrelly's charges stretched their advantage to 1-8 to 0-6 in the opening minutes of the second half courtesy of a Killian Lynch goal. But with Finbarr O'Reilly producing a tremendous scoring performance, Lacken fought back to claim their place in the county final. At underage level, Cuchulainns landed the under 16 and minor Division 3 titles. In the minor final at Crosskeys, they recovered from a 0-4 to 1-6 interval deficit to edge out neighbours Killinkere on a 0-14 to 2-7 scoreline. The two Conors, Daly and Smith, scored 0-9 between them. "A lot of work is being done with the underage players and that must auger well for the future of the club. Our aim for the coming year is to hold our own in Division 1 and to win the intermediate championship. It is vital that we consolidate our position in Division 1 if we are to have designs on playing in the senior championship," Farrelly points out. Off the field, Terry is contracts manager of O'Reilly Pre-Cast which is part of the O'Reilly Concrete Group. The company's head office is based in Kingscourt while it also has depots in Bailieborough, Trim and Fehoe, Co. Monaghan. Among other things, O'Reilly Pre-Cast specialise in the manufacture of concrete floors, stairs and walls and are the main suppliers of concrete products to a major housing development in the Phoneix Park. The development is being carried out by Flynn and O'Flaherty Property Developers. Tweet

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