In an area that has always held football dear to its heart and over the years has provided Cavan with some of its most illustrious county football talent, the present crop of Cuchullains' footballers can in the estimation of club PRO Jimmy Reilly provide something special in the future. Jimmy who has had a long and illustrious career with his club and who was also another of the Cross - Mullagh contingent who donned the Breffni Blue tempers his hope for the future with a question mark. Jimmy, who recently retired from playing, declined the option of spectator but instead re-invested his experience and love of the game and club into being actively involved at a 'hands on level' since then. Since his 'retirement' from playing he has immersed himself over that period into coaching and involvement at all levels of club football/administration, so he is in a perfect position to gauge the potential of this present squad. Beneath the quiet and affable exterior of the Cuchullains' PRO lies a knowledge of what it takes to make a team and at that a successful one. "When you look back at 2006, people just look at the final tally at both league and championship to gauge the progress made. While this is an indicator it is not essentially a true reflection on how you are really progressing. A yearly report is indeed valuable but with a young squad the long-term objective is what is really important. To that end, I feel that we at Cuchullains did achieve our objective for 2006 as we consolidated our position in the top ranks of Cavan football. We finished in eighth position in the league with fifteen points and were quite close to the making the play-offs. Throughout the league we managed to eek out results in some very tough and close encounters, which is always a good sign. The results of 2006 must also be viewed with the knowledge that we lost five of Intermediate football championship squad who took time out to travel to Australia for the year. Having come of the back of a very successful 2005 having won the IFC we lost the talents of some of the club's most promising stars, in Seamus Clarke, Paul Tully, Stephen Lynch, John Flanagan and David Fox. We had to face to the entire season without their services so that meant that a number of the younger players were pressed into service sooner that we had hoped. "We were fortunate that we had some very promising talent emerging at the club at that period and while they were a bit on the young side they did manage to help fill the void created by the departure of those who travelled to Australia. When you consider that those players who decided to go travelling were all in their early twenties, then you can deduce that any replacements would be even younger than that. We will be further strengthened for 2007 with the return of Seamus Clarke, Stephen Lynch from Australia which gives many more options for the senior team. "We started the 2006 with the objective to hold our status in Division 1 as we felt that this is where we needed to be to help promote the talents of younger players. We won the IFC in 2005 and I have no doubt the fact that we were then playing our league football in Division 1 was the added edge in our victory over Drumalee on that occasion. "We showed some good form in the championship and could count ourselves unlucky to have lost out at the quarter-final stage to Castlerahan. We showed good character and were not overawed playing our championship football at this grade for the first time in a number of years," stated Jimmy. Large squad When talking about emerging talent, Jimmy feels that football in the entire area of Mullagh, Cross, Lurgan is on an upward trend and should be harnessed to get the best results overall for football in Cavan. "When you look at the club's football panel of just over forty players and consider that there is only one player over thirty years, and that being the experienced Terry Farrelly, former Cavan senior player, then you have a fair idea of how young the squad is. While youth is essential we also have a number of very experienced players who have helped bring on some of our emerging talent. Players like Barry Smith, Paul Tate, the Lynch brothers, Alan Callaghan and Tommy Reilly have all played their part in helping to create the present climate of winning at the club. Leadership from the experienced players has been impressive and deserves a great deal of credit for the progress we have made to date. Presently we would have upwards of thirty players training on a nightly basis and those who are unable to attend are working with county squads or school teams. When you group the entire squad together the average age works out at around twenty-one. That is indeed a very young squad." stated the PRO. Emerging talent "While I recognize that a number of the clubs in Cavan, have emerging young talent, we are fortunate that some of our young players have experienced success at the highest level of competition in their grade. Many of our present squad are minor and along with players of the calibre of Conor Smith and Eugene Keating, both of whom played for the Cavan minors in 2006 and are presently back with Cavan minors, we also have such talents as Garry Daly, Terry Keating, (Eugene's twin brother), and Diarmuid Fox. "The successful Virginia College team that won the All Ireland Vocational Schools senior title in 2006 had twelve of the Cuchullains squad on their panel with ten of them back on it for 2007. The fact that so many of our younger players have tasted success at this high level and have All Ireland medals to their name should give them the confidence to go on and make an impact in Cavan club football. It will not be a forgone conclusion that we should make it in Division 1 entirely based on the talent at the club as that would be one assumption too far. The realism about youthful talent has many edges to it and we hope that along the way we can get that little bit of lady luck that is essential in winning titles. We always seemed to have a bright young talent at our disposal but the step from being a successful underage player to being a successful senior player can be a difficult transition for some. College and apprenticeships give young players a different perspective of life opening a wider vista of opportunity, how they balance that is down to a personal choice with some becoming less committed and the eventual loss of those players. It is something that every club in Ireland faces and it is not something that is entirely specific to Cuchullains. As a club, Cuchullains have always made every attempt to keep players in the loop and this is something that will not change for the future," said Jimmy O'Reilly. Hopes for 2007 Jimmy Reilly's quiet gentlemanly approach to football hides his quiet drive and commitment for 2007. "We have to look at what we did in 2006 and try to push the boat that bit further out. We will look at the league and try to aim to make it to the play-offs. When you look at what Ballinagh did last season in winning the senior league, then you know with the right commitment and a rub of the green then it is possible. It will take a great deal of commitment over a long period of league football to put one of the building blocks of success in place. Studies and injury can create problems that would hamper progress but with a large squad we should be in a position to hopefully overcome any setbacks. Having reached the quarter-final of the championship last year we will try to see if we can progress further in the championship. That might a little bit more difficult this coming season with the new championship structure which is virtually a knock-out and does not really allow for a team to gain momentum in the heretofore group stages. So championship football for all clubs in 2007 is going to be do or die." Underage "Like all clubs we too are aware that the life blood of survival for club football is a good underage structure. To this end, we in the Cross - Mullagh area have been fortunate to have so many people over the years who have given their knowledge, time and commitment to the fostering and coaching to the young footballers of the area. "While this year we may not have gained any silverware we did manage to make an impression in a number of the grades. "Our U-21s could rightfully feel unlucky to have lost out to a talented Lurgan side one of the favourites to win out this competition with a last minute point in what proved to be a cracking game. While we lost out on this occasion we can take heart from the fact that there is just one player of that entire squad overage for 2007. We had a good run in the minor league and reached the semi-final to lose out once again to the Lurgan. Lurgan went on and beat the tournament favourites, Cavan Gaels in the final. In the championship Ballinagh proved to be that bit older and much more physical and ran out winners on the day. This is also a young minor squad who can approach 2007 with confidence, as only three of the 2006 team are not eligible for the coming season. While we feel that we are in with a chance in both minor and U-21 for 2007 the main worry would be the amalgamated sides. We would have to face the combination of Bailieboro and Shercock who in their own right over the years proved tough opponents on their own. This is going to be the nature of the competition then we will have to adopt and hopefully succeed. Our U-16s struggled while our U-14s reached the semi-final of the championship with the U-12s providing some delightful displays throughout the year. "The work being put in at this section of the club is down to people like Shane Smith, Mickey Farrelly, James Fitzgerald and Ronan Carolan while the Trojan work carried out from U-8 to U-10 is evident on Saturday mornings as the pitch in Mullagh is crowded with budding young footballers. "We have had a population explosion in the area and the size of Mullagh has tripled over the past five years with many new residents coming to reside here. One of our newest acquisitions to the club is Angela Gaffney who has given great commitment and service to the cub. Angela has recently taken on the position as secretary and no doubt she will bring her enormous energy to this area of secretary," stated Jimmy. New Team Management The club have put in a place a new management structure that they feel will give them an added asset in their pursuit to attain the best results from this present squad. The appointment of former Cavan player, Paddy McNamee along with Ronan Carolan, and Breen Daly as selectors means that the depth of knowledge and appreciation of football in Cavan and Cross - Mullagh in particular is immeasurable. Both Ronan and Breen have played with the club with Ronan having played for Cavan. McNamee as a player was talented, tough and determined and no doubt he will be demanding the same kind of qualities collectively from his charges. His background at management level spans club to inter-county so he will be coming to the Cuchullains club with expectations and will be pushing his new charges to make and take the next step - winning senior titles. When you take this trio and put alongside the highly successful Virginia All Ireland winning colleges coach, Niall Lynch then you would have what many feel is the dream team. The combination of so much talent at the club and the knowledge of the background team will cause many problems for much of the clubs in Division One. Development When talking about development work being done at the club, the proud PRO points to the fact that an enormous amount of work has been carried out over the past year. "We have two pitches in the parish. Presently we play our games in Mullagh but at Cross we have a tremendous facility in the pitch there. A massive drainage scheme has been carried out and the provision of a large car park has been included. At Mullagh we officially opened our new floodlighting system when we played Ballyhaise in the Cavan SFL back in early 2006. All in all I feel that progress on this side of the club has been worthwhile and progressive," stated Jimmy. Committee According to Jimmy when looking back on the year, due recognition be attributed to the various committees and especially the executive committee. "We have appointed a new chairman for 2007 in Shane P. O'Reilly, our local Fianna Fail councillor. Shane has always had a keen interest in the club and donned the referee's strip for a number of years as a teenager. No doubt he will bring his enormous drive and commitment to the area of chairman and will be pushing achieve the best for the club. He will be ably assisted by his vice chairman Gerard McKenna, who was a member of the 1993 winning IFC team. Newcomer, Angela Gaffney takes over as secretary while the quiet and gentlemanly approach of treasurer John McMahon will guide the financial matters for yet another year," stated Jimmy. According to Jimmy it would be only fitting to pay tribute to the former Chairman and Secretary who both stepped down at the end of 2006. "In John O'Brien and his wife, Pauline we had two dedicated and committed members of the Cuchullains club. Over their term in office they managed to combine family life and club commitments to the detriment of neither. Pauline, who did a wonderful job as secretary, could also be seen at every training session where alongside another committed member of the club, Martina Lynch, they provided sandwiches for all the squad. John as chairman was dedicated and his love for the club was infectious. On behalf of all of us at the club we would like to acknowledge their contribution over that period of time. I have no doubt that both John and Pauline will be just as active at other levels over the coming years," stated Jimmy O'Reilly. Tweet

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