Patrick Moynagh is the new chairman of Drumgoon Eire Og GAA. He's determined to help his club regain past glories. Patrick Moynagh is a man who's noted as being a good communicator but it's his reputation as a doer that really makes the man. He doesn't only talk the talk but he walks the walk as well. As the new Chairman of Drumgoon GAA, whatever he has going for himself is likely to be tested to the full. In purely GAA parlance, it's probable he'll have to use all his skills to engineer a renaissance in the fortunes of Drumgoon over the coming year. True to form though, he's genuinely looking forward to being tested and proving himself worthy of the honour of leading the Eire Og folk. Crucially, 'honour' is the operative word in Moynagh's appraisal of what being top dog at the club is all about. "First and foremost, I am honoured to be given the opportunity to serve in the role of chairman and, secondly, I'm proud to be able to be in a position to try and re-establish the club as one of the strongest in the county." In his life outside of sport, Patrick has shown the kind of leadership, drive and ambition which has seen him gain promotion after promotion in the world of commercial banking. For the next three years at least though, it'll be those skills he'll be asked to bring to the table for and, on behalf, of his fellow gaels. He's razor keen though to rise to the challenge and he's not kidding himself as to the nature or size of the challenge either. A raft of changes among the inner circle of the club at its recent AGM saw Patrick assume the top position. Those changes also saw outgoing chairman Tom Farrell step aside and, most surprisingly and notably, long-time Secretary Roseanna Clarke also decided to take a break. Patrick is fulsome in his praise for both Tom and Roseanne's service to the cause. In truth, the 40-something has been around the block long enough himself to become fully acquainted with all the many hard core gaels who have cemented Drumgoon's vaunted reputation over the years as a go-ahead, vibrant and hungry club. He has held other roles at committee level such as PRO and Assistant Secretary but his latest assignment is a particularly big step. The popular parishoner makes it at a time when Drumgoon are coming off the back of a hugely disappointing season. So what will be bring to the post of chairman? "I accepted the invitation to take up the job with my eyes wide open and it's a job I've taken on to do voluntarily because I want to do it. "I hope to bring an open and honest approach which will hopefully help restore the club to its former position as one of the top clubs in the county," Pat comments. Relegation from the senior football championship and the top flight of the league last year was a double whammy that hit the club like a wallop to the solar plexus. Doubled with the pain, Drumgoon might well have been counted out at the tail end of 2006. However they're made of sterner stuff and Moynagh and Co. are determined to bounce back off the ropes and make silverware and not relegation their bedfellow by the time the hard ground and high bounce comes calling. "There's no doubt that morale wasn't great in the club at the tail end of last year because of the way things went in the championship and the league," Patrick concedes. "In fairness to the current group of players, they've proven themselves time after time since 1999 when there was nothing but success really. "Having a difficult time last year will bring out the maturity in the players, all of whom are great athletes and have a great pride in playing for the club. "There's a big challenge awaiting us all this year but I'm confident we can come back strongly." To help the senior squad regain its former pristine condition, Drumgoon have enlisted the talents of Eddie Kelly. Patrick is convinceed the 31 year old has the enthusiasm and energy to drive Drumgoon back up the pecking order of Cavan football. "We're very pleased to get Eddie to help us out," Patrick enthuses. "His GAA pedigree as a coach is good. "He's been involved with the Monaghan underage set-up and he tasted All-Ireland schools success with St. Mary's Secondary School, Castleblayney," Pat explains. To the outsider, Drumgoon have quite a distance to go to recapture their lustre of old but our man Moynagh only has space for positive thoughts. Anyway words or deeds that may smack of negativity will doubtless be promptly knocked on the head by the club's Assistant Treasurer - his wife Breda! Nevertheless Patrick is honest enough to acknowledge that the review of the 2006 season makes for sorrowful reading. "For the first time in 98 years the club suffered the fate of being relegated - not just once but twice, in the championship and the league. "Getting relegated in the championship was the harder pill to swallow, especially the way things worked out after the group stage had finished. "We genuinely thought that we would take advantage of the safety net via the relegation play-offs but after losing to Knockbride, I think everyone knew we were in trouble." In attempting to tease out possible reasons for Drumgoon's annus horribulus, Patrick believes that the club's teething troubles in '06 kicked off with its participation in the still novel Ulster senior club league. "We ended up with three or four lads injured after we finished our games in the Ulster league," he explains. "Those injuries really came home to roost when we lost our opening games in the all county football league. "We never really recovered from that shaky start and certainly the injuries - while not the sole cause of our troubles - didn't help us in our efforts to turn things around." And yet the side went onto beat Mullahoran at Our Lady of Lourdes Park! "That result just proves that good players don't become bad players overnight," Patrick opines. It goes without saying that Drumgoon's Class of 2006 didn't reach their potential but the core of that team will still be at their peak for the coming year and much is expected from them - from all quarters of the county - in the coming year. In fact, what club manager/administration wouldn't want to look ahead to a year with the sort of talent on tap that's available in Drumgoon? "Michael Hannon, Keith Fannin, Michael McDonald, Edward Jackson, Colm Hannon and Jim McNally are part of the current county squad or have been part of it in recent years," Patrick points out. Numbers are traditionally 'tight' out Drumgoon way though and having county players marked 'as lathair' for league games has backfired on the Eire Og at times. Then there is a perception abroad that Drumgoon's premier team's best days are behind them? "I would encourage that view among our opponents in 2007," Patrick quips. "From my point of view, I see a buoyancy and an appetite about the team that suggests to me that they can regain the ground that was lost and the self-harm inflicted in 2006. "I have no doubt but that the players will be keen to bring more silverware to the club in the coming year. "A lot of the players have tasted success at intermediate championship level and in division two of the league and I don't see why they can't revisit those days again in 2007. "It won't be easy of course. "There are going to be a lot of local derby matches at intermediate level this year. "I don't think Eddie (Kelly) will have to work too hard to motivate the lads for matches against the likes of Kill, Cootehill, Drung, Knockbride and Bailieboro for instance. "It all promises to be an exciting and maybe dramatic year of football. I'm looking forward to it." Patrick is perceived as someone who tends to view the glass as being half-full but there is no denying his assertion that Drumgoon have been punching above their weight at underage level of late which can only augur well for the future prosperity of the club at the premium level. With the under 14s operating at Roinn A level and the under 12, 13 and 16s plying their skills at Roinn B level, things have never been healthier at grass roots level in Drumgoon. And with the experiment of participating in the St. Finbarr's amalgamation arrangement continuing to serve a more than useful purpose, a steady conveyor belt of young talent can be expected to emanate from the environs of Boyle Park in the years ahead. Expect Patrick Moynagh to be there at the belt to oversee the unleashing of brand new, exciting raw material and the processing of a raft of prized finished product to boot. Tweet

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