After a disappointing 2006, the Cavan footballers have started the new season in encouraging fashion. Hoping they can bring that form into the Ulster championship and beyond is Cavan County Council chairman Peter McVitty. It may only seem like yesterday, but this year marks the 10th anniversary of Cavan's most recent Ulster football championship triumph. At the time, it looked as though the Breffni County would enjoy many more great days but sadly this hasn't proved to be the case. 2006 was another disappointing year and there is little doubt that the disastrous home defeat to Waterford when league promotion seemed a formality was one of the poorest results in the county's proud footballing history. Defeats to Down and Kildare ended Cavan's interests in the championship and also brought the curtain down on Martin McElkennon's short reign as manager. His successor, Donal Keoghan, has enjoyed a successful start to his tenure and after three rounds of the National League, Cavan were sitting pretty at the top of Division 2B. The team's progress under the Denn clubman has impressed many, including the chairman of Cavan County Council Peter McVitty. "Donal has done a good job so far," says Peter, who also runs his own transport company in Ballyconnell. "In fairness to Cavan last year, they had a lot of injuries and they were understrength in nearly ever game they played. But thankfully, the injuries seem to be clearing up now and Rory Gallagher has been a huge addition to the forward line. It would be great if they could keep their winning run going in the league. It would help to build confidence and would set the team up nicely for the championship." Peter is acutely aware that in a county like Cavan, a successful football team can do wonders for the morale of its people. "Football has and will always be a religion in Cavan. It means so much to people in the county. When the football team is going well, the supporters always seem to have that extra pep in their step. "I never saw Cavan win an All-Ireland, but the closest I came to seeing it happen was in 1997 when Cavan played Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final. The Cavan supporters took over Croke Park that day and that's a memory I will treasure forever. Needless to say, I'd love to experience it again," he adds. All-Ireland medals may not be all that plentiful in Cavan these days, but Peter is the proud holder of two which he won with the Blackrocks tug-o-war team. The Blackrocks won All-Ireland titles in 1987 and '90 as well as several Ulster championships. "A bit like playing inter-county football, tug-o-war requires a huge amount of commitment. It is a very competitive and skilled sport. Coming up to an All-Ireland final, we trained five nights a week. The training consisted of a lot of running and weight training," he remembers. Hailing from Corlough, Peter moved to nearby Ballyconnell in 1994, having set up McVitty Transport in the border village six years earlier. Prior to that, Peter had worked for Boxmore Plastics and has maintained strong links with the company by transporting their products all over Ireland. Peter's wife Susan and children Ronan (27), Hugh (26) and Mairead (20) are all involved in the running of McVitty Transport which operates from Mullinacre, Ballyconnell. Peter has two brothers, John and Pat Joe, and one sister, Breege. John was a noted footballer with both Corlough and Cavan Gaels, winning a senior championship medal with the latter in 1965. Pat Joe also played for Corlough before emigrating to England in his late teens. Breege, whose married name is Prior, still lives in Corlough and is a member of the nursing staff in Cavan General Hospital. Peter has had a lifelong interest in politics and in the Fine Gael party in particular. He campaigned for Tom Fitzpatrick and Andy O'Brien, who both died recently, in many a General Election. O'Brien was equally well-known in GAA circles and was Cavan's representative on the Ulster Council for many years. Peter first ran in the local elections in 1999 and was successful at the first attempt. He was reelected for the Belturbet electoral area in 2004 and was elected chairman of Cavan County Council for a one-year term last June. Asked if he has any future ambitions to run for the Dail, he replied: "In politics, you can never rule anything out. At the moment, I'm happy to be a member of Cavan County Council and to do my best for the people I represent. I'll be supporting our local Fine Gael candidate Joe O'Reilly in the forthcoming General Election and who knows, I might be a candidate some day myself." Cavan County Council is responsible for the delivery of wide range of services, including the provision of infrastructure services as well as services necessary to the physical, economic, social and cultural life of the county which involves the development of industry, business, and social, arts and cultural affairs in the county. The Council performs both a representational and operational role, in accordance with the Irish system of Local Government, which encompasses both democratic representation and public administration. Under the City and County Management Acts, Cavan County Council members are responsible for carrying out all Reserved Functions and the County Manager is responsible for all Executive Functions. While delighted with the county's new-found prosperity, Peter believes there are many issues that need to be addressed as a matter of urgency. "While I welcome the huge amount of development which has taken place in Cavan in recent years, we cannot rest on our laurels and there are still a number of important issues that need to be addressed. "The situation which prevails in Cavan General Hospital is a major issue. While the staff in the hospital is second to none, it is terrible to see patients on trollys at this day and age. The Government has earmarked money for the hospital, but it won't be much good unless it's spent properly. "We have a major problem with crime which is escalating out of control. It has got to the stage where many old people are afraid to leave their homes. That's not acceptable and neither is the situation we now have where there is no social outlet for the elderly, especially those living in rural areas. "On the plus side, employment has never been as high thanks to Sean Quinn and other similar-minded business people," he concludes. Tweet

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