Sean Shields' election as President of Cootehill Celtic GAA fairly recognised his 40 years-plus service to the club as an administrator Given that he runs one of the largest family-owned bookie chains in the country, it's hardly surprising that Sean Shields has stayed the course so long at Cootehill Celtic GAA. The odds on him ever cutting his ties with the famed Hoops are very, very short as his association with the club approaches the 50 year mark. He was a proverbial shoo-in to be elevated at some stage to the role of President of the club and, on cue, last December, the members at the club's AGM did the necessary. It was back in 1963 that Sean first linked up with Cootehill Celtic on the administration front by taking up a place on the committee. But it was with the establishment of a juvenile committee in '67 that Shields found his first home from home. The virgin committee vowed to promote and develop football at under 12 and under 14 levels with a view to competing in the Cavan Schools League. "Back then, the underage structure in the county as a whole was poor," he says "There wasn't a lot of fixtures and the organisation of juvenile football just wasn't great to say the least. "Compared to other counties, football for youngsters just wasn't the priority it should have been back then and very few clubs had teams below minor level. "Cavan spent a lot of years playing catch-up with our neighbouring counties, especially those in the North, and it was a fair few years before most of the clubs had juvenile sections. "We were one of the first clubs to have an underage football committee and we got a bit of a head-start on a lot of the other clubs in the county." Sean recalls how the setting-up of the Celts' juvenile sector caught the imagination of the local community which allowed the fledgling commitee to "hit the ground running." The club's newly-elected President remembers the droves of families who were drawn a mile out of town to Celtic Park to watch their offspring play the Gaelic game. Youngsters from Cootehill were joined by their peers from the outlying areas of Kill and Drumgoon where the seeds of juvenile football had yet to be sown. Men such as Fr. McManus (Kill) and Jack Daly (Drumgoon) were to the fore in forming a strong chain to the talent embedded in Cootehill Celtic's hinterland and the movement thrived. Like every embryonic organisation, finances were key to its growth and sustainability and, as such, a heavy reliance was placed on a Christmas hamper draw and '25' card drives. A little money went a long way in the 'sixties and with a ready-made pitch at the 'old meadow', expenses were few and far between as players were ferried countywide in cars. "It was easy to raise money then 'cause everyone put their shoulder to the wheel and sold what they could and there were a lot more parents interested in helping out," Sean explains. "There was a great buzz around the club at that time 'cause you'd have teams picked by the kids and you'd have captains and managers who'd keep things moving. "Each of the teams had their own set of jerseys and by the time the final would come around, you'd have great crowds coming out to watch." But with such bastions of underage football like Annagh (Redhills/Belturbet), Lurgan and Castlerahan to the fore, Cootehill often had to run just to stand still as the years rolled on. Still the annexation by the Hoops of the Cavan Under 14 Roinn 'A' title in 1970 hinted at more successful days and fully complemented the club's earlier JFC success of 1969. In 1971 the club retained its premier under 14 title and two years later the Celts won the Under 16 Roinn 'A' title which added greatly to the feel-good factor around the town. So what importance would Sean attach to the underage effort in Cootehill over the years? "It was and still is the most important sector of the club 'cause if you don't look after the juveniles you won't have a club down the line," he declares. "In the early years the club's record at underage level was very good but then Drumgoon and Kill got underage structures up and running and that saw a decline in our numbers. "Cootehill is looked upon as a big town in the county but the reality of it is is that it's basically a very small catchment area where we're bordered closely by Drumgoon and Kill. "In recent years you've a lot of new sports being catered for in the area which has meant a lot more distractions from GAA for the youngsters in the town. "On top of that, parents don't take nearly as much interest in underage football nowadays which seems to be more a 'town thing' than might be the case in a rural area." Sean believes that, in general, the spirit of volunteerism isn't quite as alive in modern times as it was in the sixties and seventies when the Celts' juvenile football was at its peak. He remembers how a raft of club members came together in 1968 - following a path blazed by Cavan Gaels - to establish Bingo which is continued by the club to this day. "The money raised by the Bingo virtually built Hugh O'Reilly Park," Sean declares. "It provided by far and away the most income for the club each year. "Then in the early seventies we organised a Gold Watch tournament which was one of the best in the country and it was very popular and drew big crowds. "We had clubs like Tullamore, Walterstown, Scotstown and Na Fianna of Dublin playing and those games were the talk of the county at one time. "The establishment of the Social Club in 1973 was also important and for years it was well supported and a good money-raiser too." With success in the 1969 JFC and in the IFC of 1971 plus a senior league title triumph in '73, expectations emerged within the club that a prized SFC title could be bagged. "We should have won a senior championship, no doubt about it. I remember we played Ramor Utd in a semi-final and we let an eleven point lead slip on the way to losing the game." Sean is optimistic though that the present crop of players can turn the club's fortunes around. He was much heartened by the achievement of the club's under 21 string in reaching the Division Two championship semi-final. "They only lost out narrowly to the eventual winners Lavey and if they can be kept together along with a few of the more senior players in the club, things will improve. "There are plans to spend a lot of money on the dressing-rooms over the next year or so and it'd be great if we could have success on the field to along with that development." County title win for Hurlers Cootehill Celtic GAA didn't enjoy the best of times on the field of play in 2007 but the club's under 14 hurlers at least ensured the past year wasn't an altogether barren one. In a year which saw the now four year-old club field at under 12 and under 14 levels for the very first time, the Celts' under 14 hurlers made it back-to-back county title wins in early September at Kingspan/Breffni Park. Following on from their corresponding under 12 county win in 2006, the Hoops' premier team recorded a narrow one goal win over Kingscourt Stars in a frenetic Division Three decider in front of a vocal support. Cootehill were full value for their win even though they had to withstand a determined finish by the Stars in the final five minutes. A first half goal by Caoimhin Carney helped by crucial goals by Jason Taylor and Barry Smith in the second half served to propel the Hoops to a deserved title win. This latest win for the fledgling club comes on the back of a similar title triumph in 2006 and hopefully will be complimented by similar success at under 12 level in the coming days. The following is the title-winning line-up plus subs used on the day; Corey Smith; Joseph Kelly, Ian Dempsey; James Kelly, James McKitterick, Barry Cooney; John Carney, David Corrigan; Fintan Roche, Jason Taylor (1-0), Barry Smith (1-0); Christopher Keenan, Caoimhin Carney (1-0). Subs; Dermie Connolly for Barry Cooney; Cormac Brazil for Christopher Keenan; Caoimhe Clarke for Joseph Kelly; Simon Boyle for Barry Smith; Joseph Freeman for David Corrigan. There was no such luck unfortunately for the club's under 12 hurlers who bowed out to eventual winners Woodford Gaels in their semi-final clash also at Kingspan/Breffni Park. Cootehill went into the penultimate round unbeaten but despite the benefit of some tough competitive action in an invitational tournament in Ballyconnell earlier in the year where they came up against the champions of Armagh (Keady), Fermanagh (Lisnaskea) and Monaghan (Castleblayney), the Celts just couldn't match the west Cavan amalgam on the day. Tweet

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