At the outset of the 2007, Cornafean's aim of gaining promotion looked to be on target as in the opening eight games the club registered six wins and one draw to put them comfortably in pole position. With just two places up for promotion and with Cavan Gaels fancied to take top spot, the race for the final was always going to be difficult assignment. Clubs of the calibre of Killeshandra, Butlersbridge, Kildallan were all going to be vying for that coveted promotional place and as the final league table showed, just a three points separated Cornafean from second place promoted Killeshandra. A number of defeats towards the end of the league season were to prove crucial causing the club to miss out by the narrowest of margins. The championship failed to produce what many expected to be a fruitful year. Early indications looked promising as the Reds recorded victories over Corlough and Butlersbridge. These victories guaranteed a semi-final berth against neighbours, Killeshandra. The Reds' difficult task was further compounded with injuries to key players, Eamonn O'Reilly and Liam Young. This left the attack somewhat bare and when midfielder, Cormac Geoghegan made his exit early in the second-half; hope of victory was fast being eroded. "Credit to our neighbours, they proved to be the better team on the day and went on to win both the championship and league double," stated club chairman, P. J. McGlade. P.J. who has been associated with the Cornafean club all his life has acted as chairman now for the past ten years. He also did a stint as vice-chairman and also acted as secretary for twenty years. His CV indeed must mark him down as a 'true' Cornafean man. "I have served the club in most capacities over my many long years. I started back with Cornafean in the early sixties and worked at the preparing of the present field, helping with the ploughing, levelling and believe it or not, as we had no money, helped with the making of blocks which were used for the wall and dressing rooms at the ground. It was a simple era, where money was very tight, but as a community we worked with commitment, fun and a great sense of purpose," stated P. J. According to the long serving chairman, the club are now at a new phase of development and that the spirit of past is still encompassed with those who are eager to progress the club for the future. "It is important that we upgrade our facilities, as times change, it is necessary for us to move along with them. Requirements now are different from when we first embarked on the structures presently in place at club grounds. Our playing panel is quite young. The average age profile is something in the region of 23-24. We have nine players who all played U-21 during the 2007 season. So we would see the future of the club as secure. We would also hope that we would be able to make a serious bid to gain promotion. This is something I feel we are capable as we were not too far off the target during the 2007," stated the Cornafean chairman. "While the football is important, we also have a vibrant Scor club at Cornafean both at senior and junior level. We have been extremely successful for many years in this area. The club have titles in both sections at county, Ulster and All Ireland level. The work put in over the years by the many who have been involved have ensured that the name of Cornafean is still a household among the GAA world," stated a justifiably proud P. J. McGlade. Development When P. J. speaks of development presently taking place at the club grounds, he looks back in nostalgia when the 'Reds' opened their field back in 1964. "Back then we had a total community effort, no money, a lot of hard but enjoyable work. The fun associated with the project of providing a then state of the art playing fields and top class dressing rooms, was a credit to all the community. Presently we are in process of upgrading our now outdated dressing rooms. We hope to have four new dressing rooms opened in early spring of 2008. We also have a new hall which is adjoining the present structure and this will provide a much needed area for all the club's recreational needs and double up as an area for indoor training when required," stated P. J. The club is presently in negotiations in trying to acquire a portion of land so as to provide a second playing surface that would provide a much needed training area. "When we opened our playing field back in 1964 we had an area of our ground adjacent to the field planted by Coillte. However, we are now in a position that we are unable at present to utilise this ground as there are now over three thousand trees planted on it. We hope with the negotiations that are ongoing we will be able to acquire sufficient ground to progress with our plans of being able to provide a training area for the club," stated P. J. Team manager With an eye on promotion high on the agenda for 2008, Cornafean have retained the services of a team trainer Ciaran Creegan. According to P. J. "The team management had a relatively good season in 2007 and but for a slight blip towards the end of the league, could certainly have been in a position to gain promotion. Our championship exit to Killeshandra was compounded by a number of factors, loss through injury of a number of key players and the fact that in fairness Killeshandra were beginning to come into form, which we know brought them a league and championship double." No doubt Ciaran Creegan, will be hoping to revitalize the fortunes of the Reds and set out a plan that will hopefully secure the club's drive to gain promotion to Division 2. Ciaran is a former player with Leitrim club, Gortletteragh and will be hoping to bring a fresh approach to the side for the coming year. Former player, Seamus Doyle, current player, Liam Young and Ciaran Martin, will assist him. All three will act as selectors and make the management team for the incoming football season. Juvenile football With an eye to the future, Cornafean, like all other clubs in the country take juvenile football as a serious and necessary addition to the future lifeline of their existence. A comprehensive outlook embracing all the children of the parish is provided and with training commencing in early February large numbers of children from 5 years old upwards attended. For the younger age groups of 5 to 8 the club put emphasis on enjoyment, while the U-10s graduate to the more serious pursuit of competitive football. To this end the U-10s competed in a number of blitz competitions where they acquitted themselves with pride. A storming display by the U-12s saw them make it to the semi-final of their league only to be halted by neighbours Ballinagh. It looked like the Reds had secured victory as the game edged into the final minutes but Ballinagh managed to reverse what should have been a Cornafean victory and went on to the final. At U-14 level, in a tight league group, Cornafean won five of their nine games but this was not sufficient to put them into the play-off of the league. While disappointed at not making it to the semi-final, they can be proud of the way they played throughout the league and hopefully will have better luck next season. The future of the juvenile club looks bright as Coronea - Corliss school team showed that they have the talent to make an impact in Cavan underage football when they won Cumann na mBunscol title when they defeated a strong Crosserlough team in the final. The team was made up primarily of Cornafean juvenile players. Throughout the 2007 season juvenile season trojan work was carried out the club's officers and volunteers when they successfully acted as a host club to the Ulster Feile na nOg last June. This proved to be a very successful day and credit is extended to all the mentors and parents involved. At minor and under 21 level Cornafean amalgamated with Killeshandra to form Parnells. A sustained good run in the minor league saw them pitted against reigning county champions and minor kingpins, Cavan Gaels. The game was played under lights in Mullahoran with the Gaels proving to be too strong on the night. In the championship, Lurgan, who went on to face Cavan Gaels in the final, got the better of a spirited and determined Parnells side. Lurgan proved to be a bogey side when they overcame Parnells U-21 team in the championship. Scor As a club, Cornafean must surely be one of the country's best exponents of the GAA's Scor competitions. Having amassed All Ireland, provincial and county titles at both Scor Sinsir and Scor na nOg, Cornafean would be viewed as one of the county's most experienced exponent of Scor competitions. The 2007 season was again to prove equally successfully for the 'Reds' as they fielded a full set of eight acts for the senior county finals. Wins in question time, novelty act and recitation, the club's strong points was added to by a win in the set dancing. Entry into the provincial arena saw them take gold in both the recitation and question time thus qualifying them to participate in the All Ireland finals, which were held in the Gleneagles Hotel, Killarney. On this occasion, Michael McGibney (recitation) a former All Ireland winner and Tommy McGibney, Brian Doyle and Michael Dinneny (question time) also former All Ireland winners failed to get among the medals on this occasion. Their presence at the All Ireland stages once again shows that Irish culture is alive and well in Cavan and living in Cornafean. The club began preparations for Scor na nOg back in October. A number of former senior Scor members were enticed to act as coaches. Under their supervision and guidance, Cornafean made it to the county finals with five items. County titles were secured with instrumental music, ballad group and novelty act but the subsequent participation in the Ulster finals failed to produce any winners. Overall, the season proved a worthwhile one for Scor at the club. Ladies football Ladies football is an active part of the Cornafean club and great progress has been with the ladies of the parish showing winning form when they captured Cavan 9-a-side crown. Tweet

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