There was a time when the numbers game threatened to smother the best efforts of all belonging to Munterconnaught GAA. Not any more. As 2008 crawls to its feet, Munterconnaught are seeing unprecedented numbers turn out for pre-season training and the spirit in the camp is tremendous. Months on, it seems the heartache of losing out to Killeshandra in their quarter-final clash has diluted to a pain-free level. Oodles of post-mortems at that juncture centered on the absence of top players Peter Cullen and Terry McCabe from Munterconnaught's starting XV. Losing the pair compounded the club's woes which existed before the meeting with the would-be champions, Killeshandra, as both Barry Nolan (abroad) and Thomas Brady (cruciate ligament) were also ruled out of the club's bid for a semi-final berth. One wonders did Killeshandra's subsequent progress in Cavan and Ulster temper Munterconnaught's sense of disappointment? "It did a bit but there was the feeling, of course, of what if but Killeshandra's campaign was a bit of an eye-opener, I'd have to say," comments Seamus Kiernan. Joint -team manager (with Jim Gilsenan) of the Munterconnaught junior team, Seamus believes that his charges will have been buoyed by what their erstwhile opponents achieved: "Killeshandra's success should be a good spur for us this year considering how they got on after beating us. "They (Killeshandra) had a bad day against Tyrone side Rock in the Ulster championship and but for that could have gone on and won the Ulster club title. "We beat Killeshandra in the 2006 junior championship so their success has given us an idea of what we're capable of doing and we think our lads will be more confident as a result." Just what would Seamus bring to the table if he had a magic wand which would perhaps make 2008 a truly successful one? "It's a fine line between winning and coming a close runner-up at junior level but if we were guaranteed a full panel of players, free from injury, I would be more than happy. "A bit of more luck coming our way would be nice too because we've still a couple of players injured, from the seven we had out originally at the start of the year." Two years ago, Munterconnaught lost out to Swanlinbar in the JFC decider but Seamus is hopeful that his beloved club can go one better in the coming year. As part of their '08 pre-season schedule, the Virginia-border side has played four tournament matches which, Seamus believes, is critical as part of their pre-season work. The tournament was organised by Munterconnaught GAA in memory of Seamus's own late father Luke (a former long-time chairman of Munterconnaught GFC) and the late PF Brady, a great worker on behalf of the club. Seamus - former county star - is keen to accentuate the positive around Munterconnaught but he refrains from trying to convince anyone to back the club at 10/1 to win the JFC crown. He recognises that in the likes of Drung, Cornafean and Shercock, there will be good quality opposition on the scene come the advent of the blue riband competition. In tandem with co-manager Jim Gilsenan and selectors Luke Lynch and John P O'Reilly, Seamus understands that it'll not be no less claustrophobic at the finishing post in the league. "You have the likes of Laragh Utd, Swanlinbar and Kill Shamrocks lining up and they're likely to be there or thereabouts so there won't be much room for dropping too many points." So can we expect Munterconnaught to give as good as they are likely to get in both the league and championship in the coming months? "I definitely hope so," Seamus declares. We're picking from a panel with a fairly good age profile so we can't have any complaints on that front. "There has been a very positive response to the training from the lads since the start of the year and everyone is looking forward to making a good start to the league. "A lot of the lads are between the ages of 18 and 24 which is what you'd ideally like but we have to make sure we get the best out of them. "This squad is probably at its peak right now and we would hope that they can strike it rich over the course of the next couple of years." In the interim though, the club will wallow in the luxuriousness of having a top drinks company at their side and in support of their training and match preparation regime. At the outset of the year, it was announced that the Meath-border club had netted a dream deal. The word quickly got out on the streets that the famed south Cavan crew were to take part in a Powerade television advertising campaign for a period of several months. Munterconnaught had been chosen by the competition organisers after beating off the claims of a whole host of clubs nationwide. "It was a good boost to the club, both financially and in terms of morale, and hopefully we can go on now and achieve something major in the championship this year," revealed Seamus regarding news of his club's success in winning the nationally advertised competition. Over recent months, the ambitious junior outfit have been taking part in the 'Never Give Up' marketing campaign ahead of their attempt to win this year's JFC title. The club was chosen as winners by a panel of GAA reporters with Powerade's Aengus King confident that the judges got the result spot-on: "We put forward our case as to why we should be the team Powerade should follow over the next 12 months. "It's a credit to everyone in the club who put their shoulder to the wheel in terms of our application and it's a recognition too of the effort that has been put in down the years to keep our club moving forward through difficult periods at times," joint team-manager Kiernan added. "We're thrilled to be involved with Powerade; it's great for the club because apart from the 4,000 euros we get and a presentation of a defibrillator, we will be afforded as much Powerade as we want during the year and get the opportunity to avail of the services of a top coach from outside the club as well," Kiernan enthused. "We knew we were in the running when the competition was whittled down to the last 12 which was a great credit to the likes of our treasurer Aisling Matthews. "Then when Jim Gilsenan and myself took over the team we got involved. "The judges interviewed us, the players and took a video, over the course of three hours, of a training session we had on the Sunday before Christmas when, luckily, we had 26 togged out. "Gradually we got closer and closer to the finishing post to the point where it was a straight fight between us and a club from Cork, Wicklow and Kilkenny and fortunately we won out. "We wondered what made us stand out and the judges basically told us that there were a number of boxes that they had set out and we ticked them all; they had certain criteria laid out and we just met them all, they told us." Having been beaten in the 2006 JFC final and in the quarter-finals of the championship last year, Munterconnaught will be keeping their fingers crossed that winning the Powerade challenge will prove to be a good omen for their 2008 championship and league campaign. Tweet

Most Read Stories