Eddie O'Reilly has flirted with the county scene since first linking up with the Cavan senior team in 1999. He confesses he has a point to prove this year. There aren't many footballers in Cavan who have the ability to put bums on seats and get them off those same seats just as quickly but Eddie O'Reilly is one such player. The Mullahoran maestro is a performer who has the ability to attract an audience and, when on fire, can keep them fully engrossed in whatever passion play he's starring in. With the likes of him thundering goalwards at Our Lady of Lourdes Park, it's easy to understand just why Mullahoran's founding fathers attached the appendage 'Dreadnoughts'. O'Reilly is fearless on the field but that's far from all he brings to the table whether it's in his stock-in-trade Mullahoran colours or while on duty with the Cavan senior team. The 27-year old can play either in midfield or, most commonly, in attack and his aggression, exhuberance, long-range shooting and leadership abilities make him a stand-out star. Since last October he's been plying his skills in the biggest shop window of all, i.e. the intercounty stage and, as is his wont, he has played more than just a cameo role there. He admits he was disappointed not to have been part of the county set-up at peak time in 2007 and there are many punters in Breffni-land who raised an eyebrow at his omission. In 2006, he was one of Mullahoran's key players in their surging run to the SFC title but he was somehow overlooked by Donal Keoghan and his management team. "The last time I was on the Cavan panel before October, I felt I had given it 100% under Martin McElkennon and I was looking forward to still being with the county panel," he explains. "I thought that the second year in a row with Cavan would have brought me on a lot and that I would have become a better player but I wasn't part of the Cavan squad the next year." This year's Dr. Mc Kenna Cup and National Football League campaigns witnessed O'Reilly back on familiar ground but he is looking forward to playing on better days, weather-wise. "Training is tough and the games are dogged at this time of year so it'll be nice to get playing on firmer ground, in front of big crowds and with a bit of sun on your back," he says. Not that the terroriser-of-many-teams is a fair-weather player. And there's no presumption on his part that he'll be on Cavan's first XV when championship time comes calling. Certainly he has a great (and necessary) belief in his own ability but he comes across as a much more modest man than perhaps on his on-field persona might suggest. "I love my football," he confesses. "When you're not drinking, having a big social life and you've worked hard all week, getting out on the pitch gives you the chance to let off steam. "Football allows you express yourself and when you're enjoying it and winning, it's great. Sometimes you can't help but your feelings when you score or win a game." Eddie says he has no regrets about his on-off love affair with the Cavan senior team but it's clear his initial liason with the county's premier team holds many memories. His first call-up to the Cavan senior team was in 1999 when he was just gone 18. Two years later he was part of the county squad that scooped the McKenna Cup. Happy days. When he turned 20 though, things turned sour almost overnight for him when he received a 12 months suspension for an alleged on-field incident. Embittered by his treatment by officialdom and plainly seeing no future on the home front, Eddie upped sticks and went to live and work in the United States. A four year stint followed Stateside. "I made the decision to go to New York but it wasn't an easy one," he recalls. A new life beckoned but it would have a distinct Gaelic hue still. Predictably, he soon found himself immersed in the 'home from home' environment that is Irish-America and in 2003 he found himself playing in the Connacht Championship! "It was with New York," he explains. "We played Leitrim in the Connacht Championship and drew with them but, instead of a replay, there was extra-time and they won by a point." Even though he says he has no regrets about removing himself from the world of Gaelic games - and his native Mullahoran - for four years, he concedes that it was a landmark period. "I've been trying ever since to get back to the level of fitness and form that I was in before I went to New York," the former county minor and county under 21 ace confesses. "But I remember talking to the late Eamon Coleman and he told me that a footballer wouldn't hit his peak 'till he's 29 so I've a couple of years to go," he quips. Eddie ain't sure whether or not he'll stick the course at the top level 'till he hits the 30 mark but he's bound to mature and grow into his role with the county crew over the next two years. "The commitment at county level is just unbelievable," he declares. "You have to almost live like a monk and you don't really have a life outside of football but that's your choice. "The training has been good with Mullahoran but the gap between what's expected of you at club level and what you have to do for the county is getting bigger all the time." Does Eddie, a self-employed bricklayer, feel 2008 is a big year for him personally? "Every year is a big year. I want to play as well as I can and, on the county front, I'd like to make the starting line-up consistently and get a go at playing in the Ulster championship." With two SFC medals under his belt (and two county final defeats to boot), Eddie is, of course, determined to be as successful as he can on the club front as well this year. "When you come from a club like Mullahoran, you go out every year expecting to win championships; that's just the way it is and probably always will be. "Winning championship games, at club and county level, is one thing though. You have to win the championship itself for it to be any good. "2007 wasn't one I want to remember, either from a club or county perspective, but this year is another year and we'll see how it goes." A SFC medallist with the Dreadnoughts at just 17 years of age (1998) as a wing-half forward and the recipient of two Under 21 FC medals, Eddie says he is still a hungry player. He's looking to add to his collection in a big way this year and he refuses to entertain the notion that it's not likely that he'll be a county SFC winner and a Ulster SFC winner in '08. Brother of Kieran, an Ulster U21 medallist in 1996, the bold Eddie was born a winner. His father Edward was on the Mullahoran team that won the Cavan SFC in 1963. He is convinced that for Cavan to cut the mustard this year, a decent run in the national league is a 'must'. A bit of luck would go a long way, he moots. And with a bit of luck, the world of Gaelic games will see Eddie O'Reilly at his very best at long last? "I probably have underachieved down the years and it would be fair to say I have a point to prove in the next few months," he acknowledges. " I'll do everything I can to make an impact for Mullahoran and Cavan. "I know there are a lot of people who'd say Eddie O'Reilly this and that but there are just as many people with faith in me and I'd like to do well this year as much for them as myself." Here's hoping Eddie achieves his goal(s); at least for Cavan's sake if not Mullahoran's. Tweet

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