Cooley Kickhams have now gone 18 years since their last championship success, which is way too long for a club of its stature. However, for the past three years, they have lifted the Cardinal O'Donnell Cup during each campaign under the leadership of former player Gary Thornton. During the same period, Cooley contested the county final in 2007 when St Patrick's defeated them, and the same opposition inflicted a similar defeat two years, although it took three games to separate the sides at the semi final stage. However, a shock quarterfinal defeat to Glyde Rangers in this year's campaign brought an end to Gary's reign as manager and he spoke to the Wee County Yearbook about his footballing career with the club, his three year term as manager, while he also gave an insight to his role as Regional Sales Manager with Martin Food Equipment. Cooley Kickhams have won the Jim Ward Cup on nine occasions and the Thornton family has been represented on winning teams many times, but the club has endured more than its fair share of heartache as county final defeats have occurred, no fewer than 13 times. Gary's father and uncles all played for Cooley, indeed his uncle Jimmy played for the club, county and even represented Leinster, while another uncle Sean played in goals for the Wee County. His brother Sean was part of a championship winning side that included Gary as the club won back to back titles in 1989 and 1990, which was the last time the club were victorious in the championship, while Even today, the Thornton name is still on the team sheet as Gary's cousins Mark and David don the green and gold jersey. Another cousin, Jim won a number of championship medals representing Cooley at full back. However, in recent years, despite being tipped to lift the title on an annual basis, the ultimate glory has avoided Cooley, much to the frustration of all involved with the club. Former Down manager Pete McGrath was even brought in for a two-year spell from 2004 to '05 and despite his excellent leadership; he couldn't deliver what the club craved most. When McGrath decided to step down from the position, the club looked to one of their own in the guise of Gary, who knew what it took to win a championship having helped guide the club's minor team to county glory three years ago, which was managed by Ciaran McGuinness "I was involved with the minor team in 2005 and we had a very good side that deserved to win the county title. I was then asked to take over the senior team and I was delighted to give it a try," said Gary. "There are a great group of players here and I can't speak highly enough of the efforts that they put in over the three years that I was in charge. Unfortunately, for us, we came up against a strong St Pat's side that's seemed to have the edge on us, but we had some good times along the way. "After the defeat to Glyde Rangers this year, I felt that I had brought the side on as far as I could and I decided it was time for someone else to come in and hopefully bring them a county title, because there is no doubt about it, these lads certainly deserve it." Gary's reign was not without its success as winning three consecutive league titles is without question a major achievement by any standard in the game. "We always seemed to do well in the league, but just couldn't get over that final hurdle in the championship. This year, we had a great captain in Johnny Clerkin, while for the previous two years Alan Page was magnificent also. "I'd also like to thank my management team; John McDonnell and John McKevitt, who have made the job so much easier for myself. Others like Michael Malone, Eamon Carroll, Henry Donnelly, Tom Savage and Ciaran McGuinness along with everyone else who has also played a huge part in the success of this club. I'd also like to thank our coach Colin O'Hehir, who has now left the club and taken up a similar role with the Louth senior footballers and I hope he does very well with them. "I also had a great working relationship with Eamon McEneaney during the three years that I was over Cooley and hopefully he can bring some success to the county." Gary is adamant that the club has made huge strides over the last number of years; even though many might say that not winning a championship detracts from that fact. "Some people judge you on winning trophies, but losing doesn't mean everything is wrong, but this is certainly not the case in a progressive club like Cooley Kickhams. I'd like to wish Cooley all the best for the future, but I feel success will never be achieved without discipline and respect on and off the field and that must be brought into the club right from the top down. "I feel clubs around the country including our own needs to look at a code of conduct for football to be successful I the future and I feel that a lot of successful teams base themselves on these i.e respect, discipline and a code of conduct. Following the dramatic exit from the championship, Cooley turned their attentions to the Cardinal O'Donnell Cup and following a win over championship finalists Mattock Rangers in the semi final, Cooley met county champions Newtown Blues in the decider. The green and golds showed just how good they are by recording a win to collect their third consecutive league title to end Gary's term in charge on a high. "It was a great way to end the year and I was delighted to finish up as a winner. I know it will always be looked upon that we didn't win the championship, but I can't stress enough what a great bunch of players are at the club. I would also like to thank Brian Donnelly, who played in the semi final and final, while waiting to go to Australia where he has begun a two-year contract with Aussie Rules side Adelaide. "I wish him every success and hope that over the next three or four years that he makes it to the top. He will certainly be a huge loss to Cooley. "Finally, I would like to thank my family and my wife Cynthia, for being so patient during my time in charge as it was a very time consuming role to take on." And so a new era begins for Cooley Kickhams as they head into the 2009 campaign striving for that elusive tenth title, while there will be no doubt about it that Gary will be cheering them on and hoping that the players get their due rewards. For the past 20 years, Gary has worked with Martin Food Equipment, which is based in Gaskin Business Park, Dundalk. The company has been in existence for the past 35 years and is a leader in its field of expertise. Specialising in supplying the retail, quick service, catering and hospitality services with equipment for the food industry, Martin Food Equipment has over 6,000 customers across the 32 counties. "We provide the cooking and other equipment to shops, fast food outlets, restaurants and other hospitality and catering services," he revealed. "As Regional Sales Manager, I look after the Louth and Dublin areas and ensuring that the customers get the right equipment, while following up with after sales. Most of our products are brought in from the U.S or Italy and we supply a number of customers around the country." With a staff of 62, the company is a growing concern in Louth and it has built up a reputation for customer satisfaction and reliability down through the years. Tweet

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