This time last year Monaghan Harps were preparing to enter the world of Monaghan Senior football for the first time in eight years - a massive step for a young side that had little experience at the top grade. By David Keelaghan. Also added into the mix was the departure of manager Mattie McGleenan shortly after the Harps league final victory over Truagh. No-one down in Rooskey would dispute the role McGleenan played in taking the Harps from Junior to the top level; a similar amount of people would dispute the difficulty in replacing him. Eventually, and after considerable time and effort, a replacement was found in another Tyrone man, Sean O' Kane. The Harps ended up finishing the league season with a dismal record of 17 loses and one draw. The Championship would fair a little better, with an opening day win over Carrickmacross showing signs of Senior level promise. Subsequent loses to Latton and Magheracloone ended the Harps Championship campaign, although both were by slim margins. Truth be told, few teams totally dominated the Harps, bar a few exceptions near Kavanagh country. Many of their league games could have told a different story had the Harps shown a bit more guile and a lot more resolve. That's all conjecture at this stage of course, and now the club must prepare for the season ahead at Intermediate. Their return to the second tier will not be carried out with the uncertainty that blighted last year's winter of discontent; a management team has already been put in place to ensure the Harps spell in Intermediate is a brief one. The club are going back to basics as far as its managers are concerned, with the recruitment net not being spread anywhere near as far as previous years. Lifelong Harps man Declan McArdle has taken over the Harps hot-seat, with last season's interim boss Brian Lenihan serving as his number two. They will be joined by McRory Cup coach Gareth Coyle; continuing the strong association between the club and nearby St Macartan's College. Change has rung in off the field as well, with Dermot Brannigan succeeding Fergus Coyle as club chairman after a seven-year tenure. Like the new manager, Dermot Brannigan's dedication to the Harps has been no passing embrace. Another lifelong clubman, he has big plans for the club: plans that go far beyond the field of play. "First of all I would like to recognise the work of Fergus Coyle in his seven years as chairman. There has been some fantastic progress within the club during that time. Our infrastructure has improved drastically over the past number of years, and we now have facilities that are comparable to clubs anywhere in the country." He continued: "My main aim as chairman is to establish a clear sense of identity within the club and bring its members together under the one umbrella. For too long there has been a divide between the different structures of the Harps - the senior team, the ladies, the hurling side, the juveniles. I want to change that, and bring greater social cohesion to Monaghan Harps. All the members have a role to play in establishing that identity - from the players to the coaches, to the committee members, supporters and everyone else beside. It is vital we begin to really understand what it means to be a Harps member." Last year's foray into the Senior ranks was the Harps' first involvement with the county's best since 2000. Since then they rebounded between Junior and Intermediate level until the arrival of Mattie McGleenan sent the club on a different path. As the county town team, the Harps have a potential player and supporter base far and beyond any other club in Monaghan. Despite that, they have remained firmly in the shadow of teams like Inniskeen and Doohamlet for the past decade; that's not to mention Latton, Clontibret or Blayney. The Harps have sustained constant success at juvenile level in those years; why that hasn't been transferred to their senior sides remains a mystery. This year the U-13 and 14 sides won their Division 1 titles; the senior side in contrast were 23 points shy of their league's leaders. New chairman Dermot Brannigan does not skirt the issue when the subject arises. " I don't think it can be disputed we have under-achieved as a club at senior level for many years now. At the same time, we have over-achieved at juvenile. That is where the future well-being of the club lies. We have to start transferring that success from juvenile to senior, and bring through the players that up until now, we have been losing. I think there are two ways we can do that. Number one is to ensure each player fully understands what it means to play for the Harps. Again that comes back to creating a real identity for the club. We need to emphasise the importance of Monaghan Harps in the local community, to strengthen the link between Monaghan the town, and Monaghan Harps the GAA club. "The second way is to drive home the point that there is more to life than personal gain. We need much more of a collective response throughout the club, and through that, a collective response from the local community. Monaghan Harps needs to represent the local community and be a source of pride the same way Crossmaglen Rangers are to their area." So then to the elephant in the room - Played 18, Won 0, Lost 17, Drawn 1. "Obviously the table doesn't make for happy reading, but there were some positives from this season on the field. I felt a lot of our younger players adapted to Senior football very well. It was their first time at this level and they were able to push teams like Clontibret very close. "Our start to the year didn't help. We fully expected Mattie McGleenan to lead us into Senior football. It was a real blow losing him before the season started, and that forced us to scour the country in search of a manager at a very late stage. Mattie had established a strong bond with the players; he was a strong character and they really looked up to him. So replacing Mattie McGleenan as Harps manager was a huge void to fill, and unfortunately it didn't go for Sean the way we hoped." That last comment was somewhat of an understatement given the Harps form this year. In a season of lows, a nadir was reached with the 11-point defeat to Inniskeen. Sean O'Kane's short involvement with the club ended that same night. Taking the Inniskeen game into consideration, there really was only one place for the Harps to go from there. Luckily the Championship offered solace from their league woes. Dermot Brannigan gives his thoughts. "The Inniskeen game was a real low point for the season, and it wasn't a total surprise when Sean decided to leave. I thought we recovered from that to a certain extent, and soon after we beat Carrick in our first game of the Championship. That was a high point definitely; they went on to reach the county final so beating them displayed what we could do when the mood was right. We met Latton in the next round and lost by a point - and they won the Championship. There were numerous games over the course of the campaign where I thought we played well, but our inexperience told and we couldn't close games out. We lost some key players during the year for different reasons - Stephen Driver, Conor Galligan, Stephen and Shea McAleer, not many clubs could cope with that sort of hemorrhaging of talent and not have an effect." So then to next season, one the new chairman hopes will ring in a new era for the club. Change is the byword for Monaghan Harps pre-season, and it has come at all levels, and no less so than on the sideline. Dermot Brannigan gives his thoughts on the new manager, and what he hopes for Monaghan Harps in 2009. "We have brought in Declan McArdle as manager, and I expect him to have a big influence. Declan is a true Harps man. His appointment represents a new policy for the club, one I was adamant about - promote from within. I think that is the way forward for Monaghan Harps, but also for the GAA. The GAA starts with the club membership, people that know and feel for the club; why should the manager be different? I really believe the reason the Harps have underachieved for so long is because of our aversion to promoting from within. It is a core issue for me as chairman, and one I'll be doing my utmost to rectify." He concluded. " I'm really positive about the year ahead. We have the facilities and juvenile structure already in place; those foundations are solid. Now I want a similar structure installed for the senior team and the club as a whole. What I want to see from Monaghan Harps is a club that is the centre of the community - which is the case with most of the rural clubs in the county. Establishing that identity is the most important thing now; then hopefully everything else will follow from there." Juvenile review Under 14 At our Juvenile AGM of 2007 it was decided to enter a second under 14 team made up of players from that years under 12 team. It was seen as a good way to get our young lads ready for this year's under 14 competition. We played in Division 3 of the under 14 competition and recorded wins against Blackhill, Aughnamullen and Scotstown. We finished on six points, level with Eire Og and therefore a play-off match in Aghabog. Eire Og had earlier beaten us easily in the league because of holidays and injuries we travelled with just thirteen players, but with a lot of determination to make the cup competition. A brilliant game of football was served up by both teams and at the end of extra time they could not be separated. The final score was Eire Og 2-12 Monaghan Harps 0-18. A coin was tossed to decided each teams fate and we entered the Shield competition and played Scotstown B. This match was played at the Harps on the longest day of the year, but with weather more in line with the shortest day. Harps dominated the game from the start and ran out easy winners to reach the final where Blackhill were our opponents. The Shield final was played in Drumhowan in early July as the curtain-raiser to the Mason Cup final also involving the Harps Division 1 team. Both teams started the Shield final nervously and ten minutes had elapsed before Evan Morahan raised a white flag for the Harps. Blackhill promptly equalised but this was to be their only score of the half. Ciaran McQauid and Brendan Smith were bossing midfield and a plentiful supply of ball was kept to a lively forward line and points from James Keelaghan, Jason McHugh (2), Jamie Cassidy with a brilliant point from out on the right touchline, Brendan Smith and another from Evan Morahan plus a goal from Jason McHugh left the Harps leading 1-07 and 0-1 at half time. Harps started the second half where they had left off in the first with two quick points from Jason McHugh and Evan Morahan. Blackhill rallied and scored a goal and two points. Jason McHugh steadied the Harps' ship with two frees and further points from Conor Burns and Turlough Clerkin followed by a Jason McHugh goal left to big a gap from Blackhill to come back. They did get another point but this was cancelled out by a Mattie Kavanagh point on his return from a serious arm injury that kept him out for most of the season. At the final whistle Harps were worthy winners on a scoreline of 2-14 to 1-4. Joyous scenes followed as Brendan Smith, our captain received the Shield trophy which for most of these young lads was their first taste of success at gaelic football from they arrived at the Harps club back at the start of the Millennium to learn the skills of our national game. This was the first part of the double on offer that day and the the Division 1 team completed it when they won the Mason Cup to complete an historic day for the Harps club as this was the first time we won two trophies in one day. Team: Christopher McConnell, Mark Hetherington, Carl Foentjis, Donal McCarthy, Jamie Cassidy, Tiernan Bramley, Ciaran McQuaid, Brendan Smith, Turlough Clerkin, Jason McHugh, Conor Burns, Evan Morahan, James Keelaghan. Subs: Ryan Brady, Hasan Gasonne, Matt Kavanagh, Isaac John, Colm Galligan, Conor O'Neill, Pauric Coyle, Francie Lynch, John Treanor. Mentors: Paul McHugh, Paul Conlon, Frank Cassidy. Under 14s enjoy comfortable win (many thanks to J McM. for match summary) Following a commendable performance at Feile 2008 in Cavan the U-14 squad travelled to Drumhowan to face Castleblayney in the Mason Cup final last Saturday. The game started poorly with the boys facing a two point deficit in the opening minutes. To their dismay a penalty was awarded to Blayney soon after and Ryan Shields pulled off a great save to rescue the situation. The side then settled well and strong performances from the full back line of Pauric Murphy, Evan Doherty and Anthony Croarkin (1-1) prevented any further Blayney progress. Throughout the game the attacking play of wing half backs Conor Forde and Kevin Loughran pinned Blayney within their own half while Conor Curley was solid as ever playing centre half. The midfield duo of Benin Devlin and Shane Maguire proved to be too strong for their counterparts. The half forward line of Shane Loughran (1-3, Michael Galligan (0-3) and Niall Treanor were a constant threat. Ciaran Neeson, Paul Byrnes (1-0) and Fearghal McMahon (0-4) put to great use any ball they received. Both Myles Dwyer and Darragh Connolly made an impact with their appearances from the bench. Other panel members were Mark Hetherington, Jamie Cassidy, Paul Smyth and Brendan McQuaid. The final score was 3-10 to 1-4 in favour of the Harps. Well done to all members of the panel whose hard work all year earned its just rewards as the Mason Cup returns to Gavan Duffy Great Credit is due to a very pro-active and active mentor group Maurice Galligan, John Mc Mahon, Declan Mc Ardle and Val Forde. The many hours of dedication paid off, well done to all. After a victory travail through the County town the players of both the Under Division 1 and Division 3 teams had a little tuck in at the Gavan Duffy Park Clubhouse. Monaghan Harps Juvenile year 2008 saw a huge total of young players participating in coaching, .-'A' training and competition. Juvenile Chairperson Mary White, Secretary Lorcan McAdam. At under 10 level over eighty young aspiring footballers went through coaching and fun games from March right up to October, under a very dedicated coaching group. The Monaghan Harps Under 12 Division 1 team reached the final of the County Shield competition but were narrowly defeated by Castleblayney Faughs.Team Manager was Roger McQuaid ably assisted by The Monaghan Harps Under 12 Division 3 team also had a very active season. The player panel was very young and participated just to acclimatise to competition. Rest assured the learning curve was of great benefit to all the young aspiring foothallers. Team management Brendan Burns and Dominic Meehan were very industrious and upped the skill levels and fitness of all the players. The Club Under 13 Division 1 team had a very successful year culminating in the winning of the Kilpatrick Cup. The final against Scotstown was in the balance right up to the final hectic minutes but a goal in the last minute put Monaghan Harps ahead by one point, the final score Monaghan Harps 4-04 Scotstown 1-12. Team Manager Roger Mc Quaid and Coach Michael Buckley worked unceasingly to improve skills and fitness levels with this team throughout the competition. The club participated in the County Under 14 Division 1 competition and had a great win in the final over Castleblayney Faughs on Saturday 19 July. The team also participated in The Feile Na Gael competition, was based in Butlersbridge Co Cavan and reached the semi-final of their section. Under team management of Maurice Galligan, John Mc Mahon, Declan Mc Ardle and Val Forde this team was very impressive and were undefeated throughout the league. In addition to the Kilpatrick Cup at Division 1 level the Under 14 Division 3 side achieved a very worthy win in the County Shield competition. Under 14 Division 3 Team Management were Paul Mc Hugh, Paul Conlon, The most remarkable aspect of the two Under 14 victories was that both finals were played on Saturday 19 July, at the same venue, Drumhowan. It was the first time in Monaghan Harps history that the club won two trophies on the same day at the same venue. The Club Under 16 team although not successful nevertheless participated with great credit in the County Under 16 Division 1 competition. Team Manager John Hahessy ably assisted by mentor Seamus Mc Manus worked diligently and created a great sense of enthusiasm in all the players who were a credit to the club. The Club minor side although unsuccessful trained diligently throughout a very long season. Team Manager Pauric Reilly, mentors Sean Mc Anespie and Bryan Mc Elvaney put in tremendous effort in fine tuning fitness levels and creating player confidence and team spirit throughout the minor panel. The U13 management team was made up of Michael Buckley coach selector Paul Mc Hugh and Mick Farrell as manager We started training on 17th July with panel of 22 players and it is worth noting that we finished with 22 players. This bunch of players are a little hyper to say the least but as one man said to me give me hyper if they can play football any day. The training sessions were going well with the players responding to Michaels coaching techniques. Our first game was against Emyvale and with a half time lead of 9 points it was hard to keep the players focused on the fact that the job was only half done and this was reflected in the final outcome with only a one point victory. Our next game was against Carrick and if anybody asked me what game stands out for you in the season this was the one. This time we were on the receiving end of a first half annihilation going in 9 points down. However they eventually went on to win that game by a point and if we were happy Carrick were stunned, staying on the pitch as we were on the bus to go home wondering what just happened. I knew that day that this team could respond to adversity. Our next few games were against Magheracloone, Donaghmoyne, Blayney and Truagh. They were well contested but this team was getting better and better with each game and in the end proved too strong for them. Our final league game was a rescheduled match against Scotstown. Even though we had qualified for the semi-finals this team wanted to finish top. In the end Scotstown won by 4 points hut this loss was to prove more beneficial to the Harps than a win. We now started training 2 nights a week and there was a new sense of intensity and determination about the players, as they waited to see who they were to meet in the semi-finals. It turned out to be Carrick at home and after a hard fair game of football the players had earned their rightful place in the final. Who were they to meet in the final who else but Scotstown, JK Rowling couldn't have written the script any better. The final was on the 1st Nov in Emyvale and anybody who was their will not forget it for a long time. Scotstown got off to the better start but it was the Harps ability to score goals that was to prove crucial. At half time however the Harps trailed by 4 points but you would think from the faces of players that it was all over. I rallied them as best 1 could and they eventually went on to win with a late late goal. All the months of training in the rain and noisy bus journeys to Magheracloone were forgotten these lads were going to Feile. In conclusion I would like to thank Mary White for all her work and especially for the hoodies that the team wore to the final. Lorcan for responding so quickly to all my text messages throughout the year. John Harden for arranging the victory dinner and also Adrian Trappe for his motivational speeches to the team so inspirational were they that Paul Mc Hugh said he would put his boots back on. Also anybody that did the thankless job of umpire. Last but not least my management team of Michael Buckley and Paul Mc Hugh. Michael didn't know how good this team were but indirectly he asked me how they did in the Coyle cup etc ... .of course I told him the truth. And Paul Mc Hugh by making sure I was not sent off in any matches by shouting louder than me .. as I said all year it's the little things that make the difference. Mary White - Monaghan Harps Juvenile Chairperson. Mary White has been involved with Monaghan Harps for over a decade. She has devoted much of that time to the promotion of juvenile football and all the young players in the club have been a friend of Mary from an early age. She shares their highs and lows and is a person that they turn to for help or advice if required. So who is Mary White? Mary White (nee Mc Caffrey) is a native of Monaghan town living the early part of her years in Killygoan. Her great love for the GAA was inherited from her father Francie who sadly passed away in May 2008. She was reared along with two sisters and three brothers and in the Killygoan area of the town where Gaelic football was always a priority on summer evenings. She got married a while ago (she won't say how long) to Michael White who hails from Dublin and she has two sons and one daughter. Her sons Brian and Gary both played with the Harps. Her first involvement with the Harps Juvenile Committee was attending games as an enthusiastic "Mammy" who says she never ever got carried away at games. (She claims that she was never booked by a referee). Helping to transport players, washing jerseys, medical bag, tidying up dressing room and acting as umpire were just some of the enjoyable jobs she did. She got more involved in the administration side about seven years ago. A regular attender at Juvenile Committee meeting, she now leads the young part of the club. Mary talked to me about her aims and what she sees the future holding for Monaghan Harps. Q. What were your views on Monaghan Harps performance at under age level in 2008? A. Definitely we achieved a lot in 2008. We catered for over 160 players from Under 16 down to Under 12 this year. The Under 12 Division 1 team reached the Final of the Shield competition. The Under 13's won the Kilpatrick Cup. The Under 14 Div 1 team won the Mason Cup. The Under 14 Division 2 team won the Shield Final. The remarkable feature of this was both Under 14 teams winning silverware at the same venue on the same day. The Under 15's reached the Semi Final of the Emyvale Floodlit Tournament. The Under 16's performed admirably but unfortunately their efforts had no success. The highlight for me personally was the Under 8 and 10 coaching on Saturday mornings. Seventy to eighty youngsters attended Gavan Duffy Park to be introduced to the skills of gaelic football. These young players are introduced to the club in a safe and friendly environment. Coaches are highly trained so that the children are taught the fundamental skill in a easy learning manner. Watching their confidence grow from week to week gives me great enjoyment. Q. The Juvenile Committee - A Hard Working Bunch? A. There is approximately twenty members of the Juvenile Committee. I am not going to name any one individual as everyone plays an important part. As a group we work well together and enjoy one another's company. The volunteer ethos is very strong among us and no task is too big when called upon. We meet monthly. A yearly street collection. Sponsored Walk. Organise trips to other clubs. Plenty done, more to do. Q. What about the parents? A. Parents involvement is an essential for the progress of any juvenile club. In Monaghan Harps we are very lucky to have enthusiastic parents who are more than willing to help with all the small tasks. Getting parents involved means that we are all working together for the good of the club and essentially the children. Q. Children Safety - A Priority? A. All coaches must undergo Child Protection Course, Fundamental and Foundation Coaching course before they coach the children. Paul O'Connor (Monaghan Games Development Officer) has been an outstanding assistance to the club in this respect. All the courses that Paul organised throughout the year have proved more than beneficial to coaches and children alike. Q. Contact with Primary Schools? A. We work with all the National Schools in the parish to ensure that all children in Monaghan avail of the facilities of Monaghan Harps. Coaching is supplied by Transition Year students from Saint Macartans College. Club facilities are made available to tha schools for all their games. Q. Secondary Schools? A. Facilities are always available to the secondary schools for their games. Q. Code of Conduct & Discipline. Is it a problem? A. The club has a code of conduct and all players and parents are aware of what is expected. We encourage children to enjoy their sport in a well disciplined way and to respect themselves their fellow players, coaches and facilities. Q. Do non-national children play Gaelic games with Monaghan Harps? A. The door is open for any child who wants to play Gaelic games. A lot of the no-national children play Gaelic games in the school and are gradually the numbers attending on Saturday mornings. They have had great success in the Handball alley mainly due to the efforts and dedication of Martin Mc Entee their coach. Q. Your aims for 2009. A. That Monaghan Harps under age structure continues to flourish as today's children are the stars of tomorrow. Want to see more parents involved as those already involved find it rewarding to see their children enjoy their sport. Looking forward to Spring 2009 to get started again and the sound of children playing in Gavan Duffy Park. Tweet

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