It is fair to say that the Monaghan senior football team have gone through some lean times in recent years. At a time when Ulster football is without doubt the dominant force in the game, the Farney County has been going through a transition period that has now lasted 14 years since they last won a provincial title. The die-hard Monaghan supporter is clinging on to the hope that they can return to the glory days of the eighties when Monaghan were rated as one of the best teams in the country. One of these optimists is Michael Treanor, proprietor of Monaghan Electrical Wholesale based in Monaghan Town and Carrickmacross. "Monaghan need to win something for the players to become interested again, but that won't happen unless the players put in a bigger effort. "Unfortunately it may be some time before we return to the glory days. We have to go back to the grass roots level and start from there. More money has to be put into the underage system within the county. The Northern based counties in the province have received finance for the past few years and it is obvious that is paying off as they are ahead of the rest at the moment." A Truagh Gaels clubman, Michael is no stranger to sponsoring his local side or indeed some of the county teams that represent Monaghan. At present Michael is sponsoring Francie Connolly Cup (Under-16 boys championship), Monaghan under 16 team (ladies) and the Truagh ladies club. "The senior team have been improving over the last few years and contested three finals in-a-row without winning any of them. That is hard for a team to take but they have the character to keep bouncing back. Only recently they were beaten in the League final by Latton. In 1958 Truagh formed its first official affiliated parish team, although football and hurling in the area has been dated back as far as the 1880's. Teams in the Carrickroe and Clara end of the parish were the first recorded clubs, but it was not until 1908 that the first official team in the area was formed as Branagh Erin's Hopes represented the community. The club did not have a very long life span and were disbanded a few years later without having picked up any silverware during their short history. Around the year 1922 the young men from around Mullan Mills formed one of the first hurling clubs in the north of this county. This was an affiliated club and played under the name of St. Mellan's, but due to the lack of local competition the interest in the game waned and the club finally disbanded after about three years. Football in the parish around the late 20's and early 30's seemed to fragment into several small clubs. A team at Moybridge, one at Clara, one at Carrickroe, with the Ballyoisin players throwing in their lot with Emyvale. "Another team to have its tales of glory in those years was a team called The Boglane Rovers. In 1928 the Emyvale team, which won the Fr. Maguire cup for the first time, was assisted by quite a number of players from the Truagh area. The reasons for this being the enthusiasm of Master Paddy Smyth, a schoolteacher in Ballyoisin who was also then Chairman of the Emyvale club. The Truagh ladies club is one that holds great pride for their members. This club restarted in 2000 and entered a U-12 team in the Community Games. This team reached the semi final stages. Following this, the club started an U-12 blitz for all the clubs in the county which is run in St.Mellans. The teams involved play for the Bernard Treanor Memorial Shield and the Frank McKenna Cup. History was made in 2004 when the under 14 side represented the Club and County in the All Ireland Final of the Feile Competition. The weekend started off on Fri. 2nd July when Truagh beat their host team Killeshil on a score line of 3-3 to 0-2. That evening they travelled to Carrickmore to take part in the opening parade along with all the other clubs. This was a most spectacular parade with over 4,000 children and mentors taking part. On day two Sat. 3rd July, the girls played against Loughmagrory which they beat on a score line of 6-18 to no score. Limerick were their next opponents and the Monaghan side went through after a last minute goal The semi-final, which was played in Donaghmore, was against Galway. Now this game of football was one of the most exciting and nail-biting semi-finals that was ever witnessed with Truagh trailing by three points, and with only seconds to go they come back fighting to score a goal which put them into extra time. This being only five minutes a side the Monaghan team showed their stamina and determination when they beat Galway by only one point. Although Kerry proved too strong in the final, the Truagh team can hold their heads up high and remember the year with an air of pride for many years to come. "It was an amazing achievement by the girls. It shows the great lengths that the club have made in a very short space of time. Hopefully we can build on this year and go forward. There are many people who have worked hard to make this club what it is today and it is a credit to them, where we are now," pointed out Michael. Indeed the club have made huge strides off the field also as a new seated stand was opened during 2004 that will hold up to 520 people. There are also plans in place to develop a new playing pitch and construct new dressingrooms at their grounds and it is hoped the venue can attract more championship games in the future. Monaghan Electrical Wholesale has been established since 1979 with Michael and his wife Margaret as company directors. Apart from their outlets in Monaghan and Carrickmacross, they also have a workshop in Aughnacloy. This end of the business deals with the building and manufacturing of equipment to deal with the ever-growing Internet connection broadband. Tweet

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