Philip Traynor may be living and working in the United States for almost two decades, but he still manages to keep a close eye on the football fortunes of his native Monaghan and beloved hometown club Carrick Emmets. Monaghan may not have enjoyed the best of times in recent years, but the county with one of the strongest football heritages in Ulster has threatened to return to its prominence of old with some promising displays of late, including victory over then defending All-Ireland champions Armagh in the first round of the 2003 Ulster SFC. Despite being domiciled in the United States for approaching 20 years, Philip Traynor has not allowed the flame to dwindle, and he dearly cherishes the idea of a competitive Monaghan side re-emerging to challenge for provincial and All-Ireland crowns in the coming years. A former underage and junior player with Carrick Emmets, Traynor decided to emigrate to the US in 1984. But while his days in the Carrick jersey came to a premature end with his departure all those years ago, he has kept in touch with his family and friends back in Monaghan, and through them his hunger for all the news regarding the club and county teams is sated. His affinity with his native county has never diminished, and with his involvement in both the New York Monaghan Society and the Monaghan GAA club in the Big Apple, and his "two or three" trips home every year, he is well up to speed with the fortunes of Monaghan. He is happy with the progress made since the county's current manager, a former All-Ireland winner with Meath, took over the reins of the county team last year. "Colm Coyle definitely seems to have set a good foundation since he came in," he says, "and we had a decent year this year. "Up to this it's always been Monaghan people in charge, we had Jack McCarville and a few different people there over the last few years, but Coyle seems to have made a difference. I suppose it might have needed an outsider to come in and get a new response. "I'm sure Colm would have done his homework on the county before taking the job, he would have checked everything out, to see if the potential was there to build a decent team. There are a lot of good young players in the county - the Patrician High School in Carrickmacross won an Ulster schools championship - and I suppose he must have seen something that inspired him to take the job." As an ardent supporter living three thousand miles away from the action, Traynor and his fellow States-based Monaghan gaels have a unique perspective on the county team. Far removed from the games, they can take stock of results and weigh up performances from hearsay and match reports. And he seems happy with the work that has been conducted by Coyle and his management team to date. "Looking at it from afar, I would have to say I'm very happy with him and what he's brought to Monaghan. We went out and beat the All-Ireland champions Armagh in the first round of the Ulster championship, and after a few disappointing years, that's definitely a good bit of progress. Armagh have been widely heralded as one of the top three teams in the country over the past three years, but even if Monaghan fail to repeat their escapade of last summer, they have the safety blanket of the "backdoor" All-Ireland qualifier system, a format of which Traynor is a fan. "The backdoor system has definitely helped Monaghan over the past few years. It's a good idea for average counties in that they get a second chance at it. Some people say it only suits the bigger counties, and you had a team like Armagh getting knocked out in the first round last year and going on to reach the All-Ireland final, but all in all I think it's a good thing." Philip's enthusiasm for the game extends for beyond the realm of the county side. He fosters close links with Carrick Emmets, of which he was a playing member in his youth, and believes the club is on an upward curve after regaining their senior status a year ago. He says: "Carrick have had a very good couple of years. We won the McAviney Cup and made it back up to senior last year, and this year reached the semi-final of the senior championship, and only went out to Castleblayney after losing by a point. "The club won the minor championship as well, so there are a lot of good young players coming through together at the right time. There's a good sense of morale around the club now. "They were down in Intermediate for just one year and went straight back up, so with the minors winning their championship, the seniors going well and plenty of good players coming through from the school team, I think the club is definitely on the up at the moment. " Philip has few regrets about leaving Ireland in his mid-20s, and although he does admit to missing his family and friends, he does make every effort to return to his homeland a couple of times a year. The camaraderie and banter of involvement in a football team, however, is one of the things he missed out on after his departure in the early 1980s. "I did play a little bit with the club when I was younger, at under-16 and minor and junior level, but you miss out on that when you live here," he concedes. "You do miss the home scene and the talk, but I keep in touch and ring home every week to find out how things are going and I try to make it back two or three times a year, so it's not too bad." The proprietor of a successful business in the New York area, Philip is firmly rooted in the States now having recently moved upstate, "to the country", with his wife Anne and four children. Now 44, he worked in New York for six years before starting his own business, Allboro Wood Flooring, named for the five boroughs of the city, with 90% of his work centred in the Manhattan area. The company, which provides residential and commercial flooring services and repairs, and specializes in wood and marble flooring as well as remodelling, repairs and new construction, is based in the Bronx and employs a staff of around 20, although that number can rise to closer to 30 during the peak summer period. When he is not concentrating on running his business concerns, Philip takes the time out to lend a hand to both the Monaghan GAA club in New York and the city's Monaghan Society. The success of the gaelic club has been growing in recent years, and despite not being one of the biggest in the city, it has consolidated its place in the senior ranks since winning the intermediate double three years ago. The Monaghan Society, meanwhile, busies itself with contributing to the organisation of the St Patrick's Day Parade each year, as well as several smaller functions, such as dances and meetings every month. Tweet

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