All roads lead to Donaghmoyne for John Joe's Cancer Day on January 1st. The novel fundraiser now commands a prominant billing on the Monaghan GAA calendar and this year's event promises to be yet another cracker. It has become part of Monaghan GAA tradition. John Joe Cunningham's annual charity fundraiser for the Irish Cancer Society will proceed as per usual on New Year's Day 2004. Indeed, the highly-anticipated 'John Joe's Cancer Day 2004' is an event not to be missed. Great fun will be had by all ... and it's all for a worthy cause. Carrickmacross-based publican John Joe has been organising the meaningful event for a decade now and last year's extravaganza - buoyed by Armagh's historic All-Ireland heist - broke all records, raising in excess of 72,000 euro for cancer research. The whole thing is organised in conjunction with John Joe's co-conspirator Gerry McDonald. While John Joe doesn't anticipate reaching the same heights again this year, he is nonetheless confident that the 2004 New Year's bash will be another resounding success. Speaking to 'Monaghan Yearbook 2004' in mid-December, the Corduff clubman explained: "The event is planned and will go ahead as usual. It will be pretty much the same as last year, which was a record in terms of fundraising. We raised in excess of Euro72,500 for cancer research." The whole day revolves around a charity football match, featuring many celebrities from the world of gaelic games and beyond, which takes place at the Donaghmoyne pitch, commencing at 1pm. Afterwards, it's back to John Joe's pub in Carrick' for the charity head shave and auction. A number of other novel side events have also been arranged this year. Once again, a lot of Orchard County players will support the big event. Says John Joe: "We had a bumper year last year, and we definitely benefited from the fact that Armagh had just won the All-Ireland. We'll be pulling out all the stops again this year and Gerry McDonald has arranged to bring a lot of Armagh lads over again. "The Armagh boys contribute enormously to the event. Oisin McConville has been a huge supporter of the day. He has never missed it, and it's a great credit to him because I'm sure there are a lot of demands on his time. This'll be his tenth year and, even though he's injured at the moment, Oisin will be here again for the head shave and auction. Hopefully he'll be at the game too and we might even ask him to choose the Man of the Match!" Last year's event was such a success that a staggering 4,000 euro was taken on the gate alone ... more than the takings at most club games these days! John Joe predicts another bumper day this time 'round. As usual, there is a promise that the show will go on regardless: "The weather never stopped us in the past and this year will be no different. The game will go ahead at 1 O'Clock on Thursday January 1st, come rain, sleet or snow." Who knows ... it might even be sunny! Stranger things have happened. Afterwards, all concerned will beat a path back to the John Joe's pub, where one of the new events on the agenda is a cabaret, which will complement the head shave and auction. As ever, the match is the centrepiece, however. Last year a total of 65 players took part. Those shortlisted to participate this year include the McEntee twins and Magheracloone and Monaghan's superb attacker Thomas Freeman, who's just back from representing Ireland in the International Rules series Down Under. John Joe continues: "We're also hoping to get some players from Meath and Dublin and there's even talk of a few All-Ireland winners coming up from Tyrone. We're not going to name names just yet because we have no way of knowing for sure who'll turn up. Suffice to say: you could get anybody on the day! If all the lads who've been mentioned to me turn up - and I'd certainly like to think it'll all go according to plan - we could play two matches at the same time!" John Joe points out that the whole programme would not be possible without the close assistance of Gerry McDonald, who works alongside him and taps a lot of players from north of the border, particularly in and around Crossmaglen. Says JJ: "It's a joint effort really. Gerry does a lot of work on the organisational side of things and his contribution is absolutely vital." A lot of planning goes into the event. Naturally, there's always a little bit of apprehension in the air as the day draws closer, but not much! "We're just looking forward to the day. To be honest, New Year's Day is the easiest of the lot. Once you have the teams in place and everything sorts itself out, it's a lot easier to relax. Needless to say, John Joe was thrilled by the success of the 2003 fundraiser: "We held a presentation night and handed over a cheque for seventy-two-and-a-half thousand euro to the Cancer Society. The money went straight to St James' Hospital, where it went towards two new wards that have been opened up specifically for cancer research. "We know exactly where the money's going and it's great to be able to do our bit for this very worthy cause." 'Nuff said. Donaghmoyne then on New Year's Day. One O'Clock ... be there or be square! Tweet

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