Gone are the days when Currin gaels were struggling. So says current chairman and long-time club stalwart Aidan Quigley. Aidan Quigley is one of those rare clubmen who is synonymous with his native GAA club. Think of Currin and, invariably, Quigley's name will crop up in double-quick time along with the usual suspects. Quigley goes back to the days when hairy ned was widely employed pitch-side, when 10/10/20 fertiliser bags were de rigeur and when the 'onion net' was a staple part of local match reports. In truth, he goes back that far and some! Of course there's an Aidan Quigley in most clubs, in every parish - the sort of people who Michael Cusack had in mind when he helped found the GAA on November 1st 1884. Simply said, our man Quigley has done more than most to put Curr-in pole position in Monaghan football circles as a player, coach and administrator. As the outgoing chairman of the hugely determined Currin club, Aidan has sought to lead from the front and keep the club heading upward and onward. Prior to coming on board as chairman once again in 2005, Aidan was chairman of Currin GFC in the early nineties, just before he took up the reins of County Board chairman on December 13th 1992. He acknowledges that a lot of water has gone under the bridge down Scotshouse direction since he was last in the harness. Wholesale development of the club's facilities has altered the Currin GFC landscape in the interim. By the end of the nineties, the club was replete with major additions to its property portfolio with a new playing pitch at Coolnacart and new dressing-rooms greatly augmenting Currin's profile. Winding the tape fast forward to current days and the club is embarking on another ambitious schedule of work with the construction of a stand and a training pitch. "There's been a major increase in the amount of work that's been done off the field over the last 15 years," Aidan acknowledges. "Years ago it was a case of all hands on the pump just to keep the club afloat but we're in a lot stronger position now and hopefully, with the floodlights already in place, we can add the stand and the training pitch to our facilities as part of our three year plan." It seems like it's all go at Currin these days and chairman Quigley is determined to keep the momentum going. It's important that the ball is kept moving in Scotshouse and the surrounding areas. With a significant development of houses in Currin's catchment area in recent times, Aidan says the hoped-for increase in the local population will serve to concentrate minds among Currin gaels in terms of catering for the needs of the new arrivals in the years ahead. "Nowadays, with so much competitition from other sports, the GAA has to offer youngsters the best of facilities. "If, as anticipated, there's going to be an increase in the number of young people in the area in the next few years, we have to make sure that we are able to accomodate them and look after their needs." In reviewing the past year, Aidan is satisfied that Currin gaels have stayed faithful to their sleeves-rolled-up policy in catapulting the club forward. "2006 was a good year from an administration point of view. "We've a few very good workers who've come on board and everyone has put their shoulder to the wheel. "The completion of the erection of the floodlights was a good boost and with the underage players doing well and the seniors getting to the league semi-finals, it was overall quite a good year for the club." Aidan is encouraged by what he is seeing on all fronts at the club. He's hopeful that with the advent of a particularly good under 16 side and the amount of talent there is at the club between the ages of 18-20 the club can reclaim the junior league title they won just a couple of years ago. "I think there's a lot that can be built on by the incoming team-management," the former star player confirms. "There was certainly no shame in getting beaten in the league semi-final by Drumhowan, especially considering now far they progressed in Ulster after that. "Coming in at third place in the league is no disgrace and I'd be hopeful that we can win the Dr. Ward Cup in the coming year. "When we won it in 2004, we ended a 53 year wait so we haven't the same ground to make up this time!" To beat the best of the rest in 2007 will be no easy task, the Currin chairman professes. Aidan is the first to acknowledge that topping the pile at junior level in Monaghan is no easy feat. "We're in a very positive frame of mind about what we can achieve in the coming year but we're not approaching the new season in a naive way. "The standard of club football at junior level in Monaghan is extremely high. "I would say that the top six or seven clubs at junior level would be every bit as good as what's in the intermediate league." Currin's inability to consolidate their Dr. Ward Cup triumph in 2004 by staying at intermediate level is something outsiders may point to as a sign of a degree of inconsistency on Currin's part. However given that the club's premier team had to make do with county star Dick Clerkin and Michael Quigley for large tracts of 2005 didn't give the team much of a chance to bed in in the middle tier of Monaghan football. "A lot of the lads who helped the club win the Dr. Ward Cup were no more than 18 or so and maybe too much was expected of them in 2005. "It definitely didn't help our cause that we had to play at least seven or eight Star games in 2005. "That had a huge bearing on us being relegated," Aidan opines. "The commitment of the players has been unbelieveable though. "We had a panel of, say, 22 or 23 players and they all give it 100% in 2006. "They would have trained two nights a week all year, except for after September when they went back to college and training was reduced to one night per week. "I'd have to say that the players and the team-management of Barry McLoughlin, Hugo Clerkin, David Rafferty and Liam Quigley give it everything. "We were lucky to have such talent on and off the field of play. "They gave some commitment, I can tell you." As good a degree of commitment as in his time as a stalwart of Currin's finest team? "You're talking about two completely different eras and it's not fair to make comparisons. "When we won the junior championship in 1968, you had fellas playing maybe two tournament games in the same week and then a match that weekend and most fellas were naturally fit. "These days, fellas are training a lot more and they have to keep their fitness at a high level for a longer period over the year, like from February to December most times. "If there's matches called off because of the county, fellas can find themselves without a game for up to four or five weeks and that takes some commitment to hang in there and forget about holidays and other things that would be a priority." It's quite clear that the former county board chairman has huge admiration for the players currently plying their skills at Currin GFC. One suspects the admiration is mutual though for Aidan Quigley's record over the years has shown that he's very much a player's administrator. He is pretty sure that Currin will make a sizeable impression at junior level in 2007. "Gone are the days when we were struggling just to keep our heads above water. "We're a well-to-do club nowadays, both on and off the field, and we intend to keep it like that. "We're still progressing and we're looking to the future. "Getting out of junior ranks will be a realistic target for us next year and I don't care whether that's through the championship or the league door." Fulsome in his praise for the support rendered by the community at large to the club, Aidan says that the unity of purpose in Currin is the dynamo that will drive Gaelic games onto richer pastures in the years ahead. Years ago, he tells us, back-to-back victories were a rarity. Nowadays, "a defeat is a supreme disappointment." Aidan traces the change in fortunes in the club to the huge emphasis which was placed on the nurturing of underage talent down the years. "There's quality players coming up through the ranks, there's no question about that. "We've had some fantastic under 14 and under 16 teams over the last few years and there was a good representation of Currin players on the Patrick Sarsfields side that won the minor league division two title in 2004. "There's no doubt the work that's been done at underage level in the club is beginning to bear fruit. "Hopefully we can get more and more people to become involved at the heart of the club, in the engine room so we can continue to drive the club forward at every level." Not one inclined to look back, Aidan is confident that the future is bright for all belonging to Currin GFC. Aidan says he'll be disappointed if the club's flagship team isn't sitting on top of the pile at intermediate level - either in the league or championship forums. "If everyone continues to give 100% and put in their best efforts, I don't see why we can't match our success off the field with some silverware on it." Tweet

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