Ciaran Hanratty's star may have shot skywards in 2007 but he'd be happier if some silverware came along in '08. Castleblayney and Monaghan star Ciaran Hanratty says it would be a foolish or a wealthy man who would dole out money in support of any football team in 2008. The ace attacker is aghast at the number of runners and riders in with a chance of garnering garlands at club level in Monaghan and on the intercounty front as a new season looms. He rubbishes the notion that just three or four teams can legitimately fancy their chances in the races for the Mick Duffy, Anglo-Celt or Sam Maguire Cups in 2008. "We're looking forward to having another crack at the county title but so too are Clontibret, Magheracloone, Latton and a couple of other teams," Ciaran explains. "It's a long, long time since it was a two-horse race in Monaghan senior football and next year there'll be a whole pile of teams that are likely to be in the shake-up at least." As for heading off the leading runners at the pass on the intercounty, provincial front, Ciaran believes that simply no county can be ruled out of the running for the Ulster SFC crown: "A couple of years ago, most people might have put it down to a two-horse race in Ulster but I think that gap between Tyrone and Armagh and the rest of us has gotten very small. "Those two counties have been tremendous representatives for Ulster and really raised the bar between them but nowadays you can't rule out any county in the province. "Everyone of the other seven counties will be gunning to knock Tyrone and Armagh off their pedestal and Monaghan can lead that chasing pack in my mind." Life moves on with each passing day but the day (August 12th 2007) when Hanratty and Co. almost knocked the favourites for the All-Ireland out remains vivid in his memory. When youngsters begin their intercounty championship career at minor level, dreams of playing at Croke Park and starring against behemoths like Kerry stoke hearts. Last autumn, the Faughs' dynamo lived his dream, lighting up headquarters and almost unhinging the game's aristocrats with his trickery, pacy runs and two excellent points. Indeed there were shades of 1985 about the way Seamus McEnaney's men took the Kingdom to the brink only to be left crestfallen (1-11 to 1-12) at the bitter end. "We went very close to getting to the semi-final but not close enough," Ciaran reflects. "We had them on the rack at times but they refused to buckle and you have to hand it to them. "They showed just how strong a bench they have to fall back on but that's what we have to aspire to and I know that's what the management would like to have in place." Ciaran was one of Monaghan's star turns at Croker, stealing a march on the Kerry defence almost at will and arguably being Monaghan's most effective forward on the day. His running off the ball and sure-fire shooting were a delight to behold and it was his goal-lustful decision to go for the jugular that won his side the penalty in the first half. With the wiles of a Croker veteran, the Monaghan number thirteen provided an outlet for his midfielders and half-backs and was desperately unlucky to finish on the losing side. But then again his championship showing against the competition favourites was par for the course in a lot of ways as his displays over the course of 2007 fairly testified. Pity was that after his five-star display against Down in their June 10th senior provincial championship clash, Ciaran had let the genie out of the hat for all-comers to see. Monaghan's 2-15 to 0-15 victory owed much to the Castleblayney terror's two goal blast which, afterwards, drew a respectful response from none other than Paddy Doherty. "I never met him (Doherty) before that Down game but I know he's a legend in the game of football and I was pleased to talk to him after the game," Ciaran explains. "Over the year, the Down game was probably my best for Monaghan - it was a nip and tuck affair, very exciting and I suppose the goals made a difference. On June 24th, Monaghan handed Derry a 0-14 to 1-9 defeat in what was a real dogged, typical Ulster championship affair which had the words war and attrition stamped all over it. While he delighted in being part of the winners' line-up, Ciaran concedes that he was given his fill of it by Derry's glue-like stopper Michael McGoldrick. Still Hanratty failed to hide or shirk the challenge of winning good ball despite Derry doubling up at times on him, either when in possession or even in seeking space. Significantly the 21-year old's runs helped create better opportunities for the likes of Tommy Freeman and Stephen Gallogly principally. It is to Ciaran Hanratty's credit that he didn't allow his heroics against Down to become a proverbial ball and chain as Monaghan's bid for more than moral victories progressed. For the Ulster final showdown with Tyrone on July 15th, it was clear that the livewire Monaghan ace wasn't going to be afforded an inch of space or a second to deliver on his promise. Faced directly by Irish international Ryan McMenamin, Ciaran worked like a beaver to contribute handsomely to his county's cause but still couldn't prevent a two points defeat. "Getting to the final was a great achievement but it's not the same when the outcome isn't what you want - it's so difficult to get to the final, you want to make it count. "It was nearly a very good year for us, with the game against Tyrone in the final and then the championship clash with Kerry at Croke Park. "It's going to be a case of us having to step it up a bit in the coming year and for each player to bring their own game on that bit more. "We were very close last year to really getting among the silverware and with a bit of luck we can go that bit further in 2008; definitely our experience this year will help us a lot." It's clear Ciaran covets more appearances at Clones on Ulster finals day and more run-outs at Croke Park and it's clear that he believes he has the right team-mates alongside him. Pointedtly, he points out that Monaghan are far from the real deal but, most importantly, everyone in the camp is all too well aware of the pending work. Reflecting on the team's National Football League campaign in '07, he says Monaghan's "most complete performance" was evident in the win away to Clare. On the flip side, the home tie with Longford was a bit like the curate's egg, he suggests. The semi-final against Meath was a "wake-up call for everyone in the county." "At the end of the day, we achieved what we wanted in booking a place with the top teams for 2008 and we were very happy overall with the way the league went." Ciaran was a member of the DCU team that annexed the Sigerson Cup title in 2006, an experience which helped him hone his skills and increase his self-belief and, indeed, profile. Just last spring, he was joined in the Class of 2007 by county colleagues Eoin Lennon, Shane Smyth, Mark McNally and Darrach Mooney but there was to be no silverware sadly. 2007 was an extremely busy year for Ciaran, all told, with his stints with DCU being complemented by action with the county under 21s and county seniors plus club fare of course. He admits expectations among 'blayney supporters in 2008 will echoe those harboured by the hoardes shouting for Monaghan: "Like Ulster, there isn't a whole pile between the teams in Monaghan although Clontibret were clearly the best team in the championship this year. "They deserved to beat us in the final, if only because they made all their chances in front of goal pay which is not something we managed to do at all. "They went onto represent the county well in the Ulster club but we've a young team, with about eight of the minor team that won the championship in 2004 starting in the county final against Clontibret, so we're hoping that we'll get another few cracks at representing Monaghan in Ulster. "We haven't won the senior championship since 2003 but we have the talent and the hunger to change that statistic next summer." Crowe hopes to be flying in '08 Declan Crowe captained Monaghan to an Ulster under 21 hurling title a couple of seasons back. The Faughs ace says winning on the club and county front is his target for 2008. Declan Crowe radiates the sort of energy that only an eager-beaver student can seem to muster. The 'blayney man is hurling his way up the pecking order at college, club and county level and enjoying every moment of the journey. Now in his fourth year of a Sports Science course at Limerick University, Declan is rising that bit higher, stretching himself above a lot of those around him in Monaghan hurling. Presumably mixing it with the creme de la creme of hurlers on Shannonside concentrates the mind and hones the skills to degrees well removed from the land up north. Declan is the sort of fella that trains before the Christmas tree is up and until after the short evenings come thundering in ten months down the line. Training and playing for the university's intermediate team has left him in no doubt as to the sort of standards he must aspire to in bidding to make Fitzgibbon Cup skills stick. "It's been a great learning experience, in every way," Declan says of his four years in Limerick. "There's some great talent in the college and you can only learn from them." So far Declan has had to make do with Limerick IT's seconds which for someone used to playing the Faughs' seniors and the county seniors makes for a lip-biting exercise. Modest but ambitious, Declan is in his fourth year at college and after completing his fourth year as a member of the Faughs' senior hurling team. In that space of time, he's helped himself to four SHC medals along with an Ulster club division two medal and an Ulster club championship souvenir also. His experience in Limerick has shown him just how much work a hurler needs to get into the fast lane but competing in the Armagh league has opened his eyes too. "They're a bit ahead of us," he concedes. "Competing against the likes of Keady is tough going but it can only be good for us in the long run. "Keady won the Ulster intermediate title and they've raised the bar as far as Armagh and Monaghan hurling goes but we've got to aim to improve and be able to compete with them." The Faughs have proven themselves to be consistently the best senior hurling squad in Monaghan but Declan believes that it is getting tougher and tougher to stay at the pinnacle. He cites the emergence of Latton as a serious threat to the Faughs' pre-eminence and recalls how much the defending champions struggled to beat the O Raghallaighs in the final. "We didn't play too badly against Clontibret in the championship semi-final but we were pushed to the pins of our collars against Latton in the final. "Winning our fourth senior championship in a row was brillant but we were disappointed afterwards with the way we went out of the Ulster club competition. "We played Carrickmore from Tyrone in the intermediate championship but just couldn't get off the ground at any stage really. "They scored four goals, mainly because of sloppy work by us. They were a good team though but we played really poor and could have done a lot better on the day." Predictably, Declan fingers the club's fourth consecutive blue riband Monaghan crown as the highlight of 2007 even if he reckoned such a feat was always on the cards. He maintains there was never any doubt in his own mind that 'blayney would be beaten in the county championship "because we had the players who were good enough." And yet 'blayney, he concedes, were behind by a couple of points against Latton in the county decider with barely ten minutes remaining in the match. "I think it was in the last quarter or so that our experience told against Latton; we were on the ropes but then we went up a couple of gears and landed the title as expected." In 2008 the Faughs will be going all out to secure a magnificent five-in-a-row of Monaghan SHC titles but Declan isn't sure whether that's a positive reflection on hurling in Monaghan. He believes that 'blayney were far from impressive in 2007 and yet proved themselves yet again to be a class apart in the championship even if Latton dared to push them to the wire. "In the previous two or three years, we had things a lot more comfortable but the 2007 title was more difficult to win and we were made to fight all the way in the final especially. "Latton had a game plan and they stuck with it well and made life very hard for us which is a credit to them and they have definitely improved from 2006. "We put in just as much effort into the 2007 championship as we did in any other year but the opposition from other clubs was harder to overcome and that's good to see. "You'd like to think that the improvement that there has been in the standard of hurling in the county will be sustained over the next few years because that's what is needed. "For too many years, winning the championship was all about us, Clontibret and Inniskeen and it's great to see Latton coming through now 'cause the more competition the better. "In fairness, Monaghan Harps aren't that far off the mark either and they beat us in the league semi-final - they were well prepared and the hungrier team on the day." Meanwhile on the county front, Declan doesn't begin to over-estimate just how disappointing a year it was for him and everyone involved with the Monaghan seniors. "2007 was a bit of a disaster for the county team," he suggests. "It was very disappointing the way things turned out and it'll take a bit of re-organising to turn things around. "Unfortunately things didn't work out between the players and the management and everyone lost out because of it which is something you wouldn't like to see happening again. "There are an awful lot of good hurlers in county Monaghan but both parties, the players and the management, have to work together otherwise there's no future for the county team. "I definitely felt that with the squad we had at the start of the year that we could have went places in 2007 and I still think we can move forward and put the past year behind us." In his time engaged on work experience alongside county coach Paul O'Connor, Declan says he was afforded a bird's eye view of the young GAA talent in county Monaghan. Setting up training programmes in schools, helping to get the summer camps up and running all combined to make the 2007 summer season one to remember for Declan. In benefiting from some excellent administrative and field work experience last summer, Declan is well on the way to gaining a degree in Sports and Exercise science. With a degree hopefully in his back pocket, Declan may consider doing a post grad course which should help to keep him out of mischief for another while! The Faughs' Player of the Year in 2006 is one clubman though who is far from likely to stray off the straight and narrow and he has proven himself to be a real manager's player. Winning the league and championship double in Monaghan in 2006 as well as the Ulster junior club championship was a year never to be forgotten by Declan, he concedes. "2006 was probably my best year as a senior hurler and one of the best years for the club in recent times too," the dedicated 22 year old third level student explains. "I enjoyed the past year as well though even though I felt my form was poor overall but you can only work away at your game and hope that you can become more consistent." Declan is looking forward to travelling with his 'blayney team-mates to Dubai later this month (January) to compete in an international seven-a-side tournament. A county senior debutant in 2005, Declan says his ambition for the coming year is to help keep 'blayney on the winning track and to revive Monaghan's drooping spirit. "I want to keep playing for as long as I can but to be playing for a successful team and I'd say that's what every player wants if they're honest about it. "We won the Ulster Under 21 'B' title a couple of years ago and lost out narrowly to Mayo in the semi-final so there is definitely young material there that the county can work with. "I was lucky enough to be captain of that team and I got to know all the players very well and if more of them could be brought through to the senior team, we could go places. "I don't see why Monaghan can't close the gap on the likes of Armagh or Derry over the next few years if the effort was put in by everyone in the county. "Football is big in the county but the likes of Offaly, Dublin and Cork have all had dual players and it didn't hold them back and Monaghan should be no different." Tweet

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