In August last, four years after its foundation, Cumann Fearghal Ó hAnluain made it into the winner's enclosure for the first time ever with the annexation of the Under 12 Magill Cup. It was a long time coming but the wait made victory in last August's Magill Cup final all the sweeter for those at the coalface of affairs at the Fergal O'Hanlon GFC. "Very, very sweet," club co-founder John McAleer explains. "It was about making a wee bit of history and getting our hands on a first piece of silverware which was nice." For the last couple of years, McAleer and his fellow committee members have prioritised the establishment of a vibrant and healthy juvenile section of the club. In 2007, the club fielded its flagship junior side but, equally as significant, also teams at 8,10 and, of course, 12 years of age. Guess which crew hogged the limelight! "They deserved their success because they proved themselves the best team in the league and it was a credit to them because they only came together for the first time last March. "The players enjoyed themselves, had the craic and the one or two we had to discipline, didn't huff or sulk and instead stuck with it and got their medal out of it at the end of the year." In truth, the club's headquarters at Mullaghdun looked the most likely destination for the Magill Cup from a short time into the season. Fergal O'Hanlon's finest shaped up as the most consistent, potent and determined team in the league and it was no surprise that they actually finished up atop their section. 2007 was the club's debut season at juvenile level and co-manager McAleer - along with Darren Doyle - was determined to hit the ground running and make an impact. "We got together in March and worked hard on the basic skills and instilling discipline in the players and slowly but surely they began to improve and get confident on the ball. "We told them know we were interested in working with them as long as they were interested and they reacted well and soon they started to realise that they weren't a bad team. "I'd say we all realised that they could go places after the first couple of games and, personally speaking, when we beat Tyholland well, I felt that they would be hard to stop. "We didn't know at the start of the year how they were going to do but with each game they won you could see them eyeing up a place in the final and a medal. "The players got terrific support which made a big difference too because you could see how much they wanted to impress anyone that was at the matches," John adds. It was clear from early in the season that Fergal O'Hanlons were going to be the team the rest would have to beat if the Magill Cup was to be resting on their sideboard. However a single defeat to Doohamlet gave the Monaghan town-based side a gentle reminder of the task at hand and an incentive too as the campaign raced to a climax. "We lost to Doohamlet by a goal but I don't think the players were too happy with how the game went generally and, if anything, the defeat provided them with a spur to keep winning." Training continued apace on Tuesday and Friday evenings with a match every second Saturday fine-tuning the O'Hanlons crew as they hunted down the glittering prize. As the weeks passed, John detected a significant improvement in the players' capacity to link up the play, find a player in space and be accurate in their kick and fist passing. "Myself and Darren (Doyle) were encouraged by what we were seeing on the training field and in the matches and when we beat Aughnamullen, I thought that we were right on track. "We knew it wasn't going to be plain sailing all the way though, especially once Doohamlet beat Aughnamullen in the semi-final which meant we were heading for a re-match." And that's just the way it transpired with Fergal O'Hanlons upholding their favourite's tag by beating a Pat McEnaney-managed Corduff side in their last four encounter. "It was a very tight game against Corduff and the result could really have went either way but we were just that bit stronger and more determined and won by three points. "The players probably played one of their best matches of the year against Corduff and as Pat McEnaney mentioned afterwards, they showed a tremendous will-to-win. "Our crowd had to dig deep in the second half after Corduff got through for a couple of goals and it turned out to be a real ding-dong battle 'till the final whistle." In assessing the strengths of the Magill Cup-winning squad, John says the camaraderie, innate spirit and sense of unity among the players was outstanding. He recalls how the degree of ambition among the players and the management evolved over the year from a position of just fielding a team to setting their sights on winning the cup. "We were fielding a team at underage level for the first time so at the start of the year we were going into the unknown and didn't really know what to expect. "We weren't sure what our players were capable of or how strong the other teams would be so there were no targets initially except to make sure we fielded in every game. "The idea was to give the players some games but to avoid hidings which would damage their confidence or put them off football but the year turned out to be a big surprise. "As soon as began to win a few games, the attitude changed from just fielding a team to wanting to win the competition outright and you could sense that among the players too. "It wastn't long into the season that we had to be careful to keep the players' feet on the ground because, all of a sudden, they were asking, 'are we in the semi-final yet'. Indeed Fergal O'Hanlons proved a class apart in a lot of their matches in the Magill Cup with their cavalier and never-say-die style of football both an entertaining and winning formula. Despite operating in the 11-aside competition with fourteen players at most over the course of the season, the rookie football club were to prove unstoppable in their campaign. With the support of sponsorship from the Squealing Pig Bar and Restaurant and Billy Walker Car Sales, the Fergal O'Hanlon under 12 troupe were primed for the Magill Cup final. With great endeavour, no little skill, vim and vigour, the O'Hanlons duly triumphed over Doohamlet in the decider on a scoreline of 6-9 to 4-9 in a cracking match at Clontibret. In what was a fiercely competitive encounter, Nathan Cawley stole the show for the county town side with a hat-trick of goals to leave the mid-county side deflated. So what was John's abiding memory of that historic achievement? "I think it was the way the players just went at it with an all-out attacking game," the fervent gael explains. "We always encouraged them to run with the ball and they stuck at it at training over the year and became adept at carrying the ball forward at pace. "They were nervous in the early stages of the match and were only playing in patches in the first half but they got going in the second half. "In all honesty, they always looked likely winners and I think the final scoreline was a fair reflection on the difference between the two teams on the day. "I was never really worried at any stage during the game that Doohamlet would get the better of us. "The great thing too is that six or seven of them will be able to line out at under 12 level again next year." The late Fergal O'Hanlon enjoyed an incredible GAA career and his football disciples have certainly posted notice of their intentions to make good his memory. One wonders what further passion plays lie ahead of the burgeoning Fergal O'Hanlons club. For the record, the history-makers who scooped the 2007 Under 12 Magill Cup with victory over Doohamlet were: Craig O'Leary; Marcus Power, Curtis McCann, Keith McCann, Adam McCann, Jamie McCann, Gary O'Leary, Nathan Cawley, Packie Comiskey, Maria Ferguson, Daniel O'Leary. Subs; Jamie Richardson, Mary Lou McDonnell, Cian Coyle, Nathan McGlone. Tweet

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