Dreading nothing
March 01, 2010It hasn't been easy though. With the dominance of Cavan Gaels in the Breffni County over the past decade, Mullahoran have been made to suffer on the senior football front and will enter into 2010 again as underdogs to the Cavan town outfit.
After serving his first year as chairman, Gerry Sheridan confirms that the Dreadnoughts aims for the up and coming season will mirror those of the previous one, saying: "We want to be as competitive as possible in the league and the championship and develop our underage structure as well, as those are Mullahoran values."
In 2008, Mullahoran appointed Tyrone native Pascal Canavan to take the reins as manager of the club's senior team. After a promising start to that year, the Killydoon men would finish their season empty-handed when they were narrowly pipped in the quarter-finals of the championship to eventual winners Cavan Gaels. Had they beaten their rivals, Mullahoran would have been fancied to go all the way, but it wasn't to be and instead of dwelling on what could have been, Canavan, along with his selectors Brendan Treanor and Padraig O'Reilly, tuned up his players for '09.
The Dreadnoughts would be absent of Cavan senior defenders Dermot Sheridan and Paul Brady for the start of their ACFL Division One campaign, when they hosted Lavey at Our Lady of Lourdes Park, where a late goal from their county minor attacker Raymond Lynch sealed a 1-9 to 0-10 win over the New Inns outfit.
A one-point defeat to Belturbet (0-10 to 1-6) in Ballyconnell was responded to by Canavan's team with wins over Ramor (1-8 to 0-10) and Redhills (1-12 to 1-7) and a draw against Crosserlough (0-10 to 0-10) to set-up a nice platform heading into the senior football championship.
"We did well enough in the league," explained Sheridan. "We were in reasonably good form going into the championship. We'd won some league games beforehand and training was going well, so there was a good edge."
In June, Canavan's charges embarked on a championship group that read: Cavan Gaels, Crosserlough, Ballinagh. First up were the champions at Kingspan Breffni Park, where Mullahoran would suffer from an underperformance and the Gaels would come away with a 1-12 to 1-5 victory.
A hard fought win over Crosserlough (1-11 to 1-7) and a draw with Ballinagh (1-8 to 1-8) saw Mullahoran book their place in the last eight against a Belturbet side which had been high-flying it all season long in Division One and already scored a victory over Canavan's team in the opening rounds of the league.
Mullahoran approached the game both cautious and confident against the Rories and in the end it was their county trio of Eddie O'Reilly, Paul Brady and Dermot Sheridan which inspired them to a 2-10 to 1-11 win and a place in the last four of the Cavan SFC.
Despite Eddie O'Reilly firing the Dreadnoughts into an early lead with the opening point, it was Belturbet that had got themselves off to the best possible start when Jason O'Reilly poached the game's opening goal on three minutes. Canavan's men responded brilliantly though, as Eddie O'Reilly (2), Christy Shiels and Danny Brady all raised white flags and Paul Brady blasted in a close range goal to help their team regain the lead and take in a 1-6 to 1-4 advantage at the break.
Two minutes into the restart and Paul Brady released minor ace Michael Brady through to smash the ball past Aaron Donohoe in the Belturbet goal. Danny Brady pointed minutes later to stretch Mullahoran's lead by six and despite a spirited comeback from their opponents towards the finish, the points of Eddie O'Reilly in the closing stages were enough to ensure that the blue and yellows were through to the last four.
Mullahoran (SFC v Belturbet): Eamon Brady; Daniel Smith, Sean Smith, James O'Reilly; Tomas Nannery, Paul Brady (1-1), Danny Mel O'Reilly; Christy Shiels, Ciaran Shiels; Michael Brady (1-0), Eddie O'Reilly (0-5), Dermot Sheridan (0-1); Danny Brady (0-2), Paddy Brady, Raymond Lynch. Sub: Killian Brady.
"It was a tough game and I think it was probably our greater work rate all over the field that won it for us in the end," said Sheridan, who watched from the stand at Kingspan Breffni Park.
"Over the years we've had the upper hand on them (Belturbet) in the championship. They got a good start in the game but in fairness to our lads they came back into it well and defended brilliantly in the last few minutes to keep them out, because they had missed a few chances at the finish."
Mullahoran went into their semi-final with Denn down three men from the Belturbet win, with Paul Brady injured, Danny Brady suspended and Daniel Smith absent through work commitments. The experienced trio would prove a significant loss, as the Dreadnoughts completely underperformed in their meeting with the Crosskeys side and went crashing out of the championship after finishing on the wrong side of a 1-13 to 0-4 result at Kingspan Breffni Park.
"Denn played well and we didn't perform, so they full deserved to win on the day. They've come on well and even with a full team that day I think they'd have really put it up to us," Sheridan admitted.
"We had been missing a few players. Paul went into the game carrying a bad injury and had to be taken off and a few younger players were playing and wouldn't have had the experience of the others.
"There was big disappointment. When you're in a semi-final you're just one step away from the final and our aim was to get there. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be and Denn went on to the final to put up a good show against Cavan Gaels after a poor first-half."
That wasn't to be the last time Denn would deny the Dreadnoughts in '09. After the resumption of Division One, Mullahoran were left needing one more win in their last game to seal a place in the league semi-finals, but they would be denied on their visit against a side which went all-out for the win in their bid to retain safety.
"We won a good few games and lost a couple, but I think it was our drawn games that cost us at the finish because we just missed out on the semi-finals. We still could have got to the semi-finals had we won our last game, but we lost to Denn, who were in flying-form at that stage of the season after reaching the county final," said the chairman.
After the season's end, Pascal Canavan took the decision to stand down as senior football manager with the club and let someone else take the reins. Staying in the province, Mullahoran appointed former Fermanagh Under 21 manager Darren Chapman to the position in the New Year. Sheridan confirmed that there had been "good interest" in the job and that the Newtownbutler man, who steered his native club to the Fermanagh SFC title in 2007, had been the most suitable choice after meeting with all candidates.
St Joseph's continue to make history
Mullahoran St Joseph's wrote themselves into the history books with yet another successful Cavan SHC title defence at the end of September when they recorded a 2-10 to 2-7 victory over Ballymachugh at Kingspan Breffni Park.
Astonishingly, it has been the Saints' 19th county championship title in-a-row - an achievement which has unlikely been matched by any other senior side in the country. In the decider, Mullahoran were pushed to the limit by a Ballymachugh outfit which were inspired by Eugene Hill, who scored 2-3 over the 20 minutes.
After a nervy opening half, St Joseph's came to life after the restart as Ronan O'Hagan fired over three quick points and Gerald Clerkin blasted in a fine goal to put the would-be winner into a 2-8 to 2-5 lead heading towards the final quarter. In that time both teams slugged it out for the win, with Mullahoran's backs defending gallantly, and in the end it was Stephen Brady's effort in the fourth minute of added time that insured the club's outstanding achievements would continue into 2010.
Mullahoran St Joseph (SHC final v Ballmachugh): Edwin Brady; Sean Og Brady, John Fitzsimons, Martin McArdle; Stephen Brady (0-1), Barry Ryan, Thomas O'Reilly; Dominic Cudden, Barry Dalton; Ronan O'Hagan (0-3), Jamie Rosney (0-2), Gerald Clerkin (1-3); Andrew Donohoe (1-0), Mark McEntee (0-1), Barry McArdle. Sub: Michael O'Connell.
U16 ladies double success
2009 saw underage ladies football in the club take huge strides, with Mullahoran's Under 16s claiming the Roinn B and 9-a-side championship titles.
"Ladies football is going reasonably good," Sheridan enthused. "We won the Under 16 Roinn B Championship after beating Lacken/Cornafean in the final at Breffni Park in October. It was a tough game and there was nothing soft in it, let me tell you. We were ahead by five points at half-time and they came back well but we pulled through and ended up winning it by three points."
While there were starring performances from the likes of Sheila Reilly, Kerry Byrne and Sheridan's own daughter, Geraldine, the chairman stressed that an overall performance was what made the difference for the young Mullahoran women, who would go on to collect more silverware in the season by defeating Templeport in the county 9-a-side championship final.
Another stellar year for Paul Brady
2009 also marked arguably the greatest year of a great career for Mullahoran handball ace Paul Brady.
First up was the All Ireland senior championship. Brady was sensational in marching through the field and demolishing methodical Dubliner Eoin Kennedy 21-10, 21-4 in the final last March. Next up was the US Nationals in Los Angeles in June when Brady shocked the world by annihilating eight-time champion David Chapman in the final of the Open Singles. It wasn't to be the only Mullahoran success at the competition either, as Paul's cousin, James, romped to victory in the final of the B Singles the previous morning.
When Brady tore a quad muscle training a few weeks before October's World Championships, concerns were raised as to whether or not he would be able to retain his coveted crown. In the days ahead, the Breffni dual star cast away any doubts when he stormed to success in the Open Singles, defeating Texan Allan Garner 11-7 in a tense tiebreaker in the decider to make him the first player in the history of the game to win a third consecutive men's Opens Singles crown. Tweet
Most Read Stories
