Kill Shamrocks hasn't been so lucky when it comes to being afforded great resources. However there's a great spirit in the club as local volunteer Caroline McIntyre explans.

Making the optimum best of its resources continues to be the name of the game for all at the coalface of Kill Shamrocks GFC.
In the mid-eighties, the Shamrocks arguably suffered most among the clubs of Cavan from emigration with their resources being gravely ravaged.
The story went that on the evening the club opened its JFC campaign in 1985, the guts of their best XV were ensconced in a pub in the Big Apple.

Current emigration levels may not yet have matched those of 26 years ago but Kill have been 'hit' nevertheless once again and the walloping the club's premier team suffered in their final IFC match against neighbours Drumgoon only served to highlight the Shamrocks' travails.
In such a scenario, the earnest work of those at underage level assumes even greater significance as they seek to recruit, nurture and develop new talent to help re-invent the club's flagship side, year on year, in the face of the hurt afforded by emigration, injuries, retirements etc.

It's very much a case of all hands to the pump at Kill. There are few households in the area who aren't either fully immersed in Gaelic games or are at least embedded in the culture so some degree or other. What's striking about the club in all its facets is the amount of girls and ladies who are card-carrying members of the local GAA. Mna na h-Eireann could well be the clarion call of the Shamrocks these days!

The outgoing treasurer of Kill Shamrocks is Lorraine Lynch; Secretary of the Youth Board is Breege Tiernan while Joint Secretary (along with Darren Bannon) is Caroline McIntyre. As they say behind every successful man (club) . . . . .
The last-named is a native of Aughadrumsee, county Fermanagh and a mother of two of Kill's more promising young footballers, Aaron (18) and Ben (13). In tandem with her colleagues on the administration front, Caroline's time is almost equally divided with keeping a brief on on-the-field matters.

Caroline's daughter Kate played underage football in times past with the lads at a time when the fairer sex were allowed to play on 'mixed teams' up to the age of under 14. The demise of that licence to girls has had a detrimental effect on the fortunes of Kill's underage teams in Caroline's view:
"The fact that girls can no longer play at under 14 level with the boys has really killed us and I'm sure it's the same for a lot of other clubs our size.

"I personally never thought it did the girls - or any of the Kill teams - any harm for them to be playing at under 14 level with the boys.
"In my opinion, it made the girls better players and toughened them up. In practical terms, the girls helped us a lot to field teams at under 14 level."
Caroline's comments makes one wonder then what effect the ban on girls playing under 14 football with the boys has had on ladies football.

Young Kate is one of Kill's most exciting and skilful girls in Kill and has represented Cavan at under 16 level in both football and camogie.
In the company of pals such as Laura Brady and Laura McMenamin, Kate helped Kill get among the medals on finals day at Kingspan/Breffni Park.
The question could be asked; what direction would Kate's football career have taken had she not been able to hone her skills on the boys' team.

Caroline proffers the view that the introduction of the ban on mixed teams at under 14 level came at the behest of well-resourced clubs in the cities.
The Ernesider who has been living in the Breffni county for the past 20 years believes that the fight to field teams for small, rural clubs like Kill has assumed almost mountainous proportions at times by dint of the rule change and she'd like it scrapped and things to return to the way they were.
'Winning' the numbers game is key to the survival and prosperity of clubs like Kill. In 2011, Kill's under 12s were composed principally of girls.

In fact, at any one time, there may have been just three boys training with the club's under 12 contingent in the past year. Caroloine spells it out:
"Our under 12 players are drawn solely from Kill National School. In this year's second year class, there were quite a few boys and the same in 3rd.
"But from third class to sixth class, there were very few boys. In overall terms, the school is just about holding its own at the present time.

"This year nine left to go onto secondary school and the intake was nine as well. It's a very good school but with a very small population base.
"The numbers of boys at the school this year is low overall. At various times in the past, the number of boys in the classes was a lot higher.
"When Aaron was in sixth class, there were 18 children in his class and at least half of them were boys and nearly all of them played football."
As well as seeing an end to the rule banning girls from playing on under 14 boys' teams, Caroline has a definite view on the Go-Games system.

To put it succinctly, she's not a fan of the decision to ordain under 12 football as non-competitive fare. It ain't wanted by a lot of people, she avers.
"I think under 12 football should be competitive and I don't really see the point of the Go-Games system, especially since it's not that popular.
"In my opinion, I've seen footballers impress right up to under 12 level and then they disimprove when they come to play in the Go-Games.

"Competition for the under 12s gives them something to fight for, to strive for and encourages a bit of ambition and that bit more determination.
"With the advent of the Go-Games, you get a bit of 'sure it doesn't matter whether we lose or not' mentality creeping into the minds of the under 12s.
"That same sort of attitude can be taken up by some parents as well and they're not so inclined to maybe travel to the games with the children.
"I think, overall, there's less of an attraction for players, coaches and parents when the competitive nature of the games is taken away."

Caroline is fulsome in her praise for the work of Kill's juvenile committee - headed by chairman Michael Boyle - and is quick to hand out the bouquets.
She believes that a lot of people are doing a lot of hard work to ensure that the Shamrocks are as competitive as possible on all fronts.
In the short-term, at least, the club's long-standing amalgamation arrangement with neighbouring Drung will be a permanent fixture.

"On our own, a lack of numbers is an ongoing problem but with St. Finbarr's, we're generally okay for players from under 13 upwards," she says.
"Having said that, this year we only had a couple of subs for the minors so it's important that we get everyone who's eligible playing football."
If every gael was being honest, parochialism is alive and well in each club and amalgamations can often be something foisted upon clubs.

In Kill and Drung, local gaels are die-hard club supporters but they know that without St. Finbarr's very few of their number would be afforded the chance to play football at underage level.
For her part, Caroline admits that amalgamations "aren't ideal and all clubs in the country would like to field their own teams at the different ages."
She has bought into the practice of uniting Kill and Drung's resources though for the mutual benefit of both units of the Association.

"In Kill, we've no alternative but to join up with Drung. This year we had only about six under 14 players so those fellas would be without competitive football if there was no amalgamation with Drung. I'm sure Drung would find it very difficult as well to get 15 fellas together to form a team."
Brother of former Fermanagh senior football manager Hugh McCabe and aunt of former top Fermanagh attacker Shane McCabe, Caroline is a glass half-full person though and she maintains that there are certain upsides to having smaller numbers on hand from a player resource perspective.

"In Kill, everyone gets a game," she enthuses, "and every player is given a chance to develop their talent whereas at a club with much bigger numbers, maybe some players don't get a game and they lose interest.
"There's a great spirit in our club too which maybe is partly as a result of the small numbers we have. I think everyone involved with Kill is doing their best and that's all anyone can ask."
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