Cavan Gaels was the stand-out club once again in the county last year. Leading club administrator Jerome Kellegher agrees that success begets success. 2008 has to be considered a very successful year for us. Any year that you win a senior and minor double and another two adult trophies along with them has to be considered a very successful one. In my view, the 39 other clubs in the county would be glad to win half of them." Without the merest hint of adopting a defensive position, Jerome Kellegher succinctly sums up what the past year has meant to all belonging to the Cavan Gaels club. As one of the many Gaels pitched at the coalface for more years than most of us can rightly remember, Jerome is well positioned to assess the 2008 football season. Ironically he was a selector who presided over one of the few Cavan Gaels' teams (Under 16) who didn't nab county silverware, losing out (after a replay) to Bailieboro in the final. The fact that the under sixteens came tantalisingly close to getting their hands on the glittering prize only serves to illustrate the thread of quality running through the county town club. "There were no great expectations surrounding our under sixteen side in 2008 even though a number of them featured on the successful minor teams last year," Jerome says. "They (under sixteens) were unlucky to a degree. They've come on in leaps and bounds and we feel they will come good again and put their disappointment firmly behind them." The club's underage secretary, Jerome has his hand on the tiller guiding the club's underage scene for some years but his sense of pride in the Gaels' achievements is undiminished. He gains immense satisfaction from being a cog on the wheel that turns the production line that has seen so many stars, so many medals being churned out over the years. Like umpteen mentors and administrators before him, he insists there is no secret formula at work at Terry Coyle Park. Certainly the words 'magic' and 'wand' aren't in his lexicon. "Our underage success has been all about hard work by a lot of people over a lot of years. It's simple. If you neglect your under eights, you won't have a senior team in ten years time. "There's more and more competition for youngsters who are playing sport. They have soccer, rugby and swimming to name but a few alternatives but some do a bit of everything. "You have to try and keep the juveniles happy and make the football has attractive as possible. Making sure that parents are kept in touch with what's going on is important too. "It's important that everyone involved with the club at juvenile level is visible and that they show that they're putting it into the games and that you appreciate what the parents do also." And yet, Jerome accepts, the ordinary punter across the county invariably assesses the health of Cavan Gaels by what is achieved or otherwise at blue riband senior level. In that respect, the club's failure to bring home the bounty in the Ulster club championship is firmly implanted in the cerebellum of the supporters of those non-aligned gaels in Cavan. The dogs in the street in Ballinagh, Cootehill, Kingscourt, Blacklion etc have been barking out the message for years that the Gaels' long time holy grail has been the provincial title. "There's no doubt about what our goal is at the start of the year," Jerome concurs. "We set out to get a crack at the Ulster title. As the year progresses, we become more and more focussed on earning the opportunity to compete with the very best from the other counties in Ulster. "In 2007 we lost out in the first round but last year we beat St. Galls and made it into the second round so we'd look upon that as progress even though we lost out to Ballinderry. And his summary of the defeat to the Derry champions? "We were good in the first half and looked comfortable for the first half-hour but then collapsed after half-time. It didn't help that we suffered from some key injuries for that game. "Losing Seanie Johnston and Paul O'Donnell through injury was difficult. It seemed to be one calamity after another. Andrew Galligan didn't start the game which didn't help either. "Ballinderry were a good team though.They showed that by standing up to Crossmaglen and taking them to a replay. I suppose we got some consolation from how well they played. "Overall I'd say we made progress in Ulster and I'd look upon 2008 as being a positive one from an Ulster club perspective. I think we can build on what we did in 2008 this year. "After beating St. Gall's, there was great elation within the club and we went into the Ballinderry game in confident mood. Maybe they lacked a bit of self-belief against the Derrymen. "At least the lads have gained more experience against top quality opposition and they can use the disappointment of the Ballinderry defeat as a motivational force in 2009." Even the most cynical of observers of the Gaels' modus operandi could scarcely deny that the county town side hasn't enjoyed the best of fortune on their travels representing Cavan. In that regard, Jerome is convinced that every team, bar none, needs a helping hand from Dame Fortune if they are to hit the high spots at the very top level at whatever grade. He recalls how, on the eve of their contest with Ballinderry in the St. Paul's, Belfast-hosted provincial minor competition, disaster struck the Gaels' minor side. "We lost county minors Kevin Meehan and Niall Smith before the game. They both got sick the night before the match and couldn't travel to Belfast. "I think especially once you go outside your county, you need to have luck on your side but our minors definitely didn't get any after they won the county championship." And yet Jerome patently refuses to claim that ill-luck alone has stopped the county town club from earning provincial glory. In fact he reckons a bit of soul-searching could be called for. "I remember hearing people say a few years ago that the senior team was too young but we've come a fair bit down the road now and we're still looking to make the breakthrough. "But I can understand people from around the county asking why we aren't winning in Ulster. Sometimes I wonder do our players really believe that they can win the provincial title. "We don't want it (failure to win the Ulster club title) to become a monkey on our backs and I definitely think we have a strong enough bench to prove ourselves in Ulster. "Our Junior B success shows that there's good back-up there and a few fellas who are capable of taking their place on the senior team. A few of the minors are coming through also. In teasing out possible reasons for the Gaels' ongoing travails in Ulster, Jerome is convinced that the champions from other counties are much more geared up for the provincial club. He reckons whoever emerges at the top of the pile in, for instance, Derry or Tyrone, will have been excellently tested and prepared 'cum the first round of the Ulster championship. "When you consider what Ballinderry would have had to beat to get into Ulster, you understand just how much more intense the Derry championship is to ours in Cavan. "There are at least four teams in Derry who, in any given year, could win their county title. You've excellent teams like Slaughtneil, Ballerin, Dungiven and The Loop. "It's the same in Tyrone. Dromore won through in 2008 but there you have the likes of Errigal Ciaran, Coalisland, Moy and Dungannon. There's fierce competition among the clubs. "With no disrepect to the likes of Denn, Cuchullains and whoever else in Cavan, the competition is nowhere nearly as tough in Cavan and that hasn't helped us in particular. "Unless the club competition gets stronger in the county, whoever wins the championship will find it difficult to make the step up when it comes to the Ulster club championship. "Looking back on last year, Denn put us as good a fight as they could and they can be proud of their efforts. They need to push on this year though as do the others. "I think everyone involved with Cavan Gaels would welcome stronger opposition across the board. It would be good for us and good for the county as a whole." And so say all of us! Gaels brew up a storm For Crossmaglen in Armagh and Eire Og in Carlow, read Cavan Gaels. The High-Kings of football. Cavan's finest again showed their class in various county grades in 2008. The more things change, the more they stay the same. And so it proved in a raft of football competitions last year with Cavan Gaels lording it over all-comers. There were new challenges and there may have been new opponents across a range of finals but Cavan Gaels proved tops once again in six county deciders in 2008. Topping the list of achievements by the club in the past year was the completion of a senior championship and league double. The minors made it three-in-a-row in the championship as well as lifting the league title for good measure while the Junior 'B' crew and U14 starlets also scooped silverware. Of course, most eyes in the club were focussed on the club's pursuit of a fifth SFC triumph in six years. In the end, it was all so easy for the Terry Coyle-based squad. The red-hot Gaels blew aside the challenge of Denn in the final at Kingspan/Breffni Park, winning by 0-15 to 0-7 with their margin of victory fairly reflective of the difference in class between the sides on the day. The county town side posted notice of their intention to rule the roost by stifling every effort by Denn to dominate matters when assisted by gale force-like wind in the opening half. In truth, the script never looked like being ripped apart with the only irony on the day being the fact that Denn actually opened the scoring after just 33 seconds. It was simply all too easy for the title-holders as they eased their way to a 0-7 to 0-2 lead in the face of the elements. In front of watching new Cavan boss Tom Carr, the game turned out to be a scrap rather than the anticipated war of attrition. The wind-aided challengers drew first blood with a Colin Kiernan point but an air of inevitability began to waft its way over proceedings once Enda King pointed to leave the Gaels 0-3 to 0-1 in front after 13 minutes. The blues matched fire with fire in the claustrophobic middle third of the field and, crucially, engineered the space and time to inflict maximum damage at the business end of the field. Denn were arguably their own worst enemies in the first half as they recorded seven wides with a pre-occupation to maximise the elements acting as their proverbial ball and chain. Man-of-the-match Seanie Johnston was the star turn for the would-be winners, predictably being executioner-in-chief for the defending champions. The title-holders' full-forward line of Johnston, Nicholas Walsh and Micheal Lyng terrorised the outsiders' defence as they constructed a non-too flattering five point lead at the interval. Denn were forced to rely more and more on reaping a sufficient dividend from spasmodic counter-attacks and when the Gaels' keeper Elliott blocked a pin-point effort for goal by Denn in the 29th minute, the dye was cast. The Gaels continued to work their way up through the gears in the second half with the minimum of fuss with number 14 Nicholas Walsh acting in the role of textbook targetman. Denn were forced to look for goals with a quarter of the match remaining but they neither had the firepower nor guile to get the underdogs out of jail. On-fire Johnston rubbed salt into Denn's gaping wound on the three-quarter hour mark with a handsome brace of points inside 90 seconds as Denn faced into a 0-3 to 0-13 deficit with a full quarter of the match left. The remainder of the match was a turgid affair with the yielding sod, atrocious conditions and Denn frustration combining to make for a rather sour climax to the game. Pointedly, erstwhile Railway Cup ace Micheal Lyng showed class is permanent by firing over a gem at the death for the long-time leaders. Cavan Gaels (v Denn SFC final); Eoghan Elliott; John Gurhy, Darren Rabbitt, Karl Crotty; Anthony Forde (0-1), Eamonn Reilly, Daniel Graham; Enda King (0-1), Cathal Collins; Sean Reilly, Dominic Reilly (0-2), Cormac Nelligan (0-1, free); Micheal Lyng (0-2), Nicholas Walsh, Sean Johnston (0-7, three frees). Subs; Martin Dunne (0-1) for Daniel Graham; Shane McGlade for Karl Crotty; Robert Maloney for Cormac Nelligan; Niall Murray for Dominic Reilly; Kevin Meehan for John Gurhy. Five out of six ain't bad The senior championship/league double was completed in mid-November when Cuchullains were put to the sword in clinical style in the ACFL Division One decider. The final saw the Gaels triumph by 3-8 to 1-11 over the Cross/Mullagh men at Ballyhaise with full-forward Nicholas Walsh plundering two goals to leave the issue beyond doubt. In careering to their fifth ACFL Division One final victory in six years, the county town side failed to fire on all cylinders but their superior class and cohesion served to work the oracle. The winners-elect carved out their title win the hard way though after conceding a goal to their opponents after just three minutes. But thanks to points by Seanie Johnston and Martin Dunne, the Gaels managed to get to within one point of Cuchullains by the end of the first quarter. Cuchullains lost their first goal of the game in the 21st minute when Nicholas Walsh broke down a Dominic Reilly pass to Martin Dune and in a flash the green flag was raised. The challengers stuck to their guns and made the Gaels work to retain their lead but, after easing their way into a 1-4 to 1-2 lead, the turning point came for the county town side. A sensational move involving Micheal Lyng, Dunne, Johnston and Enda King was eventually palmed to the net by the loitering Walsh to leave the Gaels five point in front. Again Cuchullains worked hard to cut their deficit to a goal but then they suffered a massive blow in the 35th minute when Walsh nipped in to punch the ball to the net for another goal. The Gaels went onto extend their lead to seven points courtesy of a neat Johnston point before the sides traded points with Dunne on the mark for the would-be winners. The Gaels' backline continued to defend well but they had a let-off in the 53rd minute when Conor Smith's shot richocheted off the post before the blues managed to clear their lines. Cuchullains added two points as they maintained their momentum but an inspirational score from sub. Kevin Meehan and a fisted point from sub. Niall Murray put the icing on the cake. Cavan Gaels (ACFL Division One final v Cuchullains); Eoghan Elliott; John Gurhy, Darren Rabbitt, Karol Crotty; Daniel Graham, Eamonn Reilly, Anthony Forde; Enda King, Cathal Collins; Martin Dunne (1-2), Sean Johnston (0-4), Paul O'Donnell; Micheal Lyng, Nicholas Walsh (2-0), Dominic Reilly. Subs; Kevin Meehan (0-1); Niall Murray (0-1); Conor McClarey; Joe Dunne. Reserves lift championship title In a fascinating battle of wills, Cavan Gaels' Junior 'B' squad benefited greatly from a rather fortuitous early second half goal to emerge 1-9 to 1-4 victors over near-neighbours Killygarry in a tempestuous championship decider at Bawnboy. The winners-elect seemed to be energised by an early let-off when David O'Reilly effected a fine save to deny Killygarry a double-quick goal. With testing conditions prevailing just three points were recorded in total in the second quarter. Pointedly, the Gaels nabbed a brace of those scores with a point apiece from Michael Meehan and top scorer Levi Murphy being countered two minutes from the short whistle by Gabriel McGovern's converted free from all of 50 metres. Just three minutes into the second half, the threat carried by Alan O'Riordan's 60 yard strike at the Killygarry posts was supplemented by a run across the face of the goal by Levi Murphy which concluded with the ball bouncing past Ronan Fitzpatrick and into the Killygarry goal via the butt of a post. Before Killygarry could gather their thoughts, Conor McClarey rubbed salt into their gaping wound with an excellent point and, suddenly, with just 35 minutes on the clock, Cavan Gaels held a handsome 1-5 to 0-2 lead. The lights turned to red for the red and blacks moments again with Ciaran Flynn pointing on the run to leave Killygarry firmly up against the ropes. To their credit, Killygarry refused to acknowledge the Stop sign and a converted penalty in the 47th minute hinted at a grandstand finish. Typically, the Gaels had much more of a say in the last third of the field and a point apiece from Levi Murphy (free) and Mickey Graham suitably closed the scoring on an eventful afternoon's football. Cavan Gaels (Junior B Championship final v Killygarry); David O'Reilly; Patrick Heslin, John O'Reilly, Mark Leddy; Francis Graham, Niall Gurhy, Dallan McCormick; Declan Meehan, Ed O'Hanlon; Alan O'Riordan (1-0), Ronan Farrelly, Michael Meehan (0-1); Ciaran Flynn (0-1), Conor McClarey (0-1), Levi Murphy (0-4). Subs; Ciaran McGlade for Niall Gurhy; Niall Smith (0-1) for Michael Meehan; Mickey Graham (0-1) for Ronan Farrelly. Minors double up . . . again The minors had a major year in 2008 with the double of championship and league being annexed in some style. The Gaels' youngsters raced to a 2-17 to 3-7 win in the MFC final with St. Josephs the vanquished at Kingspan/Breffni Park. The Gaels led by 1-11 to 1-2 at half-time having played with a near Gael-force wind. Ironically the county town side conceded the opening goal of the game but just moments later Conor McClarey goaled in stunning style for the winners-elect to restore order. Dominating at midfield and combining sweetly up front while being tigerish at the back, the Gaels maintained their momentum and looked home and hosed at the interval. St. Josephs worked hard on the restart and actually managed to reduce their deficit to six points but the Gaels cleverly rode the storm. The clinching score duly arrived when Niall Murray laid off the ball to sub Paul O'Connor who dummied the 'keeper before tucking the ball away from close range. Although the Gaels conceded another goal late on, their superior class, cohesion and will-to-win left the issue never in doubt as they secured a fabulous three-in-a-row of blue riband titles. Cavan Gaels (MFC final v St. Josephs); Michael Coyle; Darragh Sexton, Marc Leddy, Fergal Blessing; Kevin Meehan, Damien Kellegher, Paul McKiernan; Robert Maloney-Derham (0-1), Ryan Johnston; John Farrelly, Niall Murray (0-8), Bryan Grogan (0-1); Cian O'Donoghue, Conor McClarey (1-4), Niall Smith (0-3). Subs used; Morgan Young, Paul O'Connor (0-1). A few weeks later the same squad eased their way to the 2008 MFL Division One title at the well-appointed Bawnboy venue with a convincing 3-13 to 0-11 win over amalgamation side St. Josephs. The winners-elect were 0-3 to 0-1 to the good after a turgid, often scrappy, opening quarter which saw the highly-influential Robert Maloney-Derham notch two of his sides's opening three points for the Gaels. However it was Brian Grogan's freakish goal in the 20th minute that left both sets of fans agog. Grogan let fly from just over 40 yards and with the sun in his eyes, the Saints' 'keepe collected the ball but was subsequently deemed by the umpire to have stepped back over his own goal and the green flag was duly raised. Leading by 1-4 to 0-2 at the start of the second half, Cavan Gaels were pegged back initially on the restart with the Saints nabbing a fine brace of points inside 90 whirlwind seconds. But in circling the wagons at the rear in double-quick time, the leaders showed their nous and their determination to remain in the driver's seat. The Gaels' match-winning lead was duly engineered in the 42nd minute when Sean Hanley's long-range shot for a point dipped at the last moment and ended up drifting underneath the Saints bar before nestling in the back of the net. There was to be no way back though for the gallant underdogs in trailing by 0-4 to 2-9 despite a brace of fine points (48th and 51st minutes) which at least kept the Gaels honest. The Gaels finished with a flourish when a long ball from Conor McClarey was latched onto by Paul O'Connor and in an instant, the Saints' net was billowing. Moments later the final whistle sounded and the Gaels could embrace a five-star double-winning season. Cavan Gaels (MFL final v St. Josephs); Michael Coyle; Darragh Sexton, John Fortune, Fergal Blessing; Kevin Meehan, Damien Kellegher, Paul O'Connor (1-0); Robert Maloney-Derham (0-3), Sean Hanley (1-0); John Farrelly (0-1), Niall Murray (0-7), Brian Grogan (1-0); Cian O'Donoghue, Conor McClarey, Niall Smith. Subs; Marcus Sheridan (0-1) for John Farrelly; Shane Harten for John Fortune; John Maguire for Cian O'Donoghue; Ferdia Donoghoe for Paul O'Connor. U14s achieve their goal(s) Cavan Gaels 7-9 Shercock 1-9 Kingspan/Breffni Park produced a goalfest on Tuesday evening last when Cavan Gaels eased past the challenge of a gritty but clearly outgunned Shercock side in the U14 Roinn A final. Defending the town end of the pitch and playing into the teeth of a gusting breeze, Cavan Gaels leaped into the lead after 72 seconds courtesy of an opportunist goal by wandering midfielder Oisin Sheridan. Shercock levelled three minutes later from a free but then a sweet move in the 6th minute was spawned by the deep-lying Barry Fortune who combined with Andrew Graham and Josh McClorey to put Vincent Coyle through for a brillantly crafted point. Gradually it became obvious that there were more goals in the Gaels' locker and on the quarter hour mark good foraging by Padraic Sexton saw Andrew Graham nip in and find the Shercock net. The Gaels led by 2-2 to 0-4 after 20 minutes but then in the 24th minute when the county town side plundered their third goal with Vincent Coyle's exquisite, slide-rule pass setting up Leon Smith to fire the ball home, soccer-style, to the Shercock net. Shercock just simply couldn't match their opponents' mobility, sharpness and skill on the ball and they found themselves trying to chase down a 0-4 to 3-4 deficit approaching the half-time whistle. The second half saw Shercock open the scoring with a point but then one minute later the ghost was well and truly up for Shercock when Vincent Coyle hammered home the Gaels' fourth goal to make it a 12 point game. Shercock were made to pay handsomely for their cavalier approach in the final ten minutes, leaving the door open behind and conceding three further goals as a result. Even Shercock's final flourish (yielding 1-2) couldn't put a blemish on the lustre surrounding a quite splendid Gaels' show however. Cavan Gaels (U14 Roinn A final v Shercock); Chris Gaffney; Liam Fitzsimons, Cathal Cronin, Niall McHugh; Stephen O'Neill (0-1), Kevin Brady, Cian Mulligan; Oisin Sheridan (2-0), Sean Conaty; Leon Smith (1-1), Vincent Coyle (2-3), Padraic Sexton (0-2); Josh McClorey (0-1), Andrew Graham (2-0), Barry Fortune (0-1). Subs used; Louis Coleman; Liam Sharkey; Daniel Maguire; Hammad Sajid; Jack Hayden. Tweet

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