In what can only be described as a tough season for Cavan Gaels, the county kingpins relinquished their senior championship title to a determined Mullahoran while newcomers on the 'block', Ballinagh, ended any hopes of salvaging their season when they accounted for the league champions in the semi-final. By Tony Dunne. While the Gaels had a rather topsy turvey season, there was to be some silverware at the end of the year, when their Division 3 team, who failed to gain promotion but nonetheless, secured the Division 3 league title while a talented minor squad overcame the challenge from an equally talented Lurgan side in the championship final. While many clubs would be rightful proud at the achievement of winning two county titles, the town club, who have dominated football at senior level now for the past number of seasons, will feel that they took their eye of the 'ball' and did not perform as champions throughout the entire season. The failure of the senior team to retain either their championship or league title came as a bitter blow to chairman, Aidan Elliott, whose hard work over the past number of years deserved a better end product than that of relinquishing all their senior crowns. The town club were hoping to maintain a winning streak that would have given them a four in a row championship tally, and with many in the county believing it a foregone conclusion, the manner in which they approached their championship campaign was littered with inconsistent performances. The Gaels only seemed to reach their true potential on a number of occasions throughout the championship, particularly with their opening display against Mullahoran where they produced their a power-packed performance to overwhelm the Crosserlough challenge and again when they took local rivals, Killygarry in a top of the division clash. In his post match comments after the county final coach Gerry McCarville probably summed up the Gaels reason for defeat when he said: "The hungrier team won on the day. Mullahoran won all the major battles on the park. We didn't perform on the day and if you fail to perform on county final day, you lose". With the loss of their senior crowns, the club have also lost the services of their successful manager, Gerry McCarville who has stepped down for personal reasons. According to the chairman Elliott: "From the start, we never seemed to get out of the blocks. Our opening game in the ACFL saw us being held to a draw at Ballyhaise, a game that we had effectively by the scruff of the neck, but managed to lose a three point lead in injury time of the second half." Setback While the loss of both their senior crowns was a bitter disappointment, it could have a beneficial effect for the new season. According to 'veteran' Gaels star, Mickey Graham: "I hope that the players will see this not as a setback but a wake-up call. We should do what all good champions do, learn from defeats. We have the players and what we need to do is to rekindle the form that took us to three championship titles in a row. That will require a concerted effort from all involved. We have the structure at club level. With many of our playing pool still in their early twenties, it should not be too difficult to acquire the necessary focus to stimulate them to refocus on what is required to win titles at senior level. It will take a great deal of hard work, commitment and honesty from all us to put us back in contention for senior honours." Winning Habit The hiatus that the senior side created with the loss of their titles has to be counter-balanced with the knowledge that the Gaels have secured their eighth minor title in nine years and also claimed the Division 3 league title. This sequence of winning will help propel the club back on track and with so many young talented players at minor and U-21 level; the scramble for places in the coming season should see a healthy state of affairs for the incoming team management. Minor stars of the calibre of Martin Dunne, Declan Meehan, David Graham, Dallan McCormack, Leigh Jackson and Sean Higgins, will help bolster the senior squad. U21s There was further disappointment as the Gael's U21s crashed out of the championship at the quarter-final stage to Lurgan, who in turn were beaten in the semi-final against eventual winners, Castlerahan. The fact that this competition is played at the end of the season may have been one of the contributing factors to this much fancied side not performing to their ability. Division 3 title The town club had to wait until the first week of December before they had the opportunity to salvage some silverware at senior level when they took on Cornafean at Templeport in the Lakeside Manor Division 3 league final. A talented town team, with many of the side having experienced both senior championship and league, were expected to lift this title but Cornafean, made them fight all the way to the end in a well contested final. The Gaels emerged victorious on a scoreline of 1-10 to 0-9. The performance of their minor star, Martin Dunne, was to prove instrumental in steering the title to the town club when he grabbed a personal tally of 1-6. The Gaels who had a player sent-off had to sustain a determined final flourish from Cornafean but withstood the challenge despite being a man short. Cavan Gaels: Charlie Halligan, Pauric Byrne, John Reilly, Joe Dunne, Michael Cooke, John Gurhy, Pauric Smith, Edward O'Hanlon (capt.) (0-1), Sean Reilly (0-2), Sean Higgins, Kevin Downes, Michael Meehan, Martin Dunne (1-6), Ronan Farrelly, Dessie Scanlon. Subs: Tommy McCormick for Michael Meehan, Ciaran Flynn (0-1) for Dessie Scanlon. Minors win thrilling championship final The other bright spot on the Gael's horizon was the performance of their squad when they overcame the challenge of Lurgan at a rain drenched Kingspan Breffni Park in the curtain-raiser to the senior final. Both Lurgan and Cavan Gaels produced a scintillating and enthralling minor final in what only could be described as atrocious weather conditions. This display of determination and no shortage of skill throughout the field saw the Gaels capture their eighth title in nine years. A remarkable feat and one that is not lost on the chasing pack of senior clubs throughout the county. Referee Honoured Gaelsman, Brian Crowe, a referee of distinction, was awarded the highest honour in the game when he was awarded the All-Ireland final in 2006. Brian who has been officiating at club and inter-county for many years now was a deserved recipient of this honour. He took charge of the All Ireland between Kerry and Mayo and proved himself to be a worthy choice for such a big occasion. 50th Anniversary Celebrations This coming season, Cavan Gaels celebrate their fiftieth birthday. From humble beginnings, the town club has blossomed into one of the strongest footballing bases in the county. Club PRO Philip Finnegan said that they are already in the process of working out details as to how they will celebrate this landmark occasion. "We are setting up a committee to deal with the anniversary and a number of ideas have been mooted. The recognition of the trail blazers of 1965, who set the ball rolling when capturing the club's first ever senior championship, will be paramount. It is also suggested that the celebrations should be held over a Bank Holiday weekend so that they may be able to accommodate all previous playing members and officials since the inception of the club. The club hope to make the celebrations complete with a return to championship winning ways." Manager PRO Philip Finnegan was quick to praise the good work carried out by former manager, Gerry McCarville. "During his reign at the club, Gerry contested eight senior finals, both league and championship and won six, three league and three championships. This is a remarkable record. We wish Gerry the very best in the future and thank him for all his great work" On the matter of appointing a new manager, Philip pointed out that according to the constitution of the club, the incoming committee appoint the team manager. With the AGM taking place in early January, the appointment of a manager was not approached. Terry Coyle Philip did say that the club had thought about making the move to a green field sight and commence development of a bigger complex. However, according to the genial PRO: "We considered making the transition to another ground, but on reflection, the club has been firmly embedded at Terry Coyle and we felt that if we moved, we would be losing part of our identity. It is hoped to develop the area at the back of the playing field, and there is a possibility of obtaining a training pitch in the future. This would at present seem to be the preferred option. We also had to consider as the town club, having a playing area in the town centre is of the greatest importance. Accessibility for many of the town's youth is a factor in helping us remain at Terry Coyle. The work at underage level over the past decade at Terry Coyle proved to be the foundation for the present playing pool. Our continued success at underage level is no small way attributed to the accessibility of Terry Coyle as our home grounds. As a town club, it is important that we have a playing area in the town and not outside it," stated Philip. Cavan Gaels - 50 not out This year marks the 50th anniversary of the foundation of Cavan Gaels. Below is a short synopsis of the evolution of arguably the county's top modern-day club. The shock of losing their SFC title last year reverberated right down to the core of Cavan Gaels. However as the days, post-2006 county final, grew shorter and the business of post-mortems was handed over to the State pathologist, gaels in the heart of the county town looked to the future. Before too long, a silver lining began to appear on the clouds which meandered above Terry Coyle Park. It was manifest in the recognition that the golden jubilee of the club's foundation was peeking through the self-same clouds. Just weeks after Mullahoran's mugging of the long-time county kingpins, plans to celebrate a glorious 50th birthday began to kick in. Sunday, February 11th last marked the 50th anniversary of the founding of Cavan Gaels and a special anniversary mass for all deceased members of the club was held in St. Patrick's College. Players and officials, past and present, gathered at the place of academic and sporting excellence to pay homage to those who helped construct one of the behemoths of Gaelic football in Cavan. So what spawned the creation of the behemoth that - as we approach high season in 2007 - all the rest of the clubs of the county have to beat to win the top prizes? We have to go back to 1957 and a public meeting held in Cavan Town Hall when Cavan Harps and Cavan Slashers came together to give birth to the modern day kingpins of Gaelic football in the Breffni county. That unity of hearts and minds was born out of failure as one had to go back to 1941 to trace the Slashers's last SFC title while just one JFC came Harps' way during the 'forties. Pitted against giants of the Cavan football scene such as Mullahoran, Cornafean, Bailieboro and Cootehill Celtic, the Cavan town concerns' merger was a welcome and natural coming-together. The efforts of men like Paddy Conaty, Eugene Monaghan, Fr. Jimmy Reilly, Pappy McNamara and Brother Cyril of the De La Salle order were instrumental in the formation of Cavan Gaels. The first joint secretaries of the new club were Sean Galligan and Jimmy 'Inky' Sheridan while other leading administrators of the time were T.M Gilroy and Tommy Hughes. However the fledgling amalgam laboured for quite some time to make the most of its combined resources and it received a setback when it was beaten in its first SFC final in 1958 although it scooped the league title. Thereafter further league titles were added in 1958, '60 and '62 with stars Jimmy 'Inky' Sheridan, John Foley O'Rourke, Cathal Young, Paddy Tavey, Mick McCarthy, Jim Meehan and the youthful Phil 'Lightning' Murray and PJ Carroll to the fore. In 1965, the Jim McDonnell-captained Gaels hit the jackpot when it won its first SFC by shocking a Gabriel Kelly-inspired Bailieboro side. Two years later it notched its first blue riband minor title with the Reilly brothers, Oliver Galligan, Michael Galligan and Dom Twomey very much to the fore for the PJ Carroll/Brendan Dunne-managed squad. The club also made a massive stride forward off the field in the early sixties when it purchased the local showgrounds and in 1970 Terry Coyle Park was officially opened. The early seventies proved to be quite a barren period for the Gaels but the club again hit the jackpot with senior league title in 1971 a SFC title triumph in 1975 under player/manager Gabriel Kelly and selectors Phil 'Lightning' Murray and Brendan Keaney. Further senior championship titles were scooped in 1977 and '78 but, sadly, a precious Ulster club title eluded the Gaels with defeat in the final of 1977 by St. John's of Antrim particularly heartbreaking. As the years went on, it slowly became apparent that the void left by the departure of Brother Cyril and the De La Salle Brothers was a very difficult one to fill. In fact it wasn't until the advent of the 'eighties that the Gaels put in place a programme of underage coaching redolent of Brother Cyril's best work with JJ Reilly, Paddy Reilly, Tony Looney, John Fee, Philip Finnegan and latterly Finian Farrell at the vanguard. A hint of better times to come at adult level meanwhile came in 1983 when the club reached the SFC final only to lose out to Laragh United. In 1986, the management triumvirate of PJ Carroll (manager), Philip Finnegan and John Beirne came together to steer the club to the Junior B League and Championship double. The following year more silverware came the way of the club with the annexation of the MFC title with Phil Cullen acting as team-manager. Meanwhile the rejuvenation of the club's underage teams was painfully slow and it wasn't until 1990 - twenty years after the inception of the competition - that an under 12 county title was nabbed. The following year, 1991, Cavan Gaels were the toast of the county when their under 12s annexed the All-Ireland Community Games title on the back of umpteen Saturday training sessions which were overseen by a large number of coaches. Significantly, a large number of that '91 panel has since gone onto become the backbone of great Gaels senior teams of recent vintage. However in between times, barren was very much the operative word as the club struggled in the 'eighties and up to the mid-nineties. In 1991, under the direction of Jimmy Fay and Joe O'Connor, the Gaels posted notice of their intention to again make the peleton of senior football in the not too distant future by winning a minor double. Four years later though, the senior team promised more than they actually delivered in careering to the quarter-finals of the SFC only to be knocked out by Bailieboro Shamrocks. Amazingly, the Gaels only managed to win one adult competition in the 'nineties when team-manager Philip Finnegan and selector Conal Clarke guided the blues to the Junior 'B' Championship in 1990. From 1990 onwards, a golden period for underage football in Cavan Gaels kicked in and over the course of the next decade - and to this day - the county town dominated at juvenile level from under 12 up to minor. In the last nine years, the Gaels have bagged eight MFC titles and won the prestigious Paul McGirr Ulster Under 17 club title in 1999 and 2006. In addition the club won the Ulster minor club title in 1999 while losing the finals of 1991, 2000 and 2006. Such has been the production line of underage talent produced by the club over the years that the blues have been represented in the final of the Cavan SFC every year since 2000, winning four titles in the process. In 2001, Joe O'Connor was at the helm as the Gaels took the top honours while in 2003, 04 and 05 Gerry McCarville was team-manager. In the same period, the club helped itself to four SFL titles. In 2006 the club reformed a long-time dormant hurling wing and a team is set to compete in the novel Ulster senior hurling league. Boasting a pedigree in the small ball game which includes a brace of SHC titles in the early eighties plus a Shield win in 2006, the Gaels hurling fraternity is proud of the fact that clubman Michael Wall is the current Cavan team-manager. Over the past 50 years, the Gaels have been to the fore in junior and senior Scor and back in the 'eighties, under the leadership of Tony Looney, it was one of the top clubs in the county. Handball remains to the fore in the club and it is hoped that players of the calibre of Dominic and Greg Sheridan can emerge in the not-too distant future. The Sheridan brothers won numerous titles at national level with Dominic bringing great honour to the club in particular by winning the World Masters title some years ago. With a strong administration team in place; a good finance committee and a superb underage structure underpinning the club's roll-call, it looks like the Gaels' roll of honour will be suitably embellished in the coming years. The Gaels are currently in the process of organising various events to commemorate the golden jubilee of their foundation. A special 50th anniversary banquet will be held in the Hotel Kilmore on Saturday April 28th when various presentations will be made. It is hoped that players, past and present, will turn out in big numbers on the night. Later on June 25th the club will stage its annual Golf Classic at Cavan Golf club. The club's anniversary commemorations will come to a conclusion at the tail end of the year when it publishes a commorative book and hosts an exhibition of photographs and other memorabilia in the Johnston Central Library, Farnham Street, Cavan. Anyone who has any material which they feel may be of interest to the club should contact registrar JJ O'Reilly (086-1005303) or PRO Philip Finnegan (086-1779162). Of course, having bagged a handful of titles at all levels last year, the club will be particularly keen to fill their trophy cabinet again this year but be warned; don't expect too generous odds on the county town side bagging yet another SFC and MFC double! Tweet

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