When Denn football club look back on their 2008 season they will be doing so as a club with the unique distinction that they have indeed created their own piece of club history in reaching the senior football championship final for the very first time. No doubt this milestone will become a piece of local folklore over the coming years. Their achievement of getting to the Cavan senior football county final was in itself a tremendous outcome after a long and hard championship campaign and having to face Cavan Gaels in the decider, the county kingpins and defending champions, made it a task of 'David and Goliath' proportions. To say that they acquitted themselves well would be an understatement as many pundits throughout the county gave the small club from the Denn parish little or no hope against the star studded town team. While they failed to secure the winners' podium, they nonetheless did not succumb to the pressure of the occasion nor indeed were they overawed by the formidable opposition in front of them. When you consider that they registered eleven wides against the champions four, a small percentage of those errors would have left very little between the sides on the day. Denn have been the only club in recent history to break the dominance of Mullahoran and Gowna, who have contested senior finals on a regular basis against Cavan Gaels. When talking to club chairman, Barry Smith you are left in no doubt as to the pride and hope that the club sustained from not only their senior championship appearance but also the great success of their U16s who won their respective championship in a thrilling encounter. "We as a club had a tremendous year when you take into consideration that we reached the final of the county's primary competition and also registered an U16 championship title. The senior championship final was a great achievement for the players, officials and supporters of Denn. Not many teams outside, Gowna, Mullahoran and Cavan Gaels have been contesting championship deciders over the past number of years so to break that sequence and gain our rightful place in the final was indeed a source of great pride," said Barry. "We at the club have always felt that we have enough talent at our disposal to make it into and win a senior championship title. We won the senior league in 1998 and while it may have taken us ten years to get back to a senior final, a number of factors throughout that period were contingent in us not reaching our potential. Throughout that period we had some indifferent displays but we never lost sight of what we had at the club and what we could achieve. Getting to the senior final this year was indeed a tremendous boost for us all here at the club. The immense amount of enthusiasm and feel good factor that was garnered from a place in the final is something that most clubs unfortunately will never experience. Hopefully, the players who would have experienced the honour of being part of the squad will appreciate it enough and know that they are capable of going one better with a bit of luck. There is another spin-off of our trip to Kingspan Breffni Park, namely that all the young underage players will have seen that as a club we are capable of making it to the final of the county's premier competition. This can only be a good thing and should help motivate many of the younger players at the club to try and create a tradition of getting to finals and winning," stated the club chairman. Barry did feel that the honour of getting to the final was slightly tarnished by some of the media who he felt portrayed an undue amount of negative press towards the club. "The kind of press as opposed to the regular banter associated with county finals saw comments like 'Seanie Johnson will score more than whole Denn team', was in my opinion facetious. Credit must be given to the Denn squad and management team who took all this with a pinch of salt and resolve that they would not be the whipping boys of Cavan Gaels. For their part, the entire squad kept their heads down and got on with the task of preparing for what was not only a final but a history making occasion for the Denn club," commented Barry. "For the discerning neutral pundit, our wide tally on the day gave the Gaels a lot more breathing space than they were entitled to. With a bit of luck, even a small percentage of those wides being converted could have created a much closer contest. We started well and held the upper-hand for most of the first half, but our dominance was not reflected on the scoreboard at half-time. I felt that Gaels got the much better start to the second-half and put some daylight between us and them. Our poor conversion rate of the first half allowed them get into a position of a four or five point lead. The final fifteen minutes of the final, showed the magnificent character of the Denn team, as they worked, harried, and pursued the game in wave after wave against the county kingpins. Even though the Gaels had a decisive lead, Denn to a man failed to give in and must be commended for their spirited approach. While the final scoreline 0-15 to 0-7 gave the champions an eight point lead, Denn proved many of the punters wrong as they failed to roll over and be dominated by the Gaels," stated Barry. Hard working management The chairman said that: "while the final is ultimately about players on the day, much of this would never have been achieved without the Trojan work and belief that the management team instilled into the entire squad. Team manager, Kevin McDonnell, trainer Gary Farrelly and selectors, Cathal Reilly and Thomas Smith all contributed to the club's great achievement. Their style of management seemed to suit the players who responded to their approach with confidence and commitment. Hopefully, we will get back to the county final and going one better this year. That will have to be the outlook for all the squad. We should not allow ourselves to see our standards drop, but rather set our targets realistically and high. This we now know is something we can plan for with a degree of confidence as we have already made it to a championship final. The onus is now on all of us at the club to create the environment that will help steer us to a title. On the management front it would be remiss of me not to mention the great work being put into the Division 4 team by our own Gerry Brady. Gerry has a formidable record as he managed the senior side that won the league back in 1998. Gerry is a great clubman and a committed Denn man. While I am talking about management, I would like to pay tribute to the members of the executive committee who have been loyal and supportive workers to the Denn club over the year. Our secretary, Geraldine McSherry, Treasurer, Jim Sherry and our excellent PRO, Geraldine Lynch have always been available and willing to take that extra step in the name of Denn GFC," stated the club chairman. Young players "With the 2008 season now behind us we can look to the in-coming season with a sense of purpose and commitment. During the 2008 we introduced some very talented young players into our squad. Players of the calibre of Darren Costello, Martin Kiernan, Damien McCann and Ray Smith and with the return to Ireland of the influential Thomas Farrelly we should have a squad that is both experience and youthful. However, the only drawback, is the downturn in the economy and I am sure we are no different to any other club in Ireland, that the lack of work for many of our young people will see a drain on human resources if the recession worsens over the next twelve months," added Barry. Underage Football All the good work which has been put in over the years at underage level saw a rich dividend payback when the clubs' U16 side emerged triumphant over a gallant Belturbet side in the Division 3 Championship. This was a thrilling game with some superb football served up by both teams. It was a very tightly contested first half and Denn found themselves behind by a point at the break 0-7 to 0-8. Two goals by Noel Crowe and Aaron Galligan set them on the road to victory. A man of the match performance from Dean Hyland was instrumental in getting our side into pole position while in credit all players performed to the best of their ability in this exciting and thrilling final encounter. "Our U12s and U14s made to the quarter-final of their respective championships," said a proud chairman. Barry was also quick to praise the mentors involved at underage level. "The work put in by people of the calibre of Jim Hyland, Martin Tennison, Martin Cahill and John Tierney is greatly appreciated by all at the club." When talking about people contributing of their time to the cause of Denn football club, Barry said that unselfish work put in by Gabriel McCaul was legend. "Gabriel, for me, epitomizes what a 'real' clubman is. He is always available to undertake any task that is required. His quiet disposition belies his magnificent dedication to the Denn club. For Gabriel there is no job too big or too small when it comes to Denn Gaelic football club. Our year ended on a high note as Crosskeys N.S. won the Division 3 title of Cumann na mBun Scoil when they overcame the challenge of neighbours, Castlerahan." Development plans Having acquired a seven acre plot of ground adjacent to the existing St. Matthew's Park, at Crosskeys, the club are now in the process of going ahead with a development which will bring the present playing area up to a state of the art facility that will cater for all. With planning permission having been granted it is hoped to commence work on the development project in the not too distant future. The club is currently putting in place a development committee which will be targeted with raising finance for the development along with a remit of project managing the work. When finished the final output will see a new playing field, alongside the current playing area with new dressing-rooms, gym, stand and toilets. Sponsors "We would wholeheartedly like to express our gratitude to all the people who have helped sponsor Denn over the year. Our main sponsor is Ann and Oliver Sheils of the Farnham Arms Hotel, Cavan. As committed Denn business people, they embarked on a three year deal which was extremely generous and of great assistance in the running of the club. Also to our associate sponsors like Donal Keogan, Brian Reilly and Brian Keogan we would like to publicly acknowledge their contribution over the years. Also the great work put in by the people who sell our blotto. This task is something that takes great dedication and is a lifeline to the existence of any club. To these people, the club owe a great debt of honour," stated the chairman. Tweet

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