Onwards and upwards for Louth's youngest club
December 31, 2010progress both on and off the field.
The Omeath club will remember the season as one in which their underage set-up continues to flourish, while the mens and womens team are also continuing to make an impression.
Off the field of play, the main talking point was the club entering the Guinness Book of Records for their achievement in having the most people dressed as Superman in one place.
This event took place to mark the club's Five Year Celebration held on August 21st and was inspired by Roddy McQuaid who put a lot of time in effort into ensuring the day was a complete success, along with Susan Brennan, Marion Morgan, Susan Kelly, Roddy McQuaid, Garrett Mallon, Matthew Jones, Thomas Elmore and Michael Phillips.
The club were successful in their attempt and smashed the Record with 288 people dressed as Superman", but that was only one part of the day, according to Secretary, Susan Kelly.
"We hosted a family fun day at the fields and there were a variety of games including Battle of the Clans, novelty stalls, barbeque and other events on the day.
"On the day there was a large number of people from the club and members of our community who came out to help and it was fantastic to see so many people from the different groups within our community support the club and we are thankful to them for their help," she added.
Susan indicated that there are plans being made to break another world record next year, but will remain secret for the coming months.
On the field of play, Susan was able to report another relatively successful season despite the team losing some key players from 2009.
"John Bruen was over the team this year along with him were Brian Elmore and Damien Lynch.
The 2010 season was a transition year for Cúchulainn Gaels as key retirements from last season included Padraig and Redmond O'Neill and Aidan Forde.
"Long term injuries ruled out regulars Francis Elmore and Terry McKevitt while also sidelined for a considerable time after fracturing his jaw was Paddy O'Hanlon. Trevor Keenan, Colm Kearney and Patrick Malone spent the summer abroad but a huge addition to the squad was Eoin McDonald who had an outstanding season.
"The team played in the Division 4C league and also entered the Junior 2B Championship. The first game in the league was on St Patricks Day in Omeath with a hard fought 1-7 to 1-7 draw against Annaghminnon Rovers. This was followed by defeats against the Westerns, Stabannon and the Young Irelands. Early May brought a well deserved home victory against St Kevins. Narrow defeats followed to St Pats and Dowdallshill. The league campaign concluded on June 18th with a thrilling two point win against Dundalk Gaels," she explained.
Susan continued to point out that a difficult period followed as the club had to wait three months until September 15th for their next game in the Junior 2B Championship. Despite organising a number of challenges, the gap meant that it was difficult to maintain momentum. However they did give a very good account of themselves in the game away to Cooley and were very much in contention until the closing minutes when Cooley finished strongly to win by 2-11 to 1-7.
Meanwhile, the Cuchulainn Gaels Ladies team managed by John Bruen, and coach David Heaney in their fourth year of competitive football competed in the Louth Division 3 League and the Junior Championship and Sevens competition.
The Ladies won the Sevens competition for the second year running when defeating Na Piarsaigh and according to Susan they have excelled themselves on and off the field gaining in numbers and strength.
While Cuchulainn Gaels continue to make progress at adult level, the real focus of the club is on developing the youth structure and Susan explains that they are also making great progress in this regard.
"Our emphasis has always been the youth and this year there was no change. We competed at U7, U8, U9, U10, U11, U12 and U13s level this year and the U13s won the 4A League Final for the fourth year running.
"We have a great group of young players who have been with us from U8s and have moved up through the age groups over the last five years, while we were also fortunate to get a number of new players and players returning to play. We are all very grateful to the coaches John Paul Elmore and Paul Bruen, who provided excellent coaching.
"Unfortunately this year we were not successful in obtaining an amalgamation for U14/U16s which seen a number of our under age boys playing on loan with St Patricks. Our U16s played a part in St Patrick getting to the championship and league finals, unfortunately losing out to a strong Clan na Gael in both.
"There was plenty of football this year provided by Og Sport Lu. In our other underage structures we had a very successful year also and we did very well in the various blitzes at all levels. U11s and U12 have competed at the high level in Louth Og Sport winning all bar three games at U12 level. U9s and U10s also had a great year we retained the Margaret and Pat Phillips Trophy and the Tom Connolly Shield. The U10s also had a narrow loss to Castlewellan in the semi final of the An Riocht Tournament in July 2010.
"It was a very busy year for the U8's group we had a great turnout to training every week with ages ranging from four years of age upwards. The teams always performed well for the Og Sport blitzes and the children have greatly improved their skills and sportsmanship on the pitch.
We are fortunate to have a number of committed coaches at each level who provide excellent coaching skills and Cuchulainn Gaels are now reaping the rewards of their hard work and dedication," added Susan.
Those in charge of the various teams include, U8s - Marion Morgan, Jen Fitzgerald Eugene Donnelly and Ciaran O'Conboirne, Paul O'Hanlon and Caitlin Ni Chonboirne. U9s - Gerry Kierans and Eamon Rogers. U10s - Brian Elmore. U12s - John Paul Elmore and Deborah Penney and U13s John Paul Elmore and Paul Bruen.
The club also sent their congratulations to club players from Scoil Naomh Bríd, Ardaghy, Omeath who won the Corn Sheáin Uí Chaoláin (Fr. John Keelan Cup) at Cumann na mBunscoil Co. Louth Finals held in Darver, and the Jack Marks Cup in the Cooley Peninsula Schools competition in 2010.
Cuchulainn Gaels ran their annual club tournament in August. The Phillips Perpetual Cup and Tom Connolly Shield. The U10's Phillips Perpetual Cup, was a new cup kindly donated by Margaret and Patrick Phillips.
"The U10's tournament is always a great day for the club and is one of the highlights for our young members," explained Susan. "Unfortunately the rain never stopped, but this did not hinder the determination of our young players who won both the Cup and the Shield against very strong competition. Brian Elmore the U10's coach and Coaching Officer for the Club was delighted for our young players whose hard work all year paid off."
The club have been going from strength to strength and have had another successful year. For a young club of five years they have achieved a lot.
"I put this down to the fact that we are fortunate to have a good committee who work hard to ensure that all aspects of the club are working well.
"A highlight for the year was again winning the U13's 4A League for the fourth year running. We have some great players in this group. It is great for the young players of our club to see wins at this level and we hope it will continue to inspire and encourage other young players and non playing members of our community to come along and play for the club."
The ladies had another successful year having won the Division 3 nines again this year. John Bruen worked alongside David Heaney and Marion Morgan (the Ladies Chairperson), it is a real team effort on behalf of all at the club.
Of course, the Superman world record was a tremendous success which attracted great interest and was certainly a novel event.
"One of the highlights of the year for Cuchulainn Gaels off the field was our Club's Five Year Celebration held on 21st August 2010," reported Susan. "The main event on the day was an attempt to break the world record of the most people dressed as Superman in one place."
The event was inspired by Roddy McQuaid who put a lot of time in effort into ensuring the day was a complete success, along with Susan Brennan, Marion Morgan, Susan Kelly, Garrett Mallon, Matthew Jones, Thomas Elmore and Michael Phillips. The club were successful in their attempt and smashed the record with 288 people dressed as Superman. They hosted a family fun day at the fields and there were a variety of games including Battle of the Clans, novelty stalls, barbeque and other events.
"On the day there was a large number of people from the club and members of our community who came out to help the club and it was fantastic to see so many people from the different groups support the club and we are thankful to them for their help.
"Yes there are plans for next year to break another World Record. We are keeping the event and what it will be under our hats until closer to the time … so you'll just have to wait and see."
On the development front the club are planning ahead and already there are works in the pipeline.
"The club do have development plans for the future and we have our Club Development Plan which was completed last year.
"Over the next number of years we hope to see these plans implemented and moving the club forward to improve upon our current facilities. As with all plans brings the issue of finances to undertake any major work, which poses as a barrier. The current economic climate does not help the situation, but the club are determined to ensure that they meet their goals."
Cuchulainn Gaels is just five years in existence but they have crammed a huge amount of work into that period. As always, it takes a huge amount of voluntary effort to achieve this and the north Louth club are fortunate to have a number of dedicated Gaels in their midst. However, they are always on the look out for new blood
"It can be difficult to get extra help at club level; there are always the same people each year who work hard to bring the club on, although each year we are slowly but surely growing in numbers in this regard," explained the club secretary.
"We are fortunate to have good support from within our local community and this support is growing more and more each year. We could be doing with more people on the ground to help, but no doubt this is an issue for every club in the county."
As for the support of their sponsors, Susan is keen to highlight the importance of their relationship with one local company: "We would also like to thank our main sponsors Morgan's Fine Fish Omeath for their continued support." Tweet
