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Editors welcome ..............................................................3Senior Football ................................................................. 4U21 Football ................................................................... 12Junior Football ............................................................... 20U16 Ladies ...................................................................... 26Kevin Tierney ................................................................. 31Minor Football ................................................................ 34Camogie .......................................................................... 40Minor Hurlers ...................................................................44Noel Mooney ................................................................... 51Supporters ...................................................................... 54Handball .......................................................................... 58Seamus Morris ............................................................... 62Team of the Year .............................................................64Eugene Keating............................................................... 68Dessie OReilly ............................................................... 71Keith Geraghty ................................................................76Ladies Football ............................................................... 78Joe McIntyre ....................................................................80Seamus Smith ................................................................ 86Pat Tinnelly ..................................................................... 88Brian ODonoghue ..........................................................90Five to Watch .................................................................. 93Friends we lost ................................................................94Joe Lynch ......................................................................133Anselm Lovett ...............................................................142Tim Cullinan................................................................... 145Eugene Kiernan .............................................................152Alfredo Sobrino ..............................................................156John Joe Plunkett ..........................................................330Terry Farrelly ................................................................ 420Michael McGovern .........................................................423Donie OReilly.................................................................426Dr Tom Prior ...................................................................428Gerry Smyth ................................................................. 433John OHare ...................................................................437Lorcan Mulvey ...............................................................446

County

PAUL BRADY58

UNDER 21FOOTBALLERS 12

All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be published or reproduced in any way withoutthe written permission of the author or Lynn Group Media Copyright LynnGroup Media 2012

The opinions expressed in Breffni Blue do not necessarily reflect those of theeditor, publishers or their agents. While every effort has been made to ensurethat the information in this publication is correct, the publisher cannot acceptresponsibility for any errors that may appear.

Published byLynn Group MediaKells Business Park, Kells, Co Meath

Telephone: (046) 9241923Fax (046) 9241926Email: contact@lynngroupmedia.comWebsite: www.hoganstand.com

CONTRIBUTORSShane CorriganKevin CarneyTony DunneShane OBrienStephen ReillyGerald RobinsonRandal Scally

CAVAN GAA YEARBOOK BREFFNI BLUE

ARVA ...................................................... 252BAILIEBOROUGH ..................................106BALLINAGH ........................................... 397BALLYCONNELL FIRST ULSTERS ..... 242BALLYHAISE ........................................ 204BALLYMACHUGH................................... 184BELTURBET .......................................... 294BUTLERSBRIDGE.................................. 390CASTLERAHAN .................................... 300CAVAN GAELS ....................................... 382COOTEHILL ............................................ 412CORLOUGH ........................................... 211CORNAFEAN ..........................................174CROSSERLOUGH ................................. 348CUCHULAINNS ..................................... 270DENN ...................................................... 340DRUMALEE ........................................... 190DRUMGOON .......................................... 160DRUMLANE ............................................ 368DRUNG.................................................... 180GOWNA................................................... 263KILL ........................................................ 216KILLESHANDRA .................................... 286KILLINKERE ...........................................258KILLYGARRY ......................................... 404KINGSCOURT ........................................ 310KNOCKBRIDE ....................................... 168LACKEN ..................................................116 LARAGH ................................................ 359LAVEY ................................................... 220MAGHERA ............................................. 226MOUNTNUGENT ................................... 376

MULLAHORAN320

MUNTERCONNACHT .............................136 RAMOR UNITED .................................... 233REDHILLS .............................................. 333SHANNON GAELS .................................128 SHERCOCK ........................................... 197SWANLINBAR ......................................... 99TEMPLEPORT ....................................... 277

Club

Powerhouse midfielderGearoid McKiernan

2012 has been a year of ups anddowns for Cavan on the GAAfront and once again we havedone our utmost to cover all the actionat both county and club level acrossthe county, and its borders, in picturesand words in this packed edition.

All 40 clubs are again profiled indepth with their own sections and theopening pages of this yearbook willprovide you with authentic reviews ofthe Cavan senior, Under 21 and minorfootball teams respective campaigns,with the highlight for Breffnisupporters undoubtedly being theUnder 21s successful Ulsterchampionship defence in April. TerryHylands talented team once againproved their provinces finest whenthey defeated Tyrone by the same 1-10 to 0-10 score-line in Enniskillenthat led them to the 2011 title. Wespoke to Cavans top-scorer duringthe campaign, Ballyhaises KevinTierney, as he reflected on specialsuccess that he wont soon forget.

Unfortunately, Cavans provincialsuccess at Under 21 level could nottransfer on to the senior stage in 2012as this past season saw Val Andrewsteam struggle in the National FootballLeague by barely avoiding relegation,after which the Dubliner vacated hispost for Terry Hyland to step in bymid-April. The Lacken man wouldhand some of Cavans mostpromising young talents their Ulstersenior championship debut againstDonegal at Kingspan Breffni Park onMay 20, when they hosts came awayfrom Cavan town on the receiving endof a 1-16 to 1-10 defeat, following inthe footsteps of the minors, at thehands of a team that would go on tocapture the Sam Maguire Cup comeSeptember.

The first round of the All-Ireland SFCqualifiers would send a young Cavanside back to Brewster Park, wherethree late goals gave the Breffni mentheir first victory in the backdoor sincethe 2010 comeback against Wicklowat the expense of Peter CanavansFermanagh. However, the next roundwould see Cavan inflicted with theirheaviest defeat of the year whenKildare, and the media circus

surrounding Sean Johnstons transferto the Lilywhites, arrived at KingspanBreffni Park and came away 17-pointwinners to cut another season shortby mid-July.

In hurling, Cavans fortunesimproved vastly over the past 12months as the minors reached amilestone for the county in Septemberby competing in All-Ireland C finalagainst Fingal. While defeat would besuffered to the Dublin outfit inAshbourne, John Hunts talented cropof players have provided small ballgame enthusiasts in the county withplenty of hope for the future as Cavanlook to compete again in the seniorranks in the near future.

On the ladies football front, AdrianMcGoverns senior team had lookedto bounce back from the pain of their2011 All-Ireland final defeat toWestmeath (after a replay) bymaintaining their Division Two statusin the National League and bidding forthat elusive intermediatechampionship. Unfortunately, theBreffni women would come up justshort in both departments but it wasfar from the whole story for ladiesfootball in 2012, as the countysUnder 16 footballers delivered an All-Ireland title in August when theydefeated favourites Tipperary in thefinal. This year weve dedicated anentire section to look back at thehistoric success of Fergal Bradysteam.

This year also saw further historymade on the handball front byMullahoran star Paul Brady, who hitthe peak of his glittering career inOctober when he defended his WorldSingles title for a record-breakingthird time. In front of huge homesupport at Citywest in Dublin, Bradyovercame American number one LuisMoreno in a thrilling final to capture atitle which surely ensures the right tocall him the greatest to have everplayed the game.

The club season in 2012 was also amemorable one for Brady, as hisnative Mullahoran upset the odds bydefeating Kingscourt Stars after areplay to claim their first Cavan seniorfootball championship in six years.

Six days later saw Lacken securingtheir third intermediate championshipin 15 years when they saw offCootehill after a replay under lights atKingspan Breffni Park, where a hat-trick of goals from Niall McKiernanproved the difference for JasonOReillys team, while the juniorchampionship final saw LaraghUnited bringing the title back toStradone for the first time since 1944as they overcame favouritesMountnugent by the narrowest ofmargins. Congratulations to thewinning clubs, and condolences tothose that lost out. You will be backagain.

Keeping with the clubs, I would liketo wish them each the best of luck for2013 and thank all involved that havehelped us over the past few months inputting together their sections,whether it was through simplyproviding information, identifyingphotographs or giving interviews. Ialso wish to thank the loyaladvertisers to this publication whocontinue to support us, even in thesedifficult economic times. Yourcontinued support allows us to putthis publication together, and alsobenefits each of the clubs around thecounty, to whom we will once againbe sending 7,500 worth of ONeillsGAA equipment.

On a final note, I would like to bid afarewell to each and every gael thatwe lost during 2012, in particularJimmy Kelly, whom I had the honourof working with as assistant secretaryof the Drumlane club for three years.A native of Galway, Jimmy was afounding member of the WoodfordGaels hurling club and helpedKildallan to a junior championship titlein 1977. After moving into theDrumlane parish, he soon became astalwart of the club, with two of hissons playing at all levels for the Sonsof OConnell, and he himself would goon to serve as secretary before hisuntimely death this past April.

Shane Corrigan

3

EDITORS NOTE

EDITORS NOTEIts with great pleasure that we welcome you to this very specialedition of Breffni Blue 2013. For more than 23 years now ouraim is to bring our readers the best coverage of Gaelic gamesin Cavan thanks to the support of its devoted gaels.

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It couldnt have been easy being a Cavan seniorfootballer in 2012. Word around the Breffni Countyback in January was that training sessions were sointense and severe that players ached for days afterwardsuntil the next rigorous two-hour slog would come around.

It was the belief of manager Val Andrews that the hardwork would pay off at some point in the coming season forthe squad, which now had an entirely new look to it. Whenveterans like Mark McKeever and Ronan Flanaganarrived for the first session of the New Year they wouldhave grasped there were a lot of absentees from theprevious years crop, the most notable being one SeanJohnston.

After the disappointment of 2011, Andrews mantra wasto start the new season fresh with a new squad of playersback-boned by Ulster U21 medal winners that werehungry to establish a place in the starting 15 of the countysenior team. It meant that tough decisions would need tobe taken by the Dubliner and his selector Terry Hylandahead of the 2012 campaign.

As early as November, the duo had informed MichaelLyng, Cian Mackey, Dermot Sheridan, Gareth Smith andJohnston that their services would not be needed for thecoming season, and from there all parties would move on,with the latter eventually making a switch to KieranMcGeeneys Kildare and the St Kevins club after a six-month saga which caught the attention of the GAA world.

In the midst of an on-going media storm, Andrews andthe Cavan players did their best to keep heads down and

5

Martin Dunne in goal scoringform during the crucial Allianz FL

Division 3 win over Tipperary

SENIOR FOOTBALLERS

PLAN INMOTION

2012 was a year that saw the Cavan seniorshitting the headlines for all the wrongreasons, unfortunately. The prolongedSean Johnston transfer saga, along withthe stepping down of manager Val Andrewsin mid-season, did not make for amemorable campaign as there were toomany futile results both on and off the pitchfor the Blues. By Shane Corrigan

go about their business inpreparing for the NationalFootball League, but every sooften the question seemingly onthe tip of everyones tongueswould pop up: What aboutSeanie Johnston? Kildare?Looking back at it now, theanswers simple: Val Andrewsmade a tough decision and SeanJohnston made a tough decision.Life goes on.

Come February the playerswould only have one thing ontheir minds, which was promotionfrom Division Three of the NFL. Intheir first competitive outing of theyear, the young Cavan menwould be rocked by theconcession of three first-halfgoals from Wexford which led theSlayneysiders to a 4-9 to 1-13 winat Wexford Park. A home defeatto Longford (0-10 to 0-7) wouldfollow before the first two pointsof the season were secured onMarch 4.

It was a superb first-halfperformance at Kingspan BreffniPark which saw the home sidetopple Sligo by 0-14 to 1-8 toleave themselves with an outsidechance of finishing in the top twoof the division.

Both sides traded scores in theopening minutes and were level

on 0-2 apiece until Cavan took astrangle hold of proceedings andwere in total command as theyled 0-10 to 0-3 at the break. DavidGivney and Gearoid McKiernanheld the upper hand in the middleof the park, while Cavan Gaelsduo Martin Dunne and KevinMeehan proved to be a handful

for the Yeats Countys defence.The brilliant McKiernan stretchedCavans lead further within sevenminutes of the restart and despitea spirited comeback from thevisitors late on, Andrews menheld on for a vital victory.

Yearning to get somemomentum flowing, the playersdug in deep in their next outingaway to a struggling Tipperaryoutfit and went on a goal-spreedown in Thurles to distancethemselves away from the dropzone and closer towards the northend of the Division Three table.

Tipperary, who finished thegame with 13 men, led in theearly stages at Semple Stadiumbut goals from the impressiveMartin Dunne and MarkMcKeever put the visitors in thedriving seat by the end of the half,with a 2-6 to 0-6 advantage.Dunne, Niall McDermott andteam captain Padraic OReillychipped in with points beforewing-back Barry Watters andDunne killed off the game withtwo more green flags which sawCavan run out 4-10 to 0-14winners.

With Offaly up next at home,

6

Seanie Johnston on his return to Kingspan Breffni Park in a Kildare jersey has a disagreement with Ronan Flanagan (12)

Eugene Keating scored five points from play off Donegal's Neil McGee in the championship

Cavan looked primed to record athird win on the trot as they racedinto an early lead through thescores of Martin Dunne, NiallMcDermott and GearoidMcKiernan to hold a 0-9 to 0-5advantage.

The dismissal of Offaly full-backShane Sullivan five minutes intothe restart made it look as thoughthe Breffni men were certaintiesfor the points, but complacencycrept in amongst the home sideand when Kevin Casey convertedthe rebound of a penalty theFaithful County were in their firstlead (1-9 to 0-10). In injury-timeCavan could only muster a singlepoint, which wasenough for Offaly tohang on for their onlywin of the campaign asthe Blues were made totaste bitterdisappointment again.

Reeling from theprevious weeks poorperformance, ValAndrews charges weresix points to the goodinside as many minutesfor their Round Sixgame at Dr Hyde Parkagainst Roscommon.

David Givneys well-taken goal propelled thevisitors into a greatposition but,unfortunately, it was togo all downhill after that.By the half-way stage the Rossieswere level (0-10 to 1-7), anddespite Givney and Niall Smithkicking the first two scores of thesecond-half for Cavan, thevisitors failed to halt theiropponents momentum as DavidOGaras 37th minute goal sawthem fall behind for the first time.Dunne restored parity for Cavan10 minutes later, but the finalquarter was owned by the hostsas they triumphed to a 1-17 to 1-12 and plunged the Breffni mencloser towards relegation.

It meant that Andrews sidewould need to either win or drawtheir remaining game againstAntrim of the campaign in order toassure themselves of Division

Three football in 2013. A defeatmeant that they would have tocount on results elsewherearound the country to keep themfrom avoiding relegation.

With their safety confirmed, andno prospects of promotion, Antrimnamed six debutants for theKingspan Breffni Park clash onApril 8 and still managed to edgetheir opponents (1-4 to 0-5) bythe first-halfs conclusion thanksto Aodhan Gallaghers goal.Cavan would need to summon abig second-half performance totry and topple their visitors, butwere instead stunned by threequick goals which saw the

Saffrons cruise into anunassailable lead and finish 4-6to 0-12 winners.

Tipperarys defeat of Offaly inClonmel had been Cavanssaving grace, which sees themlining-out in the third tier again for2013, and afterwards Andrewslamented what he described asan exceptionally poor display byhis players.

Im the manager. Can you standover that? No. Would you expectCavan to put up with that? No,said the Ballymun Kickhams man.I suppose its a sad reflectionwhen we had to let Tipperary dous a favour. Its very mixedemotions. Ill be straight with you if you had told me this morning

that that was going to happen,that wed have to take a beatingand look really stupid, and Cavansurvive, I would have settled for it.

The only thing today was thatCavan football couldnt go toDivision Four. Thats the onlything Ill take home today, the restof the disappointmentyeahyoud be extremely disappointedand the lads are extremelydisappointed. We let in 4-6, whichis 10 scores, to 12. They ranthrough us and I said it out on thepitch and Ill say it again, if we goout and do that against Donegal,well be beat home. And we haveto look at that and sort it out.

A mere four days laterafter the Antrim defeat,Andrews sensationallystepped down as Cavansenior team manager,with rumours of a voteamong the players tooust the Dubliner laterbeing strongly denied byteam captain PadraicOReilly.

Incidentally, theprevious night toA n d r e w s announcement sawCavan capture theirsecond consecutiveUlster U21 title afterovercoming Tyrone atBrewster Park by 1-10to 0-10, and soon afterthe county board moved

to ratify Terry Hyland as Andrewssuccessor, with Anthony Fordebeing installed as assistantmanager for the next four years.The decision was somewhat of ano-brainer as far as the countysclubs were concerned as somany of the players which Hylandand Forde had worked with in the2011 Ulster U21 success hadalready been drafted into thesenior squad at the start of theyear.

With little over a month toprepare for the PreliminaryRound clash with Donegal,Hyland and Forde wereundoubtedly thrown in at the deepend but were confident that theplayers would be capable of

7

Terry Hyland speaks to the media after the Donegal game

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giving a honest account ofthemselves when the Ulsterchampions came to visit Cavantown on May 20.

In front of a 12,847 crowd atKingspan Breffni Park, Donegalstarted as 1/6 favourites and theyduly slotted over the openingpoint courtesy of midfielder RoryKavanagh. The Tir Chonaill menhad a lucky escape soon afterwhen Belturbet ace BrendanFitzpatrick struck the crossbar.

However, the home side keptplugging away and they were

soon in front thanks to excellentlong-range points from JackBrady, David Givney and EugeneKeating. Colm McFadden's freeclosed the gap but Keatingnonchalantly slotted over hissecond before Jim McGuinness'men drew level throughMcFadden and Neil McGee.McFadden's third converted freehad the favourites back in frontand they also hit the next twopoints to lead by 0-7 to 0-4 after28 minutes, Kavanagh and LeoMcCloone on target.

When Paddy McBrearty wasfouled, Donegal were awarded a

penalty and McFadden made nomistake to make it a six-pointgame. Neil Gallagher had a goaleffort saved superbly by JamesReilly before McFadden and MarkMcHugh added to the Donegaltally with substitute NiallMcDermott on target for Cavan.

The next two points were sharedby corner back Frank McGlynnand Givney - 1-10 to 0-6 at thethree-quarters stage. It was alltoo easy now for Donegal as NeilGallagher popped over theireleventh point, putting them eight

in front.The winners grabbed two out of

the next three points beforeCavan were awarded a latepenalty: McDermott squared upto Paul Durcan in the 59thminute, calmly placing the ball tothe corner of the net, 1-13 to 1-7.Four points were exchanged -Keating bringing his tally to 0-4from play - but McFadden's freemade it 1-16 to 1-9 with threeminutes left. The impressiveKeating notched the last score ofa game where Cavan werebeaten but certainly notdisgraced.

Cavan (Ulster SFC v Donegal):James Reilly; Killian Clarke,Padraic O'Reilly, Kevin Meehan;Jason McLoughlin, Damien Reilly,Mark McKeever; David Givney (0-2), Gearoid McKiernan (0-1);Fergal Flanagan, RonanFlanagan, Robert Maloney-Derham; Jack Brady (0-1),Eugene Keating (0-5), BrendanFitzpatrick. Subs: Tomas Corr,Niall McDermott (1-1), NiallSmith, Kevin Tierney, RaymondGalligan.

The spirited display against the

once again would-be Ulsterchampions left Cavan hoping fora kind draw in the qualifiers to tryand summon up somemomentum. Fermanagh awaywould be seen as the ideal testfor the players to improve theteams poor championship form inrecent years.

With Brewster Park having beensuch a happy hunting groundover the past two seasons for somany of Hylands squadmembers, it was no surprise thatmany were tipping the Blues tooust Peter Canavans men ontheir home turf.

9

Padraic Reilly leads around the troops at Breffni Park

10

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Ramors Jack Brady had Cavanon the scoreboard within 26seconds before Niall McDermottdoubled their lead with a free.Daniel Kille (free) openedFermanagh's account in theseventh minute, but Cavancontinued to set the early paceand had extended their lead to 0-4 to 0-1 by the 15th minute thanksto points from full forward EugeneKeating - who also missed a goalchance - and Niall Smith. But theywould only notch one more scorein half as Fermanagh tookcontrol. Tomas Corrigan landedtheir first point from play beforeKille added his second free. JackBrady restored Cavan's two-pointlead, 0-5 to 0-3, but the improvinghosts quickly levelled throughpoints from Kille and Paul Ward.

Kille was on the mark again asPeter Canavan's men took a 0-8to 0-5 lead into the break, andCavan's woes were added towhen David Givney wasstretchered off with a shoulderinjury late in the half.

Just as he had done in the firsthalf, Brady kicked an early Cavanpoint on the restart. But the ErneCounty continued to lookcomfortable as two more Killefrees and efforts from Ryan Jonesand Tomas Corrigan increasedtheir lead to 0-13 to 0-7 withBrady replying for the Breffnimen.

In the blink of an eye, however,the visitors scored two goals inquick succession to take a 2-8 to0-13 lead. Gearoid McKiernangrabbed the first after theFermanagh defence had failed todeal with a high ball in fromBrady, and then Niall McDermottburst through to add a second.

Cavan had the bit between theirteeth now as midfielder ThomasCorr and Damien Reilly extendedtheir advantage. Kille replied witha badly-needed Fermanagh pointbefore they were rocked for athird time when Keating madeamends for his first half miss with

Cavan's third goal to give them a3-10 to 0-14 lead which would beenough to see them through toRound Two.

Cavan (All-Ireland SFC qualifierv Fermanagh): James Reilly;Darragh Tighe, Killian Clarke,Padraic O'Reilly; Mark McKeever,Fergal Flanagan, Damien Reilly(0-1); David Givney, Tomas Corr(0-1); Ronan Flanagan, GearoidMcKiernan (1-1), Niall Smith (0-1); Niall McDermott (1-1), EugeneKeating (1-1), Jack Brady (0-5).Subs: Kevin Tierney (0-1), JasonMcLoughlin, Declan McKiernan(0-1), Kevin Meehan.

The win was Cavans first in theAll-Ireland SFC since their heroic0-15 to 2-8 comeback againstWicklow back in June 2010 atKingspan Breffni Park, and onethat was sorely needed to raisespirits in the camp.

The next day out it ironicallywould be Kildare, Sean Johnstonand the media circus that visitedKingspan Breffni Park, whichdemonstrated just how far thecurrent Cavan side are off the toppace as they slumped to a 3-20 to1-9 defeat at the hands of KieranMcGeeneys Lilywhites.

Heres hoping that 2013 will seea huge improvement from theplayers on the pitch and less ofthe drama off it

11

Mark McKeever out covering ahead of Donegal's Colm McFadden

Jack Brady lets fly

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Its not a place a Cavan man can say he is toooften but lately that has changed and thats theway we intend to keep it. - Left half-backMichael Brady after Cavans thrilling Ulster U21 finalvictory last April.

The Mullahoran mans words came as music to the earsof any true Cavan GAA supporter who has saw atransformation in the countys fortunes at underage levelas of late. From a prolonged wait, which has unfortunatelysaw so many promising young teams fall by the wayside,to the delivery of three Ulster titles within 12 monthsbetween minor and Under 21 level - Cavan haveestablished themselves as top dogs when it comes toUnder 21 football in Ulster.

To even whisper that notion back at the start of the 2010campaign would have been ludicrous in the eyes of many.Back then Down - beaten All-Ireland finalists from theprevious year - were setting out their stall for Ulster titlenumber three and travelled to Kingspan Breffni Park on acold March night as hot favourites to dispatch of the homeside and cruise into the last four of the province. The full-time result from that game: Cavan 3-14 Down 1-8.

That was the start of Terry Hylands successful reign withCavan U21s, and although they would go on to lose outin the Ulster final to Michael Murphy and Donegal thefollowing April, the dye had already been cast. Twelvemonths later, Hyland and co were back in Enniskillenbattling out with Tyrone, who had denied Cavan so many

13

Michael Brady, Conor Moynagh and BarryReilly lift the Ulster Under 21 silveware

UNDER 21 FOOTBALLERS

GIVING USPRIDE ANDHOPE

With the struggle of the countys seniorfootballers seemingly on-going, CavanU21s once again raised the spirits of Breffnisupporters in 2012 when they edged outTyrones challenge in Enniskillen on April11. Shane Corrigan takes a look back at thejourney that Terry Hylands chargesembarked on to retain their coveted IrishNews Cup, which they can call their own foranother year.

14

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times in the past at minor level,and in the end it was NiallMurrays 1st minute goal thatmade all the difference for theBlues as they made history with a1-10 to 0-10 victory which sawcaptain fantastic GearoidMcKiernan raising the Irish NewsCup aloft, ending a 14-year wait.

While All-Ireland finaldisappointment would follow, thesurvivors from the unforgettable2011 campaign already had nextyear in the back of their minds,with defending their newly earnedtitle as top priority.

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campaign behind them going intotheir opening Ulsterchampionship clash against ahotly-fancied Armagh side whommany were tipping to dethroneCavan of their crown.

Played at Kingspan Breffni Parkon March 21, it was seven pointsfrom the magnificent KevinTierney that ensured Cavan of asuccessful first defence of theirtitle at the Orchard Countysexpense.

Armagh, who were All-Irelandminor champions three yearsago, had no answer to theBallyhaise full-forward whosescoring tally included 0-5 fromplay. Four of his points helped thechampions into a 0-6 to 0-1 leadbefore Robbie Tasker and JamesDonnelly replied for the visitors toleave them trailing by two, 0-4 to

0-6, at the break.The Breffni men took a firm grip

on proceedings when Tierney setup Chris Conroy for a well-taken36th minute goal. The hosts wereleading 1-8 to 0-4 when Armagh'sAidan Forker was sent off on astraight red card with 13 minutesremaining. Despite going down to14 men, Armagh immediatelymanaged a goal of their own fromTasker, but they left themselveswith too much to do as Cavanpulled clear again to set up asemi-final meeting with Derry twoweeks later.

Cavan (Ulster U21FC vArmagh): C Gilsenan; J Morris, KClarke, J McLoughlin; D Sexton,C Moynagh, M Brady; P Leddy (0-1), K Brady; J Dillon, B Reilly, FFlanagan (0-1); P O'Connor, KTierney (0-7), J Brady (0-1).

15

Michael Brady celebrates at the final whistle of the Ulster final

16

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Subs: C Conroy (1-0) for Reilly, NO'Donnell for K Brady, P King forLeddy, PP O'Hara (0-1) forTierney, S Cadden for Dillon.

Derry had crushed Monaghan intheir respective quarter-final onan emphatic 3-12 to 1-3 score-line and had much of themomentum heading into the lastfour clash in Enniskillen. It wasthe Oak Leafers that looked thelikely side when the two sides metat Brewster Park on April 4, butCavan had other ideas as a lategoal from half-time substitutePaddy King sent them through tothe final and Derry crashing out.

Cavan started the game inbrilliant fashion by notching 1-2 inthe opening quarter, with Tierneycontinuing his excellent form bybagging the goal. But Derry, whowere led up front by EmmetMcGuckin, crawled their way

back into proceedings and hadthe lead by the second-half.

Emmet Bradley was doing thedamage for the men in red andwhite at that stage, but Cavanwere never out of the game andthrough Tierney and Joe Dillionthey stayed dangerously withintouching distance of the leadersuntil the dying minutes. It wasthen that Killeshandras King gota fist to Jack Bradys Route Onedelivery and sent the ball flying tothe back of the net to break Derryhearts and send the Bluestowards their third Ulster final inas many years.

Cavan (Ulster U21FC v Derry):C Gilsenan; J Morris, K Clarke, JMcLoughlin (0-1); D Sexton, CMoynagh, M Brady; P Leddy, KBrady; J Dillon (0-2), C Conroy, FFlanagan; R Lynch, K Tierney (1-5), J Brady. Subs: P King (1-0) forK Brady, S Nolan for Morris, E

O'Reilly for Lynch, S Cadden forDillon.

The victory was one thatepitomised the teams characteras Cavan set-up another finalmeeting with Tyrone at BrewsterPark seven days later.

Over 4,000 Cavan supportersmade the trip to Enniskillen andwere barely in their seats beforesliding towards the edge andjumping with delight whenDarragh Sextons first minutepenalty hit the Tyrone net.

The young Breffni men wouldnever relinquish their lead afterthat, as Kevin Tierneys accuracykept Tyrone out of reach. TheRed Hands did hit back with freesof their own from RichardDonnelly and Darren McCurrybefore midfielder Harry OgConlan levelled.

However, three frees from

17

Joe Dillon in possession against Tyrone

Tierney at number 14 hadHyland's charges 1-4 to 0-5 to thegood at the break. With MichaelBrady and Jason McLoughlinexcellent in defence and PackieLeddy dominant around themiddle, the holders tightenedtheir grip on proceedings after therestart.

Two more Tierney frees and afine Raymond Lynch effort fromplay had them five points clear forthe first time as their opponentsbegan to dwindle. Scores fromNiall Sludden and TommyCanavan narrowed the gap tothree points, but they just couldn'tget any closer as Cavandeservedly retained their title.

Cavan (Ulster U21FC vTyrone): C Gilsenan; FFlanagan, K Brady, J McLoughlin;D Sexton (1-0), C Moynagh, MBrady; P Leddy, K Clarke; J Dillon(0-1), C Conroy, R Lynch (0-1); JBrady (0-3), K Tierney (0-5), NO'Donnell. Subs: P King forBrady, B Reilly for Dillon, S Nolanfor Conroy, PP O'Hara for Reilly.

After the final whistle, adelighted Terry Hyland, who,incidentally, would go on to beappointed county senior managerin the weeks that followed,praised his players for their effortthroughout the game.

This was a new group ofplayers from last year," theLacken man stated. Theybrought their own style of play toit. Tyrone have been thebenchmark for the last 10 years,but fair play to our boys. We hadto work exceptionally hardthroughout and especially in thelast 10 minutes when Tyrone keptcoming at us, and at the endthere was only three pointsbetween the teams.

Injured captain Barry Reillycame off the bench to play hispart in the historic victory andafter delivering a mostmemorable winning speech, theKingscourt man heaped praise onhis team mates, particularly those

in defence, who he felt made thekey difference for Cavan on thenight.

Its a great feeling, he said,the score-line is just acoincidence. Niall Murray got thegoal last year and DarraghSexton got it this year, anotherGaels man, just a coincidence butwell take it as it comes.

We said two weeks ago afterthe Derry game that we createdhistory by being the first Under 21team in three Ulster finals in a rowbut there was no point being in afinal unless we went on and wonit. It took character to win ittonight and these boys haveplenty of character, plenty ofbottle. The six backs and theother two or three that came onwere excellent tonight. Theforwards worked hard too,tackling and winning dirty ball, butbig shout-outs must go to thebacks, they were very goodtonight. It is a proud momentwithout a shadow of a doubt.

While the players would begiven plenty of time to celebratetheir triumph, as opposed to the2011 debacle which saw themplaying their All-Ireland semi-finalagainst Wexford three days later(and winning), sights were quicklyset on a showdown withConnacht championsRoscommon on April 21.

However, the short trip toLongford would prove adisappointing one for Cavansupporters as their team simplyfailed to live up to their potentialon the day, mustering only fourscores in a 2-7 to 2-2 defeat atthe hands of the Rossies.

After the winners had made thebetter start at Pearse Park,Cavan got a timely boost whenKevin Tierney plundered a goal,firing in off the bottom of thecrossbar on nine minutes. JoeDillon added a point for the Ulsterchampions but their Connachtcounterparts replied in style witha Conor Daly goal. That propelledRoscommon towards a 1-3 to 1-1

half-time lead, despite havingplayed against the breeze in thefirst-half.

Dual star Niall Kilroy stretchedthe lead to three within secondsof the restart and Smith showedwonderful composure to make it1-5 to 1-1 after 35 minutes. ChrisConroy replied and Rossiesgoalkeeper Tadgh Lowe made anamazing save to deny RaymondLynch a Cavan goal. SubstituteCiaran Murtagh added to thewinning tally but Tierney set up athrilling finish when he drilled alast-minute shot to the top cornerof the net, putting it at 2-2 to 1-6.

However, in the first minute ofadded time, Compton clinchedthe winning goal, which hedropped into an empty net andSmith tagged on the last scorefrom a free in the third addedminute to end Cavans campaign.

Cavan (All-Ireland U21 semi-final v Roscommon): CGilsenan; C Moynagh, K Clarke, JMcLoughlin; F Flanagan, DSexton, M Brady; P Leddy, KBrady; J Dillon (0-1), C Conroy (0-1), J Brady: N O'Donnell, KTierney (2-0), R Lynch. Subs: PKing for J McLoughlin, PP O'Harafor N O'Donnell, S Reilly for PPO'Hara, D McVeety for J Dillon.

After the defeat, a disappointedTerry Hyland, who went on topraise his team for their effortsthroughout the campaign,admitted that his side werebeaten by a better team in thesemi-final.

In fairness Roscommondeserved their win, they were thebetter team all through, said theCavan boss. Our fellas just didntseem to come out of the trapstoday for some reason but youregoing to get days like that. Itssomething that well have toanalyse and look at and see didwe do something wrong in thepreparation side of things. Butyou have to hand it toRoscommon, they were the betterteam on the day.

18

Eugene Keating kicks one of his fivepoints from play against Donegal andlets Mark McHugh know he is around

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Aprovincial title in any code is always wellappreciated by a GAA county. But when it comesto football and Cavan, Breffni supporterswelcome it with open arms as the past summerdemonstrated when their junior footballers made somehistory by defeating Kildare on a 1-13 to 0-9 score-line inthe Leinster JFC final.

Having lost the previous two finals of the competition,Terry Hyland, who has been at the helm since 2008, whenthe county first entered the Leinster JFC race, and hisyoung team were keen on mounting yet another run in thecompetition. It meant that Hyland and co would have toadjust their busy schedules come the summer and traveleast for every game, as teams outside the Leinsterprovince could not be afforded home advantage.

The opening game of the campaign came in the form ofa quarter-final away to Wexford on May 30, in theaftermath of Cavans Ulster SFC Preliminary Rounddefeat to Donegal at Kingspan Breffni Park, where Hylandwould also don the Blues bainisteoir bib as he watchedhis team fall to a six-point defeat at the hands of thewould-be provincial champions.

While Hyland wouldnt be able to call upon any of theplayers used in the Tir Chonaill defeat, he was well awareof the ingredients at hand having oversaw the richfortunes of the countys U21 footballers since 2010 andbeen involved with development squads two yearsprevious to that. When it came time to travel down to

21

Keith Fannin accepts the Leinster JFC trophyfrom provincial chairman Martin Skelly

JUNIOR FOOTBALLERS

THIRD TIMELUCKY

This past June saw the junior footballers ofCavan make history when they defeatedKildare to claim a first ever Leinster title.Shane Corrigan takes a look back at thevictories on route towards the provincialdecider in Newbridge, where the Breffnimen finally came up trumps at the thirdtime of asking.

22

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Wexford, the Lacken man wouldhave an idea of the team hewanted to line-out and who tohave in reserve if things werentto go according to plan.

Played at Farmleigh Park,Cavan had their noses in frontafter the first 10 minutes beforestriking the first of the games fivegoals after Chris Conroy spedpast the Wexford backs to rifle tothe net. The Lavey mans majorsettled the visitors in perfectly asthey looked to deal with the threatof former All Star Mattie Fordedown the other end. Fresh backfrom injury, Rory Dunne would beleft with the task of guarding theKilanerin sharpshooter,marshalling him to a point fromopen play. The home side wouldalso be set-back by theconcession of two more goalsbefore half-time from DeclanMcKiernan and Martin Dunne,which sent Cavan in at the breakwith a commanding 3-7 to 0-7advantage.

The Model men showed moreurgency in the second-half as twofrees from Forde and arebounded penalty by PaulMurphy brought them back intomatters. But it was merelymomentarily as the superiorly fitvisitors rocketed in their fourthgoal via substitute BrendanMurray to close out a 4-11 to 1-12win and move into the semi-finalsof the competition for a thirdconsecutive year.

Cavan (Leinster JFC vWexford): James Farrelly;Darragh Tighe, Rory Dunne,Fergal Slowey (0-1); EndaOConnell, Joshua Hayes, KillianBrady; Shane Gaffney, DeclanMcKiernan (1-1); Chris Conroy(1-0), Martin Reilly (0-2, 1 45),Keith Fannin; Oisin OConnell (0-1), Barry McKiernan (0-2, 1f),Martin Dunne (1-3, 2f). Subs:Brendan Murray (1-0), DarrenTiernan (0-1).

Seven days later and Cavanwere on the road again, making

the short trip to Pearse Parkwhere a battle with Longfordawaited them. The midlanderswere defiant against a Cavanoutfit which had finished thegame with seven Ulster U21medal winners on board, andlooked to have pulled away in thethird quarter after an evenopening half.

A Robbie Smyth goal put thehome side in the driving-seatearly on in the resumption, butCavan werent ready to give upthe fight and through a poachedgoal from Cavan Gaels aceMartin Dunne they were rightback in contention.

Fergal Slowey (Ballyhaise),Darragh Tighe (Killeshandra) andJoshua Hayes (Cootehill) heldfirm at the back to keep theiropponents at bay in the closingstages, while their team mates upfront hunted for the winning goal.It would come deep in injury-timewhen Darren Tiernan brokepossession to a lightening quickMartin Reilly, who smashed to theLongford net to snatch victoryfrom the jaws of defeat and sendCavan into the provincial decideron a 2-7 to 1-9 score-line.

Cavan (Leinster JFC vLongford): James Farrelly;Darragh Tighe, Damien Barkey,Fergal Slowey; Enda OConnell,Joshua Hayes, Killian Brady;Shane Gaffney (0-1), BrendanMurray; Chris Conroy, MartinReilly (1-1, 1f), Keith Fannin;Oisin OConnell (0-1), BarryMcKiernan (0-1, 1f), MartinDunne (1-4, 4f). Subs: ConorMcClarey, Daragh Sexton, DarrenTiernan, Paul OConnor.

The odds would be firmlystacked against Cavan on the lastWednesday in June when theyjourneyed down to Newbridge totake on defending Leinsterchampions Kildare on their hometurf at St Conleths Park. TheLilywhites had emphaticallydefeated the Breffni men by 5-8 to1-9 in the previous years decider

and there was a revengeincentive for some of the Cavanplayers that had been involved inthat heavy loss.

This time Hyland would line-outan arguably stronger side to thatof the 2011 crop, but the earlysigns in the game were ominousas Kildare raced into an earlythree-point lead in front of theirhome support.

A superb Declan McKiernan freefrom all of 50 metres got the ballrolling for Cavan 13 minutes in,before the Killeshandra manwould be involved again twominutes later when he deliveredinto Martin Dunne, who foundCavan Gaels team mate ConorMcClarey on the edge of theKildare square to turn and shootto the net. Dunne and earlysubstitute Barry Wattersstretched the visitors lead to four,before their opponents got twoback to leave it at 1-6 to 0-7 forthe break.

In front, a Cavan side whichboasted seven provincial finalwinners from the previous yearwerent going anywhere andagain cancelled-out early second-half scores from Kildare viaDeclan McKiernan and the lethalDunne. Rock solid centre-backJoshua Hayes set-up Dunne forhis fourth point soon after, and asKildare looked to rally they couldfind no way past the likes ofDamien Barkey, Fergal Slowey orKillian Brady, whom were superbthroughout, while McKiernan andShane Gaffney dominated atcentre-field.

Dunnes third free and a sweetlystruck Martin Reilly 45 put theicing on the cake for Cavan asthey sealed a historic victory,which saw team captain KeithFannin become the first Breffninative to get his hands on theLeinster JFC crown.

Cavan (Leinster JFC final):James Farrelly; Damien Barkey,Rory Dunne, Fergal Slowey;Enda OConnell, Joshua Hayes,Killian Brady; Shane Gaffney,

23

Declan McKiernan (0-3); ChrisConroy, Martin Reilly (0-2), KeithFannin; Conor McClarey (1-0),Barry McKiernan (0-1), MartinDunne (0-5). Subs: PaulO'Connor (0-2), Barry Watters (0-1), Oisin O'Connell, JamesMorris.

Fannin, who has been one ofthe leading club footballers inCavan with his native DrumgoonEire Og over the last decade, wasleft feeling proud afterwards at StConleths Park.

Im a very proud man today, anytime youre captain of yourcounty, its always a proudmoment, Fannin beamed after

lifting the Cup. The Leinstercompetition is a greatcompetition, were in it for threeyears and we finally got to win it.

Hylands men would have towait over a month and a halfbefore heading into their All-Ireland semi-final showdown withfavourites Kerry in Nenagh, CoTipperary, where they would aimto book their countys first finalappearance in the grade since1962.

With the club championships infull swing by the end of July, thesquad had little chance to preparecollectively for the last four clashand would be going in against the

Kingdom with the odds againstacked against them.

Kerrys rampant start left Cavanplaying catch up as the Munsterchampions went in at the breakleading by 1-8 to 1-3, with theonce again impressive MartinDunne (scorer of 2-5 on the day)bagging the Blues goal. Kerry,who, incidentally, would go on towin the All-Ireland final againstMayo, stretched their lead atevery opportunity and despiteanother Dunne goal had minimalfuss in deservedly booking theirplace into another All-Ireland finalto draw the curtain on amemorable season for Cavan.

24

Paul OConnor fires a shot at goal during the Leinster JFC final in Newbridge

Brendan Fitzpatricksurging forward

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Recent years have seen somewhat of a trenddeveloping when it comes to Cavans underagefootballers reaching the latter stages of the All-Ireland championship, in both mens and ladies codes,and this year was no different much to the delight ofBreffni fans.

Under the guidance of Mullahoran man Fergal Brady,Cavan were simply outstanding in this past summersU16 All-Ireland B Championship, trouncing every teamthey encountered on their way to a final meeting withTipperary, who had defeated them heavily in the 2011semi-final, on August 25 in Banagher.

Brady and his selectors, Dessie Cahill, Denise Downeyand Patricia OReilly, knew from the outset that theingredients were right within the panel to win silverwareand had the players well-tuned by the time their Ulsterchampionship opener with Down came around. A winwould put Cavan straight through to the provincial finaland on the day the Blues put forth an excellent display tocrush their Mourne opponents on a 6-12 to 1-7 score-line.

The win sent Cavan cruising into an Ulster finalshowdown with Fermanagh as firm favourites. In recentyears, both counties have played out some tense andexciting encounters at ladies senior level, with silverwarealso on the line, but on this occasion it was Cavan thatemphatically disposed of their neighbours by 8-18 to 0-2which saw team captain Kate McIntyre of the St Finbarsclub lifting the cup on behalf of her county.

Having defended their provincial crown, Cavans sights

27

Aishling Sheridandrives forward

UNDER 16 LADIES

UNDER 16LADIESMAKEHISTORY

The Cavan Under 16 Ladies truly caught theeye this past August when they overcameTipperarys challenge to deliver a historicAll-Ireland title to the Breffni County. Wetook a look back on what was anunforgettable few months for FergalBradys victorious team.

were now set on going a stepfurther than that of their 2011campaign by reaching the All-Ireland final, with Connachtchampions Sligo standing in theirway at the last four stage.

Playing with the aid of thebreeze in the first-half, Cavanquickly stamped their authority onthe game by firing themselvesinto a 0-7 to nothing lead inside

the first 15 minutes in Killoe, CoLongford. Martha Coyle, BethFarrelly-McGee, Aisling Smith,Sarah Murray and AislingSheridan were all contributors totheir teams tally, while Sligo werekept at bay by a stern Breffnidefence with Shauna Lynch, inparticular, outstanding at full-back.

Sligo pulled back a score

through Denise McGrath, but theYeats women simply couldntcope with the Cavan tide asMurray, McGee, Sheridan andBreffni McEntee fired over morescores to leave their team with acommanding 0-12 to 0-1 lead athalf-time.

In the second-half, Cavanpicked up where they left off bylanding more points through

Sheridan and Murray. Six minutesin and the would-be winnerswould bag their first goal whensome splendid work fromSheridan saw her rattle a shot offthe upright, where McGee wasquickest to pounce and bury tothe net, which all but killed off thegame as a contest. Sligo pushedback with two consolation points,but they were just no match for

the Ulster champions, who fired intwo more goals in the space ofthree minutes both of whichcame from the deadly Murraybefore McGee added anotherpoint to round off an impressive 3-19 to 0-3 victory.

In the days building up to the All-Ireland final, Brady described histeam as being in a quietlyconfident mood going in against

Tipperary. The team would haveto travel to Banagher, Co Offalyfor the big game against Tipp,who boasted 16 members fromthe panel which emphaticallydefeated Cavan in the previousyears semi-final by 2-14 to 1-3.

There was no doubt thatTipperary would once more begoing in against the Ulsterchampions as favourites, but

28

Captain Kate McIntyre and her Cavan team mates celebrate with the All-Ireland trophy

Brady and his selectors knew thattheir team would be hard beatenif they performed to their fullpotential on the day.

Well-drilled from the word go,Cavan flew out of the trapsagainst their Munstercounterparts and through thescores of Beth Farrelly-McGee(2) and team captain KateMcIntyre they propelledthemselves into a 0-3 to nothinglead inside the opening sevenminutes. Tipp replied with a pointbefore being awarded a penaltywhich was expertly converted tomove into their first lead but therewas to be no let up from theiropponents, who responded likechampions. Aisling Sheridan,daughter of Cavan footballerGerry, McIntyre and a SarahMurray free pushed the hungryCavan women back into a two-point advantage as the gameentered the second quarter.

Tipp would again find the spaceto bang in their second goal,which saw Cavan having to digdeep once more to shoot fouranswered points, with Belturbetace Murray (2), Sarah McCabeand Niamh OShea re-establishing their lead. Cavanlooked to be headed for the half-time lead, before disaster struckonce more when a point effortfrom Tipperary captain AislingMcCarthy fell towards the Cavannet, where goalkeeper AmyGaynor pulled off a superb savebut Roisin Howard was first to therebound, which saw Tipp take inthe 3-3 to 0-10 half-time lead.

Cavan would make a fewtactical changes for the second-half, which included KillygarrysRachel Talbot coming in at wing-forward, and after some earlymissed chances Cavan wouldhave the first score of the second-half when Aisling Sheridanbooted over. From the resultantkick-out, centre-back Neasa Byrdwon possession for the Breffniwomen and fed Talbot, who hadher shot blocked down beforeSheridan stuck the rebound to theback of the Tipperary net.

The goal was a huge boost forCavan and theyd be handedanother chance in the 42ndminute to really gain a strongholdon the game when KateMcIntyres shot was foot-blockedin the square and the refereeawarded a penalty. Sarah Murraykept her shot low, but the effortwhizzed just wide of the post. Themiss was a let off for the PremierCounty, who were now getting ittough to penetrate a solid full-back line made up of EimearGallen, Shauna Lynch and LucyMcFarlane. Moments later Cavanwould eventually land theirsecond goal when Sarah McCabeand Beth Farrelly-McGeecombined to send Talbot throughand the Killygarry attacker foundthe bottom corner of the net toreally put Tipperary on the backfoot coming into the final quarter.

A third Cavan goal via BethFarrelly-McGee rebounding in herown penalty put the Blues firmlyin the driving-seat, as the leadwas now 3-11 to 3-3, withTipperarys scoring drought nowextending to more than 20minutes, which was eventuallyended by a Sinead Buckley point.The score lifted the Munsterwomen as they went on to shoota quick 1-1 to narrow the gapdown to just a goal. In a flashthough, Cavan would double theirlead when Aisling Sheridan set-up super-sub Talbot for hersecond three-pointer.

With five minutes left, Tipp threwthe kitchen sink at the leadersand grabbed a scrappy goal froma 25-metre free to leave things ona knife edge heading towards theclosing stages.

Cavan held firm at the back untilinjury-time when the concessionof a 20-metre free had theirsupporters biting their nails, butSinead Buckleys effort of a goalflew over the crossbar, ratherthan under it. Another scramble inthe Cavan square would ensuemoments later, but heroics fromBallyhaises Hannah Dugganmade sure the leather didnt hitthe back of the net with the ball

finishing up wide and from theresultant kick-out the full-timewhistle sounded, confirmingCavan as All-Ireland champions.

Jubilation followed as themonths of hard work andendeavour from the players andmanagement, who went througha total of 80 training sessionsduring the season, had paid offand a long-awaited All-Ireland titlewas delivered to the county.

Later that evening, the playersand management would beintroduced as All-Irelandchampions to a crowd atKingspan Breffni Park at the half-time interval of a senior clubchampionship match, duringwhich they justly received anovation from those in attendanceat the game.

Cavan U16 Ladies panel: AmyGaynor (Ballinagh), Emer Gallen(Killygarry), Shauna Lynch(Crosserlough), Lucy McFarlane(Ballymachugh), Caoimhe Smith(Lurgan), Neasa Byrd(Crosserlough), Sarah Nulty(Lurgan), Breffni McEntee(Shercock), Sarah Murray(Belturbet), Sarah McCabe(Knockbride), Kate McIntyre (StFinbars, capt), Aisling Sheridan(Mullahoran), Beth Farrelly-McGee (Cuchullains), HollyLynch (Bailieborough), ShannonLeddy (Crosserlough), RachelTalbot (Killygarry), Niamh OShea(Killygarry), Hannah Duggan(Ballyhaise), Ciara Shalvey(Crosserlough), Rosin Galligan(Denn), Caoimhe McDermott(Killeshandra), Shauna Murphy(Killygarry), Aideen Coyle (StFinbars), Teresa Clarke(Ballymachugh), ShannonMaguire (Crosserlough), FriedaDolan (Belturbet), Kerri McGuirk(Bailieborough), Rebecca Smith(Cornafean), Paige Conroy(Killygarry), Colette Donohoe(Lavey), Roisin Leddy(Killygarry), Bronach McGovern(Cornafean).

29

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Theres a GAA philosophy out there somewherethat says: scoring forwards win championships.Gaelic football, in particular, has seen countlessteams at both club and inter-county level adopt ultra-defensive systems in recent years, with success to followin some cases, but a deadly forward is still a deadlyforward no matter what way you look at the game.

During Cavans successful Ulster U21 Championshipcampaign this past season, Kevin Tierney proved justhow valuable a forward close to goal with speed,accuracy and brimming confidence can be. The full-forward devastated the stern defences of Armagh, Derryand Tyrone to help shoot Terry Hylands young men to asecond successive Irish News Cup, along with an All-Ireland semi-final berth.

Back in January, that was the aim according to Tierney,who had been a part of Hylands squad in 2011 butmissed out on the historic Ulster final win and was keenon making up for lost time.

We had been doing a bit ourselves up until the firstweek of January and after that we would have beentraining collectively with the Ulster championship startingin March, explained Tierney.

It was a new team from the way we looked at it andalthough there were some of the lads there from last year,

31

Kevin Tierney holds offTyrones Dean McNally duringthe Cadbury Ulster U21FC final

KEVIN TIERNEY

STEPPINGUP A TIER

Scorer of 3-17 during Cavans All-IrelandUnder 21 Football Championship campaignthis past spring, Ballyhaise sharpshooterKevin Tierney was central to the youngBreffni mens Ulster title defence in 2012.Shane Corrigan spoke to the 21-year-oldabout an unforgettable few months in theblue jersey which also saw him making hissenior championship debut for Cavan.

there were still a lot of us thatwanted to play in an Ulster finaland win a medal. I suppose theaim for us would have been to winthe Hastings Cup and get back tothe Ulster final and try and go onebetter in the All-Ireland.

We won our first game againstRoscommon in the Hastings Cupand beat Longford after extra-time in the final, so we had some

tough games under our beltsheading into the championship.

The teams Hastings Cupsuccess emulated that of the2011 crops triumph the previousFebruary and while expectationsgrew around the team, anadamant Tierney explained thatthe players never felt underpressure going into any of theirfour games of the campaign.

Cavans Ulster title defence

would start on March 21 at hometo Armagh. Boasting manymembers from the All-IrelandMinor Championship winning sideof 2009, the Orchard County werefavourites to dethrone theirBreffni counterparts of theircoveted crown but didnt accountfor a sizzling start from the hostswhich saw the on-form Tierneylanding four first-half points to

help his side to a 0-6 to 0-4 lead.The Ballyhaise man added three

more to his tally after the restartand set-up Laveys Chris Conroyfor the clinching goal, which sawCavan move into the last four onan impressive 1-11 to 1-5 score-line.

I think we were excited andquietly confident heading into thatgame. We were at home and thepressure would have been on

them (Armagh) because theywere favourites even though wewere defending champions,Tierney stated.

We started off well and wentsomething like three points upearly on but we let them back intoit just before half-time. I think thecrowd lifted us a bit in the second-half and when Chris Conroy gotthe goal we were always in

control after that.The win pitted Cavan in a tough

semi-final with Derry at BrewsterPark, Enniskillen. The OakLeafers had been on fire in theirrespective quarter-final againstMonaghan, winning on by anemphatic 3-12 to 1-3, and weredetermined to keep the good formgoing when they met Cavan onApril 4.

Despite having viewed Derrys

32

Its two in a row as Cavan celebrate retaining their Ulster U21FC title

assault on Monaghan first hand,Tierney and co were again quietlyconfident going into the last fourclash, knowing that a win wouldsee piece of history being madein Cavan becoming the firstcounty to reach three successiveUlster U21FC finals.

Tierney again would provesalient for the Breffni men upfront, scoring 1-5 to rattle adefiant Derry outfit which wouldonly be killed off at the end by alate goal from substitute PaddyKing.

Derry had hammeredMonaghan in their quarter-final.We watched a video of the gameand saw that they missed a lot ofgoal chances apart from the threethey scored in the game, so weknew it was going to be toughagainst them, Tierney admitted.

They played very defensiveagainst us but we managed to geta goal early on in the game. Wethought that might have been theplatform for us but they cameback at us and were ahead in thelast 15 minutes. Paddy Kingcame on that day for us, caughtsome great ball and got thewinning goal for us. It was a closecall but I think the boys knew if weemptied the tank that wed haveenough to win the game.

It meant it would be Tyroneagain in an Ulster final for Cavanand all the excitement and hopethat came with it.

Having lost the 2011 decider, theRed Hands had a major revengeincentive heading into theBrewster Park clash but Tierneyand a few of his team mateswould have also recalled theheartbreak of 2008 when KyleConeys injury-time scores deniedMickey Grahams Cavan, whohad went ahead with a Tierneygoal five minute from time, aplace in the Ulster MinorChampionship final. Incidentally,Tyrone would go on to enjoy All-Ireland glory after defeating Mayo

in a replay at Pearse Park inLongford.

Tierney would put up a vital 0-5for Cavan on the night after DaraSextons first minute penalty hadthe young Breffni men in controlearly on. While Tyrone battledback gallantly, the scores of JackBrady, Joe Dillon, RaymondLynch and pressure frees fromTierney kept them at bay longenough for the Blues to secure a1-10 to 0-10 win. Cavans top-scorer on the night cited a teamperformance as being the keydifference on the night.

Again I think everyone wasquietly confident going in. It was anew team and we wanted to winnew things, said the FroebelCollege student.

We got off to the perfect startagain by scoring a penalty in thefirst minute and I think that alwaysjust kept us ahead of them. Thework rate from one to 15 wasamazing and the couple ofturnovers that we got made ahuge difference for us. KillianClarke caught some great ball forus and Jason McLoughlin wasoutstanding as well, but it wasdefinitely a team effort fromeveryone that day.

Tierney explained that while theplayers did savour the victory, thecelebrations were still somewhatlow-key afterwards as sightsquickly turned to an All-Irelandsemi-final showdown withConnacht championsRoscommon.

The Rossies had providedCavan with a severe opening testin the Hastings Cup and theplayers knew that they would becoming up against an improvedside which had defeated Galwayand Mayo on the way to theirprovincial title out west.

On the day, Cavan simply didntshow up and were there for thetaking against a hungryRoscommon outfit, losing out by2-7 to 2-2, with you know who

bagging both goals for the Ulsterchampions.

When we played them in theHastings Cup we were down bytwo points and got a late goal towin it, so we knew that we weregoing to be in for a battle againstthem, said Tierney.

One or two things just wentagainst us on the day. We got offto a good start but they just pulledaway from us and even thoughwe got it back to within two pointsthey managed to get a goal lateon which killed it off. It was verydisappointing because we justnever got going against them.

While disappointment wouldfollow the defeat, there was goodnews for Tierney and many of histeam mates as they were draftedinto the county senior panel in theweeks that followed by newlyappointed manager Terry Hyland.

Tierney would make his UlsterSenior Football Championshipdebut as a late substitute in thedefeat to Donegal and would getan entire second-half in thequalifier win over Fermanagh two moments of his still youngcareer which he will never forget.

There was a good few from thepanel brought into the seniorsafter we lost to Roscommon, heexplained. The training was veryintense, but I suppose it had to bewhen youre going in against ateam like Donegal in your firstmatch. Looking at Donegal now Isuppose you could say we didwell to put it up to them the waywe did, but its still alwaysdisappointing to lose achampionship game. AgainstFermanagh that day we didntplay all that well, especially in thefirst-half, but I think the way wecame back at them in the second-half showed the character thelads had.

Kevin Tierney is currentlystudying a HDP in Teaching atFroebel College of Education inCo Dublin.

33

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Its never easy trying to defend an Ulster title. Just asksome of Cavans greats from the 1997 batch and thelikes of Dermot McCabe and Anthony Forde, both ofwhom have stepped up the managerial plate in recentyears, will tell you that the ensuing year was a hell forleather battle which saw them eventually lose their graspon The Anglo-Celt Cup by a margin of two points toDonegal. The Tir Chonaill men themselves would go on tosuffer heartbreak in Clones, where Derry, who Cavanconquered the previous year, ran out 1-7 to 0-8 winners.

Any GAA buff will recall McCabe as being such a focalpart to the Blues long-awaited Ulster SFC triumph backthen, but what many dont know is that the Gownastalwart is still managing to inspire ever since.

On July 17, 2011, McCabe and fellow clubman GaryDonohoe steered Cavan to a famous Ulster MFC finalvictory over Armagh which ended a 37-year wait for thetrophy to return to the Breffni County. Defeat to Galway inthe All-Ireland quarter-finals in Longford would follow, butafterwards Donohoe was hopeful that the crop to comewould be pushing on to win up in the northern provinceagain.

Come the following February, Donohoe and McCabewould be setting out their stall for a second season andwith six survivors from the previous year, and they wereconfident that another provincial victory was within theirreach.

However, the Gowna duo didnt see it as a divine rightthat their team would be getting back to an Ulster decider

35

Full forward Conor Madden gets awayfrom Donegal's Aidan Mc Ginley

MINOR FOOTBALLERS

A MINORLAPSE

While 2012 would unravel as a season thatended all too quickly for the minorfootballers of Cavan, following a first roundchampionship defeat to Donegal, the Ulsterchampions of the previous year stillprovided Breffni supporters with plenty ofoptimism for the coming years. ShaneCorrigan reports.

36

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in five months time and when thedraw threw up a PreliminaryRound meeting with Donegal atKingspan Breffni Park, they werewell aware of the task at hand.Rigorous training sessions and aseries of tough challenge gameswould be the way forward in thebuild-up to the Breffni teens firstcompetitive outing of 2012against Armagh in the UlsterMinor Football League on March24.

With home advantage, theUlster champions were keen ongetting their season off to theperfect start and edged matters inthe opening stages withB a l l y m a c h u g hmidfielder LiamBuchanan andCavan Gaels AndrewGraham (two frees)inflicting the damageon Armagh. Thevisitors responded,but the scores ofMichael Argue andVincent Coyle keptthem at bay asCavan went in at thebreak with a 0-6 to 0-4 lead.

In the second-half,B a i l i e b o r o u g h sArgue picked upwhere he had left offby raising two whiteflags to double thehosts lead, beforeArmagh cut theirdeficit back to two heading intothe final quarter. A Conor Maddenpoint looked to have Cavan in theclear, but the young Orchard menrefused to throw in the towel andrallied late on to snatch a draw (0-10 to 0-10) on a day which sawDonohoe and McCabe run therule over 19 players in their squadas they looked to settle on afinalised panel for the Ulsterchampionship in the weeksahead.

The following Friday night wouldsee the squad having to journeyup to Newcastle to take on Downand suffer a narrow 2-11 to 3-6loss at the hands of the young

Mourne men. The defeat pinnedCavans hopes of advancementto the semi-finals on a clash withneighbours Monaghan in Cloneson April 7.

In a close first-half, it was thevisitors that controlled matters atthe interval by 0-8 to 0-5 thanks toscores from Andrew Graham,Ben Kiernan and Aaron Browne,along with a fine stop from ChrisMagee in the Cavan goal 20minutes in.

Monaghan flew out of the trapsupon the resumption and quicklytrimmed the difference down toone, before outweighing an Arguefree with two more scores to bring

the teams level by the 41stminute. It was nip and tuck overthe next 10 minutes before Cavancrucially got their noses back infront with five minutes to go whenCootehills Tom Hayes curledover from an acute angle.

The sending off of PadraicKiernan saw Monaghan reducedto 14 men coming towards theadded minutes, when Cavansealed the win with scores fromSean Gilchreest and Graham toset-up a semi-final clash withTyrone.

The team would again have tohead north to take on a hotly-

fancied Tyrone side with homeadvantage at Healy Park inOmagh. The Breffni men wouldalso be without the services ofmidfielder Liam Buchanan for thelast four encounter, which sawConor Madden drafted in at full-forward and Michael Arguetransferring up to centre-field.

Tyrone merely edgedproceedings in the openingstages against the reluctantvisitors, whom had Barry Fortune,Gerard Smith and Aaron Watsonto rely on in defence. It was Smiththat opened Cavans accountafter a slow start, while Grahamand Madden kept the Blues within

touching distance oftheir opponents.

Senan Gilchreestwas an earlyintroduction byDonohoe andMcCabe and had animmediate impact insteadying the shipfor his side, asmoments later sawKevin Brady thumpin a long ball to theTyrone squarewhere Grahamflicked to Maddenand the Gownasharpshooter buriedpast Sean Fox tosurge Cavan into a1-7 to 2-3 half-timelead.

The leaders hadthe wind at their

backs for the second-half andsoon extended their advantage tothree via Madden and Gilchreest,but the would-be Ulsterchampions had more fight left inthem, demonstrating theirpedigree, and fired in a penaltythat was followed by points fromCormac ONeill and RuairiMcGlone to seize control, recordthe win (3-9 to 1-12) and moveinto the final on April 28 againstDerry in Clones, where they werecomfortable 1-10 to 0-8 winners.

While the defeat wasdisappointing, it was far from asdisaster as far as the Cavan

37

Cavan's Enda Flanagan puts pressure on John McGarvey during the Ulster MFC

management were concerned asattentions swiftly turned towardsthe Donegal clash with four hardwork-outs under the playersbelts.

Wins against Longford, Louthand All-Ireland championsTipperary and a fully fit squad, barLiam Buchanan (injured) andChris Magee (ill), made forpromising signs in the weeksleading up to the May 20showdown at Kingspan BreffniPark.

Cavan carried the favourites tag one which hasnt suited them

down through years - into thegame and everything appeared tobe going according to script whenthey opened up a 0-3 to 0-0 leadinside the opening five minutes,despite playing into a stiff breeze.The first three scores camecourtesy of Senan Gilchreest,Niall Walsh and Conor Maddenmuch to the delight of the homesupport, whom were expectingbig things after the excitement of2011 and the recent back-to-backUlster championship success ofthe county Under 21s.

But before long Donegal werelevel, and the visitors suddenlyburst into life as points fromBrendan McNelis and full-forwardWillie Gillespie saw them racethrough the gears and help themtowards a 0-8 to 0-4 interval lead,with an Andrew Graham scoreregistered as Cavans sole reply.

Undoubtedly spurred on byDonohoe and McCabe, whomwould introduce Buchanan afterhalf-time, Cavan shot three pointsfrom play inside the first fiveminutes of the second-half. VinnyCoyle was sent thr