2010 has already been a year of celebration for St Gall’s.

The Belfast club is marking its centenary with a year-long programme of events which have been complemented by some superb performances on the field.
The Milltown-based club have already had one visit to Croke Park this season, when their hurlers reached the All-Ireland intermediate final, where they lost to Kilkenny side Freshford.
In the big ball game, St Gall’s have now reached four Ulster football finals since 2001, the start of their current run of dominance in Antrim football. In the same period, the county’s footballers have won the same number of Ulster Championship matches in total.
Why then have St Gall’s been able to break the mould in terms of Antrim football, and why do they dominate the football scene within the county?
The answer is complex, but there are four key areas that St Gall’s pride themselves on, and through which they have developed their current batch of champions.
Underage development, a strong sense of club unity, a mix of different managers and an openness to outside influences have all come together at the Milltown club.
Sean Kelly Snr, whose two sons Sean and Mark play senior football for the club, has coached teams of various ages at St Gall’s and he currently assists Senior football manager Lenny Harbinson.
Sean points to the ground work laid by the St Gall’s juvenile committee in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a key part of the development of the team that has won eight of the last nine Antrim senior Football Championships.
“We were ground breaking at that stage. Not many clubs had the Saturday morning club going and once we had the players on the pitch kicking a ball, the skills came through,” said Kelly.
“As they got older, they benefited from the coaching of the likes of Harry McDonagh, Sean McGourty and Mickey Gribben.
“But we were also blessed with a generation of great players. They really were a great bunch of kids which also helped them bond.”
The players enjoy a strong bond today, many calling the St Gall’s club a ‘brotherhood’. This has built on strong generational family ties. Liam Stewart, Mickey Gribben, Sean Kelly, Brendan Gallagher and Sean McGourty were all involved in the Saturday morning club in the 1990s and have sons in the current football squad.
Others families like the Bradleys, the Maguires, the McDonaghs, the Sheehans and the Healys have links to several generations of club members.
But while St Gall’s can be pleased with their ability to regenerate (only four players link the 2001 Championship winning XV to the 2009 Champions) they have also been aided by outside influences.
Over the years the likes of Gary McGirr and Ciaran McCrossan (Tyrone), Mark McRory and John Rafferty (Armagh) and the Gallagher brothers Ronan and Rory from Fermanagh have played for the club, while Rafferty joins Paul Duffin (Castlewellan) and James McCartan (Burren) as ‘outsiders’ who have managed the club.
“It’s been more luck than anything else,” said Kelly.
“Those guys have come to us but they were all living and working in Belfast. They were teachers, doctors, students who moved to Belfast and they wanted to play football in Belfast so they came to us.
“But they’re all 100 percent St Gall’s men now. Gary McGirr takes training on a Saturday morning, Ciaran McCrossan sends his wee lad to the club, Mark and Ciaran were both involved with coaching the senior team. They weren’t just in and out, and we were just lucky to have them.”
In terms of managers, St Gall’s have kept the position at the top changing, for various reasons. Mickey Culbert went on to manage the Antrim county side, John Rafferty left to work with Joe Kernan at Armagh and James McCartan’s brief spell as St Gall’s manager ended when he left to manage Down.
St Gall’s have taken influences from all their managers over the years, each one bringing something different to the club.
But despite the number of outsiders who have come through the doors at the Milltown club, it’s a core group of players who remain at its centre: the McGourtys, Ciaran and Aodhan Gallagher, Andy McClean, Anto Healy, Karl Stewart, Terry O’Neill, Sean Burke and Sean Kelly.
“They are all very close,” said Sean Kelly Snr.
“If you find one of them, you find them all. Conor McGourty and Anto Healy both said they treated their team mates like brothers and maybe that’s the key to our success over the years. The players are willing to put everything on the line for their club but most importantly their team mates.”

Longford Slashers team

Paul Kelly gets the low-down on Longford Slashers. 

This is how things get done at Gaelic Star. Out of the blue the big boss sends me an email – ‘I was just reading something about a club called Longford Slashers – what a great name! – You’re doing a piece about them for the next edition.’

Simple enough you may think, except I’ve never heard of Longford Slashers. In fact, I don’t think I have ever been to Longford. I may have driven through it a couple of times. All I’ll say is, thank god for the internet.

 Longford Slashers is indeed a wonderful name for a club, but thankfully there is much more to it than an exotic moniker.

However, firstly (and mainly to satisfy the whims of the boss) we will deal with the whole ‘Slasher’ issue.

It’s widely accepted (according to the internet) that the ‘Slasher’ reference relates to a Cavan man, Myles O’Reilly, who died on the Bridge of Finea while defending against the English and Scottish forces under General Monroe on the 5th August 1646.

On August 3rd 1913 a memorial to the memory of Myles O’Reilly was unveiled in the Co Westmeath section of the village of Finea.
The main inscription on the memorial (a Celtic cross) reads as follows: – “The Slasher had with him 100 horse while the enemy was 1,000 strong. They fought them the whole day long till his followers were nearly all slain.

“Finally he was encountered by a gigantic Scotchman who trust the point of his sword through the Slasher’s cheek. The latter closed his jaw on the blade and held it as if in an iron vice while he slew his antagonist cutting him through steel helmet down to his chin with one blow, both falling together. At that moment reinforcements arrived from Granard and the Bridge was saved.” *

There is some historical debate about whether O’Reilly actually died at Finea but his legend has lived on. The term Slasher – ‘man of valour’ – has not always had positive connotations in Longford but in more recent times, the term has been embraced.

Now that the history lesson is over it should be noted that the Longford Slashers club is very much alive and well.

The club was formed in 1954 when two clubs, Longford Wanderers and Whiterock Slashers amalgamated. The club ground, Michael Fay Park, is located on the outskirts of Longford town in an area called Farneyhoogan.

It is much, much more than simply a pitch and clubhouse.

Unusually, the development of the clubhouse and complex has been the responsibility of a company, ‘Longford Slashers Ltd’, for almost 30 years.

Pat Chapman, who fills three roles with the club as secretary, President and company secretary explained the reasoning behind the radical decision to set up a company to manage the club’s facilities.

“When we set out in 1979/80 to develop our club grounds we found that the responsibility on the shoulders of a few people, particularly as we needed loans to do the development, was going to be enormous,” said Pat.

“We took some legal advice and formed a limited company which eased the burden on the individuals involved within the club.

Dermot Brady in action for the Slashers

“At the time it was a revolutionary approach. No-one else had attempted it.

“The company runs the clubhouse and facilities which ensures that there is money for further development and any funds generated can be allocated into the club and teams.”

As a result, Longford Slashers have a modern, up-to-date sporting facility that is used by the entire community.

There are a number of playing surfaces, including an all-weather pitch and floodlighting while the clubhouse contains a bar, function room, meeting rooms, squash courts and several dressing rooms.

The club grounds also host the Backstage Theatre and Centre for the Arts. In 1995, the club and the theatre group came together to build a state-of-the-art facility which has proved to be a great success and is acknowledged as being a great asset to the town.

More recently, in 2005, a gael scoil was built within the club grounds and now 190 pupils attend on a daily basis.

“The theatre kind of epitomizes what we are all about,” added Pat.

“Our club members have always been involved in the sporting, charitable, cultural and political life of the town and this is yet another example of our contribution to the betterment of the town we love so well.

“On the field we aren’t doing so well. We haven’t won a championship in the last decade and we haven’t won a minor title for many years (the club lost County Finals in 2006 and 2008).

“We are struggling football wise but we have plenty of people playing.”

The Slashers have embraced the entire GAA sporting family with hurling, camogie and ladies teams all competing in the club’s blue and white colours.

The underage levels are busy and successful and hopes are high that in the not to distant future, the Slashers might add to their 13 Senior County titles.

St. Johns Hurling is looking Bright

In our first Edition of Gaelic star- Mickey Johnston the larger than life character at St. Johns Belfast, spoke to us about his love for  Hurling and Coaching.

IN AN era when we hear so much about hurling in crisis, it’s refreshing to speak to Mickey

Johnston, hurling co-ordinator for Antrim club St John’s.

The South Antrim club took the plunge 10 years ago to embrace a structured coaching and player development plan which is beginning to pay real dividends.

The club has contested the last three Feile Na Gael hurling finals (U-14), winning in 2006 and 2008. Many of the same players went onto lift the Feile football title at the same agegroup to complete a remarkable double.

“We realised there was a need to develop a plan and spent around a year working towards it,” said Mickey.

“We visited other clubs and opened ourselves to models of juvenile development in other counties. We spent time at coaching conferences etc, looking for ideas and stuff that would suit us as a dual club.”

For Mickey, a former minor and U-21 player with Antrim, his two key areas of responsibility remain how hurling is coached at the club and what is coached at each age group and secondly ensuring that every player gets meaningful playing time.

“One of our key mission statements is that the club is not responsible for players dropping out or burning out,” he said.

“Where possible, we work to develop every player’s potential.”

That ethos has resulted in large numbers participating and playing at the club and more importantly, sticking with the club.

Mickey estimates that the club have 40 lads training regularly at U-16 level who have been with the club from U-8.

The hurling club alone can field a full 15 at every age group from U-8 to U-16.

That scenario is replicated on the football side. “We don’t encourage any division. We see

both games as complimenting each other,” added Mickey.

One of the ways they manage to avoid any clashes over selection or fears over burnout

is to ensure that the coaches and managers of both codes work closely together.

“For example, the U-14 hurling manager is also a selector on U-14 football team,” added Mickey.

“That way, players aren’t being burnt out. If there is a problem with a player we can

hopefully identity it and resolve it quickly “One size doesn’t fit all. Players can be

competing above their age group in schools, even in their own club and they could be

playing other sports as well, so we try to take a managed approach to rest and recovery.”

It’s a serious commitment for anyone looking to get involved and one were personal glory has to

be left aside in favour of the ‘greater good’.

“No-one can take a role within the club purely to fulfil league fixtures. The job is for

10/11 months of the year,” said Mickey. “They have to propose a plan and that plan

must fit in with the overall development of the players initially and the overall

development of the team. “We’ve moved away from a situation were

guys look to take a team because they perceive it to be a good team, which does

happen in other GAA clubs, and stop in June when they get knocked out of the championship.

“We look at development of the players and development of a style of play and we are

looking at 11 months of a year.”

Mickey believes that St John’s is still three to fours years away from making a serious impact at senior level but is convinced that the club will get there in due course.

“We believe that we don’t currently have enough quality senior hurlers,” he said.

“We are working to fast track players at 18/19 years of age.

“You look at the successful clubs, your Loughgiels and Cushendall etc, they all have

a quality bench, strength in depth, 30 players of good quality. “We need to extend our base and we need to

get a quality group together.”

Kelly, a key member of the Antrim side for a decade has played a vital role in guiding his club to the Ulster Intermediate Final where they will meet Down side Leitrim Fontenoys.

“We’re good enough to win the Ulster title and we are playing well at the moment. It’s a young side, I’m one of the older players on the panel,” said Sean.

“We are improving all the time and should be doing alright in the senior ranks in a couple of years.”

If Gort na Mona do manage to see off the Down side they will face London Champions, Robert Emmets in the All-Ireland semi-final.

Emmets won the All-Ireland Intermediate title in 2006 and it will be an interesting return for Sean who played for the London side last year.

Hurling has always been a huge part of Sean’s life. His father did some coaching and managing with O’Donovan Rossa and he grew up playing for the club alongside his brothers.

He made the switch to the ambitious Gort na Mona club five/six years ago and the move has coincided with rapid development at the club.

He played minor, U-21 and Senior hurling with the county, picking up a number of Ulster Championship medals along the way. After a long period of service he finally left the Antrim panel last year.

Antrim have joined Galway in entering the Leinster Championship next year and Sean thinks it can have a positive impact on hurling in the county.

“I think the move into Leinster will help promote the game,” he said.

“They might struggle for the first couple of years but it is bound to strengthen the game and the side should improve with the experience.”

Sean played a number of games for the county alongside his brother Paddy who sadly passed away last year.

A tribute game featuring the Gort na Móna senior side against a Paddy Kelly select XV team was held in front of a large crowd on October 19^{th 2008}.

A cup was unveiled which will be played for every year in memory of Paddy.

It was a proud day for all the Kelly family and their friends and relatives who came together to remember a talented hurler.

Carryduff Under 14's

IN these times of doom and gloom, when conversation is dominated by contraction and cut-backs, it’s great to hear of any organisation planning for a bright future.

 Co Down club, Carryduff GAC, is approaching 40 years in existence with renewed vigour and optimism.

Irish President, Mary McAleese visited the club last year, and later this year the club will open their new pitch and for the first time, it will be graced by senior hurlers as Carryduff becomes a fully-fledged dual club.

“The club will field 24 teams at various age groups this year,” said vice-chairman Paddy Love.

“We are a growing club and have actually outgrown our facilities. We are looking to purchase some land from the parish and are in the process of putting together a plan to drive a new development at the club.

“We have been playing hurling at the club for five years and I think it’s great to have a senior hurling team at this stage.

“I suppose we are ready for it now that we have built it up from the underage ranks.

“It’s going to mean a lot of hard work ahead to integrate the various different elements of the club but we have a good committee and communication is very good between the chairpersons of the different codes.”

The club was formed in 1971 by a group of parents who were concerned at the lack of playing facilities in the fast growing southern suburb of Belfast and came together to form a schoolboys Gaelic Football team.

The prime movers in the club were Harry McEvoy, Paddy McEvoy and Martin McAteer, and within a couple of years a full GAA club had come into being with a team entered in the East Down League.

Progress was spectacular in this decade, with the club rising to become one of the strongest Junior teams in the county.

Their success was helped by the blossoming of a genuine footballing star in Greg Blaney. A mainstay of the Down teams that had such success in the 80’s and 90’s, Blaney made his senior debut at 15 years of age.

He was later joined by others including Neil Collins, Mark McCartan and John Kelly as the club continued to thrive in line with the population growth in the area.

From these humble beginnings the club has grown to encompass all aspects of the association; ladies football, handball, hurling and scor.

There is, according to Paddy, a great sense of cohesion at the club which he puts down to the superb work of the chairman John Higgins who, ‘has done a wonderful job in bringing everybody together’.

“In the past, Carryduff used to be the type of club that had players from all over the country togging out on a regular basis. Guys at university or people who had moved into the area,” added Paddy, a Killyclogher (Co Tyrone) native who has been living in the area for 20 plus years.

“We’ve moved away from that over the last number of years and most of the players are home bread now, players who have come up through the ranks.

“As a result, we are a very young team and have a lot of players in and around their early 20’s.

“The senior team is managed by PJ O’Hare. He’s very much into the club as community and family. We have worked hard on discipline and fitness and developing a club ethos which has proved successful.

“We won promotion to Division Two last year and getting into Division One is part of our five year plan.

“To be honest our ambition is that every team in the club plays at the highest level possible, and ideally that would be the all-county competitions, even if we are getting beaten.

“Our minors won the ‘B’ Championship this year which was the first all-county success for a long time.”

Some of that young talent is now pushing for recognition on various county panels.

Cian Slevin has been included in the U-21 panel while Declan Alder is on the edge of the senior squad and there are high hopes that Neil McGowan and Colin Early will break into the minor panel soon.

It’s the same with the Ladies section of the club who continue to go from strength to strength. The Ladies will step into senior competition this year, courtesy of last year’s Intermediate victory over Kilcoo.

At representative level, Erin Robinson, Aoife O’Reilly, Hannah Magorrian, Lee Ann Murray, Niamh Molloy and Ciara Rooney played for the Down u16 Ladies.
Meanwhile, Eimear and Kate McKay and Claire McCourt represented the Down Minor Ladies.

The club is continuing to reach out to the wider community and have instituted an U-6 programme that is designed to get as many parents as possible to bring their children along, especially those who have no real tradition of gaelic games.

Paddy also revealed that the club had done a taster session with some of the members of the Saintfield Road Methodist Church last year that proved highly successful.

“There is a perception, like our nearest club Bredagh, that we are a ‘rich’ team because of our location but we have the same problems as most other clubs,” added Paddy.

“Although the credit crunch has stopped a number of new developments in the area are numbers are still continuing to expand and in the future we want to be in a position to welcome and accommodate as many people as possible.”

Sean Kavanagh in San Francisco

Liam Reidy, San Francisco GAA PRO, on the development of a new home for the association, Treasure Island

 

Having had a life-long association with the GAA growing in the small village of Broadford in west Co. Limerick  it was only when I moved permanently to the West coast of the US that I realised that many gaelic players in Ireland take their local GAA field for granted. 

 While many GAA clubs throughout the country have inherited playing fields from earlier generations of Gaels, only newly formed clubs know how difficult it is to acquire land for GAA activities. 

This is especially true for new clubs with a short Gaelic games tradition, especially in the suburbs of large cities, that invariably take on the enormous task of raising money to acquire, develop and maintain playing fields.  Field development is not an easy task, even where land and space is plentiful and comes at a reasonable price.

 When I arrived to San Francisco in 1997, hurling and football matches were played in a variety of sports venues, which included local school fields that were invariably American football pitches, municipal and city parks, the famous Kezar stadium (former home of the San Francisco 49ers) and fields on an old Naval base at Treasure Island.

As a player (with the Naomh Padraig hurling and football club) I often wondered why the local GAA did not have its “own home”. 

After settling permanently in the city by the Bay, I soon realised that property and land values here in San Francisco made it virtually impossible for a small locally run amateur organisation to own its own fields.  And so, the GAA here has always rented or leased fields to carry out the local championships.

 Gaelic games in San Francisco are as old as the city itself.  The first account of hurling here dates back to May 4th, 1853, when a local hurling match between a gathering of Irish men made frontpage headlines in the “Daily Alta Califorina” newspaper in the rapidly expanding gold rush town.

 Despite its long history of activity, (156 years and counting), the fate of Gaelic games here has waxed and waned over the years in response to emigration from Ireland, due mainly to world wars, political unrest in the north of Ireland, changing US immigration and political policy, and economic expansion in Ireland during the last decade.

 However, back in 1994, the seeds of change in the San Francisco GAA community were sown, when a group of adult Gaelic Football players decided to change its philosophy on developing Gaelic games in the Bay area.  No longer could local teams depend on the infrequent influx of Irish born players, to preserve the games of the Gael in the city.  Progressive members of the GAA decided it was necessary to start investing time and energy in setting up an underage GAA program to teach their children how to play Gaelic football and hurling.  The approach was “Today’s Juveniles are Tomorrow’s Seniors.” 

 And so from an initial group of 92 children in the spring of 1994, in addition to volunteers, coaches, coordinators, and parents all helped to form the Irish Youth Football League (IYFL).  Today, the IYFL boosts about 800 underage Irish-American kids between the ages of six and 18, who play competitively. 

In addition there are some 23,000 school kids (and growing) playing gaelic football throughout the year as part of their school sports curriculum programmes managed by the Catholic Youth Organization, the YMCA, and also by the Boys and Girls Club of America.

 Much of this expansion has been achieved by our Gaelic Games Administrator, (GDA) Paul Bayly (formerly of St. Fechins, Co. Louth) who works full-time to develop Gaelic games programmes throughout the Bay area.  Our GDA position is made possible with financial support from the GAA at Croke Park, Dublin, the North American and Western Divisional boards and IYFL. 

 In the recent past, hurling has exploded onto the scene at Bay area college campuses, including the world famous Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley.  Both of these college teams play each other this spring in the very first intercollegiate GAA championship match.  Much of this growth in hurling at third level colleges has been made possible by Co Armagh native, Eamonn Gormley.

 When you include the 400 adults actively registered with the 14 clubs in the San Francisco division (seven men’s football, four ladies football, two hurling, and one camogie club), available playing space becomes a challenge.

Need for Playing Fields

To meet the needs of our growing numbers, in late 2007, a board of directors was selected and formed the San Francisco Treasure Island Gaelic Athletic Association comprised of board members of the Western Divisional Board of the GAA and the Irish Football Youth League, along with community members.

We signed a lease with the city and county of San Francisco to acquire 13 acres of derelict land and former playing fields on Treasure Island (an island in San Francisco Bay which was formerly a US Naval base until its closure in 1997) to upgrade them for use as GAA playing fields.

The board commenced a $5.2 million renovation of the playing fields in March of 2008.  For the next six months, teams of volunteers, operators, and labourers toiled six days a week to plough the fields, amend the soils, and grade the playing surfaces to get the fields finished by late summer, so that the fields could be used for the 2008 All-Star Gaelic football tour last December.

This project was the largest of its kind undertaken by an Irish organization in the city since the construction of the United Irish Cultural Centre in the early 1970s. 

Coalisland native and Brackaville Eoin Roe’s clubman, Paul Campbell, owner of Powerscreen (Northern California) was delighted to be involved in the history-making project. 

“It was a lot of hard work, getting everything organised and in place to successfully complete the work on time.  Mountains of soil and rock were moved around, graded and reused in the project, and Powerscreen was glad to help out,” he said.

Paul was also involved with his Brackaville clubmate Seamus Canning in raising money for Phase One of the project.  Canning declared that, “locals gave freely to the fundraising effort once word got out that we were actually moving ahead with the multi-million dollar project.”

There were a few skeptics in town-including Corkman and Bay Area GAA Hall of Famer, Dave Kenneally (who won a 1959 North American hurling championship title with San Francisco).

“I gave it a 5% chance of succeeding when I heard about the project-but once I saw it for myself what was going on with all the heavy equipment-I said to myself-these guys are serious and will actually get the thing done,” he said.

Fields project manager Mike D’Arcy from Mountrath, Co. Laois-said that, “these playing fields could very well be the legacy this generation leaves the Irish community just as the Irish Cultural Centre was for those before us.”

Funding for the Treasure Island fields project during the past year came from the GAA Overseas National Finance committee who contributed $500,000, the Dept. of Foreign Affairs branch of the Irish government gave $500,000, while the remainder came from the Irish-American community in the Bay area.  However, much more fundraising needs to be done to pay off the debt taken on to renovate the fields.

The playing fields at Treasure Island-Páirc na nGael and Páirc na n-óg-were officially opened on Dec 7th and 12th respectively by GAA President Nickey Brennan and Mary McAleese, President of Ireland.

 Next year in 2009, San Francisco GAA and its new fields host the Continental Youth Championships. 

 “Having the fields available for this competition will be an invaluable asset to host and run this competition,” said John O’Flynn, Chairman of the IFYL.

Kerry Men in San Francisco

So the future of Gaelic games looks bright here in San Francisco having secured our new home on Treasure Island, but while the fate of the GAA in San Francisco down through the years has reflected emigration from Ireland, we have not seen a huge influx of, “new emigrants” lately due to the downturn in the Irish economy, however-Neosfaidh an aimsir!-Time will Tell!

For more information go online to www.sfgaa.org

Taken from Edition 3.  We looked at 2 outstanding young Cross players- David McKenna and Stephen Kernan- YOUNG GUNS.

30 November 2008; Paul Kernan, Crossmaglen Rangers

 

 Introduction

JUST what is the secret to Crossmaglen’s success?

What is it that gives them the edge when the game is on the line and there’s only a few seconds left on the clock?

Ahead of their All-Ireland Club semi-final clash with Limerick side Dromcollogher-Broadford on February 21 2009, we got two of the club’s young guns, Paul Kernan and David McKenna into the office to see what makes them tick.

 Paul Kernan

AS a member of the Kernan dynasty synonymous with both Crossmaglen and Armagh, 21-year-old Paul is perfectly placed to spill the beans on the club’s top secret methods for winning games.

A student at the University of Ulster Jordanstown where he is studying property investment and development, Paul has grown up in an environment dominated by football.

“I’d like to say that it wasn’t football all the time, but it is in every conversation,” he said.

“When we get together, we’re always talking about football; who is performing well, what team is doing well, stuff like that.

“I don’t know anything different and I suppose, it’s always given us a positive structure.”

Unlike many clubs, Crossmaglen employ a strict selection structure which prevents minors from playing senior football.

Instead of possibly sitting on the line, the next generation of Cross players get as much game time as possible.

As they mature and gain experience, the players realise exactly what is expected of them if and when they make the step up into the senior squad.

Paul made his senior debut in 2005 and has already notched up three county championships, three Ulster titles and an All-Ireland title with the club.

The club thrives on success and there appears to be no signs of that appetite being sated.

In fact, Paul senses a renewed sense of purpose in the squad now that they are back training after a three week break.

“The will to win is still huge but for some of the younger players the fear of losing is the driving force,” he said.

“You don’t want to be part of the team that is remembered for losing.

“The younger boys have seen what the club has achieved over the years and we don’t want to be the team that loses because that will be the team that is remembered.

“There is more pressure every game but I think the experience of the older fellas allows the younger lads to play with a bit more freedom.

“We don’t panic and we stay cool. There’s always more time and that can be key in a tight game.”

Cross currently get together three times a week which means plenty of travelling for those boys who live in Belfast but with the semi-final on the horizon, there will be no let-up.

“I know there has been some talk that the team we are playing is supposedly not that good but any team that gets to an All-Ireland semi-final has to be a quality side,” added Paul.

“All the teams left in the competition are class sides and we will have to be on top of our game to get through to another final.”

Q – Toughest opponent?

The ‘Gooch’ in the All-Ireland Club final in 2007. I think I did ok against him but I didn’t really care as long as Cross won.

Q – If not gaelic football, what sport would you be playing?

Maybe rugby – I enjoy watching it and even a bit of American Football. I’m pretty interested in some of tactics used in both games.

Q – Which Cross player spends most time in the gym?

That would have to be Aaron [Kernan] he’s very dedicated with things like that.

Q – Who do you room with on trips away?

My brother Stephen

Q – Which position do you prefer to play?

Midfield – you can run the game from there. [Paul has spent most of the last couple of seasons playing in the half back or full back lines]  

Q – Best day on a football field?

April Fool’s Day 2007 when we won the All-Ireland Club title.

Q – Worst feeling on a football field?

Navan last year against St Vincent’s in the All-Ireland club semi-final. I’ve tried to black it out.

Q – Your footballing hero?

Francie Bellew, just for the way he gets on with his game. He doesn’t get enough credit for how he performs.

Q – Best dressed Cross man?

Jamie Clarke

Q – Worst singer on the Cross team?

John Donaldson

 David McKenna

16 November 2008; David McKenna, Crossmaglen Rangers

YOU may think that Crossmaglen, being the all-conquering force that they are, would automatically set their sights on an All-Ireland Club final every year but you’d be wrong.

The first and main goal every season, according to midfield powerhouse David McKenna, is to make sure that they retain their county title.

Taking things ‘one game at a time’ may be a classic sporting cliché but it perfectly illustrates how Cross build their season from the ground up each year, taking nothing for granted.

“For me there is more pressure every year to win in Armagh. The clubs are trying so hard to knock us off, you meet the same sides year in and year out and they are getting closer and closer to us,” said David.

“Once you get out of Armagh, I always feel that you can relax a bit and take the shackles off and play a bit of football.”

David is also at UUJ, studying sports science. His father was a contemporary of Joe Kernan and his older brother lines out regularly for the Crossmaglen reserve side.

Both Paul and David went into the senior side at the same time and both of them are on the periphery of the Armagh senior panel.

Club commitments have kept both players out of the reckoning for the McKenna Cup and their National League appearances will, once again, be dependant on how Cross progress in the club finals.

David is content with the progress Cross have made this season, claiming that they have performed consistently.

“St Eunan’s Letterkenny gave us an awful tough game in the Ulster quarter-finals,” he said.

“They came out at 100 mph and really tore into us in the first half. We were lucky to be only 6-4 down at the break.

“The first Ballinderry game [in the Ulster Final] was also difficult because we were sort of in control until they got that goal near the end.”

They may not have set the world alight in reaching the semi-finals but Cross still manage to win the big games.

David echoed Paul’s thoughts about the ‘fear of losing’ but added that the Crossmaglen approach to training gave them an edge when the heat was on.

“I think you’ll find that most top teams train very professionally now but I believe the intensity of our training would be unmatched,” added David.

“Our training games can feel like a championship match because there is so much competition for places. You come off the field brave and sore after those games.”

Q – Toughest opponent?

Eoin Brosnam – Dr Crokes – in the All Ireland final in 2007.

He’s probably the best player I’ve had to mark. I felt I did ok against him. I really tried to stop him having an influence on the game.

Q – If not gaelic football what sport would you be playing?

Probably soccer – that would be my second choice – I watch a lot of it.

Q – Which Cross player spends most time in the gym?

Aaron Kernan – he takes that side of things very seriously.

Q – Who do you room with on trips away?

Michael Trainor but it chops and changes.

Q – Which position do you prefer to play?

Midfield – Paul and I played together for Cross and won minor and U21 Championship titles. 

Q – Best day on a football field?

It has to be winning the All-Ireland club final in Portlaoise in 2007. It was a great feeling.

Q – Worst feeling on a football field?

Definitely has to be when we lost the club semi-final against St Vincent’s in Navan last year. It took a long time to get over that one. We had 12 weeks off after it and it was a long time to think about it.

Q – Your footballing hero?

Probably Kerry’s Dara O’Se – I enjoy watching him play and the way he drives his team on from midfield.

Q – Best dressed Cross man?

John Donaldson

Q – Worst singer on the Cross team?

There’s nine or 10 candidates – Johnny Hanratty

                                                                                                      Issue 4- Michael Walsh wrote a 2 page article on his beloved Mayobridge.  Its not often we see a player put pen to paper and write about their passion for the club. Gaelic Star was very proud to have Michael on board- a great physio, a great footballer and as it happens, a good writer!   

This month Michael Walsh Captain of Mayobridge writes for Gaelic Star about the club he loves. I’ve lived in the small village of Mayobridge all my life; winning my very first medal playing U10 football in 1990 when we won the County Championship. After winning the County U12 and U14 Championships we hit the headlines in 1995 when we won the County Peile na nOg Competition and went to County Mayo to represent Down in the All Ireland Finals of the Youth Festival.  The same bunch of  lads have now progressed to senior level, collecting championship medals at every age group along the way.  

In 2008, we won our fifth consecutive Down Senior Football Championship, and I had the honour of Captaining Mayobridge to this title (We are chasing record holders Burren who have attained 6 consecutive titles 1983-1988). Each year it becomes more difficult, every other team in the county is out to knock you off the pedal stool. And I suppose there have been times when we were close to losing the elusive crown, thankfully Mother Attracta & the nuns in St Ann’s Shrine (Mayobridge) pray very hard for our football team and there are occasions when we have them to thank for bringing us out of tricky situations.

People often ask how we continue year in, year out, to give so much to football, to sustain our passion and determination for success and make so many sacrifices.  Championship final day makes it all worthwhile, when you see the shear delight on supporter’s faces – it is something very special. This type of elation can’t be replaced. But we do want to go further; our campaign in Ulster has been tough – beaten in 2 Ulster finals in the last 8 years!

Like many others around the country, I know how much effort and hard work is required behind the scenes to enable us to take to the field. There is so much to organise: gym programmes, training schedules, fixtures, transport, jerseys: the list is never ending.

Mayobridge is a great club, We have been coached so well in our early days. When we were growing up we all aspired to achieve the success  of our club man Tom O’Hare, the Down Legend of 1968 who continues to serve our club to this day. In later years Mickey Linden the Double All Ireland Winning forward (1991 &1994) again marked our club on the GAA map. These men have been tireless servants of the GAA and they have planted seeds of greatness in very small community.

Like those before us, we recognise that our youth play a crucial part in the success of our club. This season we take turns to assist with the coaching of our youth teams, a rota has been scheduled, so every Saturday we work rotationally with the different age groups. The young boys and girls are so enthusiastic and it makes it all worthwhile when they listen attentively to what you have to say. I also train and manage our Minor Footballers, and have been involved with these lads since U14. In 2008 they won the Down Minor Football Championship & League, and we endeavour this season to build on that success. In Mayobridge we know our future is with our youth.

Every club has several Trojan workers, who give themselves whole heartedly to the cause. In Mayobridge we too have Gaels who work tirelessly in the background for the good of our club. Those who promote our weekly lotto, can’t go unnoticed. As well as the tradesmen within the Club whom have been vital in the re-development of our playing fields.

2009 is a new season, with even greater challenges, and I am striving to put back into the club what it has done for me. It is our Club that makes each of us the Gaels who we are, and I am honoured and privileged to belong to Mayobridge, in my eyes ‘Down’s Greatest Club, Ever’.

By Louise Glass

THERE’S been a fair bit of construction work going on around Lisnaskea Emmetts GAA club over recent months.

 With more than a dozen teams across all three codes – Gaelic football, hurling and Ladies football and a growing underage structure, it’s not surprising that a second pitch is needed.

It’s probably going to be another 12 months before it’s ready for play but when that time does come, the club’s main pitch will get a much deserved rest.

It’s costing in the region of £360,000 to build a second pitch, something that more and more GAA clubs are doing these days, as playing numbers continue to expand.

In a tightly knit community, everyone knows they will all benefit from this second state-of-the-art pitch. That’s why, through Club Eiméid, £80,000 was raised last year alone.

“Like Club Fermanagh, we started up Club Eiméid last year,” said chairman Colly McCarthy.

“We got people to sign up to paying £5 per week to Club Eiméid. 

“We planned to originally get 300 people to sign up, but we got more than that with people also making bigger donations towards Club Eiméid for the new development.”

It’s back up and running this year again and if the club can raise another £60 – £80,000 on top of the £220,000 Sports Council grant awarded to Lisnaskea Emmetts specifically for the second pitch development, all the hard work will have paid off.

“It’s so far so good this year again,” said Colly.

“Even with things the way they are, people’s generosity knows no bounds.

“Everyone at the club has thrown themselves into fundraising for the new pitch. We’ve survived for years using one pitch but it just can’t take the demand anymore.

We’d been looking for a while to get a second pitch, but we were only able to finally buy ground that would allow us to do that in the past couple of years.

“Everyone is really excited by it and that’s why the support amongst everyone in the club and throughout the community has been so great,” added Colly.

Indeed, with upwards of 600 members on the books, it’s little wonder such a huge amount of money has been raised in one year alone. 

Around the club, everyone is hoping that the opening of the new pitch next year will also coincide with the return of the senior men’s team to the top league flight.

For the first time in 33 years, Lisnaskea Emmetts’ senior football team were relegated to Division Two football for the 2009 season.

“We’re the first team to go down with a record number of points – 17″ said Colly.

“Of course, it’s not what you want, but we are determined to go straight back up again this year. 

“We’ve a 100 per cent record so far in the league and we’d be devastated if we didn’t get back up again. We want to be in and play at the top in Fermanagh.

“There’s a huge buzz around the club this year with the new pitch and the amount of money we have raised has lifted everyone’s spirits, so it’d be only right that the senior team should work hard enough and get the right results to get back up into Division One again.”

While it’s all business on the development front, there’s also an awful lot of important work going on within the club’s underage structure and for the first time ever, an Under 8 team has recently been formed.

With the help of Ulster Council coach, Eoin Murray, who is also a Lisnaskea Emmetts’ man, the club has been involved in a pilot programme, Gaelic Start, which targets school children in Primary One to Primary Four within the club’s catchment area.

The pilot, which also encourages parents to take part, is non-specific to GAA with the children taking part in skills and physical development

“The children want then to go out and play football and with the added interest of parents, we have been able to start up an Under 8 team. It’s been a huge success already, not just for the club but for the community,” said Colly.

Off the field and there’s an important part of the club’s identity and culture that brings it more success.

Lisnaskea Emmett’s participation in the Scór has resulted in five All-Ireland finals, four All-Ireland Novelty Acts, one All-Ireland Scór na nÓg Set Dancing title and 18 Ulster titles since 1984.

There have been a few club members respsonsible for all that success including Frank McManus and Gerry Higgins and more recently Colleen Killen.

The future then is looking bright for Fermanagh’s Lisnaskea Emmetts.

The name Corrinshego is derived from the Irish œcor, meaning a bend or twist, and œfuinseog, meaning Ash tree. It translates: ‘the Ash tree at the bend’.

The club has drawn its players and members from a large catchment area, including the Chancellors Road, Altnaveigh, Ardcarne, Carnagat,

Carnmore and more recently from the new developments of Laurel Hill, Springfarm Heights and Castlekeele.
Corrinshego GFC can trace its history back to the beginning of the last century, and is one of the oldest clubs in the Newry area.

In the early days, the senior football team was dominated by a few families. The Quinn family fielded six players, including Peter Quinn who represented Armagh in the 1930s as a senior football player. Camogie was also very strong in the club during this era.
Corrinshego was no different to other parts of rural Ireland and in the 1950s it was hit hard by emigration and the harsh realities of economic life. The football team duly folded but a vibrant social scene was kept alive and many current members met their future partners in the Nissan Hut.
The football team was revived in the early 1980s and its proudest day came on Sunday, August 8, 1982, when Corrinshego defeated Clonmore 2-9 to 1-6 in Ballymacnab to lift the Junior County Football Championship for the first time.

Some involved in that panel are still with the club including secretary Frank Harvey and treasurer Gerry Reilly.
The club has worked hard to develop a strong youth structure at the club.
Thomas Davis GFC is able to compete at under 8’s, 10’s, 12’s, 14,s, 16’s, minor and hopefully, in 2009, U-21 level.

At U-10 level Thomas Davis were narrowly beaten in their league final and at U-12 the club won both championship and league honours.

The U-14’s also won their Championship this year in what was a very successful season

A number of the clubs underage players have been involved in the South Armagh Development Squad.

Danny Cinnamond (captain), David Markey and Nathan Morley have made great strides with Markey lining out for Armagh Minors at full back.

Markey is following a Thomas Davis tradition of underage county representation.

Eamonn Fearon played corner back on the Armagh minor team that lost to Meath in the 1992 All-Ireland final.

Liam Fegan has also played at minor level while and Karl Kimmons and Gerald Reilly have featured at minor, U-21 and senior level.
Thomas Davis Corrinshego GFC Committee 2009:
Chairman – Eamonn Fearon, Vice-Chairman – Gerry Trainor, Secretary – David O’Brien, Treasurer – Frank Harvey, PRO – Gerald O’Reilly, Cultural Officer – Anthony Havern, Development Officer – Tony Jennings, Drugs/Alcohol Abuse Officer – Caroline Jennings, Players Rep – Karl Kimmons, Fundraising Officer – Kevin Lenaghan, IT Officer – Gerry O’Reilly (snr)