Get 'em while they're hot!

It may have raised a few eyebrows and drawn a few 'tut tuts' in the community but it has also lifted spirits and prompted laughter - and at the same time is raising money for a good cause. The Off the Ball 2013 calendar, printed by the Arvagh Gaelic Football Club is, to put it bluntly, a 'tasteful' nude calendar. But in addition to helping boost the club's fund to upgrade its facilities in the coming years, half of the proceeds will go to local suicide awareness and prevention charity Save Our Sons and Daughters (SOSAD). Nobody's modesty is offended as strategically-placed objects shield private parts from view, explains Elaine Cully, the joint-secretary of Arvagh GFC and who first came up with the idea for the calendar. "It was about two years ago that I thought it would be a great idea and I kind of joked about it after the match and I was asking some of the lads and they said 'yeah we'd do it' and then it was nearly the end of the year and it was too late but we said we'd definitely do it next year, during the summer, and five months later the calendar is printed and ready to go," explains Elaine, the daughter of well-known baker and GAA stalwart Barney Cully. As well as footballers from Arva (male and female), you can see well-known figures from clubs such as Mullahoran, Gowna, Dromard and Colmcille as you have never seen them before! Elaine put the calendar together with the help of co-secretary of the club Barry McHugh and footballers Peter and James Morris. Among some of the bigger names to feature as 'models' in the calendar are county footballers from Cavan and Longford - such as Mark McKeever, Declan Reilly and Noel Farrell. And Elaine's favourite shot? Without hesitation she refers to September in which Mark McKeever features. "They're all standing around the pool table and the picture is taken and then they decide to scatter a few clothes around the floor. It's just hilarious, there are jocks and socks and shoes lying around the pool table as if this is a normal Sunday morning playing pool," laughs Elaine. The August shot in the garden is also generating a lot of reaction as it's understood one model had a close save with a pair of gardening shears! Elaine and Barry had the happy task of taking all the photos, which Elaine said was a riot. "Most of them have no shame whatsoever," she laughs, adding that there were many shots that had to be swiftly deleted as there was a bit too much on show (accidentally of course). Seven hundred calendars have been printed and Arvagh GFC is hoping to sell at least 500 of them. Harvest Moon printers in Killeshandra helped with the design of the calendars and printed them. Elaine is very thankful to them for their help and support and attention to detail. The calendars cost €10 each and are available in newsagents locally in Arva, as well as in Lynch's Shop in Killydoon and Moyne Cross Stores in Dromard. As sponsorship has paid for the printing costs of the calendar, all proceeds will be split between Arvagh GFC and the Sosad drop-in centre in Cavan Town. Elaine assures us that there won't be a 2014 calendar, so it is a once in a lifetime opportunity to have a memento of some of your favourite footballers such as they may never be seen again.