Published: Wednesday, 3rd February, 2010 5:00pm

Quiet tears shed at passing of football legend

The passing of Mick Higgins is eulogised by all Gaels but most particularly here in Breffni where he and is comrades of '47, '48 and '52 are revered as heroes of outstanding renown - akin in many respects to the noble Celtic warriors of old.

The passing of Higgins, the last surviving playing member of the Polo grounds team, does signal the end of an era - the last earthly symbolism of those who effected that outstanding achievement in then far away New York.

Like the great Cavan teams of 1933 and '35, they personified the golden era of Cavan football. The great John Joe O'Reilly is already immortalised in story and song, as is P.J. Duke and the drive, energy and skill of players like Tony Tighe, Phil the Gunnar Brady and Joe Stafford are familiar talking points in any sporting conversation.

Mick Higgins was a superb tactician on the field of play - indeed there are valid comparisons between him and Christy Ring in the hurling arena. Like Ring he always concentrated on playing the game and was never unfavourably reprimanded in a long and illustrious career.

However, he left a legacy to the GAA and to sport and culture here in Ireland far beyond his role as a footballer. He was a referee and football manager of national renown. As a ref, he was always fair and much admired for his even handedness by counties who would have a traditional rivalry with Cavan. In the bone crunching battles between Derry and Down, both teams accepted Mick as the referee without hesitation such was their respect for the man.

As a county football manager, he guided Cavan to four Ulster titles in the l960s - his motivational skills inspiring a decade of record achievement at provincial level. What now is legacy? There is still a proud footballing tradition in Cavan. However, success at inter county level hasn't been easy. Cavan were once the kingpins of Ulster - perhaps now the greatest honour the county can pay the memory of the late Mick Higgins is by rescaling those heights of greatness. Higgins and his comrades did it - it is not an impossible task to follow in their footsteps.

Cavan road development still on track

The grants totalling €7.5m by the NRA for national roads in Co. Cavan is not an enormous sum by today's standards but the money is a positive indicator for continued road development in the county. In particular, the allocation of €3.2m for the progressing of the Belturbet bypass is heartening for the people who use that existing dangerous stretch of road. By the yardstick of Cavan County Manager, Jack Keyes, the latest round of funding places the Belturbet bypass project in line for major funding next year. It's imperatif that the 2010 non-national road grants, to be announced next week, are maintained at 2009 levels, especially in light of the wear and tear that the recent bad weather has caused to regional and county roads in Cavan.