Neighbours to clash in intriguing charity tie

The Swanlinbar v Corduff Ulster club final isn't the only high profile Cavan-Monaghan clash set to take place this side of Christmas. A Breffni selection managed by Stephen King will take on their Farney counterparts on December 18 on the 3G pitch in Breffni Park in an eagerly-awaited tussle which will feature some of the best club footballers in both counties but, more importantly, will help to raise much-needed funds for the Holy Family School, Cootehill and the Cootehill Community Cancer Support Group (CCCSG). “The rule is that no player who has represented either county at senior championship level can take part,†explained Ulster SFC medallist King this week. “I was contacted and I was absolutely delighted to take part in it as soon as I heard the causes.†The Cavan panel will be contacted in the coming days. A planned get-together was canceleld this week due to the adverse weather conditions but the group will train on a number of occasions between now and the match. “We hope to trawl through the players who have been nominated and any other players and choose a panel in the next few days,†said Stephen. To underline the seriousness of the initiative, Killeshandra clubman King has assembled a star-studded management team consisting of Jason O'Reilly, Damien O'Reilly, Paddy McNamee, Pat Faulkner, Tom Downes and county senior joint manager Terry Hyland. An interesting sub-plot to the contest is that Monaghan will be managed by Eugene “Nudie†Hughes, two-time All Star and work colleague of the Cavan manager for over 20 years. All friendships will be put to one side when the ball is thrown in at 7pm on December 18, however. “It will be two rookie teams and while the weather has disrupted things a little, it will be a very competitive match, I can assure you of that,†said King. “The most important thing is that we are going to be raising much-needed funds for those not as fortunate as us, and I would hope that a large crowd will come out to support this.†To add to the sense of occasion, there will be a half-time celebrity free-taker's competition among the likes of Ronan Carolan, Peter Canavan and others, as well as live radio coverage and match programmes. Meanwhile, in other GAA news, the Hearings Committee of the Cavan county board met last Thursday night and imposed fans of €1,000 each on Cavan Gaels and Kingscourt Stars for matters arising out of the recent league final. • See next week's Anglo-Celt for more details on Charity Bainisteoir. Tickets priced at €10 are available now in Multisound, Cavan; McConnons Mace, Monaghan; Family Cleaners, Cootehill; McDonagh Shoes, Cavan and Monaghan; Smith's Newsagents, Ballybay; Larmer's Butchers, Newbliss; Leonard Arms, Clones; Martin's Londis, Newbliss; Argue's Londis, Cootehill.