A look back at 2007

The club scene is always dominated by the championships and John Scully's county secretary's report to convention gave a detailed review of the club championships starting with the senior championship "which got under way on the last weekend of June with Latton, Magheracloone, Clontibret, Inniskeen and Carrickmacross emerging as the early winners but the other five teams would get their second chance over the coming months". 

Clones venue queried

  It was not until two months later that the real championship commenced due to county team commitments.  Doohamlet, Ballybay and Donaghmoyne fell at the second hurdle leaving all the top guns running. Carrickmacross, Magheracloone and Scotstown were next to make an exit leaving Castleblayney, Inniskeen, Clontibret and Latton to battle out the semi-finals. 

  "I was a bit surprised to see that the four supposedly best teams in Monaghan were taken to Clones on a Saturday afternoon, due to work commitments and the geographical position of Clones many people stayed away. From a financial aspect I feel this would not have been one of the better decisions as I think that our senior semi-finals should be maximised both for financial reasons and spectator convenience. 

  Anyway after seventeen games Clontibret and Castleblayney were left to contest the final.  Clontibret were seeking back to back titles while Castleblayney were making their first appearance since 2003, they were also attempting to win the title one hundred years since their first triumph in the 1907 Championship.

  All in all it was a good final which held interest right to the end. Castleblayney had their chances and were unlucky on a few occasions, however Clontibret were able to respond and punished those misses with some excellent finishing. 

  Clontibret have to be congratulated for winning two in a row, a feat last achieved by their opponents Castleblayney.  Captain Dessie Mone lifted the Mick Duffy cup to the cheers of the jubilant Clontibret supporters".

Senior Football Championship Results

2007.  Gormley uPVC:

  26/05/07: Latton 0-18, Doo-hamlet 0-9. (Clontibret).

  26/05/07: Magheracloone 0-10 Ballybay 0.05. (Clontibret)

27/05/07: Clontibret 1-14, Castleblayney  1-1. (Monag-han).

 27/05/07: Inniskeen 2-6, Donaghmoyne 1-08.(Castle-blayney).

  27/05/07: Carrickmacross 1-14, Scotstown  0-11. (Castle-blayney).

  25/08/07: Latton 1-8, Mag-heracloone 0-11. (Castleblay-ney).

  26/08/07: Scotstown 3-12, Doohamlet  0-11.  (Clontib-ret).

 26/08/07: Castlebayney 215, Ballybay 2-7. (Clontibret).

  01/09/07: Latton 0-11, Mag-heracloone  0-10. 'Blayney.   

  08/09/07: Castleblayney 1-11, Donaghmoyne  0-7 in Pearse Park, Ballybay.  '   

  08/09/07: Inniskeen 1-13. Car-rickmacross 0-13 in Ballybay.     

  09/09/07: Scotstown 0-10,  Magheracloone  0-9 in Castle-blayney.   

  09/09/07: Clontibret 0-8, Latton 0-7 in Castleblayney.     

  22/09/07: Castleblayney 1-15,  Carrickmacross 0-11 in Pearse Park, Ballybay.     

  23/09/07: Latton 1-10, Scots-town 0-7 in Clones.       

  Senior Football Champion-ship Semi-finals 2007:

  06/10/07  Castleblayney  2-12, Inniskeen 1.10 in Clones.

 06/10/07 Clontibret 1-8, Latton 1-4 in Clones.   

  Senior Football Champion-ship Final 2007:

 21/10/07 Clontibret 1-10, Castleblayney  0-10 in Saint Tiarnach's Park, Clones. 

Crossmaglen given tough game

All-Ireland club champions Crossmaglen Rangers were visitors to Clones to take on Monaghan champions Clontibret.  Many will remember the tough battle from last year when the Armagh champions survived by a single point. This game was no different, a hard physical game that finished in controversial circumstances.

  Throughout most of the game Crossmaglen were more efficient with their attempts on goal as Clontibret struggled to find any penetration through a solid defence.

Reached its climax 

  Then as the game reached its climax, Clontibret suddenly found another gear and started to make their presence felt. They steadily increased the pressure and it was all out-action to the end of the game. 

  Clontibret were trailing by a single point in the sixth minute of added time, they were awarded a forty five metre kick, one could assume that this would be the last opportunity to square the match, however the Clontibret player decided to play short to a colleague who was apparently fouled but to everyone's wonder the referee blew for full-time".

  Ulster Club Championship (Senior Football) –  04/11/07: Clontibret  1-7, Crossmaglen  Rangers (Armagh) 1.08  (Clones) 

Intermediate Football Championship 2007

The ten intermediate clubs set out on their championship campaign in early June. In the preliminary round Monaghan Harps and Truagh advanced at the expense of Corduff and Emyvale.  In the first round proper there were wins for Cremartin, Tyholland, Drum-howan and Truagh (who won a replay against Monaghan Harps). 

  As the competition progressed to the second round, one game of note stood out, that was the meeting between Tyholland and Truagh in Scotstown with Tyholland winning by six points.  The semi-finals saw Tyholland with another six point victory on this occasion the victims were Monaghan Harps, Truagh likewise had a six point victory in their fixture against Crematin ensuring that we had an all north Monaghan decider. 

  Of all the games that I saw during the year this one started at a high tempo with some very competitive tackling and the pace was fast and aggressive.  Tyholland lost their captain Gregory Ronaghan early on through injury but this did not affect their play to a great extend as they held their own in a tight first half. 

 As the game progressed Tyholland imposed a greater presence in mid-field and converted some good scores. 

  The last five minutes proved to be the exciting moments as Truagh threw everything at their opponents, some great chances were missed as they piled on the pressure but just as in the senior final it was a goal that separated the two teams in the end as Tyholland earned the right to represent Monaghan in the Ulster Club Championship.

  The Ronaghan brothers Raymond and Cyril accepted the cup on behalf of their injured brother Gregory and paid tribute to everyone connected with the victory". 

McGuigan Builders Intermediate Football Championship Results

2007 – Preliminary Round:

  12/05/2007  Monaghan  Harps 1-9,  Corduff 2-4 in Clontibret.   

  13/05/2007: Emyvale  1-7, Truagh 0-12 in Scotstown.     

  First Round games:

  12/05/2007 Sean McDermotts 1-12, Cremartin 2-13 in Clontibret. 

  13/05/2007: Tyholland 2-16 Rockcorry 2-7 in Monaghan.   

  13/05/2007: Aghabog 0-7, Drumhowan 2-7 in Monaghan. 

  19/08/2007: Monaghan Harps  2-7, Truagh 0-13 in Emyvale.     

  25/08/2007: Monaghan Harps  1-5,  Truagh 2-10  in  Emyvale. Replay.

  Second Round:

  18/08/2007: Emyvale 0-9, Sean McDermotts 0-15 in Clontibret.        

  19/08/2007: Aghabog 1-16, Rockcorry 0-13 in Rockcorry.     

  01/09/2007: Corduff 1-11, Sean McDermotts 0-9 in Pearse Park, Ballybay. 

  01/09/2007:  Cremartin  2-11, Drumhowan 2-8. (Ballybay).

  02/09/2007: Aghabog 0-12, Monaghan Harps 1-14 played in Scotstown.   

  02/09/2007: Truagh 0-10, Ty-holland 2-13. Scotstown.     

  Quarter Finals:

  15/09/2007 Truagh 2-15,  Cor-duff 2-3. (Clontibret).

  15/09/2007: Drumhowan 0-9,  Monaghan Harps 2-11 played in Clontibret.

  Semi-Finals:

  22/09/2007:  Tyholland  2-12, Monaghan Harps 2-6 played in Clontibret.

  22/09/2007: Cremartin 1-10, Truagh 1-16 played in Clontibret.   

  Final:  07/10/2007 –  Tyhol-land  2-9, Gaeil Truicha 1-9 played in   Clontibret. 

Lost to Ballinagh

Tyholland went on to represent the county at Provincial level, Sunday, 4th October, in fact the game was played as a curtain-raiser to the county senior final in Clones. Tyholland certainly did not let the home support down when they cruised to very comfortable victory and a quarter-final tie against Ballinagh the Cavan champions.

Good day for football

  The fixture was played on Sunday 4th November in Kingspan Breffni Park, Cavan on what was  a perfect day for football. 

  The Tyholland side  seemed to be motoring well and had their opponents in some trouble in the first-half when they bagged two goals along with three points these three points were the difference between the sides going into the interval break.

  However this lead proved to be inadequate as Ballinagh put in a stronger second half performance and scored the decisive goal that got them through on the day.

  Ulster Club Championship (Intermediate Football): 21/10/07 Tyholland  3-17,  Downpatrick (Down)  1-7  (Clones). 04/11/07: Tyholland  2-6,  Ballinagh  (Cavan)  1-13  (Kingspan-Breffni Park, Cavan).

The Westenra Hotel Junior Football Championship 2007

The Junior Football Cham-pionship got going in late May, last year's semi-finalists Aughnamullen and Killeevan had to be contenders as well as Eire Og and Clones, both of whom made the drop to the Junior ranks.

  The preliminary round saw Aughnamullen and Blackhill secure wins at the expense of Clones and Fergal O'Hanlon's respectively. In the first round series Aughnamullen were once again comfortable winners over Blackhill while Currin beat Eire Og, Killeevan beat Toome and Oram beat Killanny. As the competition progressed towards the semi-final stages it was clear that we in for a very open finale. Ballybay hosted the semi finals with Oram and Eire Og turning out to be "a one-sided"affair as Oram struggled right from the start.

  In the second game Currin were playing Aughnamullen whom they had already defeated in an earlier round by three points. This was a more entertaining affair with never much between the sides and it was not until late in the game that Aughnamullen emerged as the strongest team and got their noses in front.

Final played in Clontibret

 

The final was played in Clontibret before a large attendance on Sunday the 14th October. In an evenly contested first-half both teams would have felt reasonably happy at the break; Eire Og probably shaded the spoils.

Came to life

  The second-half came to life as Aughnamullen fought to overcome Eire Og's slender lead, they introduced some experienced subs and immediately it had an effect.

  Within a couple of minutes Aidan Flanagan had found the net and with a few more points they galvanised a memorable victory and represented Monaghan in the Ulster Junior Club Championship.

 Preliminary Round:

 03/06/2007: Blackhill 1-9, Fergal O'Hanlon 1-7 (Castle-blayney).

  27/05/2007: Aughnamullen 1-11, Clones 0-7 (Drumhowan).

  First Round:

  27/05/2007: Currin 1-4, Eire Og 0-6 (Monaghan).

  02/06/2007: Toome 1-4,  Kil-leevan 0-10. (Drumhowan).

  03/06/2007: Killanny 1-7,  Oram 3-8. (Castleblayney).

  18/08/2007: Blackhill 0-8,  Aughnamullen  2-10  played in Clontibret.

  Second Round:  – 01/07/2007 Fergal O'Hanlons 0-3,  Toome  5-9. (Castleblayney).

  10/07/2007: Eire Og 2-19,  Killanny  0-1. (Castleblayney).

  09/09/2007: Eire Og 1-13, Clones 1-8 in Monaghan. 

  09/09/2007:  Killeevan  0-8, Oram 0-11. (Monaghan).

  09/09/2007: Blackhill 0-8, Toome 2-10. (Drumhowan).

  09/09/2007: Aughnamullen 1-5,  Currin  0-11. (Drumhowan.

  Quarter Finals: 22/09/2007 –   Aughnamullen 3-8,  Toome 0-6 (Ballybay).

  23/09/2007: Eire Og 3-8,  Kil-leevan 0-10. (Clones).

 Semi-Final: 30/09/2007 –  Oram 0-7,  Eire Og 1-15 in Pearse Park, Ballybay.

 30/09/2007: Currin 0-8, Aughnamullen 0-10. (Ballybay).

  Final – 14/10/2007 –  Aughna-mullen 1-9, Eire Og  0-8 played in Clontibret.

Ulster Club Junior Football Championship

Aughnamullen gave a great account of themselves in the Ulster series and reached the Ulster final which was an outstanding achievement for the Sarsfields club.

  In their first game against St. John Bosco of Newry in early November the team produced a brilliant performance to overcome the Down champions by five points.

  In the semi-final they played the Donegal champions Naomh Mhuire in Omagh and came away with another victory under their belts and qualified for the final against The Rock from Tyrone.

Provincial final

  In the final The Rock overcame an Aughnamullen team that just failed to function in the first half in Clones but who contributed to a thrilling second period that ended with the Tyrone champions winning by two points.

 

Ulster Club Championship (Junior Football):

 

  04/11/07:  Aughnamullen 2-12, Bosco (Down) 0-13  (Newry).

  18/11/07: Aughnamullen  1-9,  Naomh  Mhuire  0-5  (Omagh).

  25/11/07: Aughnamullen  2-6, Rock (Co. Tyrone) 2-8  (Clones).

Monaghan Minor Football Championship Final 2007

  The Minor Football Championship Final was played as a curtain raiser to the Junior Final on Sunday the 14th October 2007.  Both Scotstown and Castleblayney came through their respective semi-finals with ease, Scotstown accounting for Monaghan Harps and Castleblayney overcoming Emyvale. 

  The final was an excellent game of football and was closer than the score suggests particularly towards the latter end of the game when it was tit for tat as both teams threw everything into attack but at the end it was Scotstown's captain Daniel McNally who lifted the Fergal O'Hanlon Cup.

  Monaghan Minor Football Championship Final 2007 (sponsored by Boyle & Curran).

14/10/07 Scotstown  1.13    Castleblayney  1.08    (Clontibret)

  As champions of Monaghan Scotstown then went on to represent the county in the Ulster minor club champions tournament in Belfast but succumbed to a stronger Rostrevor team who had been impressive in the Down championship. It finished Scotstown 1-10, Rostrevor 3-6.

Club Leagues

  John Scully in his report described the all county football leagues as "continuing to be strong and vibrant and this can be seen from the attendances at matches during the year. Monaghan is one of the few counties that use a system of promotion and relegation in their leagues to determine championship status thus ensuring that league games are lively and spirited and mean something to the players.

  The leagues can guarantee the ordinary club players meaningful and competitive football throughout the year although some proposals that are coming forward could change the structure in Monaghan. This year, the league programme finished on a disappointing note, with one of the semi-finals of the senior competition being abandoned following a melee, and both teams were disqualified from the competition.

  Clontibret who won the other semi-final are still awaiting a decision regarding the league title. In the intermediate league Monaghan Harps overcame the disappointment of defeat in the championship to take the league title at the expense of Truagh while at junior level Eire Og held out for the narrowest of victories over Killeevan in their replayed final that was played on December 23rd last.

Hurling

  It may not have been a good year on the inter-county front but hurling at club level is in good shape with seven clubs participating in the various competitions. The senior championship was back to a knock-out competition with Latton playing Castleblayney in the final in Ballybay and Monaghan's newest affiliated club playing in a senior final which only shows the strides that the club has made in promoting the game in their community.

  The final was entertaining with Latton showing great enthusiasm early on that helped them to lead the champions by a couple of points at half time. In the second half the game was there for the taking and if Latton had to take the chances that came their way maybe they would have gone on to win.

  In typical Castleblayney fashion and all the experience in their side they were the ones to put daylight between the teams when a late point secured victory for the favourites.

Silver Hill Foods, Senior Hurling Championship Results 2007.

Preliminary Round

 14/06/07  Clontibret  4.10  Inniskeen  0.11  (Carrickmacross)

 14/06/07  Monaghan Harps  3.12  Carrickmacross  2.07  (Clontibret)

 14/06/07  Latton  2.11  Truagh Gaels  1.13  (Monaghan)

Semi-Finals

Latton  3.10  Monaghan Harps  4.06

Castleblayney  1.10  Clontibret  1.08

Final

29/7/07 Castleblayney  0.15  Latton  1.10  (Ballybay)

Silverhill Senior Hurling Shield.

Final  Carrickmacross  1.10  Inniskeen  1.07

  In the Ulster Club Championships Castleblayney went down to the Tyrone champions Carrickmore in the intermediate grade and Carrickmacross were defeated in the junior, also by Tyrone opposition.

Ulster Club Intermediate Hurling Championship 2007

07/10/07 Castleblayney  1-8  Carrickmore (Tyrone)  4-5  (Omagh)

 Ulster Club Junior Hurling Championship 2007

07/10/07  Carrickmacross  1.06  Naomh Colmcille  (Tyrone)  4.16  (Castleblayney)