Corlough going back to their roots

Months of hard work will culminate with one of the most important events in the life of Corlough St. Patrick's GFC this Sunday, when the legendary Mick O'Dwyer officially opens their new grounds at 1.45pm. The afternoon will also feature a match between Crossmaglen Rangers and Glencar Manorhamilton, and Gaels originally from the area will travel to join the rest of the parish to celebrate a significant achievement by a small west Cavan club. The great Mick Higgins has also been invited to attend during an entire weekend of activities to demonstrate the vibrant community spirit in the area. The new clubroom complex includes four dressing rooms, a storeroom and a locker for referees. The stand and the new fencing around the pitch are also complete. The club is at the heart of the community and former chairman Hugh McGovern wishes to thank everyone who gave financial support, the surrounding clubs in west Cavan, south Leitrim and south Fermanagh who purchased tickets, and Aughawillan for the use of their pitch. It is a busy time for the club PRO Gerry Prior, but he wouldn't have it any other way, as the realisation of a dream becomes a reality on Sunday. "There have been lots of meetings and late nights, but I'm absolutely thrilled to be part of it all at this historic time to the club," he said. Gerry was in goal on the memorable occasion in 1982 when they lost to Lavey. "If I'd stayed on my line as the high ball came into the square, the result could have been different," he said with a smile. He was captain of the team, then and his next ambition is for the club to win major honours in the years ahead. The present manager at is Peter Prior, and Gerry gives him a hand, so he'll keep 1982 in mind as a motivating factor! The current chairman Michael McGovern says it is an excellent achievement to put these fine facilities in place. He thanked the Feehan family for the donation of the field for development and all the committees that worked so hard - the park committee, the fund raising committee and the committee responsible for organising the official opening. "We spent approximately €650,000 and we received in the region of €280,000 through grants. We want to thank Minister Brendan Smith for his help and all the local politicians," said Michael. The club will continue fundraising to pay off the remainder of the cost. Michael started playing with the club when he was nine in 1969, and he hung up the boots at 40 years of age. With Sean Prior and Martin McGovern, he started coaching U10s in 1995; they won an U12 League in 1997 and were victorious in the final of the U14 championship in 1999. Most of that team under Aidan Cassidy and Sean Prior won the U16 championship of 2000, when there was an amalgamation with Swanlinbar. In 1992 Corlough won the U14 league and championship double and two years later in an amalgamation with Swanlinbar they won the U14 championship. Then in 2006 they won the minor championship, again amalgamated with Swanlinbar. Club secretary Pauric McGovern, who works with Quinn Insurance in Cavan, is a playing member with the team. He says they have a small panel in a close knit community - 23 players are usually available. It's not easy having all the players at training at the one time, as a significant number work in Dublin and elsewhere, but "Corlough is a lovely rural area and the people are friendly and everyone gets on well". They work hard at maintaining team spirit, and under captain Joseph Prior they go away together for a weekend every year. Fr. Tom McManus, PP, is the club's ASAP officer, which means preventing the harm caused by the abuse of alcohol and drugs. It is important to educate people in the club about the harm the abuse of the substances can cause to the individual, he pointed out. "These problems are no longer confined to cities and large towns. "A good, strong GAA club makes a huge difference in the community, it creates great community spirit - the people in the club are a great support to people in difficulty, particularly at the time of tragic events. It extends beyond the realm of sport," he added. Founded The former club chairman Hugh McGovern revealed that the club was called Corlough St. Patrick's when it was founded in 1904. They had both hurling and football teams from 1916 to 1918. The chief driver of the hurling then was Sean O'Heslin, a teacher in the area, and the park and club in Ballinamore are named in his honour. The war years and emigration hit west Cavan and the club went out of existence for a time. Then in 1947 the Feehan family arrived in Corlough. Patrick Feehan was from Westport, Co. Mayo and his wife was from Aughawillan, and their two sons, Dessie and Joe, were instrumental in getting the club up and running again. It continued for four years until 1952, when it broke up again, due primarily to emigration. At one stage there were no teams in Ballyconnell, Swanlinbar or Templeport and players togged out for West Cavan Gaels. Then in the late fifties they went to play with Templeport and Swanlinbar. Hugh explained that in 1963 they got the club going again and P. McGovern was the chairman. "We've worked hard over the years to keep it going right up to this day," he said. Hugh revealed that the club endured mixed fortunes over the years; they were in a county final in 1982 and lost to Gowna but they won a division three winter league in 1969. They contested the league final of 1976/77 in Breffni Park, when Lavey won by a point. They also contested a league final against Maghera in 1984, which culminated in a draw... but Corlough lost the replay by a goal. Promotion to division two 10 years ago resulted in mixed fortunes as four or five of the team retired; four teams were relegated and unfortunately for Corlough they were the fourth one. "We were back in division three and we had good success along the way until this year," said Hugh "We were joint third last year but our form has dipped this year. We're at the bottom of the table with two games to play." He was also in charge of the underage teams and won the first U12 title back in 1982 and an U14 in 1984. The late Pauric McHugh was secretary at the time and there is now a cup in his memory - the U14 teams from Templeport and Corlough will compete for it on Saturday. He also mentioned the late Peter Maguire, who was a star player with the club. Hugh played football with Corlough for many years and togged out on five different fields in the parish but if he was playing now he'd do so on the excellent play pitch that's now in place, thanks to Sean Feehan, who donated the field to the club. Women Katrina McGovern says the ladies play a vital role in the club and were responsible for doing as lot of research of the decades past. Katrina used to play camogie with the club. Ann Marie McTeggart says there is no place like Corlough and she has children playing on the underage teams. "We bring them to and from training and we take them to the matches and we wash the jerseys." Both ladies says it is the nature of a small club to promote teamwork and everyone gets involved in various tasks when the need arises. The community spirit is great and everyone gels together, particularly for a landmark occasion like this Sunday.