CLUB FOCUS – Munterconnaught build for the future

Here is the story of Cavan club who are working diligently to improve their club as they strive for success on the field of play and handball alley

the club

At the very heart of the Munterconnaught club is community.

So says two of the more senior members of the club, Noel McEnroe and Aidan Dwyer, who themselves have held senior positions in the club for years.

Noel McEnroe said: “It is a very well run club. We don’t have problem getting numbers for committees or coaching. We are progressive. We don’t have any debt, and we are always looking ahead.

“The community spirit is so important. Anything that happens in the Parish, the club is part of. From a funeral to any gathering. At Easter the club brought out hamper and a card for the older members.

“We work with our community and they support us.”

Aidan Dwyer said: “The club does a lot for the older people in the club. I got the benefit of that myself.”

The club have 250 members, which is a fine number for a club that is based in a one mile by three mile area. They take up just one third of a parish they share with Castlerahan and Ballyjamesduff.

That’s the Castlerahan club who are defending senior champions.

Noel McEnroe said: “If you don’t have a full parish it is a disadvantage but we are working to our strengths. We amalgamate at underage as part of Blackwater Gaels (with Mountnugent) and that has worked well. We have won a few titles. We want those players to play at the highest levels. It is good for their mindsets.”

Their numbers are limited by what they have in their small area.

Noel McEnroe said: “We have a commuting community who travel to Dublin. There aren’t many who move into the parish.

“We have a couple of players who moved away, good footballers, whether that to be to teach in the Arab Emirates. Or to go to London. One of our players, Sean Nolan is playing with the London county team.”

The club has a young squad of around 30 players. They also have a full reserve team.

Noel McEnroe said: “We are hoping to win a Junior championship. We got to a semi-final last year. We thought we would do better this year. But we are getting there.

“The underage structures are very good and we have a great conveyor belt of youth.”

What do they need to do to break through to win the championship?

Aidan Dwyer who was on the county board in Cavan for 48 years – said it was a matter of time: “Those young players need time to get experience. Hopefully the experiences they had this year will help them. That’s the hope.

“But there are four or five very good junior teams, they are so good they maybe should be intermediate.”

Noel said: “The junior championship is very difficult to win.

“A championship would work wonders. We haven’t won one since 1994. I think if we could get over the mindset of winning a junior championship they could do well in the Intermediate.”

But Aidan Dwyer added: “There are a lot of clubs who haven’t won one and they are going well. We are not doing too badly.”

Ladies football

Ladies Football has been played in the Munterconnaught area of Cavan for almost a decade now. After a short number of years playing as a standalone entity, an amalgamation was secured with neighbouring parish club Mountnugent.

The new club initially played under the name Bridgewater Gaels. This was subsequently changed to Mountnugent/Munterconnaught (or to M and Ms as the underage girls like to refer to themselves). A competitive edge was immediately evident in all grades, with a number of teams winning county titles in their respective divisions over the coming years.

The club now fields teams in all grades from u-11s to Senior ladies. And speaking of the Senior ladies, what a few years it has been for this bunch of girls. They contested two Junior county finals in 2017 and 2018 respectively, only to be defeated in both.

The lessons learnt from both those campaigns stood to the girls hugely in the 2019 season when, at the third time of asking, they won the Ladies county junior title. A just reward for all the hard work and determination.

A county league title was also won this season. The current year has been somewhat fragmented with the Covid situation and the Intermediate level is certainly a step up from previous campaigns. However, our senior ladies are certainly where they belong and they very recently cemented their place in the Intermediate ranks for the coming 2021 season.

Facilities

There have been changes within the Munterconnaught club over the years, not least to the facilities.

The original clubrooms were built and opened in St. Bartholomew’s Park on 1st Aug, 1988 and there was limited work undertaken to the facilities and pitch surrounds over the following years.

As the local population grew quickly during the noughties – the club looked at how the facilities could be modernised and expanded to meet its needs going forward. In September 2007, a public meeting was held in the Clubrooms and the Park Development Committee was formed with the remit of delivering new and enhanced facilities at an affordable price to give everyone in the community the opportunity to participate in GAA, other sport and recreational activity.

The work undertaken was significant and the committee formulated innovative funding plans that were different to the more traditional types of fund raising. A lot of hard work was undertaken to achieve the funding target set out before the development work started.

National Lottery funding of €150,000 was secured and this gave them the initial impetus to secure commitments from local contributors to a 5 Year Funding Plan. €200,000 was raised locally which is a phenomenal amount considering the size of the community. They also secured a GAA grant of €25,000 and took out a loan facility with Oldcastle Credit Union to cover the remainder of the costs incurred.

Work began in July 2009 and the official opening took place on Aug 12th, 2011. The new facilities included a Running/Walking Track with lighting, Covered Spectator Stand, Gymnasium, Handball/Racquetball Court, Male & Female Changing Rooms, Meeting Room, Treatment Room, Kitchen and resurfacing of the car park / building surrounds.

There is a strong and vibrant community spirit in Munterconnaught and the new facilities are having a positive impact for the Club, bringing in new members who were previously not involved with the club.

Other community based groups from inside and outside the parish use the facilities, e.g. Set Dancing, Irish Dancing, Virginia Cycling club, Speech & Drama, etc. The Running/Walking track gives people a safe place to walk or run at their leisure.

Other works undertaken since 2011 (with the help of subsequent Sports Capital funding) include Pitch drainage improvements; Converted the grounds behind the Handball Court into a playing/training pitch; Changing Rooms off the Handball Alley and new ball stop nets.

Further work is planned including a Hurling Wall, Ball Stop nets for the training pitch and Security Fencing.

David Hughes – Secretary, Park Development Committee – said: “The Club sincerely thanks the local community for their ongoing support and commitment, we look forward to continuing to grow and prosper over the next number of years.”

Handball

There has been a history of handball in Munterconnaught and the club is continuing this tradition whilst increasing the level of participation.

The new Handball Alley was part of the new facilities that were opened in 2011 and the Handball club was formed after that.

The membership is a mix of Adults and Juveniles and our members are registered with Croke Park and take part in GAA Handball competitions. The handballers have performed well in these competitions. Some of the achievements include:

All Ireland 60 x 30 Adults Championships – 2019

Peter Mc Cabe who recently partnered Philip Clarke won the EMBED All Ireland 60 x 30 Doubles final.

Cavan County 60 x 30 Adult Championships

Vincent Mulvey and Shane Roche won the County 60 x 30 Doubles championship in 2013.

Cavan County 40 x 20 Singles Championships

Peter McCabe and Vincent Mulvey reached the 2015 final.

Peter won out to become the first Munterconnaught player to win this title.

Vincent Mulvey also finished runner up in the Junior B Championship final in 2017 and 2018.

Caolin Hughes reached the u-14s Semi Final in 2016.

David Hughes – Handball Chairman said: “We run singles and doubles competitions involving other Handball clubs which have been very successful.

“Our Handball facilities are annually used for the Intervarsity Handball competitions and the club is getting involved in hosting/co-hosting County competitions.

“The Handball club and Knocktemple NS work closely together and this is encouraging the younger generation to get involved and participate.

“In the recent past, pupils from 4th, 5th and 6th class have attended coaching sessions run by the school and handball club.

“Pupils have taken part in school competitions as well as in Feile na Gael competitions. This is having a positive impact, mostly recently with Nathan DeKleer reaching the final of last year’s Ulster Cumann na MBunscol competition.

“We have a vibrant Handball club and look forward to seeing more people joining and participating in the future.”

Munterconnaught GAA Underage

The underage club in Munterconnaught is a wonderful asset to their community. Children are invited to join the club in the Spring before they begin Junior Infants. It is an invaluable opportunity for children to bond and grow friendships before they begin school. There are currently 37 children registered to play in the U7 age group (top right). The club have 28 registered in the U9 (centre right) and 24 registered in the U11 (bottom right) age groups.

These groups rely on volunteers to coach them each week, arrange challenge games and organise blitz competitions when possible. These coaches give freely of their time, without any reservations, and the community would not be as close knit without all of these people. In the busy world we live in, with all the hustle and bustle of the daily grind, the side-line is a great place for parents to meet, chat and cement friendships that will last through the years. Most notably when “new comers” move into the area it is the ideal location to chat and get to know your neighbours.

Strong links between club and local school, Knocktemple National School, are evident throughout the year. The school helps to promote fundraising events for the club as well as facilitating the distribution of club lotto envelops at select times in the year.

Students in the u-17 age group who take part in the Transition Year program visit the school to give extra training sessions to 4th, 5th and 6th classes in April/May. Aside from developing skills with these younger members, these TY students are enforcing a sense of belonging and support to each other.

When lockdown took hold of the country this year and underage training could not begin, the underage committee organised Zoom quizzes for the U9 and U11 age groups. These were upbeat with questions on topics ranging from geography to sport, and even included music rounds. Prizes were dropped at the gates of houses the morning after. This encouraged a sense of community and belonging for all our underage players. When it was announced that training could begin at the end of May, parents volunteered immediately to become Covid-19 supervisors, sanitise equipment and clean toilet facilities. Every effort was made to get the kids safely back to the GAA pitch, where they could meet their pals and all could feel more somewhat “normal” again.

Every summer the club host one of the county Cul Camps.

In year one they had upwards on 80 participants. In recent years numbers attending our Cul Camp have risen to 120. A very successful and safe camp was held this year with a full house. All children in the parish and beyond are welcomed by the Cul camp team and local volunteers. The underage groups typically have training sessions until Mid-October, when the season comes to a close. To mark this the u-7, u-9 and u-11 players take part in a blitz day, where 4 local clubs are invited to take part. The u-11 age group compete to win the memorial Gilsenan Cup, which is coveted in the area.

As we are a small rural community, amalgamations are necessary in the u-13, u-15 and u-17 age groups. This strengthens links between neighbouring communities and builds on mutual respect and admiration between small rural clubs.

Overview and brief history…

The pursuit of the art of football goes back a long way in the parish of Munterconnaught on the shores of Lough Ramor in County Cavan. The parish itself straddles the Cavan/Meath border and lies south of the town of Virginia on the opposite side of Lough Ramor. Towards the latter end of the 19th century local lads entered a team named Connaught Rangers in the Cavan Football Championship. Football continued to be played throughout the early years of the 20th century. The high point of the club’s achievement in the first half of the 20th century was the winning of the Cavan Junior Championship in 1949.

Unfortunately, post World War 2, the economic hardships visited on all areas of Ireland resulted in a decline in the playing of Gaelic Games throughout the country and many clubs, Munterconnaught included, endured difficult times. In 1954, such difficulties resulted in the club folding. Neighbouring clubs were to benefit from any remaining men who sought out other options to practice and play football.

However, the spirit of identity was never far away from the minds of Munterconnaught men and the club was reformed in 1969. Munterconnaught GFC (or The Munchies as they are affectionately known) reinstated itself in the ranks of Cavan football once again. It didn’t take long for the club to achieve some success after its reformation. In 1972, a victory against Ballinagh was recorded in a League Final.

Confidence was now high in the club and among the players, who turned their attention to the winning of the Junior Championship. Two Junior finals were contested between 1969 and 1975, only to lose out to Killinkere and Lavey respectively. The bitter taste of defeat spurred the club onwards with renewed determination and in 1976 Munterconnaught won the county junior title by the tightest of margins, a one point win over Ballinagh.

A spell in the Intermediate ranks followed, as did the success. In 1980 the Intermediate title was landed when Munterconnaught defeated Cuchulainns by 3 points. There followed a stint in the Senior ranks where the club acquitted itself well before returning to Intermediate level in 1987. During those years (1980-1988) huge work was done in developing a site in Ryefield, Munterconnaught, which today is home to the Munterconnaught GAA club. The home ground is called St. Bartholomew’s Park, after the patron saint of the parish. It was officially opened in 1988.

A return to junior football followed and success was not far behind. The Junior championship was won again in 1994, defeating Belturbet’s Rory O Moores by 4 points. Since that famous victory 3 more Junior finals have been contested (2006, 2010 and 2011). Alas, on each occasion, lady luck did not smile on The Munchies. So the quest for another county title goes on with everyone in this East Cavan parish hoping that all pieces of that jigsaw will very soon fall into place.