Cavan Gaels - November 2017 newsletter

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CAVAN GAELS GAA

NEWSLETTER ISSUE 29 NOVEMBER 2017

Eagrán Shamna anseo is Fáilte. Agus an 14ú Craobh an Chontae buaite acu, Ádh Mór ar an lucht sínsearachta agus go n’eirí leo i gCúige Uladh. Tá na laethanta ag laghdú ach is dóchas linn go bhfuil an Séasur Spórtúil ag leathnú!

NOVEMBER 2017

GAELS STORK Congrats to Padraig, Orla and Zach on the new addition to your family. Welcome Louis Byrne!

Samhain

GAELS STORK Cathal Young’s grandson Cillian - 1month old supporting the gaels from Dublin!

TORNADOES Every Saturday at 11am.

Terry Coyle Park.

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senior champions 2017 Congratulations to our Senior Men’s team who defeated Castlerahan in the Championship County Final by 0:13 to 0:08. The Oliver Plunkett trophy is back in Terry Coyle Park!

Back row l to r: Alan O Riordan, Alan Kelly, Shane Fortune, Martin Cassidy, Robert Maloney Derham, Kevin Brady, Vinny Coyle, Barry Fortune, Ed O Hanlon, Ciaran Flynn, Niall Murray, Padraig Sexton, Sean Johnston, John Fortune, Dylan Molloy.

Front: Paul O Connor, Fearghail Blessing, Liam Og Cooke, Levi Murphy, Luke Fortune, Darragh Sexton, Niall Smith, Mickey Lyng, Andy Graham, Martin Dunne, Michael Meehan, Sean Fitzsimmons, Jermaine O Rourke, Kevin Meehan.

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Oliver Plunkett was well travelled in the week following our Senior Men’s championship victory. Sponsors, schools, underage parties, training sessions and even a pub or two had a visit from the famous cup. It’s back where it belongs now, in Terry Coyle trphy cabinet!

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“leave it to levi” by tommy monaghan “Remember the past and embrace the new!”

Said Aogan O Fearghail and isn’t it just true As we witness a re-birth at Gael an Chabhain Our club embracing a brand new dawn.

One side-line incident summed up it all As three Ballyduffers charged towards the ball A strong counter attack the plan would be But sprinting from nowhere you beat all three

Mary sitting comfortably in her role as Chair A new complex opened with style and with flair Flag-waving kids their support so heart-felt A sign of a club bursting with health

From that all-inspiring moment it soon became clear That the Cavan town team had moved up a gear Seanie clapped you and we all gave cheer It was then I knew you were the one to revere

And what a lovely tradition that I can’t just let pass To see the team and supporters kneel down at mass As he often said “what a way to start the day” God was present I know but so was JJ

Levi you are enrolled in the Poets’ hall of fame Poem number ten now bears your name Thank you Levi Murphy and your brothers on that team You’ve helped the Cavan Gaels family continue the dream

New manager Jason Reilly a real revelation His input a cause for great celebration As he calmly and skilfully helped our dreams to fulfil Oliver Plunkett is at last back up the Hill This squad was new and unlike many others Was enriched by the presence of five sets of brothers The Meehans and Grahams were up for the fight Fortunes Sextons and Murrays had only victory in sight But the real brotherhood on that day was much broader A real team-effort played exactly to order Flynn was unflappable with veteran Luke aged nineteen While Niall had the handcuffs on star-man Cian Kevin the sweeper is a real touch of class Stephen and Barry would let nothing pass Castlerahan at midfield hoped to reign over all But failed to take account of our Robert and Paul Games so often take a turn and a swing And what better swinger than the great Micheal Lyng Making sure the wing forwards were cleverly fed Speedsters Niall and Andrew made the Maroon men see red When things got tight wasn’t it sweet To see Martin glide over a pint so neat High-fielding O Connor caused havoc now and then And helped talisman Jelly collect number ten.

Darragh, Declan, Vinny and Sean Showed strength-in-depth when they arrived on Backing up Jason were two tough operators Karol and Eamonn the prime motivators.

But the unsung hero for me on the day For his intelligent timing and over-all play His covering and tackling and attacking with speed Levi was the man who gave the lead.

Your name may be linked to a pair of jeans But your skill is in-bred from the Murphy genes From a Cavan town-rooted footballing clan On the 5th of October you were the man.

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u11 girls Congrats to our u11 girls and coaches who won their Autumn League final recently against Cornafean. Well to all involved!

u8 boys Thanks to Killygarry GFC for organising a great blitz on last month. We think these lads enjoyed it...

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player Profile eamonn “chesty” reilly DOB: 07 December 1982 HONOURS: • All Ireland Community Games u-10 1992 • 1 u12 League (1994) • 2 u14 league & championships 95 & 96 • All Ireland Feile 1996 • 2 u16 League & Championships (97 & 98) • Fr. Manning Cup and Gerry Reilly Tournament winners with Cavan u16 1998 • 2 Minor Leagues 99 & 2000 • 3 Minor Championships 98, 99 & 2000 • 1 Ulster Minor Club 2000 • 2 U21 Championships 2000 & 2001 • 1 South Ulster League 2004 • 9 Senior Leagues 2000, 01, 03, 04, 05, 07, 08, 09, 10 • 9 Senior Championships 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2014.

WHAT IS YOUR OUTSTANDING MEMORY FROM YOUR GAA CAREER TO DATE? Everytime I drove up the Barrick Hill to Terry Coyle gave me a great thrill and pulling on the Gaels Jersey to go into battle with my best friends gave me the happiest of memories that will stay with me forever.

IF YOU COULD REVISIT ONE MOMENT FROM YOUR CAREER AND CHANGE IT, WHICH MOMENT WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY? I would have a few moments as would every player that they would change or do differently if given another chance but things on the field happen in an instant luckily for me I have had some magic moments too which ease any such regrets.

WHO WAS YOUR TOUGHEST OPPONENT? Peter Canavan.

WHAT’S THE MOST YOU HAVE EVER SCORED IN ONE GAME? I think 1-03 or 1-04 WHAT 3 PEOPLE, ALIVE OR DEAD, WOULD YOU INVITE TO A DINNER PARTY? 1.) Uncle JJ to tell him all about the wonderful new clubrooms and talk him through this year’s success. 2.) Michael “Stick” Meehan for some entertainment 3.) Rickie Fowler for some golf tips .

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO CHANGE ABOUT YOUR GAME? To be still playing would be brilliant...

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES AND INTERESTS OUTSIDE THE GAA? Golf and 5 aside soccer.

WHAT’S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU EVER RECEIVED? “Give it everything you can when you are able. There’s no point being 35 and realising you’ve missed the boat and training hard then… it’s too late!” - Gerry McCarville.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE GAA MEMORY? Winning the 1998 minor championship with the Gaels; we were given no chance and beat a number of amalgamations along the way; the joy and celebrations gave me a great hunger for success at senior level.

WHO IS THE BEST HURLER AND FOOTBALLER YOU HAVE EVER SEEN? My 4 boyhood Gaelic football heros were Mick Lyons (Meath), Seamus Moynihan (Kerry), Peter Canavan (Tyrone) and our own Mickey Graham.

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player Profile karol crotty DOB: 19/03/1980 HONOURS: 9 County Championship Titles, 9 County League Titles, 2 U 21 County Titles, 1 Minor Championship. Selector for the 2017 Cavan Gaels winning team.

WHAT IS YOUR OUTSTANDING MEMORY FROM YOUR GAA CAREER TO DATE? Lucky enough to be involved in a lot of winning teams but 2001 when we first won the County Championship was very special. 23 years since the club had won it last back in 1978 which made for unbelievable celebrations. You know how important it is for people when you see grown men cry!

IF YOU COULD REVISIT ONE MOMENT FROM YOUR CAREER AND CHANGE IT, WHICH MOMENT WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY? Would have liked to achieve success in the Ulster Club. Still believe we had a team very capable of winning it but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.

WHO WAS YOUR TOUGHEST OPPONENT? Market a few tough lads, but the hardest I found was Ross Munnelly from Laois, never stopped running!!

WHAT’S THE MOST YOU HAVE EVER SCORED IN ONE GAME? I think I’ll skip this one……. Wasn’t the most prolific scorer – Gerry McCarville use to shout at me not to kick it once I passed the opposition’s 45, I literally had to stop and wait for the lads to catch up me so I could pass the ball to them!!!

WHAT 3 PEOPLE, ALIVE OR DEAD, WOULD YOU INVITE TO A DINNER PARTY? Going on current form, I think dinner with President Trump and Kim Jong Un with Graham Norton to mix things up a little would be entertaining.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO CHANGE ABOUT YOUR GAME? I’d like to be young again and still be playing.

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES AND INTERESTS OUTSIDE THE GAA? Family and a little golf when I have the time.

WHAT’S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU EVER RECEIVED? We’d had a lot of excellent mangers down through the years. It comes down to being honest with yourself and leaving everything you have on the field. Have no regrets walking off.

WHO IS THE BEST HURLER AND FOOTBALLER YOU HAVE EVER SEEN? DJ Carey (Kilkenny) and Maurice Fitzgerald (Kerry).

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AG DUL SIAR AR BHÓITHRÍN NA SMAOINTE:

A PROFILE OF PJ CARROLL A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE TO DELVE INTO PJ CARROLL’S EXTENSIVE FOOTBALL LIFE WHICH INCLUDED OVER 25 YEARS OF QUALITY SERVICE TO CAVAN GAELS AS A PLAYER, ADMINISTRATOR AND TEAM MENTOR. It is incredible that a large cohort of the youth membership of Cavan Gaels would not recognise PJ Carroll as he goes about his daily walk around Cavan town. Yet for almost thirty years PJ worked tirelessly for the club when it was finding its feet and increasing in popularity.

Following PJ’s early involvement with Cavan Gaels, he put his whole energy into team management and spent virtually the next twenty years as manager of different club teams in Cavan and its surrounding counties as well as assuming the very onerous and responsible job of county senior team manager in Cavan (twice), Leitrim and Sligo. In the early 2000’s, he was back with his native club as enthusiastic as ever, helping the club in his role as team manager to win the under 16 league in 2004.

PJ Carroll is a native of College Street in Cavan town. He has two brothers, Sean (Dag) and Martin, and also two sisters, Pauline and Maureen. His father Pakie, who was killed in a motor accident when PJ was seventeen years old, hadn’t played football himself but was from a Slashers background. However, Pakie’s brother Jamsie who also lived in College Street, played with the Slashers. When he finished playing, he was secretary of the club for a number of years.

It was Brother Cyril who inspired PJ to play Gaelic football. PJ said to me recently and I quote “Bro. Cyril was a football genius. He was way ahead of his time in his coaching methods. He continuously practised the basic skills until they were automatic actions and he created a series of tactical templates on how to unlock defences”.

PJ enjoyed his football in the Brothers school. Teams captained by him won the school’s annual internal leagues on a few occasions.

His cousin Gerry ‘Scobie’ Carroll, Jamsie’s son, was another outstanding player in the school at this time. In 1958, the De La Salle Under14 team which included the Carroll cousins was beaten in the final of the Roinn A league by an excellent Crosserlough side, many of whom would later become the backbone of the Crosserlough teams that won a record seven in a row Cavan senior championship titles (1966-1972).

The year 1958 stands out in PJ’s mind for another reason. It was the year that Cavan Gaels and their opponents Crosserlough were appearing in their first ever Cavan senior championship final and both were hoping to create history by winning their first title. It was Crosserlough who made their own piece of history in a very exciting game which included two hat tricks, on by each side. It was the excitement of the game that day as he sat just behind the Gaels substitutes that gave PJ the grá to play Gaelic football for Cavan Gaels.

He vouched that he would do everything in his power to win a senior championship title with the club when he was older.

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His first game for the club’s senior team came much earlier than he had expected. One Sunday afternoon in the early months of 1959 the late Eugene Monaghan, one of the founding members of the club in February 1957, called to PJ’s house in College Street and pleaded with him to come and play with the Gaels seniors in an away league game against Mullahoran, as they were finding it difficult to field a team. Although only fifteen, he agreed to play. In the early years of the club’s existence, it was not an unusual occurrence to have a depleted team at the start of the year and particularly so if it was an away game against Mullahoran.

The game was played in Killydoon and the Gaels were well beaten. PJ’s memory of the game is sketchy but he was able to recall a few interesting things. He was playing at left corner forward and he scored the first point of the game. Also, just after the match started he was told in no uncertain terms by his marker not to come near the square. Coincidentally, playing at full forward for the Gaels on that day was the late Brendan Dunne formerly of Cavan Harps and Butlersbridge who was a team selector but had to play because of lack of numbers. . The youthful PJ felt reasonably safe having Brendan Dunne as a minder, playing beside him.

Two other memories stand out from that day. The first one concerns a Mullahoran man Matt Brennan, who was playing full back for the Gaels. Matt worked as a barman in the Abbey Bar. He had a brilliant game. The tougher it got the more he seemed to enjoy it. The second one concerns another Gaels player who had just joined the club. He was Garda Mick Ryan, a native of Mayo, who went on to give great service to the Gaels until 1965 when he left Cavan town on transfer. He was very impressive at midfield that day and took lots of physical abuse as he went at speed on his trademark solo runs.

A few days after PJ’s first senior game for the Gaels, the Mullahoran full back John ‘the Gunner’ Brady paid a visit to the Garda Barracks in Ashe Street and asked to see the new guard Mick Ryan. Mick didn’t recognise John Brady initially. They shook hands tightly as the Gunner said” You don’t know me but I played against you last Sunday up in Mullahoran. You’re a good young fast footballer. I want to welcome you to Cavan and hope you enjoy your time here”. They then had a general conversation for a few minutes and as John was about to leave, he said “By the way I’m an insurance broker. If you’re thinking about a life assurance policy or any other type of insurance, you know where I am”.

That was PJ’s first and last experience of senior club football until 1962. In the interim, he concentrated on playing under 16 (Oliver Plunkett’s) and then minor football, both of which were organised on a parish basis. He played at full forward on the first Cavan Gaels minor team to contest a championship final in 1962. His cousin Gerry ‘Scobie’ Carroll played at centre half back. They were defeated narrowly by a strong Bailieborough-Kingscourt combination.

1962 Minor Finalists Front(L-R): Jim Mooney, Michael Walsh, Dermot Burke, Frank Sheridan, Eamon McCormack, Larry Ready(Capt.), Dickie Smith, John Cusack, Johnny Murray, John Higgins. Back(L-R): Paddy O’Reilly, Teddy O’Neill, Gerry Carroll, John Sullivan, PJ Carroll, Raymond Dunne, Paddy Lyons, Raymond Kane, Brian O’Reilly, Richard Graham, Des Lambert.

(The 2 youngsters at the back- Paddy Greenan & PJ Dunne) Cavan Gaels, from its inception in 1957, took responsibility for organising minor football in the Cavan parish of Urney and Annagelliff.

From PJ’s perspective as a player with Cavan Gaels in 1962, minor players of the parish were not achieving their maximum potential.

Organisation was haphazard and training was minimal. Hence the players suffered. PJ promised to himself that at the earliest opportunity he would try and rectify the situation.

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In 1966 he agreed to manage the Cavan Gaels minor team as a parish entity. He enlisted Brendan Dunne, the same man who had protected PJ in his first senior game against Mullahoran and now a fellow employee in the Anglo Celt Office, as his deputy. PJ and Brendan remained in charge of the minors until the end of 1968. In those three years their success rate was truly remarkable. The team reached the final of the minor championship division one in all three years, winning it twice, 1967 and 1968 as well as annexing the minor league title also in 1967. What a whirlwind start to his managerial career. PJ was only twenty two years old when he assumed the position.

PJ and the Cavan Gaels minor team of 1967 captained by Oliver Galligan, made their own piece of history as the first team from the club to win a minor championship and league double.

This year 2017 marks the 50th anniversary of that first minor success. The club invited the members of that panel to the official opening of the new club complex on 22th September last and made a special presentation to each member.

In 1977, PJ was elected as chairman and Eugene Reilly as secretary of the club’s underage committee. Their main job was to try and arrest the decline in Gaelic football among the youth of Cavan town which resulted from the departure from Cavan town of the De La Salle Brothers. In future, the teaching of the basic skills of Gaelic football would be the responsibility of the local club, Cavan Gaels. A long term plan was put in place, but in the meantime the club had to field teams at underage level and try to maintain respectability.

At under14 level, Eugene Reilly was appointed manager. The panel of players that he inherited were all good athletes and enthusiastic but lacked the skills necessary to play football even at the lowest level. When Eugene realised the enormity of the job he enlisted the services of PJ. Together they improved the skill levels of the players by a combination of good coaching and quick learning. What’s more, the Cavan Gaels team captained by Adrian Donohoe beat Kingscourt in the Roinn A final of 1977.

The following year 1978, PJ was appointed team manager of the Cavan Gaels minor team who finished the year as minor league and championship winners with Brian O’Grady as a very able captain. That was the club’s second time to annex the minor double, with PJ as manager on both occasions.

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He had an outstanding senior football career which spanned from about 1962 until 1977. He won senior league medals, in 1962, 1971 and 1976.

The 1962 senior league final which wasn’t played until June 9th 1964 had twenty years old PJ at midfield. The Gaels, captained by Hugo Cafferty defeated Virginia Blues by 2-9 to 1-1.

On the following Sunday the seniors had a home league game. Even though they had a large panel available for the league final, they found it difficult to field a team one week later. However, the ever reliable PJ was there, ready and eager to play. In the end they persuaded a few juniors and the late Willie Doonan, then forty five years old, to play.

Willie agreed under certain conditions. He didn’t want to play in goals or to tog out. He lined out at full forward in his brown suit and shoes.

Willie was playing well and was particularly strong in the air. Early in the second half after catching another high ball, he slipped and fell down on his posterior and let an unmerciful roar “Ref! Stop the bloody game”. The referee John Sheridan from Killinkere stopped play immediately and asked Willie if he was injured. Willie replied “No but the few bob I had fell out of my pocket after I slipped”.

All thirty players were asked to go down on their knees and search for the money. The story goes that while the search was going on, some locals from their houses noticed that all the players down in Breifne Park were on their knees and wondered for whom they were praying. Happily most of the money was found and the Gaels went on to win.

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A similar type scenario occurred in another match in which PJ played. This time the missing item was a contact lens. It belonged to Myles McEntee who was playing for the club against the host club in the Castleblayney Gold Watch Tournament in the summer of 1976. The referee stopped play and called on all the players to get onto their knees and search. PJ was quickly onto the ground. Anne, PJ’s wife was at the game and saw her husband fall to the ground. Anne thought that PJ had suffered a heart attack but was quickly reassured what was actually happening. The lens wasn’t found. The game resumed and the Gaels won.

PJ is the only playing member from the Gaels team of 1965 that won the club’s first senior championship, to play on the successful teams of the 1970’s. He is the proud holder of three senior championship medals, 1965, 1975 and 1977. Also he won the Man of the Match award in the county finals of 1975(the first year of this award) and 1977 as well as scoring a vital goal from a penalty in the replay of the 1975 final after Phil Murray had been upended in the small square by Crosserlough’s Andy McCabe.

PJ seldom missed a club game, be it a challenge or competitive match. He never missed training and usually did some extra training himself. Once he was on the field, he took his game or training very seriously and rightly expected his colleagues to do likewise. As a player he had tremendous self- belief, was always supremely fit and was utterly determined to win but not at all costs.

During the 1970’s, PJ and JJ Reilly were a brilliant midfield pairing for the Gaels. They had a plan for kick outs which worked as follows.

JJ went for the high ball but often didn’t try to catch. Instead he flicked it out to PJ in space and off PJ went with ball down the wing.

I had pity for those who were trying to mark PJ who because of his fitness and stamina, was going as strong at the end of the match as he was at the beginning.

PJ had the honour of representing his county at minor, junior, under 21 and senior levels. But the horrific head and ear injuries he suffered playing for Cavan against Fermanagh in the first round of the inaugural Ulster under 21 championship of 1964 prematurely cut short his inter county career. On that unfortunate evening in Lisnaskea, he was unceremoniously pushed over the side line and crashed into the boundary wall which was too close to the side line. He was seriously concussed. So serious did the injuries seem that he was given the Last Rites by a local priest.

He was brought to hospital in Enniskillen where he received twenty two stitches and was then moved by ambulance to a Belfast hospital where he spent the next fortnight. Thankfully PJ recovered sufficiently to continue his playing career at club level. He missed the remainder of the 1964 season but returned refreshed in 1965 when the Gaels won their first ever senior championship title with PJ playing at left half forward.

He also found time to do some refereeing. He was in charge of the 1978 under 21 final between Ballinagh and Ramor United. On the subject of referees he feels that very few inter county players nowadays take up refereeing when they retire and that’s not good for the game. He also feels that referees in general do not exercise enough common sense, preferring to follow the letter of the law.

PJ was elected as team manager of Cavan’s senior team in September 1978 on a two year term. PJ and his selectors which included his long term Cavan Gaels playing mate Phil Murray, decided from the outset to embark on a youth policy.

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Initially there was some quiet dissatisfaction with this decision but after a string of poor results in the National league and Ulster Championship, there was tension and at times open disagreement between some of the players and the team manager, PJ. Yet, in the middle of all the supposed disharmony in the camp, Cavan defeated Kerry who had won the previous year’s All Ireland senior final, at the re-opening of Breifne Park, in May 1979.

On the weekend of the Cavan County GAA Board’s Annual Convention in January 1980 which took place in St Patrick’s College, two trial panels were picked by the team manager and his selectors. The proposed match between the two panels did not take place. To make matters worse, a letter from the players stating that they would refuse to play for Cavan as long as PJ was team manager was sent to the Secretary of the County Senior Board. He refused to resign. Eventually, in March 1980, he gave in to all the pressure and resigned.

PJ deserves great credit for taking on the role of team manager of the Cavan senior team at such a young age. It was a very courageous decision to apply for it in the first place given his limited managerial experience. But PJ, who is a man of ambition and tremendous self-belief, believes to this day that the decision to replace older with younger players was the correct one and that the County Board of Cavan GAA should have been more vociferous at the time in their denouncement of player power of any kind.

PJ’s first foray into senior county team management which ended in acrimony, didn’t seem to affect him negatively because he was soon back with renewed interest managing teams.

In 1983, PJ was asked to manage the senior and junior teams of Cavan Gaels. This was a difficult enough assignment because the conveyor belt of highly skilled players coming from the town’s national school had stopped since the departure of the De La Salle Brothers. The club was slow to step in and introduce coaching but when they finally devised an effective coaching template it was very successful. By then PJ has moved on to a different challenge.

In his first year as Gaels manager (1983), the club’s senior team reached the championship final only to lose to Laragh. With the senior team now in transition, PJ’s job was to try and steady the ship so as to avoid relegation. This he succeeded in doing although he had a few close shaves along the way.

However, the junior team had a number of successes between 1983 and 1986. In 1985 they won the Junior B Championship and the Division 1A league double as well as the Division 1A league in 1986.

The final round of the 1986 league highlights clearly the weakness that Cavan Gaels had as a senior club. They were playing Drumalee in the senior game and if defeated, would be relegated to division 2, a prospect PJ definitely didn’t want as his legacy. At the same time, if the juniors won their match which proceeded the senior game, they were through to the division 1A final. They were successful in both games. The club had avoided relegation and the juniors were through to the division 1A final which they later won.

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PJ was also in charge of the Cavan under 21 team for the two years, 1983 and 1984 and the Cavan minor team from 1986 until 1988. In 1988 the minors made it through to the Ulster final but they were well beaten by Tyrone who had Peter Canavan in their side.

In the period 1983-1986, while PJ was team manager of Cavan Gaels, he managed Cavan’s under 21 team in 1983 and 1984 and the first year of his three year term as county minor team manager was 1986. That was a tremendous workload for one person. But PJ had an insatiable appetite for work.

By the late 1980’s he was a very experienced and hard-working team manager. However he hadn’t achieved many major successes to embellish his football management CV. But things were about to change and as a result PJ Carroll would become a household name nationally.

In 1989 he agreed to manage the Leitrim under21 and senior teams for three years (1989-1991). One of his selectors then was Ballinamore man Aidan Crossan who now resides in Loreto Road Cavan. What a change PJ and his selectors made to the fortunes of Leitrim football.

When he arrived in Leitrim they were languishing in Division Four of the National League. He brought them to Division One. Leitrim won the All Ireland ‘B’ Championship in 1990 under PJ as well as two Under 21 Connacht under 21 titles. There is a widely held belief that Leitrim would not have won the 1993 Connacht senior football title were it not for the painstaking work done by PJ in the years leading up to that famous victory.

The many successes achieved by the Leitrim seniors in the early nineties brought them very positive press and showed what could be achieved when players and management co-operated fully, were honest with each other and totally focused on the job in hand despite their limited player pool. However, Leitrim were very fortunate at that time that they had one of the top players in Ireland on the team. I refer of course to the great Micky Quinn from Aughawillan who was an exceptional footballer and in the words of PJ “the best player by a mile that I had the privilege to train”. Micky Quinn, in recognition of his outstanding performances for Leitrim, won an All-Star, the first by a Leitrim man, in 1990.

During his time with Leitrim, PJ was the recipient of many national awards, in recognition of his contribution to the county’s achievements. They included, the Phillips Manager of the Month Award, the Irish Independent Sports Star of the Week Award and the Ulster Sports Writers’ Manager of the Month Award.

He also received many letters of congratulations in recognition of his sterling work with Leitrim, in particular, the winning of the All-Ireland ‘B’ Championship final against Sligo in 1990. One such letter came from his home club Cavan Gaels -

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In 1993 PJ was back again as manager of the Cavan senior football team. Buoyed by his incredible achievements with Leitrim, he was hoping to improve the lot of Cavan football but despite the full and total commitment that he gave, there was no success in his (19931994) term in charge of the seniors and under 21’s.

PJ was headhunted by Sligo so he spent the next two years (1995 and 1996) as coach of the Sligo senior team with his good friend and former work colleague Tony (AJ) Dunne as trainer. PJ and AJ led Sligo to league promotion and introduced a number of young players which included Eamon O’Hara and Dessie Sloyne, to the team. These young players would later form the nucleus of a formidable Sligo team at the turn of the century.

PJ had a great reputation as a club team manager, particularly outside his native county. Maybe the old saying ‘a prophet is never accepted in his own kingdom’ is true. He had the ability to get the best out of all the players at his disposal. His teams were always fit and he had the expertise to devise a system of play which brought the best out of his players. He had great self-belief and a fierce determination to be successful.

We know that he brought considerable success to many clubs, some of whom were winning senior league and championship titles for the first time.

In Meath he won the senior league and championship double and the under 21 championship with Gael Colmcille (Kells) in 1991, in Monaghan the senior double with Castleblaney Faughs in 1998, in Leitrim the senior double with Aughavas in 2000. When PJ was with Fr. Manning Gaels, they won their first Longford senior league. While training St. Loman’s( Mullingar), they won the Westmeath senior league and Feis Cup. In general all the clubs that PJ trained and coached benefitted greatly from his enthusiasm, hard work and his expert knowledge of the game. They were in a better place when he was leaving than they were when he came whether or not they lifted any silverware.

Leaving aside PJ’s talents as a player and a mentor of teams, he had great ability in organising a particular project or event and bringing it to a successful conclusion.

One of the first projects undertaken by him was the production of a calendar for 1976 to commemorate the winning of the 1975 senior championship by Cavan Gaels. The calendar was printed on a large cardboard sheet along with a captioned photograph of the winning team and all the advertisements which were generously bought by PJ receiving a presentation from Bryan Reilly, Gaeil Colmcille, as the business people in the town. Unfortunately, there are very few manager of 1974 double(League & Championship) winners. copies of that calendar available today, forty two years later.

Hopefully, an unblemished copy of the calendar can be found and mounted on a wall somewhere strategically in the new Ceannárus in Terry Coyle Park.

Cavan Gaels was the first club in Cavan to organise charity matches among themselves on St. Stephen’s Day around the mid 1970’s.

The first person to suggest that such a game should take place was PJ himself and he gave it lots of publicity in the Anglo Celt.

When Willie Doonan died in 1976, Cavan Gaels GAA club decided to organise a tournament in his memory. PJ was the main organiser of what became known as the Willie Doonan Tournament. The top club teams from Cavan and the surrounding counties were invited to participate. It was a very popular tournament for a number of years until tournaments in general lost their appeal in the early 1980’s.

The Willie Doonan Cavan Crystal Trophy is presently on display in the glass cabinet at the entrance to the new Club Building in Terry Coyle Park.

In 1984, the Centenary year of the foundation of the GAA, each club was asked to organise their own special events. One of the events organised by Cavan Gaels was a 7-a-side competition which was open to other GAA clubs as well as businesses. Again PJ organised it, with generous sponsorship coming from the Ulster Bank. He still had the time and the energy to play in the competition for the Printers team who reached the final but were defeated by Ramor United.

In October 1985 a special fund-raising sub -committee helped to organise a holiday to Gran Canaria for club members and their friends. PJ himself did not go but worked hard on that committee.

PJ always preferred the great outdoors and so didn’t go forward for many administrative positions in the club. One position that he did hold was the important one of Secretary. In fact he was the club Secretary in 1970 when Terry Coyle Memorial Park was officially opened. This afforded him the opportunity to work alongside such legendary club stalwarts as the late TM Gilroy, Maurice Brady, Eugene Monaghan and Paddy Conaty, all founder members of the club in 1957. For PJ, then a mere twenty six years old, it was a privilege and a great honour to have been the Secretary of the club in that historic year.

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Centenary 7-a Side Anglo Celt Team Back(L-R): Aidan Watters, PJ Carroll, Seamus Watters, John Nallen(Ulster Bank) Packie Kiernan, Mick Cryan.

Front(L-R): Phil Finnegan, Adrian Ronan, Martin Maguire, Finbarr O’Donoghue.

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Over the years he was a prolific writer on GAA matters, local and national. His more recent writings were in the Hoganstand monthly magazine for which he wrote articles regularly that were always very interesting and thought-provoking.

Before Hoganstand Ltd started publishing GAA yearbooks for the Christmas market, PJ and his work colleague Tony Dunne were publishing Annual Sporting Yearbooks. The first one that they compiled was entitled ‘Breffni Sporting Life’. This gave an account of the achievements of the different sports clubs in the county during the previous year (1980) and it included a number of relevant photographs to embellish the written word. When Hoganstand Ltd started publishing GAA Yearbooks for all thirty two counties, PJ was still involved in the Cavan Yearbook.

Cavan Gaels GAA club have issued four publications since its inception, in each case to commemorate some important milestone in the club’s history. PJ was involved in two of them. In 1982 the club was twenty five years in existence. The club published a book entitled ”Silver Jubilee Commemorative Booklet 1957-1982”. PJ was the editor of that production.

In April 1989 the club unveiled a plaque to the memory of the late TM Gilroy, a founder member of the club who was the engine of the committee that bought and developed the old Show Grounds and fund-raised extensively for the Terry Coyle project. When he died in January 1987, he was a huge loss to Gaeil an Chabhain. A booklet entitled “Unveiling of Memorial Plaque to TM Gilroy” was published to honour the event. Much of the booklet contained articles about TM’s total commitment to the club and how he left no stone unturned in order to realise his dream of a ground worthy of the club. PJ wrote a number of articles for this production.

He held the position of PRO of the Cavan Senior Board GAA from 1986 to 1992. During those years he was responsible for the production of all the county final programmes. Also, he previewed the forthcoming league and championship games for all divisions and grades each week in the Anglo Celt for many years. It was a very popular piece and it illustrated the in depth knowledge that PJ had of every club in the county at that time.

He was very much in demand by clubs in Cavan but particularly in neighbouring counties and I have already referenced his many fine achievements with some of these clubs. But what I didn’t say was that in some of those years PJ trained two club teams in different counties.

In 1998 he trained both Castleblaney Faughs and Abbeylara. As it transpired both clubs reached their respective senior championship finals. Castleblaney were hoping to win their 34th senior Monaghan championship title while Abbeylara were going for their first ever Longford senior championship. PJ was obviously delighted that both clubs reached their respective county’s senior final. But when the fixtures for both finals were published, delight turned to dismay. They were fixed for the same Sunday and the same time. PJ was in a dilemma. How could he prioritise one final over the other? As things happened he didn’t have to make a choice. The Longford county final was postponed because of the death of an ex-officer in the Abbeylara club. Incidentally Castleblaney won their 34th Monaghan title, defeating Clontibret who had won the previous year’s final at the expense of Castleblaney while Abbeylara lost their final to Father Manning Gaels.

PJ is first and foremost a staunch GAA person. But he always had an interest in many other sports. But what will surprise many is that PJ is a founder member of the County Cavan Rugby Club along with Tony Dunne, Peter Pollock and Ken Ruddock. He did not get involved in the new club which was formed in 1974, due to his GAA commitments although he played a few games with them in their early years.

Co. Cavan Rugby Football Club 1975 Front(L-R): Robert Lyndsey, Basil Bothwell, MichaelCallaghan, Larry Burke (RIP), David Small, MichaelFlynn, EamonMcGovern. Back(L-R): PJCarroll, Brian Lee, Jim Henry, Jim Trearty, James lord, Sean McKiernan, Thomas Owens, Micheal Johnson.

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He created a number of records at different stages of his long GAA life. He is the only playing member of Cavan Gaels first senior championship winning team in 1965 to go on and win senior championship medals with the club in the 1970’s. He is the youngest person to have managed a Gaels minor team to league and championship success. This occurred in 1967 when PJ was only 23 years old.

At county level PJ is the only person to have managed Cavan teams at all levels, under16, minor, under 21 and senior. In Leitrim, he created a unique record. He brought Leitrim from Division 4 to Division 1 of the National League in three consecutive years 1989-1991 and he managed them to an All- Ireland B title as well.

I believe that PJ’s greatest achievement from a Cavan Gaels perspective was the success that he had after carrying out a radical examination of minor football in the parish. He transformed the Cavan Gaels minor team into a winning entity through sheer graft and his own personal enthusiasm in the three years that he was in charge (1966-1968). He also insured that the club would have more Cavan town born players available in the foreseeable future for their senior and junior teams. Most importantly, it afforded the local townspeople the opportunity to support Cavan Gaels teams which were now comprised mainly of lads who were born and bred in the town. Hopefully this positive development in the club initiated by PJ would end comments like “Come on the League of Nations and the Castlerahan sub” which was shouted from the crowd at a Gaels championship match soon after the club was formed in 1957.

PJ is now retired and no longer involved in the GAA in any capacity. But he still follows what is happening in the GAA, both locally and nationally. He walks and swims as often as he can in order to keep fit and healthy and he likes to go on a holiday annually to the sun with his wife Anne who is also retired. Like many grandparents nowadays, PJ and Anne mind their grandchildren on a regular basis.

It is something that they enjoy as it gives them an opportunity to have a greater bond with the children and it demonstrates that PJ was always first and foremost a family man.

PJ and Anne have four children-Olivia, Caroline, Anne Marie and the baby of the family Pauric. None of the girls got the opportunity to play Gaelic football in their youth as then, ladies football wasn’t played locally. However, Pauric attended the club’s weekly coaching sessions from a young age. He played under 12, 14, 16 and minor football for the club, winning an under 16 league medal in 2004. In that final against Bailieboro which went to a replay, he played at midfield alongside Daniel Graham. That successful team was managed by PJ, who a few years earlier came back to help the club at underage level.

After Pauric graduated from St. Patrick’s College, he went to DCU to pursue a computer science degree. While in DCU he developed a great interest in amateur drama and he played leading parts in many plays. He went on to be a very successful producer, winning numerous awards in both roles at drama festivals around the country. His finest achievement in theatre has to be the award that he won as the best producer in the Edinburgh Arts Festival. While in college, drama consumed most of Pauric’s recreational time to the detriment of his football career. After he qualified, he gained employment with Google and has spent the last few years working for them in Australia.

Pauric recently returned and is now back in Google’s Dublin office, much to the delight of his family.

A Phádraig Sheosamh, táim an- bhuíoch duitse as ucht an dea obair atá déanta agat ar son Gael an Chabháin nuair a bhí an club óg agus é ag fás, go mór mhór an obair den scoith leis na mionúirí sna seascaidí nuair a bhuidh an club sraith agus craobh an contae don chéid uair riamh i 1967 agus tusa mar bhainisteoir orthu.

(By Paddy Reilly)

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ulster club championship

OVER 50’S EXCERCISE CLASSES Over 50’s exercise class takes place every Friday at 11am in Terry Coyle clubrooms. Everyone welcome!

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TERRY COYLE PARK - SMOKE FREE Terry Coyle Park is now a smoke free environment. Cavan Gaels leads the way with this Healthy Club initiative, being the first Club in the County Cavan to implement this policy. We request the co-operation of our members to ensure that our sports ground remains smoke free.

club merchandise Our club merchandise is available to buy in The Sports Shop, Main St. Cavan.

Official club merchandise is also available for purchase online at: www.oneills.com/shop-by-team/gaa/ireland/cavan-gaels-gaeil-an-chabhain.html

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••••• CLUB BINGO ••••• EVERY FRIDAY NIGHT @ THE OZANAM CENTRE, RIVER ST. CAVAN

Childrens Officer: Michael Mooney 087-643-5901 Designated Liaison Person: Mary McCarthy 087-233-6925 --Thank you to all our readers and contributors. Please continue to give us constructive feedback, it is much appreciated.

From the Newsletter Team Rebecca, John, Ann Marie & Greg.

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club lotto results

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