Mountnugent may be a small rural club which won nothing of note in 2001. However, they have sufficient numbers to field at all levels . . . therein lies their true strength. While things didn't exactly go according to plan for Mountnugent in '01, the movers and shakers behind the busy rural club are remaining realistic and keeping things firmly in perspective: you don't have to be winning competitions left, right and centre to consider yourself a success. Mountnugent is very much a success story in its own right. They've won major honours in the past and will no doubt do so again in the future. When exactly this will be, nobody knows. In the meantime, they're happy enough just to keep beavering away, to keep things ticking over, to sow the seeds that will guarantee the future viability of the club. Although Mountnugent is not an unreasonably ambitious club, they do set themselves targets. To this end, the underlying ambition for the forthcoming season is to win the JFC (last garnered in 1992). This is no castle in the air. To the contrary, it's very much an attainable aim. To give them the best possible chance of making this dream come true, Mountnugent have assembled a strong management team that would make many other outfits in the county weep with envy. At the helm is former Denn boss Gerry Brady, assisted by a quartet of selectors who between them boast a vast knowledge of the game as well as no little amount of experience and know-how: Ned Reilly, Norbert Smyth, Peter Boylan and Declan Hennessy. This year's team will be very much based on the minor side that reached the county final in 1999 and the under 16 outfit that won their county title outright. Steven Smyth and David Sheridan are county minors, while Ronan Caffrey and Thomas Brady are both on the county U16 team this year. Leonard Tierney is another young player with a big future and Bernard Lee is also a huge asset to the club. The younger lads will be blended in with the more experienced campaigners, whose strength and leadership will be crucial. On this score, a big year is anticipated from men like Declan Reilly, Eurick Reilly, Christopher Garry, Mark Smyth, Sean Brady, Conor Kelly, Ray Duffy and Adrian Garry. The club will also be bolstered greatly by the return to the fold of Paul Campbell, who won a JFC in 1992 but has been starring with Monaghan standard-bearers Castleblayney Faughs of late. Two-thousand-and-one wasn't the most prodigious year the club has ever enjoyed. They failed to make an impression in the junior championship, which came as a disappointment considering that they'd reached the semi-final the previous year (losing to Drumgoon). Selector Ned Reilly - a man whose input in a variety of capacities over the years has been nothing short of enormous - is optimistic about Mountnugent's prospects: "They didn't make much of an impression in Division Three last year but this year they'll be really going for it. We'll also be aiming for a big year in the championship. We had a lot of injuries last year and never really got going, but hopefully we'll find our form this time. "We had a busy year all round in 2001. Our under 16s reached the semi-final, the minors got to the quarter-final, and the under 21s to the second round. Pat O'Shea, John Givney and myself took charge of the U14s and there were some good young players on that team too which is encouraging." Club Secretary John Brady continues in a similar vein: "You are always optimistic. The new year is already well underway. Training commenced back in January and numbers have been good. We've had a good youth policy in the club over the past number of years and we fielded a total of nine teams at various levels in 2001, which is an achievement in itself." "While every club likes to have success, it doesn't necessarily happen that way. For a rural club such as ourselves, it's an achievement simply to be facilitating so many players. "Things don't always go according to plan and you have to accept that. We had a lot of narrow defeats in the league last year and they set us back. On the other hand, when things are going your way, you can find yourself in the top four very quickly. There's not a lot between any of the teams in Division Three." In last year's championship, Mountnugent got off to the ideal start with a comfortable win over Cavan Gaels' second string but defeats to Shercock and Crosserlough thereafter scuppered their quarter-final hopes. Team-building has been the name of the game within the club since they lost their intermediate status in 1995 and they're satisfied that they're now nearing the end of that process. John notes: "Traditionally, Mountnugent never get hammered in the championship. We're a good competitive team with good spirit and I'm optimistic about 2002, with the new management team in place. I feel we're in a good position. Team-building has gone well and the lads have matured and are now at an age where they should be able to respond to the challenges ahead. "At underage level, we have the numbers. We're not exactly over-run with players but we have enough to field teams and to keep them interested. We enter teams in all competitions, which is very important." Mountnugent GFC boasts a proud and varied history, and is rightly judged not on the amount of silverware garnered but on the priceless service it provides, in particular to the youth of the area . . . a small rural parish on the Meath border. While the club has hit its highs in winning several championships and other honours at various levels down through the years, its greatest feat has been keeping the national game alive and well in a small rural community during lean spells, keeping the Association flag flying in south Cavan and maintaining the interest and commitment of the youth of the parish. As ever, this was once again achieved in admirable fashion in 2001. A glut of honours may not have been forthcoming, yet all Mountnugent clubmen can feel content that they contributed their bit to the welfare of Cavan GAA in the year ended. In GAA circles, winning is a welcome bonus . . . it's the actual taking part that's all-important. Mountnugent has given rise to some tremendous servants to Breffni County GAA since its foundation on December 27th 1887 under the name of 'Red Hands'. In its formative years, the club boasted some sixty or so members, of whom the Lynches and Bradys were prominent. However, these were uncertain and volatile times in Ireland (politically) and the club lapsed out of existence on a couple of occasions before returning as a force on the playing field in 1929. They were unlucky not to make a breakthrough in the 'thirties as JFC semi-finals and finals were reached on a regular basis. The 1940s was a Golden Era for Cavan football and Mountnugent contributed in no small way to the county's re-emergence as a force on the national stage. They made the championship breakthrough in 1943, with players of the calibre of the legendary Mick Higgins, Connie Kelly and Eugene Finnegan in their ranks. Unfortunate to lose the senior final to Mullahoran by two points the following year, Mountnugent made history by winning the 1946 Cavan SFC with an outstanding side including heroes of the Polo Grounds, Mick Higgins, Tony Tighe and Peter O'Donoghue amongst others. The club went out of existence again in the 1950s and returned in 1961, beating Killinkere in the 1964 junior decider. They competed well at senior level thereafter but could never quite get the better of the dominant forces of the time, Cavan Gaels and neighbours Crosserlough, although they did derive more than a modicum of comfort from defeating the latter in the '67 senior league final. The 'seventies were again lean, transitional times and great credit is due to the likes of Tom Lee for keeping the club going during this period. Against all odds, a junior league title was captured in '77. Further junior football championships have followed in 1988 (at the expense of Belturbet) and '92 (against Knockbride) though times have been lean since they lost their intermediate status in '95. But, as ever, new dawns beckon and who's to say what magical tale might unravel in 2002? Tweet

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