Clonguish Gaels will contest the Peter Hanley Motors Longford SFC Final against Killoe this Sunday.
By John Harrington
It’s going to be a hectic week for Clonguish club secretary, Gerard Moore.
Not only are there many duties to be fulfilled as part of his club executive role ahead of the Longford SFC Final against Killoe on Sunday, there’s the small matter of having to play in the match himself.
The Clonguish full-back isn’t the only member of the Newtownforbes team who combines on-pitch and off-pitch club duties.
Club chairperson, Ronan Sweeney, will line out at midfield, and veteran attacker David Barden has had stints as club Treasurer and Vice-Chairperson in recent years.
It’s not something you see often, the same people driving a club both on and off the pitch, but it’s working nicely for Clonguish.
Two years ago they survived dropping down to Intermediate ranks by winning a relegation play-off, and that close escape proved to the catalyst for giving the younger generation in the club their head as Sweeney and Forde were voted into the roles of Chairperson and Secretary.
“It was really out of the blue,” says Moore. “We met past committee members and they mentioned the idea to us and we weren't really thinking about it at the time but when we did we decided we'd give it a crack.
“One of the first jobs we did was we transformed the club gym. We did up all the equipment ourselves and did all the painting and got all the players involved doing that so that was a good buzz. The gym is looking great now and I think it was a team-bonding thing as well, many hands make light work.
“This year we're getting floodlighting in and we've had the walkway around the pitches tarred so there's a lot of progression there and it's great to have a few little projects like that going.
“We've had a lot of help from players on the various committees and there's a great parish involvement.”
The Clonguish minor football team that won a thirdcounty title in a row last weekend.
Clonguish are one of the most traditionally successful clubs in Longford, but in recent years had fallen on relatively hard times.
They haven’t won a Longford senior championship since 2009 nor played in a senior final since 2011, and few would have predicted they’d contest this year’s one at the outset of the season.
Their rennaissance isn’t completely out of the blue either, though, because they’ve dominated the underage scene in Longford in recent years.
This year they’ve already completed a clean sweep of Longford ‘A’ titles at U-14, U-16, and minor.
Last weekend’s minor triumph was their third in a row at that level, and their U-16 championship was their fourth in a row.
“There's a good crop of coaches there and you can see the fruits of their labours now that the teams are all doing so well,” says Moore of their underage success.
“We've really gotten our act together in terms of underage coaching and it's great to see. There's huge commitment from all involved, they're all great club people, and a lot of work has gone into it.
“Now the underage is coming so strong there's more and more coming into the senior panel every year and it's great to see.
“Previously we were probably struggling for numbers a bit. A lot of lads had gone travelling, then Covid hit. But now we have all these young lads coming through, four or five of them came into the senior team this year, and it has really boosted everything.
“So we've gone from trying to just stay in senior to now playing in a county final. It's been a great progression, but we'll be complete underdogs now coming into this final.”
The Clonguish senior hurling team that won back to back Longford SHC championships this year.
The energy and quality provided by the addition of those younger players has played a big part in Clonguish’s progress to Sunday’s Final, but a clutch of veterans remain just as important to the cause.
David Barden was their star forward when they won their last county title in 2009 and such is his intelligence as a footballer that the Clonuish attack largely still revolves around him.
“David is an absolute trooper,” says Moore. “He's a great leader, even at training sessions he keeps everyone on their toes and ensures that standards stay high.
“Joe O'Brien is still there too. He was one of the main men back in 2009 as well and now he's standing in goals for us because our goalkeeper Milke McGuinness got injured so Joe came in and is doing great. He's a great addition.”
Joe O’Brien is also renowned as being one of the best hurlers that Longford has ever produced, and it’s worth mentioning that Clonguish have already won the county senior hurling championship this year so they’re going for the double.
Forde, too, is one of the club’s dual stars and was Man of the Match in that County Hurling Final against Longford Slashers when Clonguish made it back to back titles.
“The hurling was only set up in the club in the early noughties and I think we've won seven hurling championships,” says Forde.
“Wolfe Tones in Edgeworthstown dominated for a long period of time and then Slashers are coming strong but we've still won three in the last five years and have been underdogs in every single final.”
Former Longford star, David Barden, is still a key man for Clonguish Gaels.
With a county senior hurling championship, and a clean sweep of underage football championships already in the bag, you can probably appreciate that there’s a great energy around Clonguish Gaels at the moment as they prepare for their first county senior final for 12 years.
“Yeah, there’s a great buzz because it's been a while,” says Moore. “The last final we were in was in 2011. The buzz is building, especially with all the underage teams winning their finals as well.
“Flags have gone up through the village and some lads even painted up a car there at the weekend and have it parked up in the middle of the village. The excitment is building and it's great to be involved in it.
“The players are keeping their heads down though and just trying to keep motoring on. Nothing is achieved yet but you'd like to think we might have some good years ahead of us and you have to make the most of them beacuse you see how quickly they slip by.
“Killoe are a very strong team and it’ll be very hard to get the better of them, but we have our own strengths and we'll be trying to utilise them to the best of our capabilities.
“I'm there 11 years and this is the first county football final I've been involved in. It's unusual territory but it's great to be there.
“To win the hurling earlier this year as underdogs was great. If we could do it in the football and win both in the one year would be very, very special.”
