Trip down memory lane to Cloonacool’s iconic year
ON Sunday 5th December 1999 on a cold wintry day in Castleconnor G.A.A grounds, Cloonacool a small rural club in south Sligo became county Intermediate League Division Two Football Champions for the first and only time in the club’s long history.
As the winning trophy was presented to the captain of the side, the teak tough Pat Hayes, the roars of approval carried on the wind, all the way across the Ox Mountains to the deserted home village. This win brought with it the lucrative ticket of participating in the Sligo senior league and championship football competitions for the new millennium.
This was an outstanding year for the club as a promising under-14 team had won a county championship at C level against Easkey on a rain-sodden evening in Ballymote, and our wonderful minor team had also won the minor B championship after a great exhibition of attacking football against St. Farnans in Markievicz Park on a fine September Sunday. Two years previously the under-16s had won a league and championship double and the Intermediate championship was won for the first time to bring senior football to the club in 1998. Unfortunately that year we had to soldier without four of our first choice forward line who took time out to travel and deal with injuries, and this proved to be a major handicap one we could not ultimately surmount.
So we were relegated back to intermediate level once again. But we regrouped and licked our wounds over the long winter months and vowed to make a huge effort the following season.
Trying to re-build a new forward line the year before and the emergence of good young talent at minor and under-21 level helped to bridge that gap. We also got a great boost to the squad as some of the world wide wanderers returned to the fold. As the league competition resumed in 1999 we were determined to make a strong start and this we duly did. We stayed top of the table from June all the way to the knock-out stages.
Just prior to championship the dreaded injury plague hit us with a vengeance as a number of our main players were unavailable for some crunch games. As a result we exited this competition at the quarter final stage in a defeat to Enniscrone/ Kilglass at Easkey.
As the league had taken a break for the championship to be concluded, this gave time for all injuries to heal. In the meantime plans were put in place for the club’s first overseas trip to Leicester and on Friday, 1st October a bus load of sixty five people in left the village to travel to Dublin airport to catch a flight to Birmingham. We were greeted by the club officials of our host club Young Ireland G.A.A. Among them were our own Michael Walker who was secretary at the Leicester club and who had played for Cloonacool for many years before he emigrated. They were wonderful hosts and everybody had a fantastic weekend.
As the league resumed we remained top of the table and qualified for the championship style finish of two semi-finals and a final. We were drawn to meet our championship conquerors Enniscrone in the semi-final and this proved to be a serious clash as both sides left everything on the field in an effort to reach the league fminal. We prevailed in the end after a titanic struggle.
St. Pat’s came through the other semi-final and so once again we were destined to lock horns in the final of a major competition. The game was arranged for Castleconnor three weeks before Christmas. The conditions on the day were less than ideal, with a strong wind from the west blowing straight down the pitch, which at this time of year was soft underfoot. We won the toss and elected to play with the elements. The tricky t conditions and strong winds made good constructive attacking football extremely difficult for both teams, but nevertheless they tried manfully to do so. Scores were hard to come by even with the wind. After a dogged first period where we got a penalty and scored a point from it, the half-time score was (0-5) to (0-1) in our favour. As we faced the elements in the second half we had to change our tactics and re-jig our defence while at the same time retaining the crucial ability to break into all out attack on turnover ball.
On one such move with the ball being transferred at pace among at least half a dozen players, our team leader Bill Carty from the edge of the square rifled the ball to the roof of the St. Pat’s net. This was the turning point of the game. We had to withstand an almighty onslaught from the opposition with the elements in their favour for the remaining twenty minutes of the second half as this game turned into a dogfight. But our defence were magnificent and stood tall. And so we held out to win this competition for the first time in the club’s history. The final score was Cloonacool (1-5) Pat’s (0-6). The Intermediate league division two champions lined out as follows; John Brennan, Michael Carty, Declan Wims, Pat Hayes (capt), John Johnson, Damien Egan, John Hunt, Michael Cully, Bill Carty, Joe Corscadden, Aiden Brennan, Anthony Gallagher, John McVann, Adrian Brett, Brian McIntyre. Subs used; Elliot McVann and Fergus Brennan. Scorers; Adrian Brett (0-4) Bill Carty (1-1). Team Manager; Tom Towey. Selector; Kevin Brett. Referee; Pat Conway (St. Marys). The winning team and panel members received their winning medals from the incoming president of the G.A.A. Mr. Sean McCague at the club’s annual dinner dance in January 2000. The successful minor team also received their winning medals at this function also in Cawley’s Hotel in Tubbercurry on the same date. The under-14 team and panel members received their winning medals in Brennans Cloonacool in October 1999. Treasured memories in Cloonacool.