All had earlier seemed lost for Cornafean, who trailed by a point as the seconds ticked away in injury-time and Drumgoon tenaciously repulsed a series of Cornafean attacks. Then Gaffney tore up the script with a fearless foray towards the Drumgoon goal from his own defensive position. The 23-year old Kiltrasna man surged forward, collected the ball near the opposing end line, took on a Drumgoon defender, and dramatically sent a right-footed shot into the net. Breffni Park erupted in rapturous scenes as Cornafean supporters celebrated, and the huge attendance of neutrals savoured this moment of magic. Drumgoon attacked again from the quickly-taken kick-out but the Reds held on for the remaining 60 seconds of play before the final whistle eventually heralded Cornafean’s return from the football wilderness.

The match itself had been an enthralling contest. Indeed there was a consensus among most neutrals present that the Junior Final overshadowed the somewhat pedestrian Senior decider, where Gowna had few problems in disposing of a disappointing Cavan Gaels challenge. Drumgoon were the better side for much of the first half as the Cornafean attack failed to make a serious impact, despite enjoying a multitude of possession. Defenders Eamon O’Reilly and Eamon Gaffney kept the "Reds" in the game, scoring two first-half points apiece, and the locals trailed by a point, 0-7 to 0-8 at the interval.

On the restart, Cornafean’s Art McSeain showed his class with three unanswered points, and Cornafean now led by two. The losers had a player sent off midway through the second half but Cornafean failed to use the extra man effectively and Drumgoon clawed back the deficit and seemed destined for victory when they went ahead in the closing minutes. However, Eamon Gaffney’s late goal turned the game around in the most dramatic fashion possible.

There were great scenes of rejoicing as captain Art McSeain stepped up onto the presentation podium, to receive the Sean Leddy Memorial Cup from County Board Chairman, George Cartwright, also a proud Cornafean man. In his presentation speech, George praised Cornafean for their achievement in taking the county title, incidentally the first championship title for him to present since he became Chairman of the County Board. Indeed on the night of his election as Chairman last December, George expressed a wish that he would have the opportunity during his term of office to present a championship trophy to a Cornafean captain. Little did he know that he would have to wait less than a year for that dream to be fulfilled.

When Art McSeain joyously held the trophy aloft, he became the first Cornafean man to do so, since Peadar Doyle captained the "Reds" to the 1956 Senior Title. It was especially fitting that so many of the members of that winning team were in Breffni Park to savour this latest triumph, along with other players and officials who served Cornafean so well throughout the decades.

Later that evening, local Piper Sean Kelly, led the victorious players back to Cornafean where they were met by a huge crowd of supporters and well-wishers, including many from the neighbouring clubs of Arva, Killeshandra, Lacken, Ballinagh and Gowna, and further afield. After the players enjoyed a well-deserved meal, a number of speeches were made in tribute of everyone who had contributed towards the team’s success. The speakers included Club chairman PJ McGlade, County Board Chairman George Cartwright, Team Manager Phil Cullen, Captain Art McSeain and several other players, and special guests Fr. Harry Bouchier, Fr. Tom Sheridan and Fr. John Phair.

This win marks the culmination of what has been an amazing year for the local club. A year ago, the late John Joe O’Reilly was selected on the An Post/GAA Team of the Millennium, and last winter the club honoured its most famous son when Catherina McKiernan unveiled a commemorative plaque at the local grounds. This unique commemoration achieved national prominence, with four of John Joe’s comrades on that team travelling from all over Ireland for the occasion. A month later, our own George Cartwright was elected Chairman of Cavan County Board, the first Cornafean man to hold this position since the late Pol McSeain, founder of the local club, in 1926/27. In December, Cornafean also won the "Best Club" award at the Scor na nOg County Finals, for the first time since 1991.    

However, the real highlight of the year was yet to come, with the resurrection in fortunes of the local football team. This was sparked by the appointment of Phil Cullen as Team Manager. The affable Wexfordman has instilled wonderful pride, spirit and commitment into the team, in much the same way as his fellow countyman Liam Griffin memorably brought the Wexford hurlers to All Ireland glory a few years ago. The team’s achievement in winning the Championship title is a just reward to Phil, his selectors, the playing panel, and to all the officials and helpers who contributed to this success.