LOCAL NEWS ARCHIVE - MAY 2002 

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Local TD Brendan Smith has announced that the Minister for Education and Science has now approved a tender of €112,000 in respect of the provision of improvement works at Corlis National School. Deputy Smith confirmed that the tender provides for the provision of new temporary accommodation at the school and general refurbishment and improvement of the existing accommodation and facilities. He further confirmed that the improvement works will be grant-aided 100% by the Department. This is a welcome boost for Corlis N.S., which has enjoyed consistent increases in pupil numbers in recent years.

On Sunday last, motor enthusiasts flocked to the locality for the local stage of the Co. Cavan Motor Club Rally. One of the three rally stages was held on the secondary roads in the Cornafean/Killeshandra area, and many spectators viewed the event from various vantage points along the route. Elaborate safety precautions had been put in place by the organisers in advance of the event, which passed off without any serious incident.

However, the holding of the rally did cause great inconvenience to some local residents and farmers, with roads being closed for most of the day. In many cases, locals were unable to leave their homes for long periods and special arrangements had to be made for farmers’ daily milk collection and AI services. This was the third occasion in four years for the rally to be held in the locality.

All parents of children intending to start school in Coronea NS next September are asked to collect an application form which is now available for collection from the school.

The much anticipated local derby clash between Cornafean and Arva, in the Lakeside Manor Division 3 league, fixed for Pairc Naoimh Fionnain on Saturday evening last, was unfortunately cancelled due to the wintry weather conditions which surely are a record for this time of year. Weather permitting, the game is likely to be played in the coming weeks. Best wishes to the Cavan minors who take on Down in the Ulster Championship quarter-final this Friday night in Ballybay, after their own game was cancelled last Sunday due to a waterlogged pitch in Ballybofey.

The Cornafean Vintage Ploughing Association are holding a meeting in McSeain’s on next Wednesday night, 5th June at 9.30pm. All members are asked to attend.

The Presentation Night jointly organised by An Post and Cornafean GAA club last Friday night in McSeain’s was a tremendous success, with large numbers braving the torrential rain and floods on Friday evening to attend the event. The highlight of the evening was the presentation by An Post of a specially-commissioned and framed portrait of John Joe to his home club of Cornafean, to commemorate his selection in 1999 on the An Post/GAA Football Team of the Millennium. The presentation was made by Mr. Martin McCabe, An Post Area Office, Letter Post, and Mr. P.J. McGlade, Chairman of the club accepted the portrait on behalf of the club.

The portrait is a replica of the original which was used to illustrate John Joe O’Reilly on the Football Team of the Millennium, on the Hall of Fame in Croke Park, and also the series of postage stamps issued to mark that famous team. The presentation was attended by John Joe’s daughter Saranne, his sister Mrs. Eileen O’Dowd and a number of other relatives.

The Fear a Ti, Paddy McDermott, welcomed everyone to the event and introduced the main speakers of the evening, Mr. Martin McCabe (An Post), Mr. PJ McGlade, club Chairman, and Mr. George Cartwright, Chairman of Cavan County GAA Board. Each of the speakers paid handsome tribute to John Joe, recounting his origins in Cornafean, his career as a sportsman and as an Army officer and his various achievements on the GAA fields, including his captaincy of the great Cavan All Ireland-winning teams of 1947 and 1948, his achievement in winning 11 Ulster Senior medals and his exploits on the Ulster teams which won a number of famous Railway Cup victories in the 1940’s.

The speeches were followed by Eamon Maguire who delivered an evocative and fitting recitation of “The Greatest of the Gaels”, Michael McGibney who followed with his recent Ulster Scor-winning recitation and by Geraldine McCaffrey who sang a beautiful rendition of “The Gallant John Joe”.

This presentation was one of thirty such presentation events organised by An Post throughout Ireland in the past two years in honour of the members of the Football and Hurling Teams of the Millennium. Representatives from the company have visited, or are due to visit, each of the home clubs of the thirty men who were selected in those prestigious team selections, in order to make commemorative presentations to the clubs involved.

The tragic death of young Joshua Wray Gould, The Rocks, Crossdoney following an accident near his home on Saturday evening last has evoked deep sadness, grief and shock throughout the local community. Joshua, who was only seventeen months old, was the only son of Raymond and Avril Gould, and a younger brother to Emma, Melissa and Megan. His family are well-known business people in Crossdoney where they own and run the local grocery store in the village.

There was a large attendance at the Funeral Service in St Feithlimidh’s Cathedral, Kilmore on Tuesday last, with the burial in the parish graveyard. Deepest sympathy is extended to Joshua’s parents, sisters, grandmother, grandfather, aunts, uncles and other relatives. The thoughts of the entire community will be with them during this most difficult time.

The Cornafean footballers suffered their first defeat in eight outings in this year’s Lakeside Manor Division 3 Football League when they were beaten by three points by Lavey on last Sunday afternoon. This game was played in Stradone. Cornafean were missing a number of key players due to examinations and other reasons and their understrength side found the going tough against a keen Lavey outfit, who were full value for their 1-9 to 1-6 victory.

There was deep sadness in the locality on the death on Saturday last of Mrs. Sheila O’Reilly (nee Duignan), Lahard, who died at College View Nursing Home, Cavan. Sheila, who was predeceased a few years ago by her husband Paddy, was a native of Jamestown, Co. Leitrim. For many years she was a prominent member of the Irish Countrywomen’s Association and was also a dedicated officer in the local Fianna Fail Cumann for several decades. A person of great intelligence and wisdom, and a very engaging personality, she was also a very friendly, charitable and pleasant woman.

Deepest sympathy is extended to her sons Meehaul and Damien, daughters Maura Nallen (Cavan), Nodlaig Byrne (Dublin) Mairead Lynch (Tuam), Deirdre Tighe (Ballyjamesduff), and Siobhan (Killeshandra), sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, brother Michael, sister-in-law, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and other relatives.

There were large attendances at the Removal of her remains to St Brigid’s Church, Killeshandra on Sunday evening and at the Funeral Mass on Monday, with burial in the adjoining cemetery.

Dessie Harrington, Drumkeeran is currently planning to travel the entire length of Ireland by horse-drawn cart, next month, in order to raise funds for the Third World charity, Self Help. Dessie’s epic itinerary will see him depart from Malin Head, Co. Donegal on next Saturday week, 1^st June, and he is planning to arrive at Mizen Head, Co. Cork by the end of the month.

The Cornafean Vintage Ploughing Association are holding a special Irish Night on Wednesday next 29th May, in McSeain’s and are hoping to give Dessie a great “send-off” on that night. There will be music by Brian and Geraldine and everyone is welcome to attend.

The following were the winners of the Whist Drive in Cornafean on Monday night, 13th May. Top Score Kathleen McCabe 1st Lady Josie Diffley 2nd do. Annette Sheridan 3rd do. Gladys Turner 1st Gent Peter Diffley 2nd do. Sean Reilly 3rd do. Danny Fay Other winners Iris Bennett, Johnny McEnroe, Vera Leahy, and May Sheridan. The next Whist in Cornafean will be on next Monday night 27th May and this will be a special fundraising event for the Children’s Unit at Cavan General Hospital.

The Cornafean GAA club table quiz which was held in McSeain's last Saturday night week, attracted a strong attendance and the quiz proved entertaining and enjoyable for every one who took part. The proceeds of the event were in aid of the local Sports Hall Project.

The Cornafean Walking Club, Sli na Slainte Cor na Feinne, has been holding regular walks on every Monday evenings and these have proved very successful with over 20 members attending each week. These walks will continue on a weekly basis over the Summer months and everyone is welcome to take part. The one-hour walks leave McSeains at 8.00pm each Monday evening.

The local Shancor Hunt Club hosted the annual Cornafean Drag Hunt on Saturday 4th May, in the locality and the Hunt proved very successful, attracting a total entry of thirty dogs, from a wide geographical area.

The winning owners were 1st Colm Logan, Knocks, Lisnaskea; 2nd Pat Fitzaptrick, 3rd Brian Reynolds, Maudabawn, 4th Martin Smith, Drumgoon, Cootehill.

On Sunday April 21st a number of local hunt enthusiasts, led by Peadar McSeain, attended the AGM in the County Arms Hotel, Birr, Co. Offaly of the Irish Foot Harriers Association. Peadar is the National Honorary President of this organisation which promotes the interests of huntsmen throughout Ireland.

A Special Presentation Night will be held in McSeains on next Friday night 17^th May, in honour of the late and great Cornafean and Cavan footballer John Joe O'Reilly. The night is being hosted jointly by Cornafean GAA club and An Post to commemorate John Joe’s  selection in 1999 on the An Post/GAA Football Team of the Millennium. A number of senior represenatives from An Post will present a specially-commissioned commemorative portrait of John Joe to the club. It is expected that a number of members of John Joe’s family will be in Cornafean for the occasion, which starts at 8.00pm sharp.

This occasion is one of thirty such presentation events organised by An Post throughout Ireland in the past two years in honour of the members of the Football and Hurling Teams of the Millennium. Representatives from the company have visited, or are due to visit, each of the home clubs of the thirty men who were selected in those prestigious team selections, in order to make commemorative presentations to the clubs involved.

The local GAA club are hoping that Friday night’s event will be an enjoyable evening for everyone with an interest in the GAA in Cavan. Admission is free, and everyone is welcome. Light supper and refreshments will be served, and it is hoped to have musical entertainment after the formalities of the evening are completed.

Next Friday night’s event will evoke memories for any people of the special commemorative events hosted in John Joe’s honour on the weekend of 19^th  & 20^th November 1999. The highlight of that weekend was the unveiling by Catherina McKiernan of the prominent marble plaque in John Joe’s honour at the gates of Pairc Naoimh Fionnain. A huge attendance of several hundred people attended the unveiling, which was preceded by a special Memorial Mass for John Joe in Coronea Church and followed by a social in McSeain’s. 

The event was attended by four of John Joe’s fellow members of the Millennium Football team, Mick O’Connell (Kerry), Sean Purcell (Galway) Martin O’Connell (Meath) and the legendary Sean O’Neill (Down), as well as a host of other former Cavan players and GAA personalities including the late Packie Phair, John Joe’s, surviving colleagues on the 1947 and 1948 All Ireland winning teams, and Cavan stars of later decades.

Cornafean’s next outing in the Lakeside Manor Division 3 Football League is on Sunday next when they travel to Lavey to take on the locals in Round 9 of the competition. With both teams in strong positions in the league so far, this is an important fixture for both clubs. Lavey have generally had the edge over Cornafean in recent league meetings, although there has been little between the teams in Championship fare in recent years. Last Summer, Cornafean produced a spirited fightback to draw with Lavey in the opening round of their Intermediate Championship campaign and this was the third time for these two sides to draw in four Intermediate Championship meetings since 1995.

The throw-in on Sunday is at 3.00pm

The Cornafean GAA club table quiz which was held in McSeain's last Saturday night, attracted a strong attendance and the quiz proved entertaining and enjoyable for every one who took part. The proceeds of the event were in aid of the local Sports Hall Project.

The Cornafean Walking Club, Sli na Slainte Cor na Feinne, has been holding regular walks on every Monday evenings and these have proved very successful with over 20 members attending each week. These walks will continue on a weekly basis over the Summer months and everyone is welcome to take part. The one-hour walks leave McSeains at 8.00pm each Monday evening.

The local Shancor Hunt Club hosted the annual Cornafean Drag Hunt on last Saturday week, 4^th May, in the locality and the Hunt proved very successful, attracting a total entry of thirty dogs, from a wide geographical area.

The winning owners were 1^st Colm Logan, Knocks, Lisnaskea; 2^nd Pat Fitzaptrick, 3^rd Brian Reynolds, Maudabawn, 4^th Martin Smith, Drumgoon, Cootehill.

On Sunday April 21^st a number of local hunt enthusiasts, led by Peadar McSeain, attended the AGM in the County Arms Hotel, Birr, Co. Offaly of the Irish Foot Harriers Association. Peadar is the National Honorary President of this organization which promotes the interests of huntsmen throughout Ireland.

The RTE "Nationwide" programme team are to visit Cornafean next Saturday 11th May to film a game of Skittles in McSeain's. The filming to take place between 2pm and 4pm and the local Skittles Association are inviting everyone interested to attend what should be an enjoyable occasion.

Cornafean GAA club are holding a Table Quiz in McSeain's next Saturday night, 11th May, the eve of Cavan's Ulster Championship clash with Donegal. All proceeds of the quiz are in aid of the local Sports Hall Project. The regular table quiz events are very popular in the locality and a large attendance is expected on this occasion. The questions will be designed to suit all knowledge levels with a fair sprinkling of local questions for good measure

The Cornafean Walking Club, Sli na Slainte Cor na Feinne, has been holding regular walks on every Monday evenings and these have proved very successful with over 20 members attending each week. These walks will continue on a weekly basis over the Summer months and everyone is welcome to take part. The one-hour walks leave McSeains at 8.00pm each Monday evening.

The Cornafean senior footballers enjoyed two good wins over the Bank Holiday weekend in the Lakeside Manor Division 3 League. On Friday evening, Butlersbridge were the visitors to Pairc Naoimh Fionnain and Cornafean emerged victorious after a closely-fought game on a scoreline of 2-8 to 1-7 in their favour. The clinching score for Cornafean was a second-half goal from Damien O'Rourke, which game the home side a much-needed cushion in the closing stages.

Sunday's game against Drumalee attracted a huge crowd of well over three hundred people to the local venue and both teams contributed greatly to a very enjoyable game of football. Cornafean were under pressure for long periods of the first half with goalie Pauric Smith and defender Eamon O'Reilly both producing fine saves to deny Drumalee goal chances. The visitors got a boost when a misunderstanding in the Cornafean defence caused a somewhat lucky goal for Drumalee and this helped them to lead by 1-5 to 0-5 at the interval. Cornafean produced a great second-half display to work their way back into the game and their efforts paid dividends with eight minutes remaining when Damien O'Rourke and Art McSeain combined well to set up Thanasie Kaldanis for a fine goal.

Cornafean now lead Division 3 with only one league point conceded in seven outings. However, there are a number of tough games to come and the Cornafean lads will need to remain very sharp and alert in the coming weeks to hold on to their strong position in the competition.

Earlier last week, the Cornafean Junior footballers opened their campaign in the 2002 Cathal Brady Reserve League with a narrow win over Drumlane, on a scoreline of 1-5 to 0-6.

There will be a meeting in McSeains on next Thursday night, 9^nd May, in order to organise the forthcoming Community Games competitions in the locality. All parents and others who are interested in helping out are asked to attend. This meeting was advertised for an incorrect date in last week's notes and we apologise for any confusion caused

Vintage Association Meeting

The Cornafean Vintage Ploughing Association are holding a meeting in McSeains on Wednesday 15th May. All members aree asked to attend. The Association recently held an enjoyable Irish Night in Cathal Brady's, Cavan and are now preparing for this year's Vintage Ploughing and Field Day which will take place in Cornafean on Saturday 31st August.

Presentation Night

A Special Presentation Night will be held in McSeains on Friday 17th May, in honour of the great Cornfean and Cavan footballer John Joe O'Reilly. A number of senior represenatives from An Post will travel to Cornafean to present special Commemorative Portrait of John Joe to Cornafean GAA club, to commemorate his selection in the An Post/GAA Football Team of the Millennium.