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2013 has been a great year for Laragh U14’s, winning league and championship Division 1 honours
a whole." Our man King has been a one clubman all his life despite living for a period of his married life just a few 45s away from Cavan General Hospital. Of course, by dint of the location of his familial home, Adge's son Enda played with Cavan Gaels all his career and was well decorated too. Reflecting on his club career, King snr. fingers Laragh's 1979 SFC title win as the stand-out memory for him. "We were a new, young club and that was our first senior championship title for the parish," he explains. "I think the importance of titles depends on their context and that is why the '79 one stands out for me." Like his son in later years, King snr. would go on and become one of the most significant and influential club players in Cavan for the guts of two decades. He brought strength, discipline, leadership and total commitment to the cause of Laragh
football and was still a top footballer in Ulster terms by the time the Stradonebased crew got to the semi-final of the Ulster club championship in 1982 where they lost out to a crack Scotstown team. One former clubmate proffers the belief that Adge's days in UCD would have brought him "on a pile and the experience and skills he picked up in Dublin would have benefited Laragh a lot at that time.. "Then, later on with Laragh, he was able to link up with the likes of Ray Cullivan, Donal Donohoe, Bernard Donohoe, Fionan McDonagh and a couple of others who all benefited from the experience of playing 3rd level college football. This experience proved invaluable to the club in its initial years particularly as we had a very young panel.� Since relocating to Poles three years ago with his Galway born wife Marian (the couple have five children, Enda, Laura, Jonathan, Regina and Maeve),
Adge has put his shoulder to the wheel in developing the underage structures at Laragh. He is chairman of Laragh's underage committee and is delighted by the progress the club's juvenile teams in recent times. But what of the game itself, of modernday Gaelic football? "It's a great sport. The GAA has come on a long way from the days of togging out in ditches and washing yourself in the river beside the pitch. "It's still a great source of entertainment and brings great joy to a lot of people and camaraderie too. "Football itself has changed phenomenally. I wouldn't like the excessive amount of hand passing that some clubs and county teams currently engage in. The style of football that Dublin, Kerry and Mayo showed in this year's all-Ireland Championship series was top class." A bit like the man himself.
The Cavan Masters All-Ireland winning team from 1996, front l/r: Mickey Freehill, Seamus Kiernan, Pat Flanagan, Mickey Reilly, Paddy McNamee, John Joe Martin, Peader Queally, Paraic Brady. Back: Paddy Gaffney, Noel Corcoran, Adge King, Ollie Stanley, Fergus Costello, Michael Lyons, Robbie McDermott
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