Congratulations
Bishop Francis J McKiernan
Tommy McKiernan
Chairman Cavan CYMS 1997
Michael Breslin
Honary Secretary Cavan CYMS 1997
“A Concrete
Achievement” Paddy O Reilly
Paddy O’ Reilly Hon Treasurer and Chairman
of Cavan County Council 1997
A Job Well
Done Father John Phair
Mr Michael Breslin
Hon. Secretary CYMS
Cavan
Dear Michael
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leven years ago in 1986 ,we celebrated the Golden Jubilee of the CYMS in Cavan.The clubrooms though not luxurious were comfortable and adequate. At that time little did we think that we would be gathering to bless such a fine new building within a short few years.
The CYMS continues to be a force for good in Cavan. in its constitution and in the way the club rooms are run it helps to promote Christian values in its members. In a quiet and non pressurised way the Gospel is at work there
In this modern era one has got to have a good business brain and the CYMS has shown initiative in including two commercial units as part of the development ,these units will hopefully ensure the commercial viability of the project in the years ahead.
I congratulate all the members and especially the executive committee on your wonderful new club rooms and the fine facilities they offer. I pray that the Society will continue to flourish and serve this Community into the new Millennium.
Yours sincerely
Francis J McKiernan
Bishop of Kilmore.
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t gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the opening of the new CYMS clubrooms.
As a boy I spent countless hours in the club then based in Saint Augustine’s Hall.In 1960 we relocated to Farnham Street where the building was fondly known as ‘The Hut’.I was honoured to be elected Chairman after many years membership and am extremely proud of the Club’s achievements. The new building is a symbol of the Club’s success to both the people of Cavan and the members of the CYMS.
Over a year ago the present Committee took a major decision to build on the Farnham Street site.I cannot let this occasion pass without paying tribute to the hardworking Committee and Officers.I feel it is also very important on this occasion to honour past members and Caretakers without their hard work and commitment, we would not have cause to celebrate to day.A special word of thanks to all.
Thank you also to the people of Cavan who have always been so generous to the CYMS,without their financial support at Church Gate Collections,Life Memberships,Golf Classics etc,we would not have come so far.To the organisations who contributed considerable sums towards the building fund again a big thank you.
The CYMS has always been looked on as a safe place of enjoyment for our young people to meet,play snooker,watch tv and build up lasting friendships. The new building is a wonderful amenity for the young people in our Community. I would like to wish new members, young and old many years of enjoyment and hope all who participate,treat the Club with the respect it so richly deserves.
Tommy McKiernan
Chairman
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he CYMS has played a large part in my life for close on forty years.It is part of the social fabric of the town and it is a great meeting place for the youth to play snooker,billiards,cards or just have a chat.From the clubroom’s at the back of Saint Augustine’s Hall to the ‘Hut’ on Farnham Street, many happy hours were spent having great fun in good company.
It seems like yesterday since we celebrated our Golden Jubilee on a hot Summer’s day in 1986.We were proud that day and I as Chairman was particularly pleased to welcome so many people who were there to share our achievement.
However ,I feel that 1997 will go down as a milestone in the History of the CYMS in Cavan with the opening of our magnificent new Clubrooms. It is only three years to the next Millennium and I know that our new facilities will equip us admirably for the next century.
To day youth are under tremendous pressure to live life in the fast lane. Drugs and alcohol abuse are everyday features in most towns.However, I hope that the CYMS will continue to flourish and that our new Clubrooms will provide a location for our young people to enjoy themselves in an alcohol free environment.
These new clubrooms did not appear without a great deal of hard work and I must applaud my fellow officers Tommy McKiernan, Richard Cassidy, Paddy O’ Reilly ,Pat Kinsella and Sean Coyle.I would like to express my personal thanks to Pat Kinsella who helped me greatly with my Secretarial duties.
I would like to thank everyone who provided financial assistance, every contribution ,big and small was greatly appreciated and I commend everyone who supports our Annual Golf Classic and Church Gate Collection. I know that our new building is a fitting tribute to their generousity.
The CYMS is 107 years alive in Cavan. I wish it well and long may it continue.
Michael Breslin
Hon.Secretary
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his is indeed an historic and very proud day in the history of the CYMS Saint Phelim’s Branch in Cavan Town as we celebrate the Official Opening of our new Clubrooms.The CYMS is one of the oldest clubs in the town having been founded in1886.It was then known as the Catholic Club and was located on the present site of the Presbytery.In 1936 the club became affiliated to the National Council of the CYMS of Ireland, hence the change of name.The CYMS had about sixty Branches all over the country at that time
In 1960 the club moved to its present location better known as the ‘Hut’ formerly The British Legion Men’s Hall.Over the years the club has served the town well providing entertainment facilities for the youth in an alcohol free environment. It presently caters for 85 members of which 55 are Juniors.
The ‘Hut’ has been the venue of many outstanding Billiards and Snooker Championships down the years with players of the calibre of the late Tom McCusker,Jim Fay,HL Smith, Benny Cafferty,Joe Higgins and Joe O’ Rourke.Affectionately known as ‘The Crucible’ it had an atmosphere all of its own and it was generally regarded as having two of the best Snooker tables in the Country.
The ambitious decision of the Committee in 1994 to level ‘The Hut’ in Farnham Street and build this complex with accommodation for the Club on the first floor consisting of 3 full sized snooker tables,a large meeting cum television room,a small committee room and two toilets together with two modern Shop/ Offices on the ground floor each unit measuring 740 sq. feet has now borne fruit and is a ccredit to everyone who has played their part in the achievement.
The old building had served the club for the last thirty six years and for many years prior to that as the British ex Service Men’s Hut’.
It was time for a replacement.My brother Bryan O’ Reilly Arch. Tech. 85 Chuirch Street.Cavan prepared a design for the new building which was approved by the Committee and catered for the site constraints and the difficulties of fording the Kinnypottle River.Town Clerks Seamus Neely and David Lovett and the Town Engineer Brendan Smith were helpful to us at all stages of the work and the County Manager Brian Johnstone was favourably disposed towards the project and did all in his power to iron out any difficulties that arose.
I want to pay tribute to my fellow trustees Tommy McKiernan,Richard Casiddy,Michael
Breslin,Sean Coyle,Pat
Kinsella and
I wish to compliment Mr Owen Smith Kilnaleck the Main Contractor on the excellence of his work,MDS (Longford)Structural Engineers,Seamus Quinn and Nial Rawl who bridged the river.I also wish to thank Mr. Cormac Dunne and Tomas Young for their valuable assistance in both the legal and financial side of things.
A
Vote Of Confidence
The building of this fine structure is a vote of confidence in the future by a Society that has served the young men of Cavan for one hundred and eleven years.
As Honary Treasurer ,I wish to publicly record the great honour it is for me to serve the club in this capacity. I have the privilege of working with a wonderful group of friends who have diligently given many years of voluntary service and who continue the traditions which have made this club one of the finest in the Country.
May the CYMS continue to prosper long into the next Millennium .
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nside every man there is a boy who wants to continue to live the life of that was his when he was young., to live again the carefree Summers of long ago.My youth was largely spent in the CYMS, at that time on the site of the present Presbytery consisting of two billiard/snooker tables a large badminton/ table tennis hall and a card room.We spent hours there daily playing handball in the quadrangle and nights playing billiards and cards.The atmosphere was warm and welcoming and the supervision was unobtrusive. We loved it and our parents were happy that we were in a safe environment.
The CYMS was really for boys who came to work in Cavan so that they might have an alcohol free environment for their entertainment and here they made lasting friendships.
The man cannot restore his youth but to day the CYMS in Cavan has rejuvenated itself thanks to the efforts of a courageous committee, many of whom were boys along with me.It is a source of great pleasure to see this wonderful new building completed and furnished and it is my wish that the boys of today and tomorrow will get as much pleasure from the ‘Club’ as we did in the 40s and 50s.
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The billiard room was out of bounds for us youngsters.We boys were not interested in the dancing classes and other activities that took place in the hall but we longed to play on the large snooker table in the billiard room which of course was always locked.As we gazed in through the window at the table,we knew what it must have felt for Moses as he stood on Mount Nebo and saw the ‘Promised Land’ knowing he would never reach it !
Later on as a first and second year student in Maynooth,I finally got the opportunity to try out my snooker skills.I lived near the snooker hall and spent many hours there when I might have been better occupied pursuing my studies.I remember some of my contempories there quoting the old saying “that a good snooker player is a sign of a mis spent youth”.Nowadays with the lucrative incomes of Ken Doherty,Stephen Hendry,etc I don’t think that theory holds good any more!.
Coming from the CYMS to the Presbytery past the tennis courts, its great to see them so well used during the Summer.We have many opportunities for recreation in the Summertime but Wintertime is a different matter.The CYMS provides all year round recreational facilities for old and young alike.
You often hear people complain that the only place people can go to enjoy themselves is the pub. Modern pubs have very high class facilities and patrons can relax in very comfortable surroundings. Cavan CYMS too have succeeded in providing top class facilities in a luxurious environment. I congratulate the Committee and all who made this dream a reality .The opening of these new clubrooms is the culmination of the work of so many CYMS members over the decades.
At a time when the Catholic Church is receiving so much adverse publicity it is good to see an organisation prosper which is not ashamed to acknowledge its association with the Church without being overbearing or sanctimonious.
May the CYMS continue to serve the recreational and social needs of many future generations of Cavan people.
1849-Dean O' Brien establishes The Catholic Young Men's Society in
1932-The
Crest of the National Association is launched at the first Convention in
1938-A
branch of the Catholic Young Men's Society is established in Cavan by
Father Malachy Byrne.
Monsignor John Maguire Adm leases two rooms (formerly
1945-Joe Higgins wins the CYMS Billiard Competition with record breaks.Documented by Joe O Rourke (marker) and Gerry Lovett(President)
1949-Members act as stewards at the Funeral of Most Reverend Doctor Lyons Bishop of Kilmore
1952-Tom McCusker just pipped in National Billiards Final by Pat Nolan from Maynooth.
1960-Farewell to the Presbytery premises and a tentative hello to the 'Hut'.
1961-After extensive renovations the Hut reopens under the Banner "Cavan CYMS"
1976-In July Lord Farnham hands over the keys of the 'Hut' to our Chairman Oliver Malone
1995-Demolition of our beloved 'Hut' and construction on the same site of our new premises
1997-September 11th The magnificent new premises are blessed and opened by the Bishop of Kilmore Most Rev. Doctor McKiernan
October 2005 Install six new computers complete with Microsoft Office and Broadband Internet connection
November 23rd 2005 Compile and publish the Club's new website http://www.cavancyms.com
November 28th 2005 VEC Classes commence in the Clubrooms on Monday 28th of November for Juniors and 29th of November for Senior.Tutor is Mary Keady from Drumkilly.
We acknowledge with sincere gratitude Financial
assistance received from the above towards the building of our new premises.
The
Society’s emblem is interesting. The old Roman Lamp was used by the early Christians
to give light in the dark passages of the Catacombs, its flame, symbolic of the
Light of Faith: On the lamp .the Alpha and the Omega (the first and last
letters of the Greek Alphabet) signify the beginning and the end and flank the
‘Chi-Ro’(the first two letters of the name ‘Christ’)
Originally designed by the first
Christian Emperor,’Constantine The Great’,it is known as the Constantinian
Monogram.The Latin motto means ‘Strong in Faith’while the outer ring symbolises the Circle of
Brotherhood ,the Society itself .