Cavan county hurling team

Cavan

Sport:	Hurling
Irish:	An Cabhán [1]
Nickname(s):	The Breffni men The Breffni Blues
County board:	Cavan GAA
Manager:	Ollie Bellew
Captain:	Matthew Hynes
Home venue(s):	Breffni Park, Cavan [1]
Recent competitive record
Current All-Ireland status:	Lory Meagher Cup Group stage in 2022
Current NHL Division:	3B
First colours Second colours

The Cavan county hurling team represents Cavan in hurling and is governed by Cavan GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the Lory Meagher Cup and the National Hurling League.

Cavan's home ground is Breffni Park, Cavan. The team's manager is Ollie Bellew.

History

1908–2011

Cavan represented Ulster in the semi-final of the 1908 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, but lost the delayed Ulster final to Derry. Cavan reached the Ulster final six times, but never won the competition. Cavan won the Ulster Junior Hurling Championship in 1983 and 1985, as well as Division 4 of the National Hurling League in 1983.

After an extended period of poor results, on 26 April 2011, Cavan announced that they would withdraw from Senior hurling for the foreseeable future, citing poor attendance at training and lack of numbers. ^{[2] [3]} This left Cavan as the only county in Ireland without a senior hurling team. In the next few years, the county board focused on developing hurling at underage level. ^{[4] [5]}

2017–present

After six years without fielding a team, Cavan played in the Lory Meagher Cup in 2017. ^{[6] [7]} Cavan re-entered the National Hurling League in 2018, competing in Division 3B.

Cavan reached the final of the Lory Meagher Cup for the first time in 2021 after a win over Louth. ^[8] The final took place in Croke Park on 31 July 2021, with Cavan facing Fermanagh. ^[9] Fermanagh won the match by 3–26 to 1–17. ^[10] Cavan topped the Division 3B table in 2023, reaching the final for the first time. Cavan claimed their first silverware since the reformation of the team, with a 0–17 to 0–16 win over Leitrim. ^[11]

Panel

Team as per Cavan vs Leitrim in the NHL Division 3B Final, 1 April 2023

No. Player Position Club 1 Darren Sheridan Goalkeeper Mullahoran St Joseph's 2 Shane Briody Right corner back Pearse Óg 3 Dominic Crudden Full back Mullahoran St Joseph's 4 Liam Óg Cooke Left corner back Pearse Óg 5 Jack Barry Right half back East Cavan Gaels 6 Cillian Sheanon Centre back Cuala 7 Matthew Hynes (c) Left half back Mullahoran St Joseph's 8 Dillon Mulligan Midfield Kilmacud Crokes 9 Nicky Kenny Midfield East Cavan Gaels 10 Tom Leonard Right half forward Cootehill Celtic 11 Canice Maher Centre forward East Cavan Gaels 12 Colum Sheanon Left half forward Cuala 17 Sean Keating Right corner forward Pearse Óg 14 Diarmaid Carney Full forward Cootehill Celtic 15 Colin Gargan Left corner forward East Cavan Gaels

No. Player Position Club 16 Niall Clerkin Substitute Cootehill Celtic 13 Philip McCabe Substitute Cootehill Celtic 18 Caolan Kelly Substitute Mullahoran St Joseph's 19 Rian Delaney Substitute Cootehill Celtic 20 Anthony Sheridan Substitute Mullahoran St Joseph's 21 Fiachra Hughes Substitute Cootehill Celtic 22 Tadhg Barry Substitute East Cavan Gaels 23 Rory Farrell Substitute East Cavan Gaels 24 Mark Moffett Substitute Cootehill Celtic 25 Gavin Fitzpatrick Substitute Cootehill Celtic 26 Caoimhín Carney Substitute Cootehill Celtic

Management team

• Manager: Ollie Bellew
• Selector: Tomás Mannion

Managerial history

Name	Origin	Years
Tom "Gawney" Walsh	Wexford	c. 2000s [12]
?	?	Until 2017
Dinny Cahill	Tipperary	2017
Michael Carr	Galway	2018–19
Ollie Bellew	Antrim	2020–21
Neil Cole	Meath	2022
Ollie Bellew (2)	Antrim	2023–

Honours

Main article: Cavan GAA honours

National

• Lory Meagher Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2021
• National Hurling League Division 3B
  • Winners (1): 2023
• National Hurling League Division 4
  • Winners (1): 1983

Provincial

• Ulster Senior Hurling Championship
  • Runners-up (6): 1908, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1935, 1936
• Ulster Junior Hurling Championship
  • Winners (2): 1983, 1985
  • Runners-up (2): 1988, 1994

References

1. "Cavan — Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Uladh". Ulster GAA . Retrieved 15 June 2022.
2. Reilly, Terry (26 April 2011). "Cavan pull out of senior hurling action for five years". Irish Examiner . Retrieved 16 March 2023.
3. "Cavan hurlers withdraw". Irish Independent . 26 April 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
4. McCarney, Damian (25 January 2013). "Starting from scratch: Cavan hurling's silent revolution". The Anglo Celt . Retrieved 16 March 2023.
5. Duffy, Emma (30 April 2017). "The one county that were without a senior hurling team: Cavan reignite the flame". The42.ie . Retrieved 16 March 2023.
6. Duffy, Emma (18 April 2017). "The only county without a senior hurling team are making a comeback on Saturday". The42.ie . Retrieved 16 March 2023.
7. "Return of Senior Hurling Team". Cavan GAA . 19 April 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
8. Fitzpatrick, Paul (24 July 2021). "Hurlers off to Croker after magnificent comeback against Louth". The Anglo-Celt . Retrieved 16 March 2023.
9. Duffy, Emma (31 July 2021). "A six-year layoff to making history in Croke Park - Cavan chase hurling glory". The42.ie . Retrieved 16 March 2023.
10. Fitzpatrick, Paul (31 July 2021). "Lory Meagher Cup Final: Keenan stars for Fermanagh". Gaelic Athletic Association . Retrieved 16 March 2023.
11. Fitzpatrick, Paul (1 April 2023). "Allianz HL D3B Final: Cavan pip Letrim". Gaelic Athletic Association . Retrieved 1 April 2023.
12. "Frank's with Mayo". Gorey Guardian . 22 December 2005. Frank isn't the only Slaneysider spreading the hurling gospel in the weaker counties. Tom 'Gawny' Walsh of Bishopswater has managed Cavan in recent years, while Aidan Kerrigan from Ballyoughter has done great work in Knockbridge and with the Louth county team.