IT WAS A remarkable day that only a lucky few Cavan souls bore witness to.
The Breffni’s famous Ulster final win over Donegal in November 2020 ended their 23-year wait for a provincial title, denying their opponents the three-in-a-row in the process.
Conor Madden struck a late goal as Cavan survived two black cards to seal a historic win.
The pandemic meant that no crowd could attend. The Cavan supporters instead showed their appreciation for the team with a drive-by reception at Breffni Park.
Some pundits noted that Donegal haven’t looked like the same team since, such was the punch to the gut they took that night in the Athletic Grounds.
But Declan Bonner’s team showed signs of life in their impressive dismissal of Armagh a fortnight ago, setting up a semi-final rematch with Cavan.
This is the first time the counties have renewed acquaintances since.
Cavan stalwart Cian Mackey retired at the end of the 2019 season, agonisingly missing out on a provincial medal after 15 years of service.
“You’d be envious of anyone with Ulster titles,” admits Mackey.
“As a Cavan supporter, it was absolutely brilliant. I had made my decision that I was finishing up. As much as you could say you regret not being there for the Ulster final win, I can’t say I regretted it through the year.
“There were evenings when lads were going to do a tough session and I was happy to be home.
“I met up with Mickey in November of the previous year and we had a conversation. Mickey told me to go away and make my mind up.
“I went away, I was in New York that Christmas and just decided it was probably time to let a few other lads continue on and push on. And push on they did. They won an Ulster title.
“In the grand scheme of things, on Ulster final day you regret it but over the course of the year I can’t say I regretted it. Because I think it was time to finish up.”
Aside from Mackey, other absentees in 2020 were Dara McVeety and Conor Moynagh, who men who’d been their leading lights since their championship debuts in 2013 and 2015 respectively.
“People would have thought there’s not a chance of Cavan winning an Ulster title without the likes of McVeety and Moynagh,” says Mackey.
“But it just shows the strength in depth that is there. That it helped Cavan come on even more. More lads came and stepped up to the mark. It shows that without even those players Cavan can get over the line. It’s a real positive for Cavan.”
McVeety watched the game at 3.30am from Sydney. After sending a congratulatory text to some team-mates, they video called him from the dressing room. Moynagh did the same from New Zealand.
They were thrilled for their team-mates, but they wouldn’t be human if there wasn’t a pang of regret. Wondering what if?
“Without a doubt,” agrees Mackey. “It was probably a bit more for them because they’re the age…they’re in their prime. But lookit, them boys have put in serious hours and years into Cavan football.
“Young lads nowadays have to take their break away. They’re dead right to see the world.”
Moynagh returned to the panel in 2021 but things dipped for Mickey Graham’s team. They lost a Division 3 relegation play-off to Wicklow, dropping down to the basement tier of the league. It was a long fall from the joyous scenes of the previous November.
That reigning Munster champions Tipperary joined them didn’t ease the pain.
They fell to Tyrone by eight points in the Ulster quarter-final, watching the Red Hand go on to win provincial and All-Ireland honours. The lack of a backdoor meant Cavan’s summer was over before it had started. One and done.
Graham shook things up this season by introducing Ryan McMenamin and Seanie Johnston to his backroom team. Two big personalities in their own right.
“There’s huge characters in the backroom team which can be only good for younger players coming in and looking at the likes of Seanie and McMenamin,” Mackey.
“They’re players a lot of these lads would have watched growing up. As a corner-forward, there’s no-one better around to learn your trade off than ‘Jelly’ (Johnston). Vice-versa as a sticky corner-back, over the last 20 or 30 years there hasn’t been many of the same calibre of McMenamin.
“If they can impart any sort of knowledge they have onto young Cavan footballers, it’s only a huge bonus. From watching them play, Cavan kicked 1-22 so it just shows that something’s working as regards the transition from defence into attack.”
Mackey soldiered alongside Johnston for a number of years with Cavan and he describes his coaching pedigree: “Seanie was the type of player that nearly made the last run all the time when he was an inside man. As a coach he knows what way other players have to run to make the space for that last run.
“He’s an intelligent enough guy to be able to coach any sort of movement in a full-forward line. He has seen it all. As coaching goes he does a bit with the school and he was with Cu Chulainns last year.
“I can only imagine he blooded himself in there. I think this niche as a forwards coach with Cavan will suit him down to the ground.”
An immediate return to Division 3 was sealed in the spring while the Division 4 title was sealed with an impressive win over Tipperary at Croke Park.
Cavan’s leading marksman that day was Paddy Lynch, the 22-year-old that grabbed 2-3 against the Premier County. He followed that up with an eight-point haul on his championship debut against Antrim.
“What a find,” remarked Tyrone great Peter Canavan on BBC. Mickey Harte agreed: “I didn’t know a lot about Paddy Lynch until recently, but he has showed again today that he is a serious operator.”
Lynch, a former minor and U20 star, has all the physical attributes to thrive at senior level. Skill-wise he is comfortable off both feet, has an eye for goal and enjoys the pressure of free-taking duties.
John Brady managed Lynch with Cavan minors and U20s, getting front row view of the Crosserlough ace’s rise.
“You could see his talent from a very young age,” he says. “He was always practicing, always working on his game. He was very willing to learn. Especially as he was taking frees as well so he might come down on days he wasn’t training to practice his shooting.
“He was always working to try and improve his game. He was always big in size so he used to play around full-forward, he was a good target man, ball winner and score getter.”
With current seniors James Smith and Oisin Pierson in the side, they reached the All-Ireland semi-finals only to be gunned down by David Clifford’s Kerry.
“It would have been a strong enough group,” adds Brady. “Paddy was one of the younger ones on the team, he had another year’s minor left after that.”
Lynch has been showing outstanding form at club level for a number of years now.
“He’d be a confident character, but you have to. If you’re playing as a forward you have to try back yourself and go for it.
“He has the potential to be one of the best but that’s up to himself. He definitely has the potential and the willpower to go and do it. He will learn and he’ll put in the work to get there.
“He’s always going to be learning. It’s not until five or six years when you look back and see where he is at 25, 26 when he reaches his peak. He has another four or five years to that, learning.”
Mackey says Lynch is sort of forward the Breffni men have been yearning for.
“Over the last seven or eight years, Cavan have been crying out for an inside forward,” says Mackey.
“No-one has really stood up or has got a prolonged chance in the team to make that position their own. The lads this year seemed to give Paddy Lynch the few chances in the league.
“He could have had one or two bad games in the league but they persisted with him and gave him the confidence. By doing that they made Paddy feel like he was going to be playing and that they had the confidence in him and telling him he was going to be their full-forward. It worked perfectly. He came on the scene and did the job.
“They’ve reaped the rewards of that. The supporting cast of that forward line are definitely doing their job as well. They’re getting balls into him.
“That Stephen Smith pass in the league final to Paddy was brilliant and it left him one-on-one with the keeper. It’s good to have lads that know what each other’s runs are.
“There’s a couple of Crosserlough boys in that team who all play together so that’s a huge bonus for Cavan.”
