The Official Cavan GAA Discussion thread.

So what's your proposal? Do we only have a 3 or 4 team Championship because they might be the only ones to win it?

Is it? I wouldn't be so sure. Didn't they go down and essentially win intermediate immediately. Too good for intermediate, and not good enough right now to win Senior. Doesn't mean they can't play Senior and work up from there. We see it all the time. Gowna were in this bracket not long ago, hung on, got youth exposed to Senior, and pushed on to win it. We see this regularly

There's likely 5 to 6 tiers in actuality in Cavan. But can't work that

So you do want to be like Fermanagh with 8, when you said they should not be the comparison the other day?

Is 8 simply not too few really, when you consider relegation etc? In your system only 2 Quarter finals and some teams waiting in the semi with a game less really and maybe being caught cold doesn't spin very well. You want good knockout games, and removing 2 of them isn't great - especially if you drop numbers if you want that competitiveness. 3 group games and potential relegation playoff is tight going too.

You could easily do this system with 10 teams. 2 x 5. 4 games each. 1st Group 1 vs 4th Group 2, 2nd vs 3rd etc for the quarters and then 5th vs 5th for relegation works very well. Monaghan have 10 as well and without wanting to copy them, that should be number for counties of our size. Or even just the way we have it now but with an open draw for 4 rounds and do the table as usual with no relegation semis just straight game to stay in Senior

any word on McCabes back room team yet?

Yes I have, and it was bad, and glad it is changing. But seeing as we're talking about a County Championship, we already have smaller numbers than 16 (which as a root of 2 allows for rounder means to whittle down), and don't have a provincial one feeding in so don't see this as much of an issue with inter county layout. Saying all that I would like a straight knockout (or at least one backdoor chance only), but that ain't happening any time soon.

Counties do need to cut their cloth to what suits best. 24 group games and 7 knockout games currently. A 10 team one would be 20 group games and 7 knockout. I think that's ok for now at least. Going to 8 cannot be done immediately and would take time and to 10 in current system is more easily worked is all I mean, and would suit by removing what would be some whipping boys. See what the Championship is like then. Remember, we made a bit of a hames of things post Covid with some Champs with too many and Junior ended up quite strong for a few years. If you went to 8 immediately, and if an issue was recognised, that would then take time to wash out

Also I don't think a system where we only have 2 quarters and some teams straight to semi is great tbh, with some teams waiting with a game less. All Ireland had this and it's going, and that was at quarters not semis. Championships usually better from quarters, so if anything I'd adjust the group/preliminary stages to feed in 8 teams to quarters better to ensure we have the 4 quarters and a winner has to play 3 knockout games to win it.

Small bit of movement in the rankings are another week of football. Swad now favourites for junior.

SENIOR

1. Crosserlough 

2. Gowna

3. Ramor

4. Kingscourt 

5. Mullahoran

6. Cavan Gaels

7. Arva

8. Ballyhaise 

9. Killygarry

10. Castlerahan

11. Ballinagh

12. Laragh

INTERMEDIATE

1. Cuchullains 

2. Cootehill

3. Butlersbridge 

4. Baileborough

5. Denn

6. Lavey

7. Killinkere

8. Ballymachugh

9. Lacken

10. Shercock

11. Cornafean

12. Knockbride

13. Drumlane 

14. Drumgoon 

JUNIOR

1. Swanlinbar 

2. Belturbet

3. Shannon Gaels

4. Kill 

5. Munterconnacht 

6. Templeport

7. Drung 

8. Redhills 

9. Drumalee

10. Killeshandra

11. Mountnugent

12.  Kildallan

You’re being more than a bit disingenuous here. Kingscourt were in the bottom four last year by virtue of the easy draws that Ballinagh/Castlerahan got which you’ve already admitted to being aware of.

I don’t think you’d have very strong teams drop to intermediate. Laragh, Castlerahan & Ballinagh are all aging teams. None have particularly strong underage teams coming - Ballinagh are actually amalgamating at most levels despite being a town team.

I’m not at all looking forward to Gowna vs Mullahoran. Gowna will win. I don’t expect any shocks.

In terms of Ballinagh and Laragh you are right but wouldn't agree on Castlerahan, they already have some young blood coming in again- 4 of a Division 2 minor(u17 at the time) winning team from 2023 were involved in their last game against Mullahoran - Jaime Clarke and Ciaran Caldwell are good additions to any club side, imo Jaime Clarke really should of been playing with Cavan U20s this year. Then their minor team this year (u18) is playing Division 1 football and competing well there, into the quarter finals of championship, indeed they gave your own club a good beating in the competition a few weeks ago. I am sure they will be hopeful of a few more coming off that and from playing at a good standard. Had a decent U14 team last year who got to a Division 1 league final, playing Division 1 again at that level this year with good numbers.

They have obviously gone through a transition from when they were winning and competing for senior championships but don't think your argument on aging grounds against them is true. On Ballinagh, they suffering in terms of numbers at underage from alot of children who go to school there but live and play with surrounding clubs like Cornafean and Lacken.

Ask a Castlerahan person about the team and see what they say. There is no doubting that Clarke and Caldwell are very good players but Castlerahan had a generational team with talents like Brady, Mackey & Ronan Flanagan followed up by the likes of Cooney, Reilly and the twin lads (can’t think of their names, one runs the pub) but the players coming through aren’t going to replace those.

They even tried a bit of juvenile recruitment recently that didn’t work out for them. Ask the Castlerahan person you question about that too.

What’s the craic with Caoimhin McGovern down in Shannon Gaels? I know he had an unfortunate illness but Cavan once got in trouble for playing him when he was only 17 but he seems to have totally dropped off the radar now re the Cavan team. Top scorer the last two weeks running, although he appears to be shooting fish in a barrel in the junior championship.

it would be interesting to see a west Cavan amalgamation in the senior championship with players like Ryan O’Neill Caoimhin McGovern Rurai currin Jason McLaughlin Gearoid Mckiernan Ryan connelly Dillon Edwards Nevin O’Donnell among others.

Templeport are apparently hovering up most of the talent down there so they will be close to being like a divisional side soon enough.

You could have at least Divisional to go with the 8 teams and show some vision. Hopefully the new chairman has some ideas over the next few years, then sit on the fence like the previous chairman.

Yeah but a chairman can at least propose an idea. Clubs can then vote on it.

Why did Corlough send their players to Templeport when they’ve been involved in the Dernacrieve amalgamation with pretty much every other club in the region bar Templeport?

The Cavan County Board don’t post the team sheets on their socials this last while. A pity.
Cavan LGFA do for most championship weekends now.
Good to look and see who is togged out in the different club panels.