By Niall Gartland

CAVAN footballer Niall Carolan didn’t exactly spend the twilight of 2025 with the feet up.

He was an integral part of a Cuchulainn’s team that reached the Ulster Intermediate final, and while they fell short against Derry side Glenullin, it was a hugely memorable period for the club and community.

Now though, his primary focus is with Cavan, who get their McKenna Cup underway at home to Monaghan this Saturday evening.

Carolan, who was captain of the Cavan u-20 team that came close to winning an Ulster title in 2022, is now in his fifth season in the senior set-up.

Mickey Graham handed him his debut, preceding a two-year stint under Raymond Galligan.

It’s all change again on the sidelines as Dermot McCabe – another renowned former Cavan footballer – has stepped into the breach. The early signs are encouraging, according to Carolan.

“Dermot is bringing an incredibly professional set-up to the whole group. I haven’t been around too much due to the run with the club, but from what I’ve heard and seen, training has been good. It’s been tough but the lads are really enjoying it, which is the main thing.”

Galligan’s decision to step down after two years at the helm was greeted by surprise in some quarters, but it’s a massive commitment and he’d been at the coalface of Cavan football at senior level for many years.

“It was a bit of a surprise but he had his own dealings that he had to take care of. I wouldn’t have a bad word to say about Raymond, the two years we had with him were brilliant.

“He gave incredible service as a player, and then to step in as manager straight away, shows what a man he is.”

A number of seasoned campaigners are unavailable this coming year through travelling and retirement. Padraig Faulker helped lead Kingscourt to their first Cavan Senior Championship title in a decade before stepping away to go travelling, while another well-known face, Killian Clarke, has called it a day.

Both of those players were integral members of Cavan’s stunning Ulster Championship final victory over Donegal in 2020 in Armagh, and Carolan says their influence was crucial to his own development as a footballer.

“Padraig and Killian were incredible servants over the years, though I suppose the flipside is that it gives a chance for new guys to step in and show what they can do.

“They were great influences on myself.

“I remember going to watch them as a young cub when they were winning Ulster U-21 Championship titles, so I really looked up to them.

“They brought me on leaps and bounds and to be fair there’s still a good group of really experienced players still on the panel.”

With a new regional element introduced to the McKenna Cup, which is back on the calendar after a one-year absence, Cavan have been pitted against Fermanagh and Monaghan. Carolan is looking forward to getting stuck into the new season.

“You’re always happier to get back on the saddle. It’s good that it’s back, and teams are going to be playing challenge games at this time of year anyway, so it’s better to have a bit of a crowd at it and a piece of silverware up for grabs.

“We’ve Monaghan at home and Fermanagh away, so it’s two good local derbies to start the year.”

The 2025 season was a mix of the good and not-so-good. They missed out on promotion from Division Two by a whisker, and the boost of an All-Ireland SFC group stage victory over Mayo was soon deflated by successive defeats to Donegal, familiar foes Tyrone and Kerry. To be fair, not an easy itinerary.

Carolan said: “We’d a few very disappointing defeats against Donegal and Tyrone. I thought we battled hard against Kerry down in Killarney but we didn’t come up with a win.

“Our victory over Mayo was probably the highlight of our year. We did have some good performances in the league and it’d be nice to build on them this year.”

Division Two is particularly competitive this year, however, with Tyrone and Derry moving down from the top-flight. Promotion remains the target though.

“It’s definitely very competitive with two Ulster teams coming down from Division One. We’re away to Cork on the first day, so that’ll be a tasty fixture.

“Division Two is never easy, most of the games are all on the day so hopefully we can muster a few good performances.”