Raymond Galligan: Flicking on to the next chapter

Raymond Galligan began his Cavan career in attack before switching to the number one jersey. As captain he lifted the Anglo Celt Cup before stepping into management. He spoke to Michael McMullan

From Raymond Galligan the forward to goalkeeper, to captain and then to manager was quite the journey.

Having stepped down as Breffni manager last year, he became part of Padraic Joyce’s backroom team in Galway.

That’s all alongside managing St Michael’s House, a multi-site centre in Dublin, caring for men, women and children with disabilities.

There was the journey up the road for Cavan and also to line out with his club Lacken.

In recent weeks he has been flat to the mat organising a two-day coaching conference planned for November in Cavan’s Slieve Russell Hotel.

A busy man with excitement hanging on every word. The conversation is a matter of minutes old and you get a feel for his enthusiasm.

It’s evident why he was captain material before overseeing a team of players he soldiered with in the trenches.

His day job is managing people. With that comes a range of transferrable skills. Inside the Cavan dressing room, nothing was personal.

Selection calls, and all that came with it, were about a mantra – the blue jersey and the crest emblazoned on its left breast.

Speaking days before the news broke that Joyce had stepped down in Galway, Galligan still isn’t sure what his own footballing landscape will look like in 2027.

He wasn’t ruling out a return to management, but his coaching conference is the focus for now.

Galligan doesn’t come across as someone who deals in procrastination. Listen, ponder, decide and move on.

That said, why a coaching conference?

“I’ve been lucky enough now to have both been working with a lot of quality and high-performance coaches within the game,” he pointed out.

“Over the last couple of weeks, back down the road with my own club, I just felt that there was an opportunity to do something different.”

The coaching events he had attended were one-day events. This gives coaches a double instalment across a weekend.

He’ll join Rory Beggan to dissect how the kick-out is pivotal to the entire game.

Chrissy McKague is there to discuss defence. Brian Fenton will focus on midfielders. Stephen O’Neill will look after the attacking side.

Enda McGinley and James Horan will be there too.

“It’s an opportunity for coaches, in a nice environment, to just sit back and listen to the views and thoughts of guys that are operating at a pretty high level,” Galligan added.

The game has changed since his own playing career began and his days of managing Cavan, and he sees the importance of adapting.

“When I went straight into management, that was a different angle,” he said.

“You’re working with people hands on. Whereas, now, I’ve a big emphasis on trying to upskill on the coaching side of things.

“Even for myself, it’s great to be able to work alongside these guys over the weekend and find new ideas.

“Everybody coming into the room as an attendee is going to leave with new ideas and a few drills to bring back to their own clubs.”

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When Lacken won their third intermediate title in 2004, Galligan kicked a point in the first half of a game where they ultimately edged Drung by the narrowest of margins.

Drung’s goalkeeper James Reilly also wore the county number one jersey and it was Hyland, who trained Lacken at the time, who later floated the idea to Galligan that his county future would be between the posts.

Eight years later, Galligan, racked up 1-5 in the drawn final against Cootehill before getting their first score in the replay as they added a fourth title.

He was always a forward, making his Cavan debut in a Tommy Murphy Cup defeat at the hands of Antrim at Casement Park in 2006.

After being in and out of the Cavan team, he spent a year in Australia before he returned to make his championship debut against Donegal in Kingspan Breffni. It was the day Donegal began their 2012 Ulster and All-Ireland winning campaign.

Two years earlier, his 10-point tally shot Cavan to victory over Roscommon in ‘the Hyde’.

It was also an era when Cavan dominated the Ulster U21 Championship, winning four consecutive titles, matching what Tyrone did the previous decade.

“In 2015, I was strongly advised by Terry Hyland that there was an array of full forwards coming down the tracks,” Galligan commented on Hyland’s goalkeeping suggestion.

It was an option, but not one he felt was initially a great fit. Like most other decisions though, once he was in, he was all in.

“I thought it probably wasn’t for me, but I suppose I did realise I was at the age where I had to commit to it or I probably wasn’t going to play or get a whole of more opportunities outfield,” Galligan added.

“We had the likes of David Gibney, Eugene Keating, Niall McDermott, to name a few, coming from the U21s and playing in that full forward type role.

“I had never played in goals before, so, when I said yes, it was obviously going to take a huge commitment.

“When I take something in my head, I’ll be trying to make myself the absolute best I can be.”

Before he had even played a game in goals, there was a spell of incessant training. Sometimes five or six nights a week.

Goalkeeper Shane Supple had returned from a soccer career in Ipswich. Twice a week he put Galligan through his paces at his local club St Brigid’s in Dublin.

At the time, Cavan brought in Gary Rogers as a goalkeeper coach so there was plenty of scope for learning.

“When I got my opportunity, I had six, seven or eight months of hard work locked in,” Galligan said. “I was lucky enough then to secure my spot for the best part of 10 years, so it was a great journey.”

On the latest episode of the Gaelic Lives podcast, former Antrim forward Brian Neeson spoke about how knowing the patterns of attacking play was a help when he turned his focus to goalkeeping. Galligan agreed with that concept.

“That was the beauty of being a forward since I was a child, you can have an idea of the movement and of how inside forwards thought,” he said.

“The shot stopping obviously was a big part to work on but I always find the pressure is on the man on the ball, like it is on a penalty taker. It’s about trying to do the basics right as a goalkeeper in shot stopping.”

That’s where the work with Gary Rogers and the nights in St Brigid’s with Shane Supple paid off. There is also the psychology involved in being the last line of defence. It’s the same when going up to kick a free.

“We were never handed easy frees,” he said of the long-range efforts. “When you miss an opportunity, you wipe it, come back up the next time and you keep working.”

Overthinking can never come into it. He cites Rory Beggan and Niall Morgan, men at the top of their game.

“Their biggest strength is their mindset,” Galligan said. “When the big moments come, they’re not afraid to step up and take opportunities.

“That’s why I’m a big admirer of any free taker. It takes a certain mindset to put your hand up, and at county level, I think the pressure is even greater at times.”

That was the other area of focus for Galligan. Kicking needed perfected and drilled. The trajectory was an important ingredient.

In terms of moments involving a dead ball, one immediately springs to mind. It’s 2020 in Clones and Cavan’s preliminary round clash with Monaghan needed extra time after Gerard Smith sliced a dramatic equaliser. At the end of extra-time, Rory Beggan nailed an equaliser to bring the sides level again but the story wasn’t over.

Cavan were awarded a free 60-metres out from the Roslea End goals. The clock was ticking into the fourth minute of stoppage time. A seismic moment.

Galligan’s kick won the game, cl aring the crossbar with plenty to spare and Cavan ebbed towards the Ulster title.

“In time, it has become a big moment because if I had missed that free, there was no Ulster Championship,” he said of a day where his cousin Thomas was named as man of the match.

“It probably adds another layer to it, that we went on to win. You just don’t know how these frees can become bigger than what they are.”

Beating Monaghan in their own backyard generated complacency that almost saw them pipped by a wasteful Antrim.

After trailing Down by eight points in the semi-final, Cavan dug their way out of the depths of despair to narrowly book a spot in the 2020 Ulster final.

In the opposite corner was Declan Bonner’s Donegal who were eyeing up a third successive Ulster title.

Conor Madden’s goal clinched an eventful victory and Cavan were Ulster champions.

Galligan and manager Mickey Graham spoke with raw emotion in their respective interviews, the latter breaking down, unable to put the success into words.

Through his tears, Galligan dedicated the victory to every Cavan person watching from around the world, unable to be present in Armagh for an historical evening.

With the Covid-19 restrictions, the players travelled to and from games on their own. Galligan wasn’t alone on the trip back to Cavan. He had the Anglo Celt Cup belted into the passenger seat of this car. And he had his thoughts.

“The big thing for me was travelling from Armagh, back to Cavan, on my own, in the car and the utter peace,” he recalls.

“I had that opportunity to just embrace every ball that had been kicked for the 70 minutes.

“As much as we never had the scenes of ‘97 (Cavan’s pervious Ulster win) and teams that had the pitch invasions, I’ll never forget coming through Monaghan where Cavan people made their way to light bonfires.

“Then it was on into Butlersbridge and towards Cavan. You were just able to actually embrace it and remember every single moment.”

Later that night, there was a drive through at Kingspan Breffni Park where cars could pass by and get a glimpse of the cup.

“Obviously, I would love to be able to share it with my parents, my wife, kids and all that,” he added.

“At the same time, we got through a lot of that over the coming days when I could mix with smaller numbers.

“Within that, it makes it extra special. In time, when I tell my own kids, it’ll definitely be a head-scratcher, those scenes that they’ll probably have witnessed on television.”

That car journey was a chance to savour all the hours put in.

The nights diving around the St Brigid’s club grounds on his goalkeeping journey.

The commitment and sacrifice were worth it.

“Not everybody is fortunate enough to win medals. Only a few do and we’ve had more bad days than good in Cavan,” he summed up.

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Galligan’s last game for Cavan was the 2023 Tailteann Cup quarter-final defeat to Down.

It was Mickey Graham’s last outing before stepping down as manager, but it wasn’t long before his former captain and goalkeeper succeeded him in the hotseat.

“I didn’t actually overthink it,” Galligan said of the move.

“Obviously, I had to speak with my wife and family about putting my name forward.

“There was an opportunity at the time. I was coming to the end of my own career; I was 36.

“When Mickey made the decision to take a step back, I felt that we still had a very strong team and a lot of good youth coming through.

“I think we had relatively good success,” Galligan said of his own tenure.

“We put ourselves in the conversation to be a top 10 team, which was ultimately our initial goal.

“We just missed out with the width of the post on promotion Division One in our second year. There was a lot that you would improve and change but we put in a lot of work put in over two years.”

Galligan was young in terms of being a manager but having captained his club and then Cavan for five seasons, he had already been exposed to the leadership side of sport.

“I never really looked at it as a huge obstacle because I knew management is for you or it’s not,” he added.

“I had enough self-confidence and belief that I would be able to manage different scenarios.

He continued: “That comes from managing a large day service, with people with all types of disabilities, from severe to mild, and a large staff team.

“To me, all those life skills are transferable because you are just constantly dealing with people.”

Having played for Cavan for over 20 years was another help but the biggest challenge was managing players he had played alongside.

“I made it very clear that it was business, that we couldn’t be letting personal relationships get in the way of team selection,” he pointed out.

“They rolled in behind me, agreed completely and from day one it was never an issue.

He continued: “We obviously had to make decisions along the way to leave lads out of the team.

“My view on a lot of the senior players has only grown because they always had my back and always put the team first. It was a huge compliment to them.”

Galligan counts himself very lucky to have shared a dressing room with players – with club and county – willing to graft for the team.

On the goalkeeping front, he tried to be his own man but he does hold a particular admiration for Stephen Cluxton, whom he views as one of the best ‘keepers he has seen.

“I’d bring it all back to the core principles of hard work,” he said on the topic of influences.

“I have to look at my own parents (Peter and Martina), just the way they would have been very hard-working, and they’re very helpful people.

“I think that’s key to any success. If you’re going to commit to a coaching conference, training, or a game, you just actually have to really give it everything.

“For me, they would be who I would look up to, and I try and have a lot of the traits that they instilled in me.”

While the coaching course is the main focus in the days and weeks ahead, Galligan doesn’t rule out a return to management.

“I absolutely love my time managing Cavan,” he said. “I wouldn’t change it for the world but I couldn’t commit to the time.

“It was important for me to put family first at the time. Going forward, I definitely got a taste for it. I think definitely it’s something I’d like to get back to in the future. Whether that’s next year, I don’t know.”

Whatever decision is made, he’ll pour himself into it. Just like he did when Terry Hyland pointed him towards the goalkeeping route.

From being third choice goalkeeper, he morphed into the role of captain with the magical 2020 season earning him an All-Star. Quite the journey.

His cousin Thomas was midfield alongside Brian Fenton, who will be back in Cavan in November as part of the lineup for the coaching conference.

“If it goes well, I’d be looking to make it a yearly event but it’s more about getting this first one up and running,” Raymond added.

“If you look back at some of the coaches that I’ve been involved with at Cavan over the years, we’ve been very fortunate that I’ve had some really top-quality coaching.

“In my two years managing with Cavan, I’ve built up a good rapport with a lot of the guys that are now coming to the conference.”

After his playing days and the early years of management, Raymond Galligan met everything head on. Now it’s time for something different. The excitement grows.

•Email [email protected] for more details on Raymond’s Coaching Conference.