Review of the year in Cavan: Club glory for Kingscourt, Knockbride, Cavan Gaels and more

By Shaun Casey

Return of the Mac

An all-time Cavan GAA legend will be on the sidelines for the Breffni County next year with Dermot McCabe taking over from Raymond Galligan as manager. McCabe won an All-Star in 1997 but has also been involved in various management teams within the county over the years. He was the Cavan Minor manager that captured an Ulster title in 2011, with Dillon in his management team, and was a member of Mickey Graham’s backroom team that claimed the Anglo Celt Cup in 2020. McCabe spent last season in charge of Westmeath as they dropped out of Division Two despite putting in a number of commendable performances. They also crashed out of the Tailteann Cup at the hands of Wicklow at the quarter-final stage. McCabe’s tenure gets up and running against Monaghan in the first round of the McKenna Cup and Cavan will once again compete at Division Two level before facing the Farney County in the quarter-final of the Ulster Championship.

Knockbride create history

History was on the line for Knockbride this season, but they showed zero nerves at Croke Park as they became the first ever Cavan ladies team to win an All-Ireland title at the intermediate grade. Ciaran Galligan’s girls were in flying form and had two goals on the board before their Galway opponents Caltra even got off the mark, with their first score coming after a full 46 minutes. Sarah McCabe bagged a first half penalty before Gia McCabe raised a second green flag for her side. Abbi Connor then fired home their third and final goal which was the icing on the cake for their 3-10 to 0-4 win. Cavan Gaels also enjoyed a historic season as they got their hands on the Ulster Junior title with a convincing 4-12 to 0-9 victory over Killeevan Sarsfields in the showpiece, Katie O’Meara,Katie Leddy (2) and Sarah Clarke all finding the net.

Ulster glory for Breffni ladies

The Cavan ladies proved far too hot to handle in the Ulster Intermediate Championship decider this season, hammering defending champions Down by 17 points to claim a provincial title since 2011, following on from their Division Three league success. Six goals on the day, three in each half, saw Cavan cruise to glory. A personal tally of 2-2 from wing forward and player of the match Catherine Dolan was key while Niamh Keenaghan also grabbed a first half major. After the turnaround, the three-pointers came from Aishling Sheridan (2) and substitute Niamh McCorry to win 6-10 to 1-8. They were overturned by rivals Monaghan in the first round of the All-Ireland series but bounced back to demolish Wicklow, sending them through to the last eight. That was as far as their season stretched however, with Westmeath edging them out by the minimum of margins, but there’s plenty of talent in the Breffni County and lots to build on as they look towards the 2026 season.

Croker outing for hurlers

The hurlers of Cavan perhaps feel like they should have been celebrating an All-Ireland title this season, but things didn’t pan out that way. They made it all the way to Croke Park for the Lory Meagher Cup final but couldn’t get over the challenge of New York, who were parachuted into the competition at the semi-final stage. Cavan came through the group stages with four wins from five outings to qualify straight into the final by topping the table, with their only defeat coming against Leitrim in the very last round. Monaghan finished just behind and fell at the semi-final hurdle to New York while the exiles claimed the title with six points to spare against Ollie Bellew’s men. Liam O’Brien and Nicky Kenny both rattled the net on the biggest day of all, but New York posted four goals to win 4-17 to 2-17 in the end.

Kingscourt the Stars of 2025

The Cavan SFC is fiercely competitive and there was a new champion crowned in 2025 with Kingscourt Stars claiming the Oliver Plunkett Cup for the first time since 2015 and the 12th time in their history, leaving them joint-third in the overall roll of honour. They had to do it the hard way, beating two of the last three champions in the semi-final and final to climb the summit. Colin Kelly’s charges snuck by Ramor United by a single score in their last-four meeting, with Jordan Morris and Ciarán Dermody nettomh while Padraig Faulkner kicked the deciding score. Things were a bit more comfortable in the final as they beat Gowna 2-16 to 0-13, with Joe Dillon and Kevin Curtis responsible for the three-pointers on that occasion. Erne Gaels ended their Ulster ambitions in round one, but Kingscourt will be delighted with how their season panned out.