Looking for a Breffni bounce

Niall Gartland asseses Cavan’s chances of making their mark in 2026 under new manager Dermot McCabe

“Probably collectively, and probably since I was a player, I would think maybe Cavan don’t look at themselves in a positive manner. I would think that, ‘oh, geez, we’re playing them’ would be the approach, or just, ‘I don’t know if we’ll be able to beat them’, whereas I would think a lot of counties that maybe I would feel we’re stronger than don’t have those thoughts and notions.” – Cavan manager Dermot McCabe, the Anglo Celt, November 20, 2025

In an extensive interview with Anglo Celt sports editor Paul Fitzpatrick before Christmas, Dermot McCabe hammered home the point that Cavan football is better than its self-perception allows.

One of the county’s most celebrated footballers of the last half-century, McCabe won an Ulster Championship medal in 1997. He was only 21, and arguably it was a false dawn.

Perhaps the same can be said about their most recent provincial success. Pandemic be damned, Cavan thoroughly deserved their 2020 Ulster Championship final over Donegal, but the problem is they haven’t really kicked on. A good performance here and there, yes, but it’s almost been a story of one step forward, two steps back (last year they stunned Mayo in Castlebar before bowing out of the championship with successive defeats to Donegal, Tyrone and Kerry, while in 2024 their campaign completely petered out after bringing Tyrone to extra-time in Ulster. And so on and so forth).

So hopes are fairly muted for the new year, something that McCabe believes is part of the problem, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating after all.

They got their season underway last weekend with a 0-16 to 0-13 defeat to Monaghan, hardly the end of the world or even much of a barometer for the road ahead, but there were still a few snippets to be gleaned from their New Year outing.

First, an unwanted statistic: their first-half conversion rate of 33 per cent perhaps tells the story of their ultimate loss, but there were a fair few positives on the night in front of a supportive crowd at Kingspan Breffni.

On the whole, their midfield held up very well, applying immense pressure on opposition goalkeeper Kian Mulligan’s kickouts. One of the midfielders, Ciaran Brady, who plays his club football for Galway titans Corofin looked at home on his debut.

Elsewhere on an experimental line-up, Emmanuel Shehu is back in the fold for a second crack at senior intercounty football. He had a decent outing in the half-back line, as did Ryan Tobin, who starred in Cuchulainn’s run to an Ulster Intermediate final, where they lost out to Glenullin.

Oisin Brady had an excellent game up front with four points from play (including a two-pointer), Tristan Noack Hofmann and Tiarnan McMadden looked sharp, while Evan Crowe was doing his bit on Davy Garland before going off at half-time. Goalkeeper Liam Brady from Ramor was solid between the sticks, while Cavan fans will also be encouraged by the substitute appearance of Gearóid McKiernan, who endured an injury-plagued 2025.

Their pre-season campaign then came to an abrupt end with defeat to Fermanagh on Wednesday night, this time losing out on a scoreline of 1-12 to 1-10. Their first-half performance was promising but their opponents seized the initiative on the home straight to edge a tense contest.

There are a few important positions on the team up for grabs this year with Padraig Faulker away travelling, the retirement of Killian Clarke and current absence of Killian Brady, and Saturday’s game suggested that there are viable options for inclusion when the more important business comes round.

The Breffni County missed out on promotion from Division Two last year by a whisker, Dara McVeety’s two-point effort against Cork trailing just wide as the hooter sounded. This time around they face a long trip to Cork in their opening league outing, and it’s arguably a more competitive division than last year with the inclusion of Tyrone and Derry, both of whom were demoted from the top flight but look poised for strong seasons (Tyrone somehow managed to be relegated despite accruing seven points). Survival would be a respectable outcome in the circumstances, but there’s no guarantees.

In Ulster, they’ve been pitted against Monaghan. While typically underdogs, Cavan generally put their best foot forward in their outings against the Farney and it was only two years ago that they edged a dramatic duel at Clones in the provincial championship. So they’ll have no fear about that one.

Proving elusive in recent years, particularly in the championship, has been consistency. At their very best, Cavan are a strong side, but there have been too many tepid performances. They aren’t really bona fide All-Ireland contenders, but they’ve underperformed at times, particularly against Tyrone, and they’ll be looking for a sea change in that respect. It’s a big enough challenge for their new manager, and Rome wasn’t built in a day, but there’s certainly room for improvement and it’ll be interesting to see whether he can get the team performing at the peak of their powers on a more consistent basis.