Cavan hurlers prepare for Lory Meagher Cup

By Kevin Carney

Level 5 and the living ain’t easy.

As Covid 19 forces the nation to batten down the hatches for the next five weeks, Cavan’s premier hurling panel is busily preparing to prove it can cut it at level five of the intercounty championship.

In hurling parlance, Level 1 represents the Liam McCarthy Cup. Level 5 plays host to the Lory Meagher Cup which Cavan covet.

After many years of engaging in games of damage limitation, Cavan’s premier hurling panel has proven itself to be a consistently competitive force in what has been a truncated year.

In their three, pre-coronavirus, Allianz Hurling League Division 3B fixtures last spring, Ollie Bellew’s men played four matches, beating neighbours Fermanagh and losing the other three against Lancashire, Leitrim and Sligo. All four Cavan performances showcased much of the positive changes that have coloured Cavan hurling in recent years.

Winning the Lory Meagher Cup is not normally a viable proposition for the Breffni Blues but as the abnormal times show no sign of abating, Cavan can realistically target silverware in the coming weeks.

Ahead of the blues’ entry into the Lory Meagher Cup on Sunday next when they will travel to Brewster Park to take on a Fermanagh side they beat (0-17 to 0-12) in the teams’ AHL Division Three round two tie at Kingspan Breffni last February, Cavan boss Bellew is relishing the prospect of achieving immediate success in a three team group which also includes Louth.

“First of all, it’s just great to be on the verge of competitive action again after everything came to a standstill last March,” the Antrim native enthused.

“We had the lads doing their own work for the first couple of months after the virus appeared but as things dragged on into the summer, you could feel the life draining out of our preparations.

“To see how well conditioned the lads were when we go back together a couple of months ago was a pleasant surprise and testimony to their commitment, enthusiasm and ambition.”

Cavan’s aforementioned victory over the Ernesiders followed the blues’ loss (0-8 to 0-15) in the opening round of this year’s league to Lancashire at Abbottstown (Dublin).

The decision by the GAA authorities not to admit Lancashire and their fellow Exiles into this year's intercounty championships - because of fears surrounding the transmission of Covid 19 - means that the fight to win the Lory Meagher Cup in 2020 has been reduced to a three horse race.

In essence, the top two of this year’s Lory Meagher Cup line-up will qualify to meet in the final at Croke Park, to be held probably in mid-November. Bellew accepts the real possibility of nailing down an outing at Headquarters is a huge carrot for his charges:

“That’s where everyone who starts off playing hurling or football as a youngster wants to play but we’re trying not to look that far ahead,” Bellew opines.

“And although it’s disappointing that Lancashire have been forced to pull out, it does make making Croker that bit easier for the three teams and gives everyone a great incentive and motivation.

“But there’ll be a real do-or-die aspect to our games now that Lancashire aren’t involved and the lads know there won’t be any room for slip-ups.

“We’ve been training very well and the lads have been really putting it into it, especially in our in-house games. There's great competition for places. And all 34 players are just itching to get in among the top 15 which is great for Cavan hurling and, obviously, great for us as a team-management.”

For the last six years, Cavan’s flagship hurling squad has been bolstered by Croke Park approved ‘guest’ players. Cavan’s Class of 2020 includes three players who play their club hurling with Cuala in Dublin and it is expected that brothers Collum and Cillian Sheanon and Brian Fitzgerald will have big parts to play in Cavan’s bid to go where no other Cavan hurling team has ever gone before.

“Cavan has traditionally been at the bottom of the pile, countrywide, when it comes to senior hurling but the mindset of the players we have at the moment doesn’t reflect that sort of ranking.

“All the players have shown that they believe in what we are trying to do and they’re really enjoying the challenge of putting Cavan hurling on the map.

“The players know what’s at stake and there’s a great bite to training and we’re delighted with how things have gone for us in the challenge games, like the run-out against Monaghan.

“Personally, being manager of Cavan is a fantastic challenge, I wouldn’t want to be with any other team at the present time.”

The 2020 Lory Meagher Cup threw in last weekend with the meeting of Fermanagh and Cup favourites Louth, with the Erne men pulling off a memorable upset with a 3-10 to 1-15 victory.

With a win over Fermanagh already this year, that should give Cavan confidence. In sport, anything is possible.