Dual star Hynes hoping for dream Cavan GAA double

Hurling

Kevin Óg Carney

Dual players in Cavan are as rare as the sound of the corncrake nowadays but Mullahoran clubman Mattie Hynes delights in being part of a unique breed of gael.

The current Cavan senior hurling captain is a ball of excitement, a hive of information and a dream to interview as the countdown to the county’s biggest day out with the small ball draws ever so close.

Leitrim’s well seasoned senior hurlers stand in the way of Hynes and a National Hurling League Division 3B medal (Division 3B final, tomorrow (Sat), 3pm, Abbotstown). In a couple of days time, the Dublin-born county hurler will seek to drink from the well of national success; a taste he has never experienced before in his seven years with his adopted county.

“If we hit the high notes as a team, hopefully the seven years without any silverware will come to an end,” teacher Hynes avers.

“The chance was there a couple of years ago with the Lory Meagher (Cup final) but, to be honest, we flopped on the day and we don’t want that to happen again.”

Teak-tough defender Hynes will soon be celebrating his 34th birthday and he looks back on playing hurling and football at a competitive level for over 20 years with immense satisfaction despite the lack of days in the sun.

As he reflects on the journey he has travelled, he says he has no regrets about “togging out six days a week” in pursuit of his passion for Gaelic games at club and county level.

“Having the health to be able to play both hurling and football at a decent level is not something I take for granted. I’m grateful for my health which is a big thing ‘cause over the years it has got harder to keep both plates spinning in the air. I wouldn’t have it any other way though and, fortunately, the management teams have been great with me in allowing me to train and play hurling (club and county) and football (club).”

Ahead of tomorrow's final with Leitrim, Hynes describes the fixture as offering “a huge chance for us to pick up a very rare piece of silverware for Cavan hurlers.” And while he is taking absolutely nothing for granted, the Dreadnought reckons the blues are in a good place.

“We are where we wanted to be at the start of the year and we’re all excited about the chance of winning a national title.

“This year has been brilliant for the squad and we want to continue the winning ways and keep making progress. Winning the league would be a great lift to everyone and just the kind of lift you want ahead of the championship.”

In weighing up the campaign to date, the razor-keen half-back rates the result (0-21 to 2-11) last time out against Leitrim as both memorable and typical of the season to date.

“Our display against Leitrim was unbelievable for the most part; the fact that we scored so much (17 points) in less than three-quarters of the game was something else but we have to learn lessons in terms of how we took the feet off the gas and allowed them to come back at us in the final quarter.

“We can’t be too critical of ourselves though because, overall, we’ve done very well so far this year. We weren’t good against Lancashire and we lost (0-14 to 3-11) to them, fairly and squarely, but we’re in good shape for the final and we’re all looking forward to doing our stuff and getting our hands on the silverware.”

Fresh from playing his part in Mullahoran’s ACFL first round victory over neighbours Lacken Celtic last weekend, Hynes is a determined, fully committed and wholehearted player who can inspire and lead but he is wont to extol the virtues of his team-mates and the Cavan management team. For him it’s all about the collective.

“Hand on heart, last November, I wasn’t sure whether we had enough about us to get to the top of the league this year but everyone has really put their shoulder to the wheel and worked together for the common good.

“From the very first training session this year, we made the league our priority and took it game by game. We played better on some days than others but I knew that we were improving all the time and going to Longford and beating them on their home patch was a big achievement for us.

“Ollie (Bellew) and the rest of the backroom team have been fantastic with us and I genuinely felt leaving Longford that day that they were definitely building something really good.

“We know we’re far from the finished article though and things went belly-up against Lancashire. I don’t know what happened that day but it’s important that we learn from it and take those lessons into the final.”

So how does he feel opponents Leitrim will measure up this weekend?

“They’ll be up for the fight, no doubt about it. They’re a big, physical team and they’ve a lot of experience in their camp and a lot of fellas still playing who won a Lory Meagher Cup medal (2019) a few years ago.

“We’ve confidence in our own ability though and I think their margin of defeat (2-11 to 0-21) the last day we met flattered them a bit. We were on fire in the first half and almost blew them away by half-time but we just didn’t put them away after that.

“We’re not taking anything for granted but you have to believe in yourself going into a big match. You have to believe that you’re good enough to beat the other team. We’ve shown that we can beat Leitrim and we just have to do it again on the big stage at the weekend.”

In common with his team-manager, Hynes urges the Gaelic family in Cavan to turn out in good numbers to support the blues.

“A good support on the day feeds into the players, gives them an added spring in their step and it could make all the difference against Leitrim; especially in a tight game. Hopefully, the clubs of the county will help mobilise the GAA population of the county to get behind us as well as the footballers on what could be a massive weekend for Cavan.”