Cavan will take any glory they can get

In 1960 Cavan contested a League final, and might have hopedfor a decade of glory at national level. It did not happen. KeithDuggan reports

The last time Cavan played in a League final, Croke Park welcomed, according to Irish Times correspondent Pat O, "throngs of gaily-bedecked Ulstermen".

The 1960 League final, played on May 8th, was the first to feature two teams from the northern province. Down and Cavan were the story of Ulster at that time, regularly contesting championship finals and dominating neighbouring teams.

A crowd of 49,451 showed up in Dublin for the League match, a record attendance, and saw Down beat Cavan 0-12 to 0-9.

"It was a good, hard game of football as most of the games between the counties tended to be," remembers Cavan's Gabriel Kelly. "The turning point was the departure of Jim McDonnell with about 10 minutes to go and Down got a lift from that."

Pat O considered talismanic midfielder McDonnell man of the match, despite his early departure. The win was Down's first major success; they were on the cusp of a remarkable era and, with players like Seán O'Neill, Kevin Mussen and Dan McCartan, would return to Croke Park to lift the All-Ireland against Kerry the following September.

Cavan, however, were also one of the most consistent teams in the country. Although their lone League success was in 1948, the 1960 loss was hardly a hindrance. Kelly played on the Ulster championship-winning Cavan teams of 1962, '64, '67 and '69.

"I played in eight Ulster finals in all. And I suppose it has to be acknowledged that Cavan's All-Ireland tally does not reflect well given that we have 40-odd Ulster titles behind us. It is hard to explain why we didn't go on and win in the 1960s. Certainly, we were meeting strong champions from the other provinces, but I think a lot of us feel that had Down managed to beat us in those games, they would have gone on to win more All-Irelands."

Although Cavan did not take local silverware for granted, an element of entitlement had arisen given the county's constant success. So the long wait, from that last Ulster championship in 1969 to the 1997 deliverance under Martin McHugh, was something that Kelly could not have foreseen.

"Absolutely not. What happened was that counties like Tyrone and Derry, Donegal all started to catch up and Ulster became a dog-eat-dog place and it still is. It just became an extremely difficult province to emerge from. There were years when Cavan definitely had teams capable of breaking through but the competition was very tough and on a few occasions, it was down to plain bad luck. But nobody could have foreseen the extent of time we would spend without a title.

"The time of one county dominating for successive years simply vanished and won't return. Cavan just got swept aside and when we did break through again in 1997 it was a great relief."

Which is why tomorrow's League final is so special. Although the county still commands a spirited following, the days of expectancy have long since deserted Cavan.

"I think when people examined Cavan's League group this year and the quality of opposition in it, simply staying in the division seemed like a realistic ambition. I doubt many people envisaged us getting this far. But Mattie Kerrigan has done tremendous work throughout the League and people were particularly pleased by the manner of the win against Roscommon in the semi-final.

"The style with which the team is playing and the way they are creating is very appealing to people. So there is a real buzz about this week's game and the fact that it is against a close rival adds to it. If it were possible, it might be nice to have it in Croke Park but given the likely crowd, Clones is ideal."

Kelly, a Cavan Gaels clubman, follows the county side intently. Like most observers, he is taken with the sweeping change of pace and pressure in the game.

"We would have trained two and three nights a week coming up to Ulster finals, but definitely the demands are more severe today. But I think the most evident change is in the pace of the game. It is utterly different. People say that the downside of that is that players don't kick so accurately now but that's a contentious issue."

Right now, Kelly is especially pleased with the development of the Cavan forwards under Kerrigan, with fliers like Jason Reilly and goal-poacher Mickey Graham.

However, he fears the opposition might just shade it tomorrow. "Tyrone are the proven team in Ulster at the minute and have looked sharp all year. But I think this has been a good League from the start, there has been an edge to the games, and Clones should have a great atmosphere."

A concern for Cavan is the close proximity of the championship game against Donegal at Breffni Park. "A fortnight is a little bit too close for comfort," says Kelly. "Regardless of how well we are doing in the League that is going to be a tough game. Tyrone have an extra week before they take on Armagh.

"It would be nice to win the League now, but whatever about the result, a good performance is desirable. We certainly don't want to be facing into the championship on the back of a bad defeat. The other worry would be that we pick up a knock to some player. But, come the game, I'm sure the players won't be worrying about that.

And no doubt he will meet up with some of the 1960 gang?

"A young fella came up to me on the street the other say and said 'were you playing in Cavan's last league final?' I told him no way, that was 40 years ago, that he must have been thinking of my father."