Sport: | Hurling | ||
---|---|---|---|
Irish: | An Cabhán[1] | ||
Nickname(s): | The Breffni men The Breffni Blues | ||
County board: | Cavan GAA | ||
Manager: | Ollie Bellew | ||
Captain: | Matthew Hynes | ||
Home venue(s): | Breffni Park, Cavan[1] | ||
Recent competitive record | |||
Current All-Ireland status: | Lory Meagher Cup Group stage in 2022 | ||
Current NHL Division: | 3B | ||
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The Cavan county hurling team represents Cavan in hurling and is governed by Cavan GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the Lory Meagher Cup and the National Hurling League.
Cavan's home ground is Breffni Park, Cavan. The team's manager is Ollie Bellew.
Cavan represented Ulster in the semi-final of the 1908 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, but lost the delayed Ulster final to Derry. Cavan reached the Ulster final six times, but never won the competition. Cavan won the Ulster Junior Hurling Championship in 1983 and 1985, as well as Division 4 of the National Hurling League in 1983.
After an extended period of poor results, on 26 April 2011, Cavan announced that they would withdraw from Senior hurling for the foreseeable future, citing poor attendance at training and lack of numbers.[2][3] This left Cavan as the only county in Ireland without a senior hurling team. In the next few years, the county board focused on developing hurling at underage level.[4][5]
After six years without fielding a team, Cavan played in the Lory Meagher Cup in 2017.[6][7] Cavan re-entered the National Hurling League in 2018, competing in Division 3B.
Cavan reached the final of the Lory Meagher Cup for the first time in 2021 after a win over Louth.[8] The final took place in Croke Park on 31 July 2021, with Cavan facing Fermanagh.[9] Fermanagh won the match by 3–26 to 1–17.[10] Cavan topped the Division 3B table in 2023, reaching the final for the first time. Cavan claimed their first silverware since the reformation of the team, with a 0–17 to 0–16 win over Leitrim.[11]
Team as per Cavan vs Leitrim in the NHL Division 3B Final, 1 April 2023
Name | Origin | Years |
---|---|---|
Dinny Cahill | Tipperary | 2017 |
Michael Carr | Galway | 2018–19 |
Ollie Bellew | Antrim | 2020–21 |
Neil Cole | Meath | 2022 |
Ollie Bellew (2) | Antrim | 2023– |