# Cavan county hurling team

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.

## History
### 1908–2011

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. 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.

### 2017–present

After six years without fielding a team, Cavan played in the Lory Meagher Cup in 2017. 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. The final took place in Croke Park on 31 July 2021, with Cavan facing Fermanagh. Fermanagh won the match by 3–26 to 1–17. 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.

## Panel

Team as per Cavan vs Leitrim in the NHL Division 3B Final, 1 April 2023
| No. | Player | Position | Club |
| 1 | Darren Sheridan | Goalkeeper | Mullahoran St Joseph's |
| 2 | Shane Briody | Right corner back | Pearse Óg |
| 3 | Dominic Crudden | Full back | Mullahoran St Joseph's |
| 4 | Liam Óg Cooke | Left corner back | Pearse Óg |
| 5 | Jack Barry | Right half back | East Cavan Gaels |
| 6 | Cillian Sheanon | Centre back | Cuala |
| 7 | Matthew Hynes (c) | Left half back | Mullahoran St Joseph's |
| 8 | Dillon Mulligan | Midfield | Kilmacud Crokes |
| 9 | Nicky Kenny | Midfield | East Cavan Gaels |
| 10 | Tom Leonard | Right half forward | Cootehill Celtic |
| 11 | Canice Maher | Centre forward | East Cavan Gaels |
| 12 | Colum Sheanon | Left half forward | Cuala |
| 17 | Sean Keating | Right corner forward | Pearse Óg |
| 14 | Diarmaid Carney | Full forward | Cootehill Celtic |
| 15 | Colin Gargan | Left corner forward | East Cavan Gaels |
| No. | Player | Position | Club |
| 16 | Niall Clerkin | Substitute | Cootehill Celtic |
| 13 | Philip McCabe | Substitute | Cootehill Celtic |
| 18 | Caolan Kelly | Substitute | Mullahoran St Joseph's |
| 19 | Rian Delaney | Substitute | Cootehill Celtic |
| 20 | Anthony Sheridan | Substitute | Mullahoran St Joseph's |
| 21 | Fiachra Hughes | Substitute | Cootehill Celtic |
| 22 | Tadhg Barry | Substitute | East Cavan Gaels |
| 23 | Rory Farrell | Substitute | East Cavan Gaels |
| 24 | Mark Moffett | Substitute | Cootehill Celtic |
| 25 | Gavin Fitzpatrick | Substitute | Cootehill Celtic |
| 26 | Caoimhín Carney | Substitute | Cootehill Celtic |

## Management team

* Manager: Ollie Bellew
* Selector: Tomás Mannion

## Managerial history

| Name | Origin | Years |
| Tom "Gawney" Walsh | Wexford | c. 2000s |
| ? | ? | Until 2017 |
| Dinny Cahill | Tipperary | 2017 |
| Michael Carr | Galway | 2018–19 |
| Ollie Bellew | Antrim | 2020–21 |
| Neil Cole | Meath | 2022 |
| Ollie Bellew (2) | Antrim | 2023– |

## Honours
### National

* Lory Meagher Cup
** Runners-up (1): 2021
* National Hurling League Division 3B
** Winners (1): 2023
* National Hurling League Division 4
** Winners (1): 1983

### Provincial

* Ulster Senior Hurling Championship
** Runners-up (6): 1908, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1935, 1936
* Ulster Junior Hurling Championship
** Winners (2): 1983, 1985
** Runners-up (2): 1988, 1994