Cavan county football team
The Cavan county football team represents Cavan in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Cavan GAA, the County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team compete in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Ulster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.
Cavan's home ground is Breffni Park, Cavan. The team's manager is Mickey Graham.
The team last won the Ulster Senior Championship in 1997, the All-Ireland Senior Championship in 1952 and the National League in 1948.
History
Cavan are the most successful football county in Ulster, having won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship five times, the Ulster Senior Football Championship 39 times, and the National Football League once.
Cavan's first All-Ireland victory came in 1933. They foiled Kerry's five-in-a-row bid with a last minute goal from Vincent McGovern in the All-Ireland Semi-Final at Breffni Park 1933, and went on to beat Galway by a point in the final, to become the first Ulster county to win the Sam Maguire Cup. Two years later, Cavan beat Kildare in the 1935 final to bring home their second title in three years.
Cavan's third, and most famous All-Ireland title came in 1947, defeating Kerry in the famous final in the Polo Grounds in New York City, the only time the final was held outside of Ireland. They followed this up with a one-point win over Mayo in 1948, to win back-to-back titles for the first time. They reached their third successive final in 1949, but they were denied a three-in-a-row by Meath, losing by four points. Cavan later gained revenge for this defeat, beating Meath after a replay in 1952 to bring home their fifth, and so far last, All-Ireland title. Cavan have not appeared in another All-Ireland final since.
Historically, Cavan have dominated the Ulster Senior Football Championship, winning a record 39 titles. Despite this, Cavan have won only one Ulster Championship since 1969, this success coming in the 1997 final, after beating Derry by a point. Cavan's most recent Ulster Final appearance was in 2019, losing to Donegal.
The current Cavan manager is Mickey Graham.[1]
Honours
Cavan have won the All-Ireland Football final on 5 occasions – All 5 victories came between 1933 and 1952. Meanwhile, they have won the Ulster Championship on 39 occasions. Their last came in 1997 when they beat Derry 1–14 to 0-16. It was their first Ulster title in 28 years. Cavan have won the National Football League once, in 1947/48.
- All-Ireland Senior Football Championships: 5
- All-Ireland Minor Football Championships: 2
- 1937, 1938
- All-Ireland Junior Football Championships: 2
- 1927, 2014
- National Football League: 1
- 1947/48
- Ulster Senior Football Championships: 39
- 1891, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1915, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1928, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1997
- Ulster Under-21 Football Championships: 6
- 1988, 1996, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
- Ulster Minor Football Championships: 6
- 1937, 1938, 1952, 1959, 1974, 2011
- Ulster Junior Football Championships: 14
- 1914, 1915, 1916, 1924, 1927, 1932, 1936, 1938, 1940, 1941, 1944, 1957, 1962, 1984
- Leinster Junior Football Championships: 2
- 2012, 2014
- Dr McKenna Cups: 11
- 1936, 1940, 1943, 1951, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1962, 1968, 1988, 2000
Noted players
Current squad
- Manager: Mickey Graham (Cavan Gaels)
- Selectors: Dermot McCabe (Gowna), Martin Corey (Clontibret O'Neills)
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Squad as per Cavan v Tyrone, 2019 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Qualifiers Round 4, 6 July 2019
Sponsorship
The following is a list of sponsors of the Cavan county football team (seniors):
- 1992: Holybrook Construction
- 1993: Atlanta Conservatories
- 1994: Cavan Co-op Mart
- 1995 – present: Kingspan Group
Cavan have had only 4 sponsorship deals since sponsors on jerseys were permitted by the GAA in 1991. There was no sponsorship on GAA jerseys until the 2nd game of the Meath V Dublin 4 in a row in 1991 so only a handful of teams had sponsorship in 1991. In 1992 Holybrook Construction sponsored the jerseys although it was only for 1 game. For the 1993-94 seasons Cavan Co-op Mart took over sponsorship. Kingspan has continuously sponsored Cavan since 1995.