Galligan gives us even more to smile about

Young Thomas Galligan from Lacken brought that fearless warrier dimension back to Cavan football in 2020. It was reminiscent of Cavan’s first All Star Ollie Brady from Redhills, who also brought that lion hearted first to the ball ethic to his game, with a panache that left the faint hearted floundering in his wake.

Thomas was calm and collected when speaking about this great honour for himself, his family, club and county, on Friday after news of his recognition broke

“Obviously it is great to be recognised, but this is a team sport and this reflects well on the whole thirty five or six lads that are on the panel.”

Thomas is on placement in the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen at present and is studying physiotherapy in the University of Ulster.

When reminded of some of his eye catching moments from the Championship campaign, like the fetch amongst the cluster of players at the climax of the Ulster Final, Thomas modestly replies: “I went up amongst a group of lads to see how I got on and lucky enough we came away with it.”

He explained that he endeavours to get in a good position to compete for and win those lofted balls.

Thomas emphasised that the Ulster Championship games were more about giving something back to the Cavan people by winning a title, rather than personal accolades.

“You will take it at the end of the year, but I would rather win Ulster and keep a smile on everyone’s face, instead of hoping that you would win an All Star,” said Thomas Galligan, warmly recalling the celebratory drive-by at Kingspan Breffni Park after claiming The Anglo-Celt Cup.

“That showed what it means to all the Cavan people. You will never forget those special moments – it makes it all worthwhile.”

Not alone were the people of Cavan cheering him in those big games, but his relations in New York were also living every kick of the ball, as his mother is New York born.

Amazingly he was carrying a knock into the Monaghan game, yet he still came on in the second half and extra time, contributing manfully to that memorable win.

The derby win was all the more memorable given the nature of the comeback - overturning a seven point half time deficit  as their opponents amassed a significant first half lead. It was a blueprint that was copied time and again through the championship - most notably against the Mournemen.

Claw our way back

“We did not play well against Down in the first half. But we knew that if we got back to what we were good at, we would claw our way back into it – ten points is a good lead to pull back – it was win or bust at that stage and we went for the win.”

His favourite position on the pitch is midfield and enjoyed floating between there and full forward last year. Thomas knows, the accolade will mean he will be a marked man this season coming.

Of course the high point of the season was overcoming Donegal and reclaiming the provincial title for the first time since ‘97. It secured an All Ireland semi-final berth against arguably the greatest Gaelic football team of all time.

They learned the hard way at Croke Park against this metronomic Dublin outfit, there is no room for error.

“The one thing you take away is that every mistake you make, will end up in a score. The more mistakes you make, the more points you have to claw back.

“Dublin keep that pace going for the full game and keep chipping away at points. Other teams might be hot for ten minutes and be kicking over scores – then they go dead for ten minutes. If you look at the Dublin games, they are playing at the same pace in the last ten minutes as the first ten,” he reflected.

He said he was “delighted” to be named an All Star alongside the mighty midfielder Brian Fenton, who also deservedly won a fifth All Star and a second Footballer of the Year accolade. Since his 2015 debut the Raheny man has never lost a senior championship match. Thomas noticed Brian Fenton’s great athletic ability, how calm he is when he is on the ball and how he dictates the Dublin play.

Speaking about the Dublin dominance, Thomas points out that every great team comes to an end at some stage – “I don’t know when that will happen with Dublin”.

He brings up the examples Kilkenny’s dominance in hurling eventually came to an end after ruling the 2000s; and people thought at one stage in the 1980s that Kerry’s footballers would never stop winning.

The new All Star is hoping that Cavan can learn a bit from the Ulster Championship campaign last year and playing against Dublin and bring that improvement into the Ulster Championship. He is conscious that there is no easy game in the Ulster campaign but they are determined to give it their best shot again.

Take the hits

When asked about training and bulking up, Thomas Galligan enthused: “When you are putting in for hardship, you have to be able to deal with it – it is necessary in this day and age to be able to take the hits. You have to be able to carry yourself around the middle and if that means bulking up in the gym, that is what you do.”

He is focusing on keeping himself mentally right and going out and doing a bit of exercise every day. “It is obviously tough to keep motivated to keep going – I do a bit of running and body weights exercise”.

Thomas Galligan says the young lads on the panel are showing great potential and if the best can be got out of them as well, there is no reason why they could not go on and win a few more titles.