Day of reckoning approaching

by Kevin óg Carney

“The results recently have blown the championship wide open and now we’ve got to make our own way and make sure we do the business - starting with Longford – so that we’re in a position that we don’t have to worry about other results.”

Saturday next (May 9th) at Kingspan Breffni (2pm) and Grattan Park, Inniskeen (1pm) is likely to be a day of reckoning for Cavan and Monaghan's senior hurlers and their Lory Meagher Cup ambitions.

For his part, Cavan manager Ollie Bellew isn’t shying away from the reality of the situation.

In the aftermath of Cavan’s victory last time out away to Lancashire, Bellew was like a downcast weather-watcher who, instead of seeing a solitary swallow, had just seen a gulp. His heart lifted.

After six years riding side-saddle with inarguably the finest hurlers Cavan has ever produced, Bellew isn’t inclined to take anything for granted no matter what the statistics - or the natural world - suggest:

“Beating Lancashire and seeing how the other results panned out has opened the window of opportunity for us even more but we’re not taking anything for granted.

“The Lory Meagher (Cup) has thrown up a few surprises this year and Leitrim beating Longford (last time out) was one of them.

“We’re in the competition to win it and we’re aiming to win our two games (against Longford and Leitrim) but it’s a case of one game at a time.

“Obviously, we want to take care of business against Longford and then do the business against Leitrim ‘cause the ideal thing is that we don’t have to rely on other results for us to book our place in the final at Croke Park.”

Belfast native Bellew will travel to meet a Longford side (for a fourth round tie) that seems to be on a mission.

Tipperary native Diarmuid Cahill from Kilruane is in his second year in charge of the midlanders. He was furious with his adopted county’s disappointing exit from the Lory Meagher Cup last year when his charges could only manage a draw against Monaghan in Inniskeen, a result which clinched a semi-final spot for the Ulster outfit.

Longford let that must win match slip from their grasp in the wake of decisions made by the officialdom that day which infuriated Cahill. The Longford team-management and players appear to have approached this year’s blue riband competition with something to prove and fully determined to make amends for their travails in 2025.

Cavan have already done battle with their Leinster neighbours. Cavan travelled to Longford at the tail end of January last in round two of the National Hurling League.

The game was played at the home of Longford Slashers and while the tension, excitement and entertainment made it a memorable game, the fact that Cavan lost out by 1-12 to 1-14 and that rising star Dylan McKeever was controversially sent off left a particularly bitter taste in the mouths of the Cavan camp; players, management and supporters.

Cavan left Longford town that day wondering what might have been had the team been able to cross swords with their hosts for the entire duration of the tie.

Given the wintry conditions that prevailed last January when McKeever saw red, the low scoring tallies posted by Longford and Cavan was excusable. However, one imagines that it will take a lot higher score than 1-14 to win this Saturday’s repeat fixture.

Cavan have, traditionally, been forced to tug the forelock to Longford on the hurling fields down the years. In fact the two counties have, up until the last three years, operated on parallel universes with Longford very much the top dog of the two parties.

However, in recent years, Cavan have given as good as they have gotten when the two have met. In that regard, a lot of the current Cavan team were on board when the Royal Blues triumphed by 3-29 to 3-17 at Pearse Park in the Lory Meagher Cup. On that day, one of Cavan’s so-called ‘guest players’ Liam O’Brien shot out the lights, notching 13 points of Cavan’s match-winning tally.

Sadly the aforementioned O’Brien - a native of Waterford - has returned to live and work (as a vet) among the Decies and has been a huge loss to Cavan hurlers this year. His ball-winning ability and his expertise from placed balls in particular have been a big loss to Bellew and co.

With the exception of 2022 (when he took a one year sabbatical), Bellew has been in place as Cavan’s senior hurling team-manager since 2020 and has done wonderfully well; guiding the Breffni county to Croke Park on two occasions.

However, a victory this weekend will surely rank as one of Bellew’s biggest triumphs with Cavan in his association with the county to date.

Meanwhile Monaghan’s loss last time out to Warwickshire means that Arthur Hughes’ men have no more wriggle room ahead of their upcoming clash this Saturday (May 9) in Inniskeen (1pm).

The meeting with the Exiles will bring back happy memories for Monaghan as it was a win against Lancashire that clinched the Lory Meagher Cup for the Farneysiders in 2023.

Lancashire are nowhere near as strong now as they were in that championship final but there is a strong argument which says that Ozzie Hughes’ squad isn’t as strong either as heretofore.

But as Ollie Bellew alluded to after his side’s victory over Lancashire in Birmingham last time out, the race for the two final places was thrown up in the air by dint of Leitrim’s victory (1-19 to 1-16) over Longford in the third round of the competition.

On April 11th last Longford walloped Lancashire by 5-21 to 1-6. Monaghan should take encouragement from that demolition as they seek to upholster their claim on the championship title at Inniskeen this weekend.

Monaghan were a great disappointment last time out in losing in Birmingham to Warwickshire but if they can resurrect any decent chunk of the form they showed in beating Cavan in Clones in the previous round, they should prevail with some comfort over the Exiles.