One selector still to be confirmed as McCabe ratified

GAA news

A number of positions on Dermot McCabe’s senior inter-county back-room team have been confirmed, with some still to be filled, following Monday night’s county board meeting.

As expected, McCabe was ratified as the new Cavan senior team manager on a three-year term with annual reviews; he was proposed by home club Gowna and seconded by Kingscourt Stars.

Derryman Diarmuid Scullion, who worked with McCabe in Westmeath, will be team coach, with Redhills native Fintan Reilly as selector. Reilly was joint-manager with McCabe over Gowna, winning two Senior Championships in 2022 and '23.

Bríain McDonald and Felim O’Reilly will be in charge of stats and analysis with Emma Coyle as nutritionist. Another selector has yet to be appointed and is expected to from within the county. Other coaches, such as a goalkeeping coach, have yet to be confirmed.

County chairman Mark O’Rourke confirmed this morning (Tuesday) that the board have put the same sub-committee in place to select the U20 manager as chose the senior one. However, the process has not yet been worked out. It is thought the new U20 manager may double up as senior selector.

“I’m not going to say too much on the actual process at present,” O’Rourke said.

“Part of Dermot’s presentation and his vision for the county was that there will be a strong connection and cohesion between the U17s, U20s and senior team,” he added.

There was some discussion on the night around the appointment.

“There were questions from the floor about Dermot’s day job (as Head of Games) as we expected, that will be monitored on an ongoing basis,” O’Rourke said.

It was also confirmed that Cavan GAA are to appoint a Head of Performance. That role was last filled by André Quinn, who stepped down two years ago and is currently working in professional rugby in Japan.

There has been speculation in the county that Quinn, who is acknowledged as a leading figure in the field, could be head-hunted for a return. O’Rourke did not rule that out, stating that he is “contracted in Japan” at present.

The new Head of Performance would work with teams, focusing on athletic development, across all age groups.