Brilliant U21s' destiny in their own hands
Paul Fitzpatrick
It’s just a game of football but, still, so much more. Rarely do the actions of so few have consequences for so many.
In Woodlawn and southie, Bondi and Barking, there will be Cavanmen and Cavanwomen thinking of Enniskillen. I know of a man in Zambia in the deepest part of the darkest continent; on Wednesday night, his heart too will be in Brewster Park.
When the Cavan players march out of the dressing room to play Donegal U21s, they are leaving their lives behind them. Win and they will go on to win more with the Cavan senior team; sure as night follows day, when the winning spell is cast, it’s all-enveloping. they’ll have brought some pride back into every supporter. they’ll have achieved something tangible.
Lose, and this group, in its entirety, will probably never again share a room. That’s sport.
In ten years’ time, all will have moved on. Some will have county football careers, others will never wear the blue jersey again.
We don't mean to pressurise such a brilliantly-talented team. Should they lose, it's only a hour of football. But should they win... It's tantalising.
Back in 2011, we wrote that the Ulster final was a potentially life-changing match for Cavan because of its context; Cavan people were then clawing desperately to hold on to the tradition of Gaelic football which had been battered and bloodied in countless beatings for almost two generations.
You could count them on one hand; just four football teams sent out from this county had returned with Ulster titles since the end of the swinging 60s. The minors of 74, the U21s of 1988 and 96 and, of course, the seniors of 1997. The link is stll strong to that side, with Peter Reilly and Ronan Carolan on the line.
Remembering that one is like peering over a wall at a different world, a world where Cavan could face down the best of them, even if it was only for a year before the skies became clouded again and, eventually, the light retreated.
All of that has changed utterly now, of course; Cavan have won and won and won at underage level in the past 24 months.
There is an old Irish phrase that sums it up: í ndiaidh a chéile a thógtar na caisleáin – castles are built one after the other. Cavan have started to build their own, by sacking Tyrone’s in the past two U21 finals.
Wednesday night is another step up the ladder, we hope.
Donegal won’t bring any surprises. Their players are versed in the house style – ferocious work, an emphasis on defence - and have a marquee forward in senior All-Ireland medallist Paddy McBrearty.
This Cavan team has no shortage of class, though. Their defence has been water-tight so far, with Killian Clarke majestic, Dara McVeety a revelation and Gerard Smith so classy. Up front, Paul O’Connor and Enda O’Reilly are the trigger men inside but Jack Brady has been setting up the targets.
They have a hard edge, too - Ciaran Brady, captain Feargal Flanagan, Turloc Mooney and Jason McLoughlin are hard as nails, and can play ball.
There are other excellent players, too numerous to mention. The common thread is that they are all intelligent, disciplined, talented team players. Their destiny is in their own hands and the hard work is done; we can but wish them luck now.
Seldom do many young men of 20 get this chance. The die is cast.