Full-forward, All-Star goalkeeper.... and now manager: Raymond Galligan's rise to the Cavan hotseat

That might seem hard to picture, if you only ever knew him as the goalkeeper who won an All-Star after captaining his county to an Ulster title in 2020, but with his club Lacken, he’s best known as a full-forward, and in 2010, he was the headline act for Cavan in a Division 3 victory over Roscommon, kicking 10 points, including one from a sideline that was about 40 metres from the goalposts.

These are the credentials Galligan has brought to the table as the new Cavan manager: life as a forward, life as a goalkeeper, the top-scorer, the exile, the guy who went travelling, and all the in-between experiences too. That — in his first management job — he’s guided Cavan to a third-place finish in Division 2, and overturned Monaghan in Clones in the Ulster championship underscores what he has achieved so far.

He talked at the right time, said the right things and kept it short and sweet. When Raymond talked, you listened whereas when other people talked, you’d fix your socks.” When the concept of moving Galligan to between the sticks was being mooted, Mackey’s first thought was that Galligan was equally strong off both feet. That would give him a good base for taking kickouts.

“People would have questioned his ability as a goalkeeper but he has saved penalties for Cavan, he has saved one-on-ones countless times. He turned into an outrageous keeper nearly overnight. He would have spoken to keepers and got advice. I’ve no doubt he’s doing the same as a manager. He’s speaking to lads who have done it all. He’s probably taking a bit from someone and a bit from someone else because everyone doesn’t know everything.

“They’re the development that you need to be hitting. Some of the older boys, they’re athletic prowess isn’t really going to change now. But Raymond is bringing her in for the future and hitting the likes of Paddy Lynch and Caoimhín O’Reilly. She’s going to be a huge boost to those boys and that’s a huge boost to Cavan if it goes well.

Cavan GAA Cian Mackey Raymond Galligan

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