Padraig Faulkner: Cavan quietly building one of their strongest squads in a long time

BUILDING: Cavan Senior footballer, Padraig Faulkner. Pic: ©INPHO/Dan Sheridan

A constant feature of Cavan’s undefeated drive toward promotion has been post-match praise from opponents, particularly around their impressive conditioning. Their strength is their power. It is undeniable as the storm through Division 3.

“You could see that Cavan are four or five years down the track under Mickey (Graham),” remarked Down boss Conor Laverty after watching his side lost out recently.

One of Graham’s first appointments in 2018 was head of athletic performance Andre Quinn. He previously worked with in professional with London Irish and Harlequins before making the move. Another highly regarded strength and conditioning coach, says you?

Sure. But when the evidence is on the field and the likes of Niall Carolan, a cornerback who played in that U20 quarter-final hammering against Down in 2021, emerges against some of the same players two years later looking primed for senior intercounty football, Quinn’s impact is plain to see.

“Andre has been class,” says Cavan defender Padraig Faulkner. “He has really put a focus in this year on player development and it's not just physically. We have to fill in a wellness questionnaire.

“He is worried about how much sleep we got the night before. how we're feeling and if we're stressed. Fellas answer honestly within that wellness questionnaire and it gives reasons for maybe why a fella is not playing well. It gives an understanding and different insights on why maybe a player isn't going well. Physically he has us in some serious shape, gym wise and strength and conditioning wise.” 

James Smith, Gearoid McKiernan and Conor Madden all came off the bench at Kingspan Breffni. Dara McVeety is back in the squad for the first time since 2019. A sprinkling of last year’s U20s have made the step. Bit by bit, they build.

"I know we're probably saying it every year, but I think this is one of the strongest squads we've had in a long, long time.

“When you look at the strength in depth that we have, we had the players to really take the game to Down and then, what was brought on the other day really finished out the game strong and well,” stresses the 2020 All-Star.

“When you have the likes of Paddy Lynch who slotted in for Oisin Brady, who got injured in the previous game, I think he scored 2-15 over the last two games. What a replacement to replace someone that's injured. It just shows the depth of the squad."

Despite the loss of Thomas Galligan, who opted out to go travelling, the panel has seamlessly developed. They now have a nice blend and depth in key positions. It is not quite the same team that reached an All-Ireland final in 2020 and an Ulster final in 2021. A quiet rebuild well underway.

“Playing in Division Three and Four maybe made that rebuild a wee bit easier where you might go under the radar a small bit. Yeah, that would be a great way of putting it.

“We’ve lost some players that are very hard replaced but the players that have come in and joined and younger players that have come in and joined the panel have really slotted in very well. The players have come on from under-21s, the standards that they’re putting in, I know when I was their age I wasn’t nearly as physically developed as they are and that is, again, another tick for Andre Quinn.” 

As well as that, Graham has made coaching additions. Ex-Mayo coach James Burke, who worked with James Horan for four years, joined the setup after Martin Corey moved on.

“He has come in and he's added some real knowledge and depth,” says Faulkner. “His training sessions are brilliant and no longer than an hour or 70 minutes.

“When you're on the pitch it's 60, 70 minutes, that's it. The whistle is blown and you tog in. He focuses on different elements of the game within different sessions. Going to training he has sent us the outline of the plan and lads know what they're expecting, whether it's drills or games based focused.

“One session might be all about defending, that session entirely would be about defending. He just brings a really good, forward-thinking approach to our football.” 

*Padraig Faulkner has teamed up with Allianz Insurance to look ahead to the upcoming Allianz Football League fixtures.