IN A PREVIOUS life, Raymond Galligan was a forward for the Cavan footballers.

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. 

Galligan was a talent on the rise, but dark times were lurking for the Breffni. The match report from that league win over Roscommon hinted as much, leading with the words “rumblings of a crisis under Tommy Carr…”. Amidst the falling trees, Galligan eventually fell out of the Cavan circle and emigrated to Australia. 

Then Cavan boss Terry Hyland offered him a way back in in 2014, reintroducing him to county football as a goalkeeper. Galligan sought the guidance of goalkeeping coaches and other goalkeepers to reinforce his skillset, and the transition was a roaring success. 

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.

“Raymond had the balls to say, ‘I’m going to be the top fella,’ and put his hat in the ring,” says former Cavan forward Cian Mackey, who played alongside Galligan from underage level.

Even at a young age, a manager of the future was being moulded. 

“There’s a small gap between confidence and cockiness and Raymond really was good at just being confident, and not overwhelm people. He’d talk when he needed to talk.

“He did the business when he played as well so he had that happy balance that people would say he knows what he’s talking about because he’s doing it himself.

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. This was a time when blanket-defence strategies were rampant, meaning goal-scoring threats were low, and so Galligan wouldn’t be required to stop shots very often. At least that was Mackey’s thinking on it anyway.

Still, Galligan wanted to be at his best in a position that was foreign to him. And he cast the net out wide in order to do it, seeking help from former soccer player Shane Supple among others.

“He did work outrageously hard on the parts of his game that he wasn’t naturally good at,” says Mackey. “He met goalkeeping coaches off his own back which just shows the character of him. He wanted to be the best at what he was.

“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.

Cian Mackey in action for Cavan. Cathal Noonan / INPHO Cathal Noonan / INPHO / INPHO

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.”

That eagerness to lift every stone in order to get the maximum output is certainly still evident in Galligan’s approach. The line-up in his backroom team is testament to that. In Stephen O’Neill, he has a forwards coach who has won three All-Irelands and was the Footballer of the Year in 2005. His input will be all the more vital this week when they welcome Tyrone to Breffni Park for the Ulster quarter-final on Sunday.

Additionally, Irish athletics legend Catherina McKernan is part of Galligan’s ticket as a life coach. 

“Obviously with Catherina McKiernan, the game is so athletic now and she’s really good with the young fellas,” says Mackey.

“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.

“He also brought Ronan Flanagan in as a player liaison. He would have played for years. He’s a school teacher, he knows young lads coming and what they need.”

The time he spent living in Australia also strengthens Galligan’s ability to build a rapport with players. The star player who becomes a manager doesn’t always embrace that challenge as comfortably. Not understanding the frustration of being on the fringes of the team inherently creates a disconnect. You can’t relate to a pain you’ve never experienced. But when you’ve been under the sword, you know how to navigate difficult conversations with players when you’re the one wielding the blade.

“He went through the tough times of trying to get playing and he knows how lads feel,” says Mackey.

When he’s talking to players, they probably know straight away that this lad knows exactly what it’s like to be a sub and trying to break through. It’s sometimes harder to listen to the fella who was always starting because he hasn’t sat in the stand champing at the bit to get in, or trained extra to get their place.”

It was an unusual, potentially high-risk, decision to appoint Galligan as Mickey Graham’s successor. Not only was he making a direct switch from inter-county player to inter-county manager, he also had to arrange his panel without the services of key players Geróid McKiernan and Conor Moynagh. But three wins and three losses, including a one-point defeat to Donegal, was enough to put Cavan within touching distance of a promotion spot.

The end of their league brought a dip in form but Mackey believes the Monaghan result has “turned their season around”.

That momentum could account for a lot when they take on Tyrone this weekend.

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