THOMAS Galligan was blood-subbed twice in the first half of the Ulster final after a stray Donegal elbow in the heat of battle left him with a nasty gash over his right eye.
At one stage he couldn’t even open the eye and so the Lacken warrior was taken off, stitched-up and thrown back into the fray. That’s how he rolls…
“I didn’t realise I’d cut my eye until the doc told me,” said Galligan.
“I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t open my right eye. And he was like: ‘Because it’s bleeding, that’s why’.
“So I didn’t realise that until I got inside (the changing room). Once he got the stitch in and the blood stopped, there was no real reason not to go back out and do what anyone else would have done.
“If things hadn’t have gone well, I would have got the curly finger (been substituted) too.”
Cavan haven’t had an Allstar since Dermot McCabe was recognised for his part in the Ulster-winning campaign of 1997. Galligan, goalkeeper Raymond Galligan, Ciaran Brady and Gearoid McKiernan are among those in the running this year and Thomas Galligan’s rightful claims are all the more remarkable given that he didn’t start the first two Championship games.
He came in as a sub against Monaghan and Antrim but started against Down and Donegal. He scored four points in those games and his ability to win the ball around the middle third has been pivotal in Cavan’s success.
“You’d be disappointed not to be starting but I was carrying a bit of a knock into the first few games,” he explained.
“It was probably a bit of game management in having it in the legs. That was Mickey Graham’s call, to start or not start me.
“I was just happy to be able to affect the game when I got the chance. Everyone on the bench has done that. Ted (Thomas Edward Donohue) came in against Antrim and made a difference.
“Conor Madden came in against Down and won the game for us. It’s great to have that strength in depth in the panel to make the difference.”
Conor Moynagh and Darragh McVeety will be watching from across the globe on Saturday evening. Both were certain-starters when Cavan reached the 2019 Ulster final in Mickey Graham’s first year but decided to go travelling and McVeety also missed his club Crosserlough’s first senior championship title since 1972. Killian Clarke might well have joined the pair but was forced to stay at home because of Covid-19 travel restrictions.
“They were texting me all week (before the Ulster final) saying ‘best of luck’ and after the game saying ‘congratulations’ and that it was unbelievable and all that goes with it,” Galligan explained.
“I’m sure they are a little bit disappointed, but they are the lads that brought this group on.
“They should be given a lot of credit for winning, even though they weren’t involved. They brought Ulster U21 medals to Cavan and were key players in that and they have been key players for Cavan for the last six or seven years and they’ve been stalwarts.
“So I don’t think they owe Cavan anything more. Obviously they’ll be disappointed they weren’t involved, but it just worked out for it to be a bad year for them to miss. They are enjoying themselves wherever they are in Australia and New Zealand and you’ll probably see them in a Cavan jersey again.”
