Cavan's Enda Shalvey and the Lory Meagher Cup. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile
By Paul Keane
This isn't a new experience for the Cavan hurlers, preparing to pitch up at Croke Park for a Lory Meagher Cup final.
In fact, when you ask captain Enda Shalvey if they considered requesting a stroll around Croke Park, or any sort of acclimatisation session to prepare them for today's final, he shakes his head immediately. Not necessary.
The 28-year-old is part of a large group of players who featured in the 2021 final and who, ever since losing to Fermanagh that day, have had a tunnel vision on returning to Croke Park to put things right.
In all, 11 players who started that 2021 final are back as part of the 26 which manager Ollie Bellew has named for today.
"There's a core of guys there who it's probably unfinished business for them to a large extent ," said Shalvey, who has overcome a hamstring niggle to take his own place in defence. "So we're hopefully going to try to rectify that.
"People say you have to lose a final to win a final so hopefully that's the case. If you go back to 2021, Fermanagh were kind of in the shoes we're in now, because they had lost the final previous to that so they were probably better equipped and knew what to expect from playing in a stadium like Croke Park.
"Maybe there was an element of fatigue for ourselves with that final too, from the game the previous weekend. We played Louth the previous weekend on a hot day. That was a contributing factor as well I'd say. Or maybe we were just a bit overawed by the occasion as well, it's hard to know.
"People say, 'Oh but sure isn't it a moral victory to get out playing in Croke Park?' It is at the time but it's four years on now and you want to try to rectify that as best you can."
Cavan are significant underdogs against a New York side drawing players from hurling strongholds such as Tipperary, Cork and Galway.
New York have 2017 All-Ireland SHC medallist Jonathan Glynn in their ranks, as well as former Cork senior Sean O'Leary Hayes. Tipp native AJ Willis hit 1-8 on his own against Monaghan in last weekend's semi-final.
In reality, the Exiles, managed by Kerry man Richie Hartnett, are an unknown quantity as they prepare for just their second ever game in the competition.
"You see the headlines and the names and stuff associated with them," said Shalvey. "We're just treating it as another game. I hate putting tags on teams but you have Cavan going in as underdogs so it's maybe no harm to take the pressure off you to an extent. You can kind of go out and perform in the way that we know we're capable of doing, without the pressure maybe."
Cavan have their own top talents too. Attacker Nicky Kenny was part of the Cuala team that claimed back-to-back All-Ireland club titles in 2018, netting in that year's final replay win over Na Piarsaigh.
Canice Maher is another Kilkenny man with a high skill set now playing for the Breffni. Ahead of him in attack, Sean Keating scored a goal in each of Cavan's first four group games, securing their place in the final with a game to spare.
Finishing the job now and claiming the cup, as well as promotion, would amount to a giant shot in the arm for Cavan hurling.
"The reality is that we're working out of two or three senior clubs in the county, a limited resource pool, albeit a very committed resource pool, but to get success on a national level would be a huge thing for us, huge," said Shalvey.
