THE JOB’S A GOOD ‘UN
Meath ladies to Cavan.. it’s all in the cards Eamonn
A JOB with the Cavan senior men’s was a bit like the Meath ladies gig for Eamonn Murray.
“It wasn’t a job I really wanted,” says the double All-ireland winning boss. But, it was one he landed.
When the call came from new Cavan boss Raymond Galligan, the All Star goalkeeper who had just retired from playing, it was completely out of the blue.
“When Ray rang me, I didn’t know what he wanted me for, but he’s a great man,” said Murray.
“You couldn’t say no to him. He’s a very ambitious young man so I said, ‘Yeah, I’d give it a shot.’
“I went back home first of course to the wife and kids and asked them.
“We were under too much pressure the last few years. You’d need a few years off.
“I was sitting at home and Clare said to me, ‘Go on back to hell, you’re a grumpy hoor at home!’
“So that’s when I said, ‘Yes, I’ll go back to it.’ So I’m back flat out at it now and loving it.”
Murray didn’t know Galligan (below) at all when he first contacted him.
“It was strange,” he says. “We sat for an hour and a half in Trim one night. We had a long chat and we spoke a lot on the phone.
“Look, he’s into football – like myself. He’s from Cavan – like myself, so we did click very well.
“We all get on very well, the coaches. There’s a great atmosphere in there.
“I’m kind of tricking around talking to everybody every night. I get around as many people as I can, chats and chats.
“I had my own coaches as well [in Meath] so they did all that end of things. It’s much the same job as I had in Meath.
“I’m very happy with Cavan, very much looking forward to the future. We can’t expect much in the first year or so but we’ll be there or thereabouts hopefully.”
Murray – a Gowna native – is married to a sister of Meath Allireland legend Liam Harnan.
“Liam wouldn’t be doing anything, no clubs or nothing,” he says.
“He’s done. I think the last team he had was Skryne. He won the senior with Skryne.
“He’s in farming. It’s a tough auld business to be in, dairy farming. It’s fierce time consuming.
“I don’t know how you’d be self employed and play football or run a football team. Sure you’re gone day and night re.”
Murray is almost four decades living in Meath and says he never missed a
Meath game.
“That’s why he says
Cavan’s Division 2 encounter with the
Royals earlier this year was “the worst night of my life.”
“An hour beforehand and an hour after, I sat in the dugout with my head down,” he said. “I couldn’t watch it. I couldn’t do it.
“I came out then and a reporter was there in front of me. I said, ‘Where are you from?’ “I got all confused. I started talking about Cavan when I meant to say Meath.
“Ah look, I remember saying, ‘At least a draw will keep the family at home happy.’ But it was a tough night. That was one of my toughest nights ever.”
Murray says Cavan’s big goal was to stay in Division 2 and get out of the Tailteann Cup and into the All-ireland – both of which have been achieved.
“So far it has been a successful year for us, very much so,” he continues.
“We might give a few teams a rattle yet in the Championship, we’ll see what happens.
“We’ll get the players back fully fit. We still have a few injuries but we’d like to rattle a few teams. And if we don’t we’ll enjoy trying.”