Cavan county board to discuss McCabe's Westmeath appointment

GAA news

The management committee of Cavan county board are to discuss Dermot McCabe’s appointment as Westmeath senior football team manager at a meeting this evening (Thursday).

The 1997 All-Star, regarded as one of Cavan’s best footballers of recent decades and who was joint-manager of the Gowna side who won the Cavan Senior Football Championship in 2022 and 2023, is employed as Games Development Manager (GDM) with Cavan county board.

McCabe was ratified as manager of the Westmeath senior football team on Tuesday, marking his first foray as a senior inter-county manager. He previously was a selector with the Cavan senior team who won the Ulster Championship in 2020 and joint-manager of the Cavan minor team who won the 2011 Ulster Championship.

McCabe will be assisted by Donegal All-Ireland winner Mark McHugh, whose father Martin was manager of Cavan when they won the Ulster title in 1997.

McCabe has been employed as GDM with Cavan for the last decade. The Anglo-Celt contacted him but had not received a reply at the time of writing.

The Cavan senior football team will play against Westmeath in either round one or round six of the National Football League in 2025 (fixtures have yet to be confirmed) which would create a unique situation in Gaelic games in that the Cavan GDM is team manager of Westmeath.

Cavan county board PRO Susan Brady stated: “Cavan county board has no comment to make at this time.”

In other news, the nomination forms for a number of positions which will be filled at the county convention in December were circulated today.

The positions of chairman, vice-chairman, PRO, Ulster Council delegate and Central Council delegate will all be vacant as the incumbents’ five-year terms are ending. Contests seem likely for some or all of the positions.