Raymond Galligan (born 30 May 1987) is an Irish

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er and manager who has been the manager of the

Cavan senior football team The Cavan county football team represents County Cavan in men's Gaelic football and is governed by Cavan GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ire ...

since 2023. A member of the Cavan senior team from 2006 to 2023, Galligan captained Cavan to the Ulster Championship in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and also won an All Star Award. He played with the Lacken club, winning the

Cavan Intermediate Football Championship The Cavan Intermediate Football Championship is an annual Gaelic Athletic Association competition between the middle-tier Gaelic football clubs organised by Cavan GAA. It was first competed for in 1915, before a lapse prior to being revived in 1 ...

in 2004 and 2012.

Playing career

Club

Galligan has played with the Lacken club at all levels. Galligan made his club debut in 2002 and was on the Lacken team that faced Drung in the final of the

in 2004, scoring a point in their 1–9 to 1–8 win. On 7 October 2012, Galligan captained Lacken in the Intermediate final against

Cootehill Cootehill (; ) is a market town and townland in County Cavan, Ireland. Cootehill was formerly part of the neighbouring townland of Munnilly. Both townlands lie within the barony of Tullygarvey. Cootehill is 20 km north-east of Cavan tow ...

. Galligan scored 1–5 from full forward as the game ended in a draw. In the replay on 13 October, Galligan scored two points in the 3–10 to 1–9 win, winning his second Intermediate title. In 2016 Galligan

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

ed Lacken from full forward to their first ever Division One league title, defeating Kingscourt Stars in the final.

Inter-county

Minor and under-21

Galligan represented Cavan at minor and under-21 level but had little success in either grade.

Senior

Galligan joined the senior team in 2006, making his debut as a substitute against Antrim in the

Tommy Murphy Cup The Tommy Murphy Cup was a Gaelic football competition, featuring senior county teams eliminated from the early stages of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and also Kilkenny county football team, Kilkenny when not fielding a team in t ...

. In his

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

debut against

Roscommon Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...

in 2010, Galligan top-scored with ten points. Galligan made his Ulster championship debut on 20 May 2012, coming on as a substitute in a loss to Donegal. Ahead of the 2015 season, Cavan manager Terry Hyland tried Galligan as a goalkeeper because of his kicking ability. Galligan credits Gary Rogers with helping him to improve the shot-stopping aspect of his game. On 24 May 2015, Galligan started in goal against

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

in the Ulster championship. On 3 April 2016, Galligan kicked two 45s against

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

in the National League, as Cavan earned promotion to the top flight for the first time in 15 years. On 24 April, Galligan started the Division 2 Final against Tyrone, kicking a free in the five-point loss. On 1 April 2018, Galligan started the National League Division 2 Final against

. Galligan scored a free in the 4–16 to 4–12 loss. Galligan was named Cavan captain at the start of the 2019 season. On 23 June 2019, Galligan captained Cavan against Donegal in their first Ulster Final in 18 years. Donegal ran out winners on a 1–24 to 2–16 scoreline. On 31 October 2020, Cavan faced

in the Ulster preliminary round. Galligan kicked a 58-metre free late in extra time as Cavan won by a single point. Galligan captained Cavan in their second successive Ulster Final on 22 November, again against Donegal. Cavan were winners by four points and Galligan became the first Cavan man since

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

to lift the Anglo-Celt Cup. Cavan were well beaten by

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

at the semi-final stage. At the end of the championship, Galligan was named on ''

The Sunday Game ''The Sunday Game'' is RTÉ's main Gaelic games television programme. It is shown on RTÉ2 every Sunday during the Football Championship and Hurling Championship seasons. It is one of RTÉ2's longest-running shows, having been on air since 1 ...

'' Team of the Year. Galligan was later selected as the goalkeeper on the

All Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

team. On 2 April 2022, Galligan was in goal as Cavan faced Tipperary in the National League Division 4 final. Galligan scored a point from a 45 as Cavan were winners on a 2–10 to 0–15 scoreline. On 28 May, Galligan kicked seven points and saved a penalty twice against Down in a first round

Tailteann Cup The Tailteann Cup is a Gaelic football competition held annually since 2022 and organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is contested by those county teams, which, in the given year, have not otherwise qualified for the All-Ireland ...

win. Cavan went on to reach the decider against

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

on 9 July. Westmeath were four-point winners. Cavan played in their second successive league final in 2023, facing

Fermanagh Historically, Fermanagh (), as opposed to the modern County Fermanagh, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Fermanagh. ''Fir Manach'' originally referred to a distinct kin group of alleged Laigin or ...

in the Division 3 decider. Galligan top scored with four points from placed balls as Cavan claimed their second successive league title. Galligan's last match for Cavan was on 17 June, a Tailteann Cup quarter-final loss to Down.

Managerial career

On 24 July 2023, it was reported that Galligan was named as one of three people shortlisted for the Cavan manager's position to replace the outgoing

Mickey Graham Michael Graham (born 28 July 1975) is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former player. He has been the manager of the Leitrim senior football team since 2024. He managed the Cavan senior football team from 2018 to 2023, winning the Ulster S ...

. On 23 August, Galligan was proposed for a three-year term as Cavan manager, and was ratified on 11 September. Galligan confirmed that upon taking the manager's role, he had retired from playing with the team. Galligan approached Gowna native Eamonn Murray, and Murray agreed to take up the role of assistant manager and mentor to Galligan. Galligan was the second-youngest inter-county manager at the time.

Honours

Cavan *

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is ...

( c) * National Football League Division 3:

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( c) * National Football League Division 4:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

( c) Lacken *

: 2004, 2012 ( c) * Cavan Division 1 League: 2016 ( c) Individual * All Star Award: 2020 * ''

'' Team of the Year: 2020 *

Ulster GAA The Ulster Council () is a provincial council of the Gaelic Athletic Association sports of hurling, Gaelic football, camogie, and handball in the province of Ulster. The headquarters of the Ulster GAA is based in the city of Armagh. The fir ...

President's Awards Footballer of the Year: 2020 * ''Irish News'' Ulster All-Star: 2016, 2020

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galligan, Raymond 1987 births Living people Cavan inter-county Gaelic footballers Lacken Celtic Gaelic footballers Gaelic football goalkeepers