KILLIAN Brady is nursing a broken hand at the moment, and admits that injuries in general made it a nightmare 2019 for him on a personal level. Nevertheless, he was in chipper form when he sat down to talk at last Wednesday’s McKenna Cup launch. We touched base on a wide range of topics – whether Cavan supporters are overly critical or just passionate, this year’s no-show against Tyrone, his work as a Garda and much, much more.

NG: So how have things gone on the off season?

KB: “I’ve not really joined up with the squad yet. I got surgery there a month ago so I’m doing my own thing at the minute and getting back up to speed. I can run and that’s the main thing. I hurt it during the summer. The hand wasn’t healing at all so I had to get a screw in it a couple of weeks ago.”

NG: Did it happen while while playing with Mullahoran?

KB: “It actually happened the week before we played Tyrone in a training match. I didn’t really know it was broken all summer. I was playing away. I had to get it looked at eventually, so I got a scan and it turned on it was broken.”

NG: You actually came on in the final 15 minutes of the Tyrone match.

KB: “Yeah it was one of my only games. I had a nightmare with injuries after a long season with the club last year. I was playing with a few injuries and when I came back in January with Cavan. I was pushing hard trying to get back to where everyone else was. That tipped my over the edge I think. It was a nightmare year.”

NG: Did you still feel part your run to the Ulster final?

KB: “Of course I did. I’m with Cavan a few years now and I’ve been on the bench and started other years and that little bit of experiences helped. It was a massive year for us but it was a year of progress more so than a year of success.”

NG: Did you feature at all in the Ulster final?

KB: “I didn’t. I was togged out alright but didn’t feature at all. But look it still was a big day for the team and all the people of Cavan. Hopefully we can get back there again next year.”

NG: Killian Clarke is away for the year and Dara McVeety and Conor Moynagh are travelling, is it just what it is?

KB: “It’s kinda the way it is. They’d be a big loss for any team in Ireland, they’re that good. The way intercounty football is you can’t afford to mourn it and you have to get on with it. You can’t begrudge them their time off. They’ve given everything. It is what it is and you have to find someone to replace them. Unfortunately, there’s not too many Killians or Daras or Conors in the county but there’s still a good bunch of payers who are willing to put in the effort.”

NG: Sometimes Cavan fans seem to be more critical than most, do you sense that yourself?

KB: “Critical maybe, maybe it’s passion. I don’t know what you can really call it. In fairness there’s more supporting than against you. Everyone wants us to succeed and sometimes that can come across as criticism. At times we probably have underperformed and you can kind of understand people’s frustrations. They mightn’t feel it hurts us but it definitely does – whatever they’re feeling you can guaranteed we’re feeling it twice as much. While Cavan football is in a better place than when I started, there’s still room for loads of improvement. Last year was good but there’s still such a massive scope for improvement.”

NG: You’ve improved a lot in the league over the last decade.

KB: “When I joined in 2013 we featured in Division three and we didn’t get promoted. We got promoted the year after and we’ve been between Division One and Two since that. Our league form has been impressive but it’s probably the Ulster Championship where we’ve let ourselves down. I know the panel has changed a couple of times and player turnover has been an issue. We are making progress but still haven’t bridged that gap to the top four or five teams – on our day we can beat most teams but it’s just getting that extra bit out of ourselves.”

NG: I’m sure you’d like to think you’re a bit better than your performance against Tyrone in the summer?

KB: “We definitely didn’t show up that day. We’ve tried to address it and maybe the Ulster final took more out of us mentally than we realised. It was a mental challenge going into that game especially given our history of facing Tyrone. We were facing two of the top teams in a short period so it was kind the nightmare draw.

Going into the game we didn’t anticipate it going that way. I felt myself that we were in a good place, but maybe we had a few scars from the Ulster final. The game panned out the way it did. It was another year over. We’ve probably had a couple of years where it’s over before you know it. It’s a bridge we have to cross – we had the Roscommon thing for a number of things. We beat them in the league and got that monkey of the back at least.”

NG: I’m sure you still have good memories of the two games against Armagh?

KB: “Of course, we played some excellent football and felt we made progress in terms of how we’re moving the ball. We were looking to play a big more football this year but were conceding too much at the other end. We probably need to find a better balance this year.”

NG: I don’t mean to be too negative but Castlerahan didn’t put in a great showing in Ulster this year, is that a concern at all?

KB: “It’s probably something would people have spoken about before. We won the senior in 2012 and there’s four of five winners since that. The cup changes hands a lot. It makes it harder to do well in Ulster. Castlerahan had a massive opportunity this year. Their poor start against Naomh Conaill came back to haunt them. They were right in it the rest of the match. I’m not sure if it effects the county team. There’s that many clubs. We’re close to the Longford border and there’s five or six teams around us, there are an awful lot of clubs.”

NG: How’s your actual recovery going, did you manage to play much with Mullahoran?

KB: “I managed to play the whole club year, more out of not knowing it was broken. It was genuinely sore, but between pain killers and anti-inflammatories I was just getting away with it. We didn’t get much of a run and actually ended up in the relegation play-offs. We ended up winning that thank God, and I managed to get it sorted. We had bit of a nightmare year in terms of lads away in America at the one time My recovery is going well in fairness and I’m managing to do most of the gym work. I’ve probably another month ahead of me.”

NG: How’re the other lads getting on, are you looking forward to the McKenna Cup?

KB: “The lads are working hard and I’d love to be part of it but hopefully in four or five weeks I’ll be back in. I’d love to feature in the McKenna Cup but I don’t know whether I will or not. Lads love playing games, there’s a long couple of months running and slogging in the pre-season but when the games start the year flies by.”

NG: The team got a bit of criticism for partying a bit after the Ulster final, do you think that was unfair?

KB:“It had been a long, few weeks and maybe people read too much into things. You need to let the hair down at times during the year, and I don’t think it affected us mentally or physically going into the Tyrone game. It’s only in the last few couple of months that it’s been mentioned to me. We’re definitely not a party team and I don’t think any county is.”

NG: You actually tweeted about drugs being an issue in local communities a few months ago in response to a Gaelic Life article, do you think it’s that big a problem?

KB: “I wouldn’t say it’s an issue in intercounty football from my experience. I’m only part of one team obviously, but I work with the Garda and I see it is an issue. I don’t know if it’s an issue that the GAA need to address – possibly it is. Society’s changed, people turn to recreational drugs as quickly as they do to alcohol at the minute. It’s just a change of culture and I don’t think it’s because of one particular factor. It wasn’t a thing when I was younger, we didn’t entertain it. It just seems to be more readily available now. Maybe the GAA would be a good place to start in terms of rectifying it.

NG: How’d you end up as in the Gardai, I imagine the hours are pretty anti-social?

KB: “I’ve been a Garda for two years now, I spent about eight months down in Templepore, it’s a two-year process really. It’s a big learning curve and it’s tough. I have training and then sometimes head off to work afterwards. It’s not ideal but you make it work because football means so much to me. it’s an experience every day you get out there. There’s a good affiliation with the GAA so I get lots of support.”