Cork V Cavan Preview

28th Jul 2010

Cork V Cavan Preview

When big matches are confirmed for a big town or city you'll often here about how much they are worth financially to the local economy. The Clipper Festival is supposedly worth €10 million, the Cork jazz Festival €20 million - it was claimed the match against Tipp churned €2 million into Cork coffers.

This weekend we have another county coming to Cork but the financial gain for the city looks far less lucrative.

Cavan is known as the chicken county.

Cavan people have a notorious reputation for being tight, so much so that the recession barely registered in the border county due to the lack of almost any economic activity whatsoever since the country gained independence. A decrease in spending in a place where nobody spends anything anyway has no effect.

Their tightness is legendary. For example, Cavan people only double glaze the front of their houses so that their smallies won't hear the ice cream van, they rarely visit hospitals so they can get disability benefit from any injuries they pick up and when they move house they bring the wall paper and paint from the walls from their old place to their new one.

Many people might understandably not be able to pick out Cavan on a map of Ireland. Its list of contributions to the island and wider society is not so much limited as non-existent so the name will only be vaguely familiar to Corkonians from primary school geography.

If you do go looking for the 'chicken county' you'll find it resting below the Northern Ireland border in the shape of a chicken drumstick - the bone lying to the west and the meat to the east.

Drumsticks never have much substance to them and like his county, once you strip back the thin layer of meat there's little of interest underneath - something to be thrown to the dogs.

This is a highly appropriate metaphor for Saturday evening's kick about in Pairc Úi Chaoimh when Cork receive Cavan.

The Cavan lads will be well up for this one. Apparently.

At least the visiting players will be able to relax and see the stadium on the way in through the gates and admire its ancient creaking structures. Their exit is likely to be far more dramatic and swift - and possibly, for many of them, it will be a horizontal departure starring at the blue skies over Leeside.

Media pundits have all but written Cork out of contention for the All-Ireland final not to mind Sam Maguire itself so Conor Counihan's men will be gunning for action since amateur dentist Paul Galvin went to work on Eoin Cadogan's orthodontics, since Captain Canty was unfairly sent off and an incorrect 45 was awarded to Kerry when Donaghy knocked the ball over the end line which was converted into the one point "winning" margin.

For Cavan fans this will be a bit like a trip to the movies. You know that sense of anticipation when you go to see a horror movie and come out thinking 'I knew it was going to be horrific but I wasn't expecting that'.

These poor fellas are really in for it.