Fermanagh county football team

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Fermanagh
Sport:Football
Irish:Fear Manach[1]
Nickname(s):The Ernesiders
County board:Fermanagh GAA
Manager:Kieran Donnelly
Captain:Declan McCusker
Home venue(s):Brewster Park, Enniskillen[1]
Recent competitive record
Current All-Ireland status:Ulster (QF) in 2021
Last championship title:None
Current NFL Division:3 (2nd in 2021 Division 3 North)
Last league title:None
First colours

The Fermanagh county football team (/fərˈmænə/ fər-MAN-ə) represents Fermanagh GAA, the county board of the Gaelic Athletic Association, in the Gaelic sport of football. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the Ulster Senior Football Championship and the National Football League.

Fermanagh's home ground is Brewster Park, Enniskillen. The team's manager is Kieran Donnelly.

The team has never won the Ulster Senior Championship, the All-Ireland Senior Championship or the National League, the only county besides Wicklow never to have won its provincial championship.

History[edit]

Fermanagh is the only team in the province of Ulster to have never won the Ulster Senior Football Championship (SFC).

Fermanagh has reached five Ulster SFC semi-finals since 1982.[clarify]

Fragments of a poem from 1806 describe a football match between Louth and Fermanagh at Inniskeen in County Monaghan.

20th century[edit]

Fermanagh defeated Cavan in the 1914 Ulster SFC semi-final and the Ulster Council nominated the county to play Wexford in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) semi-final. Because the train schedules did not allow them to get back for Sunday night, and the Great Northern Railway Company refused to run a special train because they were opposed to sport on Sunday, Fermanagh had to abdicate the responsibility to Monaghan (the Monaghan team later defeated Fermanagh in the Ulster SFC final anyway).

One of Ulster's great footballers, Armagh-born Jim McCullough, played for Fermanagh in the mid-1930s and helped them reach the 1935 Ulster SFC final and 1936 National League final.

Peter McGinnity was the outstanding player of the under-21 team which reached two All-Ireland finals and defeated Derry and Tyrone to reach the 1982 Ulster SFC final, Despite a Peter McGinnity goal that put Fermanagh into the lead with 20 minutes remaining, the county lost 0–10 to 1–4 to Armagh.

Under manager Pat King, the county achieved a hat-trick of successes in 1997 in the B Championship, Dr McKenna Cup and Division 4 of the National League.

21st century[edit]

Fermanagh was a beneficiary of the change to the GAA championship in the 2000s.

In 2003, the county defeated Donegal in the Ulster SFC, then Cavan, Meath and Mayo in All-Ireland SFC qualifiers to reach a first All-Ireland SFC quarter-final.

Charlie Mulgrew was appointed manager in January 2004.[2][3]

The county went to a replayed All-Ireland SFC semi-final in 2004, defeating (in the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers) Meath, Cork[4] and getting past Donegal with a one-point win after extra-time,[5] Then, most memorably of all, Armagh in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final, thanks to a late point by Tom Brewster. A loss to Mayo in the semi-final replay ended the county's season. In 2006, despite running All-Ireland SFC favourites Armagh close twice in the Ulster SFC, Fermanagh yet again ended the season without a trophy after losing to Donegal in the fourth round of the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers. 2007 brought the loss of the county's National League Division 1 status, having failed to register a single point from its seven match campaign. Fermanagh performed better in the Ulster SFC however, only losing by an injury-time point to Tyrone. The county then defeated Wexford (for the second consecutive season) in the first round of the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers. However, it was unable to record a third win in four seasons over Meath at Navan in July, losing narrowly by two points despite dominating the latter stages. Charlie Mulgrew, manager for four seasons, stood down after this match, to be succeeded by Malachy O'Rourke.[6] O'Rourke's first season featured a first appearance in an Ulster SFC final for 26 years, lost eventually to Armagh in a replay.[7][8] His time as manager ended in 2010, after Fermanagh were relegated to Division 4 of the National Football League and a heavy defeat to Monaghan in the 2010 Ulster SFC semi-final.[9]

Peter Canavan served as manager for two years, achieving promotion to Division 3 and a win against Westmeath in the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers. Canavan departed in 2013, with the county board acknowledging that he had taken the helm "at a very difficult time" and his management team stating that "significant progress has been made. The senior footballers now representing their county are fully committed, unified and ambitious".[10]

In an unexpected development, Pete McGrath was appointed as Canavan's successor in November 2013, seeing off the challenge of former player Peter McGinnity, Gerry Moane and Kevin McStay.[11] He brought the team to the 2015 All-Ireland SFC quarter-final before the players forced him out in 2017, shortly after he had said he would like to continue for another season.[12][13][14] The player heave against McGrath drew criticism from observers outside the county.[15]

Ryan McMenamin's time in charge was affected by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games.[16] He departed as manager in August 2021.[17] Former player Kieran Donnelly replaced him.[18]

Support[edit]

A supporters' club, called Club Eirne, exists.[19]

Current panel[edit]

Team as per Fermanagh vs Cavan in the NFL Division 3 Final, 1 April 2023

No. Player Position Club
1 Sean McNally Goalkeeper Teemore
2 Lee Cullen Right Corner Back Belnaleck
3 Che Cullen Full back Belnaleck
4 Luke Flanagan Left Corner Back Derrylin
5 Johnny Cassidy Right half back Enniskillen Gaels
6 Shane McGullion Centre back Derrygonnelly
7 Cian McManus Left half back Teemore
8 Ryan Jones Midfield Derrygonnelly
9 Brandon Horan Midfield Enniskillen Gaels
10 Josh Largo Elis Right half forward Irvinestown
11 Ryan Lyons Centre forward Erne Gaels
12 Ronan McCaffrey Left half forward Teemore
13 Ultán Kelm Right corner forward Erne Gaels
14 Darragh McGurn Full forward Belnaleck
17 Aidan Breen Left corner forward Tempo
No. Player Position Club
16 Jack Kelly Substitute Derrygonnelly
15 Seán Quigley Substitute Roslea
18 Tommy McCaffrey Substitute Erne Gaels
19 Conall Jones Substitute Derrygonnelly
20 Fionan O'Brien Substitute Devenish
21 Declan McCusker (c) Substitute Ederney
22 Conor McGee Substitute Ederney
23 Conor McShea Substitute Enniskillen Gaels
24 Garvan Jones Substitute Derrygonnelly
25 Garrett Cavanagh Substitute Belnaleck
26 Oisín Smyth Substitute Derrygonnelly

Management team[edit]

Managerial history[edit]

Fermanagh appointed an outside manager, Charlie Mulgrew from Donegal, to lead the team to the 2004 All-Ireland SFC semi-finals (a first in the team's history).[21]

Players[edit]

For individual player details, see Category:Fermanagh inter-county Gaelic footballers.

Notable players[edit]

Below is The Irish News 125 Fermanagh Player List:

  • Mick Brewster (Enniskillen Gaels)
  • Tom Brewster (Enniskillen Gaels)
  • Paul Brewster (Enniskillen Gaels)
  • Issac Gerard Curran (Lisnaskea)
  • Ciaran Campbell (Tempo)
  • James Cassidy (Teemore)
  • Owen Clerkin (Roslea)
  • Dominic Corrigan (Kinawley)
  • Paul McKenna (Kinawley)
  • Collie Curran (Lisnaskea)
  • John Donnelly (Trillick)
  • Tommy Durnien (Lisnaskea)
  • Raymond Gallagher (Erne Gaels)
  • Rory Gallagher (Erne Gaels)
  • Peter Greene (Belcoo)
  • Vincent Greene (Kinawley)
  • Eamonn Maguire (St Patrick's)
  • Stephen Maguire (Belcoo)
  • Johnny Monaghan (St Joseph's)
  • Cormac McAdam (Lisnaskea)
  • Ryan McCluskey (Enniskillen Gaels)
  • Eamonn McDonnell (Knockninny Harps)
  • Peter McGinnity (Roslea)
  • Martin McGrath (St Joseph's)
  • Sean McGrath (St Joseph's)
  • John Hanna (Brookeborough)
  • Paddy McGuinness (Devenish)
  • Frank McGurn (Belnaleck)
  • Sean Maguire/Fr Ignatius McQuillan (Newtownbutler)
  • Barry Owens (Teemore)
  • Barney Reilly (Teemore)
  • J. J. Treacy (Devenish)
  • P. T. Treacy (Devenish)
  • Niall Corrigan (Enniskillen Gaels)
  • Seán Quigley (Roslea)
  • Ruari Corrigan (Kinawley)
  • Seamie Quigley (Roslea)

Records[edit]

  • Rory Gallagher, with 3–9 against Monaghan in 2002, matched the 5–3 record set by Johnny Joyce of Dublin in 1960 for the highest individual scorer in any championship football match. Cillian O'Connor's four goals (accompanied by nine points) in the 2020 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship semi-final at Croke Park broke that record after eighteen years.[22][23]
  • In 2015, Cillian O'Connor was in the running for the Golden Boot and initially finished tied for top with Fermanagh's Seán Quigley. However, following a review of Mayo's championship winning DVD, the Gaelic Athletic Association realised they had incorrectly noted O'Connor's score as they had recorded him as having scored 1-6 but he had actually scored 1–7. As a result, O'Connor's tally was increased by 1 which allowed him to claim the Golden Boot.[24]

Most appearances[edit]

Between 2008 and 2021:[25]
  • 1 Ryan Jones (Donnelly's midfield partner, 117 appearances, including 106 starts)
  • 2 Eoin Donnelly, Coa (midfielder, 114 appearances)
  • 3 Barry Mulrone, Devenish (110 appearances)
  • 4 Declan McCusker, Ederney (110 appearances)
  • 5 Seán Quigley, Roslea (forward, 101 appearances)
  • 6 Aidan Breen, Tempo (92 appearances)
  • 7 Mickey Jones, Derrygonnelly (defender, 89 appearances)
  • 8 Tomás Corrigan (corner-forward, 85 appearances)
  • 9 Paul McCusker, Ederney (86 appearances)
  • 10 Ryan McCluskey (80 appearances)

All Stars[edit]

Fermanagh has 4 All Stars, as of 2006. 3 different players have won, as of 2006. No player has won more than two All Stars.

Honours[edit]

Official honours, with additions noted.[1]

National[edit]

Provincial[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Fermanagh — Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Uladh". Ulster GAA. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Fermanagh get Mulgrew". Irish Independent. 16 January 2004.
  3. ^ "Mulgrew gets Fermanagh job". BBC. 16 January 2004.
  4. ^ "Brilliant Fermanagh blitz Cork in second half". RTÉ. 17 July 2004.
  5. ^ "Fermanagh through after extra time". RTÉ. 24 July 2004.
  6. ^ "O'Rourke is new Fermanagh manager". BBC. 15 October 2007. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  7. ^ "Fermanagh 1-11 Derry 1-09". RTÉ. 22 June 2008. Archived from the original on 1 September 2009. Retrieved 24 June 2008.
  8. ^ "Owens goal puts Fermanagh into Ulster SFC Final". Irish Independent. 22 June 2008. Retrieved 24 June 2008.
  9. ^ "O'Rourke resigns as Fermanagh manager". The Irish Times. 22 July 2010.
  10. ^ "Peter Canavan calls time on Fermanagh role". RTÉ. 2 September 2013.
  11. ^ "Pete McGrath named as new Fermanagh manager". BBC. 7 November 2013.
  12. ^ "Pete McGrath resigns in Fermanagh U-turn". BBC. 14 July 2017.
  13. ^ "'Disappointed' Pete McGrath reveals how player heave forced his shock Fermanagh exit". Irish Independent. 16 July 2017.
  14. ^ "Pete McGrath points finger at players over his Fermanagh exit". The Irish News. 17 July 2017.
  15. ^ "'They should look themselves in the mirror' — Pat Spillane slams Fermanagh players after Pete McGrath's forced exit". Irish Independent. 17 July 2017.
  16. ^ "Fermanagh suspend all GAA activity following positive tests in inter-county squad". The42.ie. 7 October 2020.
  17. ^ "Ryan McMenamin steps down as Fermanagh manager". Irish Independent. 13 August 2021.
  18. ^ "Fermanagh GAA appoint former player Kieran Donnelly as new senior football manager". BBC. 9 September 2021.
  19. ^ "No lessons learned from the old school". Irish Examiner. 5 April 2011.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h Cauldwell, Gareth (12 September 2022). "Ronan O'Neill added to Fermanagh backroom team". The Impartial Reporter.
  21. ^ Breheny, Martin (24 November 2012). "The import and export business". Irish Independent.
  22. ^ "Cillian O'Connor the record-breaker as Tipperary fairytale ends". JOE.ie. 6 December 2020.
  23. ^ "O'Connor breaks All-Ireland scoring record with 4-9". Hogan Stand. 6 December 2020.
  24. ^ "Sean Quigley misses out on golden boot after technicality". The Times. London. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2020.
  25. ^ "GList: Fermanagh's top performers since 2008". Gaelic Life. 25 October 2021.
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