Darragh McGurn excited about new campaign with Fermanagh

By Cian O’Connell

Darragh McGurn is optimistic that Fermanagh can enjoy a productive stint under new manager Declan Bonner.

On the eve of the 2026 campaign, McGurn is hopeful that Fermanagh’s collection of emerging and established footballers will flourish under Bonner’s guidance.

Having recently returned to collective training, McGurn is encouraged. “My initial impression is very good,” McGurn says. “Again, he has been involved in management for a long time now.

“He knows the standard that is required to compete at the highest level. He has been the manager of Donegal and been successful with Donegal. So, he knows what it takes.

"Really, it is trying to instil the standards into us on the training field, the intensity you need to train at, what needs to happen off the field, and then obviously tactically in terms of setting standards there and trying to push towards them higher levels.

“He has told us, he can see that we've the ability, he can see the talent in Fermanagh. It is just trying to bring a sense of belief towards us, that we can compete with those teams, and prove to ourselves that we can compete.

“So far it has been a challenge, but an enjoyable challenge, at that, because we've a lot of trust in him and we're all buying into that and moving towards the higher standard he's trying to set. It has been brilliant so far.”

McGurn acknowledges the importance of acquiring a winning habit during the league. “It always has been a big focus for us in Fermanagh,” McGurn says. “When I look back, my first year with Fermanagh, we were in Division Two, and in that year we were a kick of the ball away from getting promoted to Division One.

“So, from my personal standpoint, that is the standard I'm always trying to reach now. I know that we can get there. When we end up down in Division Three, my goal is to get out of Division Three. I know if we can get out of Division Three that we're competing with better teams, we've a better chance of competing in the Ulster Championship, we've a much better chance of winning Tailteann Cups.

“That lays the foundation when you go into championship, if you go in with a bad league, there is a high chance it might carry over into championship football which is obviously the important stage of the year.

“The main focus for us is being ready for that first game in the league and really going after that. It always nearly has been and will always nearly stay that way, especially when you're in the lower divisions.”

Fermanagh host Wexford on January 25 in Division Three and McGurn wants his team to generate momentum. “It is absolutely huge, when you're involved in smaller counties, and obviously it isn't really normal for us to be winning Ulster championships, we haven't won really anything in a long time,” McGurn remarks.

“It is very easy to develop a culture of teams losing so momentum is absolutely huge. You feed off wins, you feed off that kind of experience of learning how to win games, building that know how.

“I've also experienced that in the past, in terms of when we got promoted from Division Three a couple of years ago, we started to get momentum in those games, started to build belief, and you can feel the whole sense in the group.

“It is very easy when it goes the other way when you start losing games, the group maybe starts doubting themselves and reeling back towards old habits and old comforts.

“That belief starts from winning games, and it even starts when we go into the early-stage competitions. We want to beat those teams and start gaining momentum early.”

Ultimately, McGurn is adamant that significant potential exists in Fermanagh. “There is no hiding from the fact that Fermanagh is probably one of the lowest playing populations in the country,” he responds.

“So, you're always trying to push to get your best players on the pitch. Naturally within any county you're going to have players that move away to Australia, or players that step away from the set-up. That can take more of a hit in a smaller county like ours. In a bigger county you've a lot more to pick from.

“We don't look at it that way because we've 40 or 50 plus players, if not more in Fermanagh, that are well capable of pushing. It is trying to get those lads setting a standard within the gym, on the pitch, across all the elements of performance we talk about.

“Even if we've lost a couple of players, can we really say that we've all been setting that standard across the board to reach those levels? Probably not. The goal now is can we get 30 or 40 players all reeling in towards that, regardless of who is there because we know we're good enough to compete.

“I think we've seen younger teams coming through in the MacRory Cup, those boys have been able to compete at the highest level. How can we get the majority within those set-ups into the inter-county set-up pushing towards the standards that are required to reach the higher level?”

The fact that Fermanagh players have been influential figures at Sigerson level in recent years bodes well too for the future according to McGurn. “It is hugely important, even the lads who won a Sigerson with Jordanstown a couple of years ago, within that set-up you've the top players in Tyrone, Donegal, and all these different counties,” McGurn says.

“The lads have been able to go in start, compete, and actually be one of the better players in the team. It gives them confidence that they're just as good as those top players in other counties.

“I've seen it firsthand how that translates coming back into the Fermanagh set-up, believing they're one of the best players in Fermanagh too as well as other players in other counties. It is trying to get the collective that belief, rather than having four or five lads at that level. That is the challenge, I suppose.”

With matches set to arrive thick and fast soon, McGurn accepts that valuable lessons were learned during an exciting year for Gaelic Football in 2025. Teams, though, have returned to training, eager to implement ideas. “It is different,” McGurn says.

“There is a bit of a template now when you look at the teams that were maybe successful. There is a template for defensive set-ups, there is a template for attacking play, templates for opposition kickouts, your own kickouts.

“So, you're able to learn a lot more from what you did last year or didn't do well, maybe what the better teams were doing and what you weren't doing. Last year you were coming in, it was complete chaos at the start. Every team was nearly winging it, the scorelines were mad, you were struggling to adapt, to learn, and actually play the game.

“Now, you're able to get to a gameplan faster and work on that earlier in the year. Even in the first game in the league last year, we went down to Kildare, and we were well beat.

“It was nearly learning throughout that league. Now, there is less figuring things out and developing a system of play earlier in the year.”

McGurn is ready, willing, and able to assume responsibility for Fermanagh once again.