Declan McCusker of Fermanagh pictured with the Tailteann Cup at the launch of the Tailteann Cup at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
In 15 seasons of championship football, few defeats have stung Fermanagh captain Declan McCusker as much as their Ulster SFC quarter-final defeat to Down this year.
The Erne County looked set for a fine victory when they led by seven points with eight minutes to go but then suffered a late collapse as Down scored two goals to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
“I've had a few bad days but aye it was brutal,” says McCusker. “It was so disappointing, we were in control and then they got momentum, we couldn't get it shifted, couldn't win a ball and a couple of wee mistakes near the end and it was heartbreaking, there's no other way to describe it really.”
The few days after the defeat were tough ones, but when the Fermanagh players sifted through the rubble they surely found plenty of positives.
They played some of their best football of the season for long stretches of the game and if they can consistently reach that level in the Tailteann Cup then they’ll be serious contenders.
Declan McCusker of Fermanagh after his side's defeat in the Ulster GAA Football Senior Championship quarter-final match between Fermanagh and Down at Brewster Park in Enniskillen, Fermanagh. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile.
McCusker is hugely enthusiastic about the competition and sees it as a great opportunity for this group of Fermanagh players to win some meaningful silverware.
“For say, 90% of the counties that are in the competition, this is probably the level that they're at and the challenge for a Sam Maguire is a long way away for all the teams, maybe bar one or two,” he says.
“There's definitely teams in this competition who are good enough to be in the Sam Maguire competition but to actually challenge to win it, yeah, it's a process maybe for a couple of teams, Kildare maybe Offaly down the line maybe but it's going to take a while before any of the teams in this competition are challenging for it so to go into a championship and have a competition that you can actually win, I think it's very important.
“And for the teams in Division 3 and Division 4, it makes this time of the year massive whereas a few years back those teams were maybe putting everything into the league and once the league was over, you're not going to win Leinster, you're not going to win Sam Maguire so you might get a run of a couple of games but you're not really challenging for anything worthy.
“I can remember the year Carlow got promoted, I think a few boys left before the championship to go and travel and stuff because they were happy with their year that they got promoted from Division 4 and they weren't going to win Leinster and whatever.
“So it is important and I think the teams here all appreciate it and see that but it's just making sure that it stays important outside of the group here and that it's promoted well and the spotlight sort of stays on it during the summer.”
In attendance at the launch of the Tailteann Cup at Croke Park in Dublin is Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael Jarlath Burns, centre, with back row from left, Sean O’Connor of Tipperary, Tighe Barry of London, Callum Bolton of Kildare, Ronan Wallace of Westmeath, Killian Roche of Laois, Mark Diffley of Leitrim, Dean Healy of Wicklow and Dermot McAleese of Antrim. Along with front row, from front to back, Cillian Fahy of Limerick, Paddy Fox of Longford, Niall Murphy of Sligo, Conor Murray of Waterford, Mikey Bambrick of Carlow, Lee Pearson of Offaly and Declan McCusker of Fermanagh. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile.
Fermanagh are warm favourites to come out of a group that includes Wexford, Longford, and Carlow and won’t fear any team in the knock-out stages, but in the past they’ve sometimes flattered to deceive in this competition.
“Yeah, definitely,” says McKusker. “It's been the same the last few years, we've always been a number one seed and we sort of come in thinking we are good enough to win it and we've underperformed.
“Look at some of the other teams, Laois and Antrim have performed really well in the Tailteann Cup and we haven't so that's something we need to try and get right this year.”
What would it mean to McKusker if he could lead the Erne County to national silverware in his 15th season of inter-county football?
“It would be unreal,” he says. “It would just be...to lift any trophy for Fermanagh, especially to lift one in Croke Park, it would be unbelievable, it would be massive. A dream come through.”
