Lory Meagher Cup final
Longford v Fermanagh (tomorrow, 2.15pm, live on Sport TG4)
IT was real romance that brought Tipperary man Brian Teehan to the banks of the Erne. He met his wife Zara, a Lisnarick native, at UCD during his time there from 2014 to 2020, and Teehan has been just what the doctor ordered for this young Erne team who teeter on the edge of greatness when they face Longford at Headquarters tomorrow.
So how did the 30-year-old who currently works at the South West Acute Hospital start with Fermanagh hurlers?
“I was talking to a lad in the hospital called Ruairi Maguire who is also a doctor, and he was in with the footballers, and I told him I was a hurler so he put me in contact with the hurlers,” he said.
“I came into the squad in 2022 and Ruairi contacted Joe Baldwin and I started coming out to the training.
“The lads are mighty and it is a great way to get to know people when you come to a new area. Fermanagh GAA is very supportive and you can see that the hurling is definitely going places.
“It is great to see the pockets of hurling in Fermanagh and, with the exception of a few of us, everyone else is under 24 so that is a great sign for the future.
“It is a very young team apart from Ryan Bogue, John Duffy, Sean Corrigan, Danny Teague, JP McGarry and myself, so there is a very good mix. These lads can only get better and the future is bright.”
Teehan, a great runner with a superb first touch who has been afforded a roving commission by his adopted county, has lined out at midfield for his club Moneygall – though not so much recently – while he can count Tipperary county player Sean Kenneally as a clubmate.
When asked about Fermanagh’s notorious habit of a slow start, he said: “I supposed it will be a different setting on Sunday as Croke Park is bigger and wide and maybe suits our running game with the quick ball.
“We need to go out with the attitude that we will settle sooner. Cian Darcy and David Buckley are two fine player and we will need to be tighter in closing them down or in cutting off the supply of ball into their forward line. They have a good spread of players and I suppose when they are in the Midlands they can get them handy enough.
“Yet we have a very good forward line with loads of skill. Danann McKeogh is in fine form from frees and Sean Corrigan is scoring a huge amount from play... it would be great if we could win it as there is no point going down just to be there.”
