THINKING of the future and turning to the past have combined for a happy present for Ederney – an unexpected place in the Fermanagh SFC semi-finals against Enniskillen Gaels.
Manager Chris Kelly acknowledges they have set their sights on winning the New York Cup – but next year rather than this season.
That wasn’t down to a defeatist attitude but rather an acceptance of apparent reality, with half the first choice team absent this year, either away travelling or long-term injured. Ederney were without the entire spine of their team – last year’s full back, centre-half back, first choice man-marker, both midfielders, centre-half forward, and their two-man full forward line.
In their championship group, Ederney lost their opener to last year’s losing finalists Erne Gaels, then were hammered by champions Derrygonnelly Harps.
“A few weeks ago Derrygonnelly gave us a bit of a beating on our own patch, and at that stage we’d have bitten anyone’s hand off if they’d said we’d keep our place in senior football,” recalls manager Chris Kelly.
Ederney’s ‘Project 2025′ meant they had to defeat Devenish in their last group match or else they’d be headed for the relegation play-offs.
They needed a hero – so they called on Marty McGrath.
An Allstar 20 years ago, the 43-year-old had retired from club action but was still starring for the all-conquering Tyrone Masters.
In their hour of need, Kelly knew Marty wouldn’t turn them down – or let them down:
“Marty loves that club. He wouldn’t want to see the club stuck. You know what the club means to him, and all those boys, it’s very evident to see.
“Marty owes the club absolutely nothing. He’s an absolute legend. He had the boots hung up, but we went to him and said, ‘We need something different, we need something extra, can you give us a hand?’
“I remember him saying, ‘I don’t know what I can give you, I don’t know what I can offer you’ – believe me, he’s offering an awful lot.”
He certainly did against Devenish – operating at full-forward he scored the only goal in a 1-13 to 0-12 victory, which sparked real joy among the Ederney support.
A primary schoolteacher in Drumquin, the Eskra clubman Kelly has almost become an honorary Ederney man, involved at the club since 2017, apart from one season as boss of Tyrone club Tattyreagh.
Kelly was the trainer when Ederney ended a 52-year wait to become Fermanagh champions four years ago, but insisted the delight was comparable after seeing off Devenish:
“The celebrations at the end of that Devenish game were near enough akin to winning the championship in 2020. The pressure on that game was intense – we were all vividly aware of the importance of that senior status.
“Whatever happens this year, next year Ederney’s ambition will be to win the senior championship.
“We knew it also meant a quarter-final place as well, but our goal was just to make sure we’re in the senior championship next year.”
Ederney’s blend of youth and experience could have been forgiven for deciding ‘job done’ this season, but instead they won again, battling to an extra time win over Kinawley in their quarter-final.
“It’s some achievement for this group of players to be sitting in a semi-final,” said Kelly. “They deserve a lot of credit for that. It’s been a difficult year, a freak year with so many boys being unavailable.
“A lot of boys have got their debuts this year, fellas who were Fermanagh U20s, or Minors the previous year; we had to do that. It was ‘sink or swim’ for them – and so far it’s been ‘swim’.
“That has been the most pleasing thing of the past few weeks. You got to see what it meant to the players, but also what it meant to the people in the background, the club committee and the supporters.
“Their senior status is seriously important to them. Maintaining that was massive, and maybe that took a bit of pressure off us going into the Kinawley game. We’d done what we set out to do and it was pretty much a free hit at Kinawley.”
Ederney are beyond bonus territory against Enniskillen Gaels, and Kelly knows his team will be written off once more:
“All the talk was that Kinawley were in the semi-final already, so that probably helped our boys to hear that.
“We’ll hear that again and we understand why: you’re talking about a full-strength Enniskillen team with plenty of county players. They were the best team in the league and deservedly won it. They comfortably won their group and have been racking up the goals as well.
“For our boys, it is a free hit – we’ll go there and give it everything we have.”
