AIB Ulster Club SFC quarter-final
Erne Gaels v Scotstown (Saturday, Brewster Park, 5pm)
“Football, hurling, darts and one liners” is how Gerry McLaughlin summated the late Mark Lyons in The Irish News. How he excelled in each, and how his presence will be missed.
He was laid to rest with the anthem of Liverpool FC, ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. Ironically, it strikes a chord with GAA folk more so than any.
In the toughest times, communities bind, and there is no bind stronger than Erne Gaels right now.
And yet, as crucial as the GAA is to the healing process for friends and family, it equally serves as a cruel reminder that the wheel of time keeps on turning without so much as a peek behind.
This weekend Scotstown will come to Brewster Park. That is reality and that is life.
A bunch of young men from Belleek, their shoulders fresh from mahogany, will now bear the weight of responsibility of doing their clubmate justice, with the weight of emotional fatigue heavier still.
For brother Ryan, captaincy of his beloved Erne Gaels will never have meant so much to so many. In any result, in any outcome, may he and his teammates be commended for their courage.
Football is irrelevant in many ways, but in others it is absolutely vital for the people of Erne Gaels in this nonchalant, unforgiving, posthumous world.
For Scotstown, it is a matter of balancing the task at hand with a healthy dose of respect. No doubt, with David McCague at the helm, they will negotiate that task like they have done with so many others in 2024.
Indeed they have been relentless far beyond that. This year marked 12 county final appearances on the hop. Unlike last year’s run to victory, they revelled in the challenge, remaining unbeaten and largely unscathed.
Central to that has been the return of Kieran Hughes. Having only played about 15 minutes of Championship football this season, and having missed the entirety of the league, he won the man-of-the-match award in the county semi-final upon his return.
Inniskeen’s Paul Meegan was on the losing side on that occasion, with the general consensus that Scotstown had laboured to victory rather than excelling. It felt like an opportunity missed.
Any regrets? In layman’s terms, yes. Meegan felt Hughes wasn’t marked tightly enough as he lorded it around the middle.
Fast forward to the county final and he arguably should have won man-of-the-match again. Imperious in defence more so than attack, but again, looking like he had the run of St Tiernach’s Park as a bright start for Clontibret began to effervesce.
Captain Damien McArdle was the star of an average enough first half from the holders, as he tracked Conor McManus like his life depended on it, before kicking a sumptuous score of his own.
Perhaps that was the inspiration. Maybe it was Shane Carey’s score just after the break that provided the leadership required. In any case, An Bhoth wrestled control that we have become so accustomed to.
Séamus McEnaney this week spoke of a case of differing opinions during a chat about Scotstown. In the end, the former Monaghan manager stated that he believes: “Scotstown are not a good team, they’re a great team”.
They’ve added a SFL title to their name since. ‘The Banty’ claims Rory Beggan’s performance against Ballybay a fortnight ago was the best he’d ever seen the keeper in a Scotstown jersey.
Now Corduff manager, McEnaney opted to man mark Beggan from play in the 2023 semi-final in Monaghan, curtailing his kick passing and counter attacking ability.
Others followed suit to differing degrees of success as the Mick Duffy Cup winners went close to adding a fifth Ulster title to the trophy cabinet last year.
Indeed only Crossmaglen and Burren could match or better that tally of five. In Scotstown there is heritage, there is belief, and there is pedigree. Many feel that with Glen gone, this is an almighty opportunity.
Gaels manager Declan Bonner has already admitted that “Scotstown are one of the top teams in Ulster if not Ireland”.
And in reality, that is only a small chunk of the mountain that awaits his grief-stricken side.
Having won a first Fermanagh title in 43 years after a replay, they are essentially in uncharted territory.
But pulling off a famous win at the second bite of the cherry is only a small indicator of this group’s character, character they will be sure to draw from on Saturday.
Indeed 2024 marked three Erne county finals on the bounce. Beaten twice, Enniskillen Gaels likely thought and hoped the writing was on the wall for their opponents.
But county star Ultan Kelm shone when the need was greatest, and it was skipper Lyons who flicked a fateful ball into the path of Michael Óg McGarrigle. Green flag, goal, history.
Kelm finished proceedings with a tidy five points. It will be intriguing as to who Scotstown see fit to inhibit his abilities, while it would be no surprise to see Bonner elect to hound Rory Beggan down when the ball is in play.
With the Hughes brothers both back from injury, Ryan O’Toole back from suspension and Conor McCarthy firing again, it looks an almighty challenge for the Belleek men.
But the one thing they will be certain of is Erne Gaels have a cause and eyes from above, and when you have that, you always have a chance.