Fermanagh Football & Hurling

[milltown row]

I was reading on another thread about how a player once got himself sent off deliberately in London so he could catch a flight home to play a championship match in Tyrone. This got me thinking about the red card (I know, another one) dished out to a St. Gall's player in the Ulster Intermediate 'hurling' final. Here was a guy who had been taken off injured against Cavan Gaels. His 'hurling' manager has a reputation for not taking off his footballers even if (as in this case) the opposition team is being iniolated. So did the balding Lothario cunningly decide to conserve his energies for the football? Or was it more indiscipline from the milltown men?

He seemed fine when he went back on again

besides thon player lashed out on our CHB referee turned and only seen two lads scrapping. easy to give two yellows and be done with it.

hurling is slightly different than football. in ten minutes of hurling a team could score 10/15 points. in football it takes teams 60 minutes to score that amount

[ExiledGael]

Anyone know anything of the Fermanagh squad for the McKenna Cup? Hoganstand has a story about Aidan McCarron (ex-Tyrone and New York) being included so must be drawn up after the trials. Rumour has it Little is not included.

[FermGael]

Lyttle not included because he is not playing for Lisnaskea.  That's the rumour.
Other rumours include Eamonn Maguire and Paul Cosgrove have not made themselves available,
and that McDermott and McBarron have retired.
But then again who knows!!!

[ExiledGael]

Hmmm, on the plus side Blobby is now working at home for good so that should help him this year. Think you can hopefully change your message FermGael with him on left and Seamie Quigley on the right for frees.

[FermGael]

Hmmm, on the plus side Blobby is now working at home for good so that should help him this year. Think you can hopefully change your message FermGael with him on left and Seamie Quigley on the right for frees.

Rumour mill also has Rory Gallagher back in the McKenna squad as well.
According to the Hearld A McCarron has been asked in. 

As for the message, we will wait and see 

[Jimmyjimson]

The rumour mill has definitely gone into hyperdrive concerning the make up of the panel.

Someone was telling me that St Pats have pulled their players out of the panel this year in protest against the starred games system that was employed in the league this year. No idea if this is true or not though.

I hear that Cunningham ex of Maguiresbridge now of St Brigids is in the McKenna cup panel too.

[FermGael]

The rumour mill has definitely gone into hyperdrive concerning the make up of the panel.

Someone was telling me that St Pats have pulled their players out of the panel this year in protest against the starred games system that was employed in the league this year. No idea if this is true or not though.

I hear that Cunningham ex of Maguiresbridge now of St Brigids is in the McKenna cup panel too.

I had heard that about St Pat's as well.  Think its very childish it that's what they are at.  They were only 2 starred games.
Edenery played there last 4 or 5 games without McGrath and Ferris due to injury, yet managed to stay up.
We need to have more starred games next year to ensure that the club footballer is well catered for.
Also the league started far too late last year, start it a bit earlier this year.

Cunningham is a good footballer and could do a job. 

[wanderer]

What does 'starred games' mean lads? Hadn't heard this, and don't really follow

Is it Niall Cunningham?

[KIDDO 4]

Roslea defeated Devenish  tonight in Fermanagh division 1 final    tonight in Enniskillen   by 3 points after extra time,  2.14 to 3.8.

[FermPundit]

What does 'starred games' mean lads? Hadn't heard this, and don't really follow

Is it Niall Cunningham?

Starred games were the games in which county players could not play.

Niall Cunningham was playing good stuff for St. Brigid's this year. He would be a good addition to the Fermanagh panel in my opinion.

[sammymaguire]

Roslea defeated Devenish  tonight in Fermanagh division 1 final    tonight in Enniskillen   by 3 points after extra time,  2.14 to 3.8.

well done to Roslea. Good finish to a very good season

[Caid]

STANDING TALL; Rory Gallagher says it was a desire to excel that led to his difficult reputation and a move from Fermanagh

CHRISTY O'CONNOR; CHRISTY O'CONNOR

1427 words

8 November 2009

The Sunday Times

ST

1

12

English

(c) 2009 Times Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved

Six weeks ago, a story appeared in the Donegal Democrat newspaper under the headline 'Gallagher for Donegal?' The article reported that former Fermanagh and Cavan footballer, Rory Gallagher, was believed to be on his way to play with Killybegs next season and that he was considering declaring for Donegal. Gallagher immediately got in touch with the newspaper to point out that there was absolutely no substance to the article and the matter was clarified in the following edition.



But Gallagher's nomadic track-record at club level has fostered and promoted his reputation as a maverick. In the last seven years, he has played with three different clubs in three different counties. He recently moved back to his home town of Belleek in Fermanagh and has been making the near fivehour round trip to Belfast for training with St Gall's, Antrim, football's club superpower. His travels have often led to accusations of disloyalty and glory-hunting but he counters them by stating that he plays where his work takes him.



"At different stages, I lived in Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Cavan," he says. "At the start of the year I was working and living in Belfast and that's why I moved clubs. I didn't expect to be back in Killybegs until after Christmas but it happened a lot quicker than I expected."



Now that he's recently married, is back home and living so far from Belfast, speculation is sure to accompany Gallagher's future. It's never really been any other way since 2002 when he created his own enigma. That summer, he recorded the highest individual score in an Ulster championship match with 3-9 against Monaghan — just one point behind the highest individual score ever recorded. He'd been top scorer in the Ulster championship for three successive years and was nominated for an All-Star in two of those seasons. He was only 24 and nearing his peak. And then he walked away.



It appeared to be for greener pastures. He joined St Brigid's in Dublin, where he took up a coaching development position, but Gallagher was one of the best free-takers in the country and he seemed to offer the perfect antidote to a virus which had consistently infected Dublin. Gallagher may have been speculating a move but Dublin manager Tommy Lyons knocked that on the head as soon as it arose: "It will be a long time before Dublin accept recognised inter-county footballers into our county to try to help us win an All-Ireland."



Gallagher was one of the most talented footballers Fermanagh had ever produced but his decision to walk away in 2003 effectively marked the beginning of the end of his inter-county career. When Charlie Mulgrew took over in 2004, he did not recall Gallagher and that decision was never questioned after Fermanagh reached their first All-Ireland semi-final. Rory, and his first cousin, Raymie Gallagher, had long been the exciting face of Fermanagh football but the county had created a new identity in 2004 and appeared to have moved on without them.



Both were recalled in 2005 and Rory impressed in that year's league campaign. He was by far their best forward in the Division Two league semi-final against Meath when hitting six points. It was Fermanagh's last competitive game before the championship but Gallagher never started a game for the county again.



The obvious assumption about why he was dropped in 2005 was that, outside Liam McBarron and Stephen Maguire up front, everything about Fermanagh in 2004 was built for speed and not Gallagher's cerebral style. "Opinion was divided on us whenever we (himself and Raymie) were playing," he says. "There's no doubt he (Mulgrew) may have been influenced by others. But that should not count between a player and a manager. I didn't think it would be even up for discussion that I wouldn't be on the team because I was playing really well. I never received an explanation why I wasn't picked so it's hard for me not to believe that it wasn't something personal."



The Gallaghers have always stimulated huge debate in Fermanagh, but there is no doubting the massive contribution they made to the county's fortunes.



When Fermanagh began to transform themselves in the late 1990s, the Gallaghers brought class and arrogance to the team that Fermanagh football hadn't seen before. But many within the county still never forgave Rory for turning his back on them in 2003.



It could be argued, almost perversely, that Gallagher was ahead of his time, which contributed to his departure. He won a Sigerson Cup medal with Sligo IT under Martin McHugh in 2002 and McHugh claimed that Gallagher "was an exceptional player and an exceptionally hard trainer who always demanded the highest standards".



When those standards weren't met in Fermanagh, he walked.



"Things might have been going well for me personally but I still wasn't happy with our approach and our preparation," he says. "I knew that I would miss playing county football but my decision was based on the direction I felt we were going.



"Right before we played a league game against Mayo in 2002, we were close to going on strike over mileage expenses. And that was long before strikes were fashionable.



"Some people said that I was too hard to handle. Others said, 'he wants it all his own way, he's a dictator'. I would have felt at the time that Fermanagh weren't doing everything they could to be successful and I would have been trying to push it in that direction. I wouldn't be shy in being confrontational with regard to that.



"Maybe at times I did overstep the mark and I could have been more diplomatic in the way I went to managers or the county board about trying to improve things. But I just wanted what was best for us."



Mulgrew never called him back after 2005 and Gallagher was so desperate to play intercounty football again that he transferred to Crosserlough in Cavan in 2007, where he was then living. He played the league with Cavan but broke a bone in his hand a week before the championship and his summer was limited to a late substitute appearance in the qualifier defeat to Mayo. A week later, he had returned to Dublin.



"I had made it clear that if I was no longer playing with Cavan that I was going back to St Brigid's."



After Malachy O'Rourke took over Fermanagh at the end of that season, there was speculation that Gallagher might be asked back but he never was. If he was on board in 2008, he may have been the difference between them winning a first Ulster title because their freetaking ultimately cost them. Gallagher did attend a trial game last year and was reportedly outstanding. But again, O'Rourke didn't pick him.



After Fermanagh were beaten in last year's championship, Gallagher discreetly canvassed for another opportunity. In his column in the 'Gaelic Life' magazine, he broached Fermanagh's free-taking difficulties and said that "you have to want to take a free". It was clear that he would have been comfortable taking frees for the county and Fermanagh finally seem to have realised his importance. He was in for a trial game recently and is expected to rejoin the panel soon.



Gallagher has missed the best years of his inter-county career but he only recently turned 31 and still has something to offer. It might be easy for some supporters to hammer him for disloyalty but they shouldn't ever forget the immense service he has given to Fermanagh.



At least now Gallagher has the stage to showcase his talents with St Gall's, one of the favourites for the Ulster club championship. He's aiming to become the first football player ever to win provincial medals with different clubs (apart from colleges' teams) in different provinces.



Say what you want about Gallagher but he always was that bit unique. ''

[ExiledGael]

I've definitely mellowed as regards Rory over the last few years. There was certainly a time (2004-ish) when I never wanted to see him playing for the county again, but he seems to be really focusing on the fooball of late and got a good injury free run and refound some of his best form.
He probably deserves his chance this year and would certainly help the younger players in the squad. I don't believe that O'Rourke will have any alterior motives and the truth is if Gallagher deserves to be in the panel then he'll get his chance.

Well done to Roslea at the weekend. Not a top quality game but definitely a thriller. Those O'Brien brothers look good and Quigley must have hit 7/8 for Roslea, mostly frees.

[FermPundit]

I know Rory Gallagher isn't everyone's cup of tea but there has never been any doubting his talent. Maybe at 31 he realises that he hasn't got too many years left to play at the top level and he has wised up a wee bit. Can we assume that he'll be back playing with Belleek net season?

Fair play to Roslea. They have made great strides over the last year and they deserve a bit of silverware. Peter McGinnity also deserves great credit for turning things around. It's amazing what a good, respected manager can do.

Exiled, what age are the O'Brien brothers? They're probably far too young to even consider for inter county football?

[Caid]

It's amazing what a good, respected manager can do.

Is your own club's (ex) Manager not a good, respected, manager FP