Fermanagh Football & Hurling

[Fermanaghandsam]

Impartial reporter is far better.

[Erne Gael]

Just added a poll at the top of the page.

Who would you rather face in the final.

Ive gone with Armagh. We have faced them a fair few times over recent years and although '04 was the only time we beat them we have came very close in others.

[FermPundit]

Lads what do you think of the Fermanagh Herald?

I have read it sporadically online over the last few months and I must say it is the best local paper I have come across for GAA. Bradley and Campbell do a gret job.

Fermanagh Herald is the only paper I can buy weekly in Belfast so it's my main source of information for all matters GAA . I think you can get the Impartial Reporter in town but I don't work in the city centre so the Herald has to do me.

In terms of coverage I would say both papers are pretty much equal but with regards quality of layout and presentation the Impartial is far surperior. The Fermanagh Herald is traditionally the GAA paper in the county but in recent years the Impartial's coverage of the Fermanagh county teams has improved greatly. Gareth Cauldwell is also an impressive sports journalist with a very easy to read style. Both himself and Michael Breslin do match reports and articles for the Irish News and Irish Daily Star. Damian Campbell is also a good read on a Wednesday in the herald. He has seen many a  Fermanagh team over the years so I always take his thoughts on board. In general I think the majority of people buy both papers every week just in case they might miss something. Overall we're lucky to have two good local newspapers who give GAA excellent coverage each week.

[Erne Gael]

Have to agree, both papers give a lot of coverage to the GAA. They both realise there is a big GAA readership so it is vital for them to cover it well.

I would also buy the Fermanagh News on a Friday. It covers plenty of the GAA as well. Do many of you buy it? It gets plenty of criticism from people about the amount of photographs in it though!

[inisceithleann]

Have to agree, both papers give a lot of coverage to the GAA. They both realise there is a big GAA readership so it is vital for them to cover it well.

I would also buy the Fermanagh News on a Friday. It covers plenty of the GAA as well. Do many of you buy it? It gets plenty of criticism from people about the amount of photographs in it though!

You can't beat the Fermanagh News! Always great for cutting out the photos and looking back at them 10 years later or even still being in 'Down Memory Lane' as I have been several times. On a more serious note, The Impartial Reporter is simply a lot more professional than the herald. Mark Conway has done a great job and I have to admit that I prefer reading it. As i'm out of the country I have to rely on both paper's websites and again the Impartial wins hands down here again.

[FermPundit]

Yep, the Fermanagh news is bought weekly as well. It gives an unbelievable amount of coverage to Tyrone though, probably on par with Fermanagh leading up to a championship game. I've never understood this. Maybe there is a large readership of the Fermanagh news in Trillick, Dromore and Fintona but I doubt it.

[ExiledGael]

Gets a lot of criticism for the photos alright but that's all people buy it for now. Countless team photos, buy it any week of the year and there's a strong chance you'll see yourself in it, whether recently or ten years ago.

[inisceithleann]

Yep, the Fermanagh news is bought weekly as well. It gives an unbelievable amount of coverage to Tyrone though, probably on par with Fermanagh leading up to a championship game. I've never understood this. Maybe there is a large readership of the Fermanagh news in Trillick, Dromore and Fintona but I doubt it.

Aye you're right about the Tyrone coverage. It's what you call 'filler' material when theres not enough Fermanagh stuff to go in there. There's always an awful amount of adverts in the paper as well, and usually no one from Fermanaghs selling anything. Very strange for a 'local paper'.

[haranguerer]

Wtf? This must be a record no of posts on this thread in 1 day! We fermanagh folk really have come out of our shells!

Agree Impartial Reporter is better for quality (its far and away the best local paper I've seen, although admittedly thats not too many), but think the Herald is still decent enough. I think we're lucky to have 2 such papers serving us. Bradley can be cringeworthy enough tho this week wasn't too bad.

The club competition is a good idea, its a decent attempt to keep every one happy, never an easy thing to do. Certainly it throws up some new games, and even if there are uneven matches, teams like Coa will relish the chance to play against Div 1 teams.
Good decision by the county board, regains some of the respect I lost watching Cartys interview on telly
'...we're a good team, derry are a good team, we beat derry, that means we're a better team...'   

[corn02]

I just be viweing online so I don't get to see layout etc. I actually haven't seen the Herald, must take a peek now.

[corn02]

The Impartial I mean.

[ExiledGael]

Good article in the Herald here from Bradley, except maybe for the references to Garth.

Thank God for unanswered prayers

By Colm Bradley
As I was driving to Omagh on Saturday night huge fat drops of rain
fell on the windscreen. Not good I thought, these conditions won't suit
our boys. Longest day of the year and it's lashing, just our luck I
cursed. As the week had gone on I had grown more confident that we
would win but the inclement weather was beginning to make me have a few
doubts. Looking up at the heavens it did not look like we were going to
get any help from the man above. Please God let it calm down I said to
myself. It didn't look like it would. He must be from the Lough Shore I
thought.
Trotting up the Gortin Road I pulled the old jacket up around the
ears and tried not to breath in the intoxicating aromas of the burger
vans - Jaysus them quarter pounders looked tasty - and got to the
ground just as the second half of the ladies match was starting.
I made for the relative shelter of the press box. No, not the fancy
glass fronted one on the terrace side but rather the good old fashioned
one at the back of the stand.
Slipping in I went to find a little spot in the corner but just like
Mary and Joseph there was no room at the Inn. It seemed that this was
the spot for the radio press only while the glass palace on the far
side was for TV, Daily and Sunday papers. Where to for the poor old
local papers then? The papers which carry pictures, teams and reports
for eight underage finals which take place on one day. The papers which
have 350 word reports on Junior football, the type of football which
keeps the heart of our Association beating? Oh right, the back row of
the stand. Cheers. Thanks very much! Huddled together we took our place
with notebooks on knees and pens between teeth. Hands were kept in our
pockets. It was vitally important to keep the blood flowing to the
digits, which were only to be set free from their cloth prison when
absolutely necessary.
A Jack Lemon look alike from the Ulster Council insists on seeing
Damian Campbell's press pass before dishing out a programme. I look
around to see if Walter Matheu might be a little more accommodating but
I can't seem to find him. I decide not to ask for one. I will share
with my more illustrious colleague.
The time ticks down and Derry are first out. A full 25 minutes
before the game starts. Madness I think to myself. Fermanagh are out a
good seven or eight minutes later and look far hungrier in the warm up
but. The game starts and the atmosphere hots up.
I look to my left during a break in the opening moments and can see
Ronan Gallagher has taken a little stroll from the goal. He seems to be
talking to Paddy Bradley. Having a wee word in the ear as the saying
goes. Oh to be eavesdropping I think to myself! Instead we have to
guess the conversation.
'Hey Paddy, do you sit polishing your All Star at night? They say it
is harder to win the second,' the big Belleek native might say.
'Hey Ronny, where have you been for the last three years,' Paddy could retort.
'Excommunicated Paddy, but there is a new Pope in town now,' Gallagher explains, getting the last laugh in.
On fifteen minutes it has turned into a nightmare though. Derry lead
by five and all week I had prayed for a good Fermanagh start. Derry, I
felt, would be next to impossible to reel in if they went five or six
ahead.
God is definitely a Derry man tonight I convince myself. And then it
gets worse. A penalty for the Oak Leaf men. Rattle the net here and we
can all go home.
Up steps Gilligan. Gallagher narrows. Gilligan blasts. Gallagher
saves! Magnificent stop. Buffonesque in style. Redemption for the big
goal keeper who is truly back in full communion with Fermanagh
football.
The boys outfield now begin to play. Tommy McElroy and Damian Kelly
get their gallop up and Eamon Maguire does what Eamon always does,
plays superbly. Mark Little and Ciaran McElroy begin to drop back and
Derry can't get through. Paddy Bradley fouls McElroy in front of the
Derry dugout. Booked for his troubles he gives the Derry trainer a
mouthful. Great I think. They are rattled.
Shane McCabe plays the pass of the night to Mark Little who is
fouled. Most of the crowd think nothing of the pass. Pity. There are
only a handful of players in Ireland who could have played that pass
and we should be thankful we have one of them.
It's only two points at half time and Derry look deflated. Fermanagh are on the up and we can win.
We kick a few wides at the start of the second half and a worrying
feeling begins to creep in. The notebook is discarded. Hands are out of
the pockets too, chewed down to the knuckles. The reporting can wait.
Just a simple fan now.
We need a goal. Time to call for Lazurus. Barry Owens gets warmed
up. He comes on at the edge of the Derry square. A minute later Eamon
Maguire drops a shot short and Owens swoops. Goal! You couldn't make it
up. We are ahead and we drive on, McGrath, Keenan, Little and Maguire
(twice) score. Derry are a beaten team. This is our night. 26 years of
waiting is over. Fans invade the pitch and grown men cry. We are in an
Ulster final. Go on pinch yourself. An Ulster bloody final.
Sitting in a line of traffic on the way out of Omagh I spot Fr Brian
D'arcy. Rolling down the window he leans in. Tears in his eyes and a
frog in his throat. He can hardly speak, but his face says a thousand
words.
The boys were absolutely brilliant. They fought, battled and played some great football.
Everything seemed to be against us. Bad conditions and a whirlwind
Derry start looked to have us beat. And I was cursing the big man in
the clouds. As I reached Irvinestown I flicked around the radio
stations and landed on a Gareth Brooks classic and smiled, I even sang
along with the chorus.
'Sometimes, I thank God, for unanswered prayers.'

[corn02]

One of the ones I had read Exiled, good article.

[wanderer]

Only having the option of looking online, I would say the Impartial shades it. Although if your at home its hard to beat the Heralds coverage of all the GAA happening

[Gold]

And what a pass that was by McCabe, you could eat it!