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Fermanagh unlucky in Allstar nominations says Quigley

Allstar nominee Seán Quigley believes Fermanagh didn't get the recognition they deserve for their run to the All-Ireland quarter-final
Allstar nominee Seán Quigley believes Fermanagh didn't get the recognition they deserve for their run to the All-Ireland quarter-final Allstar nominee Seán Quigley believes Fermanagh didn't get the recognition they deserve for their run to the All-Ireland quarter-final

FERMANAGH'S Seán Quigley has admitted he is “disappointed” he is the county's sole representative on this year’s Allstars shortlist.

The Championship’s second highest scorer, Quigley won an army of admirers as Pete McGrath’s men reached an All-Ireland quarter-final against eventual winners Dublin.

On his own nomination, the Roslea man said: “It’s lovely to get nominated for such an award, there’s a lot of top-class footballers, so it’s always nice to get the same recognition as those players – obviously, I wouldn’t be expected to win one, so it’s very nice to be nominated.”

While fellow beaten quarter-finalists Monaghan and Donegal picked up four and five nominations respectively, a host of Fermanagh players’ good work would seem to have gone unnoticed by the selectors. Eoin Donnelly, Marty O’Brien, Tomás Corrigan and Declan McCusker in particular all have justifiable cause for complaint.

“It is disappointing. I know other teams that got to the same stages seemed to get a lot more, the likes of Eoin Donnelly deserved more recognition than what we’ve got this year,” Quigley said.

Fermanagh’s disproportionately low representation in the 45-man Allstar list is the latest in a line of incidents that have caused annoyance in the camp this year. After this year's All-Ireland final, Quigley hit back at comments made by Joe Brolly on The Sunday Game which likened Fermanagh to “plane crash survivors” after their eight-point defeat to Dublin.

Jim McGuinness also courted controversy with his criticism of Fermanagh players who hugged family and friends after the quarter-final match. His comments were later described as “lazy and contradictory” by corner-forward Tomás Corrigan. Quigley believes another positive season would go some way to alleviating any lingering suspicions about this year’s success.

“I don’t think we got the credit for what we’ve achieved this year, with promotion to Division Two and getting to an All-Ireland quarter-final," he added. 

"We definitely didn’t get the respect we deserved after those games with the fact that we played so well throughout the year, but that’s something we’re trying to change in the next year or two and hopefully it will change in the future.”

Quigley’s full focus for now is on a possible three in-a-row with Roslea in Sunday’s Fermanagh SFC final against Derrygonnelly. He reports preparations are going well, having survived a major scare against Erne Gaels in the semi-final.

The Belleek side brought their more decorated opponents to a replay before two Séamus Quigley goals inspired Roslea to a comfortable 2-12 to 0-8 victory. His younger brother Seán admits the drawn match was a major wake-up call for Seán Bradley’s side.

“We were a bit hit and miss this year, we lost a couple of key players and the first game against Belleek, we definitely should’ve been beaten," he said.

“We were very lucky to get back into it, but we were relieved more than anything to get a second bite of the cherry against them and we didn’t leave anything behind us the second day and our experience and hunger told.”