RYAN Murray hopes to get a “proper crack” at the All-Ireland Qualifiers with Antrim and hopes the Saffrons can ‘do a Fermanagh’ this summer.
Niggled by a series of injuries this season, the Lamh Dhearg clubman is aiming for a Championship start against Round 1B opponents Limerick at Corrigan Park tomorrow afternoon (2pm).
Last summer the precocious 23-year-old was the toast of the county after bagging 1-5 – all from play – in Antrim’s surprise win over Laois in the opening round of the Qualifiers.
The former Queen’s footballer impressed as a late substitute in Antrim’s Ulster Championship defeat to Fermanagh last month – and now that he no longer has to juggle university and county football he wants to make his mark with the Saffrons.
“Although I enjoyed playing university football, the fact that it no longer clashes with county football has helped me,” says Murray.
“I’d like to have a good run at it with Antrim and concentrate a wee bit more on my strength and conditioning because I feel I missed out on that over the last few years because I was playing so much football.
“I’ve really struggled with niggly injuries. I’d be training for a couple of weeks and then I’d pick up a wee injury and it would set you back a bit.
“But I got a bit of a break – ‘Russ’ [Frank Fitzsimons] and Gearoid [Adams] would be good that way – so hopefully I’ll get a start and we can do what we did against Laois last year in the first round.
“You saw what Fermanagh did last year. You can build a bit of momentum and you can put a run together. If you can get a win or two you’d be surprised how far you can go.”
Murray insists that a raft of new faces – including the arrival of midfielder Sean O’Neill – has boosted the mood of the camp and that the players have put to bed their poor first half showing against Fermanagh that cost them their place in the provincial series.
“The Fermanagh match was a day to forget. We just didn’t take our chances and it was only in the second half we got our act together. We played nothing like how we’ve been playing all year.
"There’s a good buzz about the place and a few new faces have been added and everyone’s pushing each other on.”
Murray signed off after five fruitful years at Queen’s by receiving the prestigious Cormac McAnallen Medal earlier this month for his contribution to the university football club.
“It was a bit unexpected when the Queen’s past members sent a letter out to my house to say that I’d got it,” explains Murray, who left with a Masters Degree in Civil Engineering.
“The Cormac McAnallen Medal rewards the effort someone has given to Queen’s and I was honoured to receive it.”
Murray says university football has been the making of him and that he learned a lot from all his managers that included James McCartan, Anthony McGrath, Aidan O’Rourke, Bernie Murray and his elder brother Kevin.
“I loved every minute of university football – from winning the All-Ireland Freshers [under Bernie and Kevin Murray] in my first year to playing Sigerson football and I’ve made some great friends from other counties. University football is probably the football I’ve most enjoyed in my career so far.”
Asked the best manager he had at Queen’s, Murray side-stepped the question like a fleet-footed corner-forward would against a sticky corner-back.
“All of them. I learned a lot from every manager I had. James McCartan played a similar position to what I play and I listened to what James had to say,” Murray says.
“James understood the demands of county football and trying to juggle the two, which was another big help. I learned a lot from James but all the managers I had were excellent at Queen’s.
“The treatment I got at university was first class – sometimes the facilities and services were a lot better than what you would get at county level. So I’ve taken a lot of good experiences away with me from Queen’s.”
