JUST as Mick Glynn has found 'a home away from home' in Derrygonnelly, so the Harps have done with Brewster Park.
Outsiders might wonder about the fairness of playing this Sunday's Fermanagh SFC Final at the ground of opponents Enniskillen Gaels - but any advantage probably goes to Derrygonnelly.
Galway native Glynn is back in the Harps' senior management along with 1995 captain Sean Flanagan, Paul Greene, Emlyn Burns, and Shane Ward.
Glynn, who has now spent much more than half his life in the Erne County, is making no complaints or excuses about the venue, explaining: "It's an ironic situation that Enniskillen play very few Championship matches on their own ground, even though it's the county ground.
"We certainly like playing in Brewster Park, we have a lot of experience there, and we wouldn't consider it a disadvantage in any way to be playing Enniskillen on their home ground."
Indeed the Harps have played six consecutive senior finals there, winning all but the last one, as well as numerous quarter-finals and semi-finals en route to those deciders. This year alone Derrygonnelly have played four Mannok SFC matches at Brewster, taken to replays by both Ederney - their conquerors in 2020 - and Kinawley. In contrast, the Gaels' two victories, over Tempo then Belnaleck, have both come in Ederney.
There's great familiarity too between the players of Derrygonnelly and Enniskillen, although Glynn insists that hasn't led to any contempt:
"All these lads would have met at underage level in several finals over the years and the spoils would have gone both ways, although Enniskillen would probably have won the majority of them, especially in more recent years.
"All Derrygonnelly children go to secondary school in Enniskillen, so they play with them at school level. There's good rivalry, always played in a good spirit, no bitterness, hopefully it'll be the same on Sunday."
With former Derrygonnelly manager Brendan Rasdale - involved in their 2004 win along with Glynn, and again in recent years - a teacher at St Michael's, Enniskillen, there are no secrets between these teams.
Glynn's own work brought him to the border, then across it. His home club is Kilkerrin-Clonberne, the same as Galway forward star Shane Walsh and former player - and current coach alongside Padraic Joyce - John Divilly.
Glynn wasn't at that level, he admits: "We were Junior, played in one Junior Final, but we were beaten; we didn't have much success, but the club has made great strides since, were up in senior for a few years."
He has helped his 'new' club, Derrygonnelly, achieve much more, though, over his involvement for three-and-a-half decades now.
"I was working in Customs on the border, at Blacklion, and I met my future wife Eileen (nee Burns) - there was no way back," he chuckles. "I did travel home for all the matches in '86, then transferred in '87 for my first season with Derrygonnelly.
"They weren't a serious outfit at that stage, playing in Division Two, but they won it in 1992, got up to Division One and have remained there since.
"Derrygonnelly has always been in senior championship in my time with them, there was a different structure at that time, more teams in it, but didn't win it until the first time ever in 1995.
Glynn's recall of that historic breakthrough is impressively detailed: "I was playing full-forward that day, we were up against Lisnaskea, the reigning champions, so we would have been underdogs.
"We played very well, got a great lead up, maybe eight or nine points ahead - but Lisnaskea gradually pegged us back and there was two points in it [3-6 to 1-10], we were hanging on. The final whistle brought great celebrations, we came back to Derrygonnelly and everybody was out, as you'd expect."
The next triumph, in 2004, was equally memorable - and unexpected, against an Enniskillen team aiming for seven in-a-row:
"We'd had tremendous success at underage level: 1999 we won the Feile in Fermanagh and got to the All-Ireland Final down in Clare. I was involved with that group at U14, U16, and we won the Fermanagh Minor in '03, went into the St Paul's tournament, beat Rostrevor then were beaten by Armagh Harps by a point after extra time.
"There were a number of very good footballers who came through to the senior team in '04, I'd moved on to the seniors too. With the experienced players who were there - the Greenes [Paul and Martin/'Archie'], Kevin Cassidy, Kevin McGrath - there was an influx of younger players: Jonathan McGurn, Aidan Gallagher, Danny Ward, Garvan McGinley.
"We gelled those two groups together into a good team. Enniskillen were the dominant team, going for seven-in-a-row, but we beat them in the final.
"We maybe had a bit of luck on our side and they might have had a wee bit of complacency - the Ulster club match was on the following Sunday and they had their eye on that. We surprised them, but I think on the day we deserved to win it, we played well."
Sunday brings the first senior championship clash with the Gaels since then, but it's a role reversal, with the Harps as the old dogs and Enniskillen as the young pups aiming to become leader of the Fermanagh pack:
"They're coming with a young team which has won an Ulster Minor Championship [on New Year's Day 2018]; I think nine of the boys who played that day are playing now for their senior team. They also have Richie O'Callaghan, experienced boys like that."
Derrygonnelly have younger players coming through too, but the only repeat of history they and Glynn want is another final win over the Gaels.
