NO matter which way he turns, Sunday’s Fermanagh final is something of a family affair for Erne Gaels star Ultan Kelm.
Father Seamus and uncles Liam and Sean were all involved when the Belleek club last lifted the New York Cup in 1981 and, as the class of 2022 bids to break that 41 year duck against Enniskillen Gaels, it is another set of Kelm brothers – Oisin, Ultan and Aogan – at the heart of their challenge.
And where the disappointments of previous years might have led to quiet corridors in the family home, this run has been different as the Gaels momentum carried steadily through their league and championship campaigns.
“We haven’t been getting on too bad this year because we’ve been winning games, so you don’t mind talking about them,” smiles Ultan, who has been working as a Fermanagh GAA Games Development Officer since earlier this year.
“We’re all in the house at the minute - Oisin’s got a job in Dublin but he’s working from home, so we’re all knocking about… it’s been good.
“Dad’s a primary teacher in the local school here in Belleek [St Davog’s] so we’d have been exposed to football from a young age through him. We’re football mad in this house, especially this time of year, you don’t chat about much else than football.
“The three of us would be very close in that sense. It makes this whole thing a bit more special.”
For Kelm, more than anything it has been a relief to get back playing regular football after a few years dogged by niggling hip injuries.
Along with some friends he stood behind the goals at Brewster Park when Erne Gaels last contested a county final six years ago, narrowly losing out to a Derrygonnelly side who would go on to dominate before being ousted by Enniskillen at the semi-final stage this year.
Yet while Kelm made his club breakthrough in 2017, soon progressing to the county stage under Rory Gallagher, a combination of early championship exits since, Covid and injuries means his appearances in black and amber have been frustratingly few.
“You could count on one hand the amount of championship games I’ve played before this year,” said the 22-year-old.
“You never really got a clean run, it was just setback after setback, one thing after another. It’s extremely frustrating, and then when we got relegated down to intermediate two years ago, in that game [against Belnaleck] I wasn’t at myself at all physically - I felt bad for letting the boys down.
“Coming out of the county scene, whenever I did pick up those hip injuries at the start, you’re not really being aware of what it was or how to manage it, then when you play and you’re not at yourself… it’s very difficult.
“I put my hands up, that’s just not being aware of what you were doing. That’s why this year has been so good - because I just wanted to get back on the pitch and get back playing.
“I spent too long on the sideline for my own liking, so it was a matter of getting back and putting games together. Thankfully we have come out the right side of most of them this year.”
Having taken his time to get right in the earlier part of 2022, Kelm returned to the green of Fermanagh during the Tailteann Cup, and has been a key cog in the Gaels’ rapid ascent to championship contenders.
Yet it is the wealth of options available to manager Seamus Ryder that has made the difference this year compared to others, he insists.
“The fact that I’ve played the most football this year probably gives you the most confidence.
“There’s boys there with more experience now, and we have a bigger squad too, which we haven’t had for a number of years. Then coming off the bench, we’d have different assets now. We never would’ve had that in Belleek.
“It’s massive for us – this is the boys you grew up with. We’re a close-knit community here, we’re not a big club, so a lot of the boys went to the same school up the road.
“You’re with these boys all the time growing up, you’ve been through the good days and the bad days with them, so then when you get a good run it makes it that bit sweeter.”
