Mannok Fermanagh SFC Final: Derrygonnelly Harps v Erne Gaels (Brewster Park, Enniskillen, 2pm Sunday)
Whichever of these two teams emerges victorious, it won’t matter a jot in the bigger picture. That’ll certainly be the view from outside Fermanagh, as Down dominators Kilcoo await in the Ulster Club SFC preliminary round.
Within the Erne County, of course, this means as much as ever, albeit for very differing reasons for
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and Erne Gaels. And whoever does triumph won’t simply accept their fate as provincial cannon fodder for the former All-Ireland champions.
Why? Because nothing is guaranteed in Fermanagh football any more.
The perception would have been that last year’s victory by Enniskillen Gaels, ending a 16-year wait for the county town club, marked a changing of the guard. They had dethroned kingpins Derrygonnelly in the semi-finals, then eased past
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in the final, winning by 10 points, 3-12 to 0-11.
The ‘townies’, a team with a fairly young age profile, were expected to be the new force in Fermanagh.
Yet it is those Gaels from Belleek, not Enniskillen, who are back in the decider, having wreaked revenge on their namesakes in this year’s last four. Erne Gaels were always on top in the scoreboard and saw out a four-point success, 1-10 to 0-9.
Those old stagers the Harps got here by the same margin, but did so in truly astonishing fashion. With just over 10 minutes to go in the semi-final it seemed that Kinawley were comfortably on course to reach their first decider for 30 years. The underdogs were seven points up, leading by 3-10 to 2-6, having dominated proceedings after the Harps had found the net first.
Instead, Derrygonnelly launched an amazing comeback. There were only seven minutes remaining of normal time when Garvan Jones got his second goal of the game. Then Gary McKenna levelled matters with a palmed goal, before taking the ball off the Brian Boru’s keeper to net again and seal a truly sensational victory.
It’s that sort of winning spirit, never-say-die attitude, which has fuelled so much of the Harps’ success over the past decade. Their achievements included progress in Ulster, including beating Tyrone teams. They even reached the 2021 provincial final, although they froze badly against, yes, Kilcoo.
Many would have written the end of their era when they did not reach the final last year, their first absence from the big stage since 2014. Sure, they had been stunned in the 2020 decider, but that was the weird and wonderful season of shocks during the Covid pandemic, a time of long waits – Ederney ended a 62-year drought by beating the Harps.
Derrygonnelly saw off the up-and-coming Enniskillen the next year, before the landscape appeared to change.
Now, a refreshed, rejuvenated Derrygonnelly will feel ready to reclaim what they see as their rightful spot at the top of Fermanagh football.
The motivation for Erne Gaels is starkly contrasting.
Becoming Fermanagh senior football champions would be beyond a once-in-a-generation feat. The Belleek club hasn’t done so since 1981, fully 42 years ago, and that was only the second time in its history, after the breakthrough of 1979.
Their only final appearance from 1981 until last year came in 2016 when they were pipped by Derrygonnelly.
Ultan Kelm is their talisman, their star player, their goal-scorer in the semi-final, but he’s supported by a strong, well-drilled side.
Derrygonnelly already have the Division One League title to their name, having seen off Kinawley at the end of August.
They will be favourites on Sunday, expected to complete the double.
Erne Gaels, however, see the opportunity to write their names indelibly in the history of their club.
Kilcoo can wait.
