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He’s one of the longest servants on the Fermanagh panel, but Ryan McCluskey admits his inter-county career has gone by in the blink of an eye.
The Enniskillen Gaels clubman is in his 14th season with the Ernesiders and will commence another championship campaign on Sunday when they face Antrim in the Ulster Championship quarter-final.
McCluskey has experienced some great days in a Fermanagh shirt, but recent years have not gone to plan. Fermanagh’s last win in the Ulster Championship was back in 2010, and he told Sky Sports there is a fierce determination within the squad to end that unwanted streak against the Saffrons.
“Any time we’ve played Fermanagh, it has always been a war. They’ll come to Brewster Park with absolutely no fear of playing us. The highest praise I can give them is that we are going to have to be at our very best.”
Ryan McCluskey
“It has been a long time,” said McCluskey, who turns 33 on Monday. “There is no point denying it; the summer days are the ones where there is the most focus.
“From a player’s perspective they’re the days you most want to be involved in. No-one is going to remember the league and what has happened.
“This year, our season will ultimately come down to how we apply ourselves in the championship. When all is said and done, it is nice to get promotions in the league, but it is all about the championship and what way your summer goes.
“It’s as big a game as we’ve had, considering the last number of years.”
Motivation
It was a much different story when McCluskey first shot onto the scene at senior level. Enniskillen Gaels were the dominant force in Fermanagh, winning eight county titles in nine seasons between 1998 and 2006, and also reaching two Ulster finals.
ULSTER SFC
Fermanagh v Antrim
Sunday, 3.30pm
At inter-county level, McCluskey was central as Fermanagh embarked on an incredible run to the last-four of the All-Ireland in 2004. They also reached the Ulster final four years later, but on both occasions, were defeated after a replay.
“It’s those days that drive you on,” said McCluskey. “There were some great memories but ultimately they were failures. We have no medals to show for them.
“It’s those failures and losses that give you that hunger to try and improve, to progress each year and get back to winning ways, which will hopefully bring silverware. Those are the things that motivate you.
“When those things start to fade it’s probably time to start thinking about hanging up your boots. It’s something that I can say on behalf of myself and the likes of Barry Owens and other senior players, that as much as it was a lovely time there were no medals at the end of it.”
A distinguished soccer player, McCluskey represented Northern Ireland at U18 level and had stints at Cliftonville, Sligo Rovers and Dungannon Swifts, with whom he reached the Irish Cup final in 2007 where they lost to Linfield on penalties.
McCluskey declined offers from three clubs earlier this year to concentrate on Fermanagh, and he admits that commitment levels required to be an inter-county football have increased substantially since he made his debut.
“I was lucky enough that in my starting years at senior level, we had quite few successful years with my club,” he explained. “We probably set the benchmark at that stage in Fermanagh. We moved the structure and the way that teams would prepare for games.
“The game was changed a lot though. Even though we are an amateur organisation, from a player’s perspective, you eat, sleep and train GAA. It’s a massive commitment and is something that over the years has gotten more and more. But it’s something that we all enjoy as well. We wouldn’t be doing it if we didn’t enjoy it.”
Demands
He continued: “The physical demands on players have even changed. Over the last number of years they’ve become bigger and stronger, and unfortunately the retirement age has come down as well. That just shows the pace of the game and how it has developed.
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
2006: Fermanagh 1-9 Antrim 0-9
1992: Fermanagh 1-9 Antrim 1-8
1991: Fermanagh 3-12 Antrim 1-8
1974: Antrim 2-7 Fermanagh 1-8
1973: Fermanagh 3-9 Antrim 4-4
“There is a massive difference and I suppose you have to look at the intensity of a GAA season as well because you have fewer games. That makes them a lot more intense. There is a little bit more rest – in soccer you could be playing two games every week – but there is a massive difference.
“The GAA is an amateur organisation but you would have to say that it is more advanced than the semi-professional and professional set-ups that some soccer clubs have.”
McCluskey’s decision to shun soccer was one of the positives in a turbulent winter for Fermanagh. Peter Canavan stepped down as manager after two years at the helm and was replaced by two-time All-Ireland senior winner Pete McGrath.
For their National League opener against Cavan, Fermanagh were without 18 players from last year’s championship panel, yet they held their own in Division Three and finished in third place.
“It was a strange league campaign because we were faced with being relegation favourites,” said McCluskey. “But Pete came in and steadied the ship. He brought in a number of new faces and we could possibly have gotten promotion. It’s a credit to him and the backroom team.”
Close
While Fermanagh enjoyed a mostly positive National League, Antrim had quite the opposite. Relegated to Division Four last year, they were predicted to achieve promotion at the first attempt but lost their opening two games as their campaign quickly petered out.
However, McCluskey expects that to count for nothing on Sunday. The sides drew at Casement Park during last year’s league, a result that dented Fermanagh’s promotion hopes, and McCluskey is predicting another close contest at Brewster Park.
“Both sides, we’d probably be seen as the minnows in Ulster football,” he said. “Antrim, like ourselves, haven’t had the best record over the last few years. It’s a game that I know they will be brimming with confidence for.
“I suppose when you looked at the league at the start of the year, you would have said that Antrim should be there or thereabouts, in contention for getting promotion. I know for the last number of years there have been a few changes to their panel but they’ve brought most of their experienced members back in.
“Different sides use the league for difference preparations ahead of the championship. Some people target the league in different ways and I think for Antrim, once they suffered those first two defeats and realised they couldn’t get promotion, it was a case of them knuckling down and concentrating on June 1.
“To be fair, we’ve had a number of games against over the last number of years. We played them in Casement Park last year and it was the deciding game in our league campaign.
“Any time we’ve played them it has always been a war. They’ll come to Brewster Park with absolutely no fear of playing us. The highest praise I can give them is that we are going to have to be at our very best. We are going to have to play better than we’ve played all year.”
