Lory Meagher Cup final

Fermanagh v Louth

Saturday, Croke Park, 3.30pm

By Niall McCoy

ANDREW Breslin knows this may be it; this may be the end of the playing road. Saturday’s Lory Meagher Cup final at Croke Park may be his last game for Fermanagh.

Nothing has been decided yet, nor will it be in the next few weeks, but the texts are already arriving about playing club football with Maguiresbridge next season and he is struggling with how to respond with the Lisbellaw hurling enquiries set to follow.

It’s not just that his body is feeling the strain, Breslin also now heavily involved with the East Belfast club. He may be an experienced GAA man but he was caught out by the oldest trick in the book.

He contacted the club and said he could help with the coaching now and again, and before he could say Harland and Wolff he was appointed senior hurling manager along with Brian McGuigan.

That’s for later though, for now full focus is on the clash with Louth and what he hopes will be a possible fitting finale for one of the country’s longest-serving inter-county players having linked up with the Fermanagh seniors as a teenager in 2001.

The late Gerry Timmons, a Tipperary native, was in charge at that stage and he was handed a debut in the 1-12 to 1-8 National League win over Monaghan in Scotstown – their first league win over the Oriel county since 1978.

Back then the thought of Fermanagh playing at Croke Park was a pipe dream, but this will be the fifth time that Breslin will feature at Ireland’s most famous stadium. A lot has changed since he began his Erne county career.

“It’s massively different,” Breslin said. “The whole training has come on leaps and bounds, strength and conditioning has come into play over the last few years.

“It really started properly with Fabian Baker when he was in charge with Seamus McCusker and Mick Keogh. It was proper structure in terms of the training.

“Rory O’Donnell was always very good on that front and he had Ryan Whitley, who had worked with the Brisbane Broncos, in for the strength and conditioning. Ryan’s influence probably has a lot to do with my longevity.

“When I was playing I was the young buck and I was mad keen to make the team, now the tables have turned, the young bucks are mad to get in and I’m trying to keep my place.

“This will be my fifth time at Croke Park. It’s a world apart, back when I started you would never have thought that Fermanagh, in hurling terms anyway, would get to Croke Park in any capacity.

“The competitions the GAA have brought in, they give you that goal to aim for.”

The county has lifted this cup once before, back in 2015, but looking back now Breslin sees a missed opportunity, especially given how others previously at their level have progressed.

Five years ago the side defeated Sligo by five points to lift the Lory Meagher Cup, but it’s the Yeats county who have shown how you can take advantage of a run to the final.

“The 2015 season was the last championship win and we weren’t able to push on.

“You take great hope from the likes of Sligo. We beat them then and now they’re playing Christy Ring hurling. A massive, massive turnaround and it’s something every young player in our county should be striving for.

“This could be the end of the road for me in terms of county but we have a serious amount of young lads pushing hard for a place and that can only be good for the county. Christy Ring hurling? Why not.

“The focus before that has to be trying to win this and try to push on to the Nicky Rackard though.

“We all need to knuckle down and work hard for this game, and that goal of moving up a level is there.”

Louth will provide formidable opposition.

The Wee county are managed by former Armagh dual player Paul McCormack and Breslin remembers him as a warrior from their on-pitch battles.

The three games in the Lory Meagher Cup this year have produced two one-point victories and a draw.

Joe Baldwin’s side claimed one of those wins as they earned a 3-10 to 1-15 result  against Louth.

Breslin said that the physicality of McCormack’s side really stood out, although the return of Ciaran Corrigan and Danny Teague after the Fermanagh footballers lost to Down should give the Erne county another couple of reasons to think that they can avoid being caught in their web.

“It’s the two strongest teams in the competition but it’s a pity we didn’t have Warwickshire involved due to Covid,” Breslin continued.

“Louth are a really, really strong physical team. We have a lot of boys just under the six-foot mark while Louth have six-footers in nearly every line.

“We have to use our speed and pace against that physicality, a bit of common sense. We have to play to our strengths and that’s getting the ball in early to our full-forward line because there are goals there if we can.”

Whatever happens, Breslin’s association with hurling will not end. Whether that’s continuing to play for Fermanagh and Lisbellaw remains to be seen, but one thing is for definite – he’ll be on the sideline trying to push East Belfast on.

“I’m just mad about the GAA really and I was just helping out to get them going but sure then myself and another fella from Dungiven, Brian McGuigan, were more or less cornered to take on the management of the team.

“It has been a blessing in disguise. We have maybe 70 or 80 boys at the hurling and I have never experienced that other than when I was playing football with Jordanstown.

“It’s been brilliant, different communities coming together and they’re just mad to learn.

“If people don’t build on that then we’re letting everyone down. Brian  is the same, we want to help them as much as we can.”