By Niall Gartland

A SLIDING doors moment. Last year Fermanagh pushed eventual champions Tyrone right to the pin of their collar in an All-Ireland Intermediate Championship quarter-final clash that went all the way to extra-time.

Watching the Red Hands go on to adorn the Croke Park stage may have prompted a funny feeling within the Fermanagh ranks – that nagging sense of what could have been – but the flipside is that it showed that they are more than fit for this level.

They get their Ulster Intermediate Championship underway against high-flyers Cavan tomorrow evening (Wednesday) at Tempo, and Shannan McQuade, a native of the host club, is hopeful that they can make their mark in the provincial competition and beyond.

“We played Tyrone twice last year in the championship – in Ulster and the All-Ireland – and both results haunted us in a way as we came so close to beating them.

“We went into the Ulster match as major underdogs, so maybe it was a bit of a shock that we came so close to them.

“We were very motivated going into the All-Ireland series as we really put it up to them, but it was disappointing we lost out after extra-time. It was still motivating to see Tyrone go on and win the All-Ireland as it showed it’s possible we can do the same.”

The Erne County endured a solid enough Division Three campaign but a smattering of draws and narrow defeats ultimately put paid to their promotion hopes. They ended their campaign with back-to-back wins and showed their strength on depth on the final day against Limerick with new manager Barry McKenna giving a host of less established players their chance to shine.

“When you look at the divisions, especially Division Three, there’s very little between the teams. At the start of the league, we were a bit unlucky with results that maybe didn’t go our way. Some of the results were disappointing, but overall we are happy with the campaign we had going into the championship.

Depth

“It was great to see everyone get their chance. The depth of the panel and the talent we have coming off the bench make it difficult for management to decide who starts and who comes on. It’s a great position to be in.”

McQuade, who has captained the Fermanagh ladies since 2023, spanning three different management set-ups, doesn’t need to be told that it won’t be easy against Cavan. The Breffni County enter the championship having earned promotion to Division One for the first time ever, and though they fell short in the league final against Donegal, McQuade isn’t sure that’s of any real significance.

“Cavan have been very impressive and are going up to Division One now. We definitely won’t be underestimating them. It’s going to be a battle. They might not have got the result in the league final, but perhaps the pressure was off having already secured promotion. It’ll be a different game so we won’t be taking anything for granted.”