Fermanagh midfielder Marty McGrath has revealed how playing for Ireland in the recent International Rules series helped him get over his cancer surgery. The Ulster Player of the Year was diagnosed with testicular cancer just days before Fermanagh were due to play Derry in the Ulster football semi-final on June 21. He bravely postponed surgery to line out against the Oak Leafers and also played in the drawn and replayed Ulster finals against Armagh as well as in the All-Ireland qualifier against Kildare. McGrath underwent surgery in mid-August, but recovered in double-quick time to attend the International Rules trials and made the squad after Dublin's Bernard Brogan was forced to withdraw. Speaking after he received the Halifax GPA Fair Play Award on Tuesday, McGrath said: "I always wanted to be there. I was thinking the operation is going to put me out. The first question I asked the doctor is when can I go back to run again. He told me a couple of weeks. "Fortunately, I didn't get the call up to trial until two weeks into the trials. I mightn't have been fit to go the first two weeks. I went less than a month after the operation and thankfully it worked out." McGrath, who must undergo check-ups every three months to ensure that the cancer doesn't return, admitted that he has taken inspiration from the battles won by the likes of Mayo's Ronan McGarrity, Kildare's Dermot Earley and Cork hurler Joe Deane against testicular cancer. "You see the people, Ronan McGarritty and Dermot Earley, who have recovered well from it and are playing great football at the minute. You look at them and think 'sure you can get on with it'." Tweet

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