The Friday Interview: Ryan McCluskey
April 05, 2013
Fermanagh's Ryan McCluskey with Donegal's Caolan Ward during the Mckenna Cup game at Brewster Park. INPHO
Tipped by many to struggle in Division 3 at the start of the season, the Erne County have defied the odds to lead what has been a fiercely competitive division with one round of regulation games remaining. Win or draw with Meath - who are also going for promotion - in Pairc Tailteann on Sunday and they'll be promoted for the second year in-a-row.
"It's great to have things in our own hands," the long-serving defender says.
"We knew it was going to be a tough league, and that some people were writing us off, but we had a good pre-season and that has stood to us. We've had the benefit of having a good pre-season, which we didn't get last year owing to the manager's (Peter Canavan) late appointment.
"There's a good buzz in the camp and we're looking forward to the Meath game now."
He continued: "Meath have a great football tradition and, similar to ourselves, they are going through a bit of change at the moment. It's been a tight division all year; we knew it would come down to the last game. It will be a good test for the championship with Meath also needing to win. With so much at stake, I'm expecting it to be played at championship pace."
Second-placed Monaghan are the only team to have beaten Fermanagh in a campaign which has seen them record wins over Wicklow, Roscommon, Cavan and Sligo, and draw with Antrim. Their form has been highly impressive and McCluskey puts it down to intense competition for places and to the players following management's instructions.
"You have to give credit to Peter and the whole management team," continues Ryan, who is now fully recovered from the sinus cavity fracture that ruled him out of last year's championship.
"We may have taken our eye off the ball a little bit in recent years, but since Peter took over, he has refocused us and reenergised the older players. The players also deserve credit for buying into what the management have had to say. Their attitude has been top-class.
"Another positive is the strength of our squad. There are two players fighting for every position, which is a great thing to be able to say because Fermanagh would have one of the smallest picks of any county."
It speaks volumes for the Erne County's strength in depth that they've been able to keep winning in the absence of key players like James Sherry, Sean Quigley and Eoin Donnelly. Sherry is currently nursing a broken hand, while Quigley and Donnelly are also on the long-term injury list after suffering broken legs.
"We wouldn't have been able to replace the players who got injured if we didn't have a strong panel. It's unfortunate for those lads, but good for the lads who have replaced them," the 31-year-old maintains.
Promotion and a run-out at Croke Park in the Division 3 final would provide Fermanagh with a major boost ahead of their Ulster SFC quarter-final against either Armagh or Cavan on June 16. McCluskey, though, is getting ahead of himself.
"It would a great achievement if we could get promoted for the second successive year. It would guarantee us a higher level of football next year, but we can't look beyond our next game. It's a case of continuing to work hard and preparing as best we can for the championship.
"We play the winners of the preliminary round game between Armagh and Cavan, and that's going to be a big challenge, especially in light of the injuries we've suffered. But we're not looking that far ahead."
Admitting that the tragic death of 24-year-old Brian Og Maguire in a work-related accident last September hit the Fermanagh football fraternity hard, McCluskey reveals there is a strong desire in the squad to honour the Lisnaskea Emmetts clubman's memory.
"We want to do Brian proud," he says.
"He would have been a very influential player for us this year and in years to come. He really led by example - you saw that when he captained his club to an All-Ireland (intermediate) title in 2011. His passing was very hard for all of us to take. Fermanagh is a county where everybody knows everybody. The GAA is very close-knit and Brian was known to everyone in the county."
Now in his 13th season as a Fermanagh senior footballer, McCluskey hasn't given up on his dream of winning an Ulster championship medal. Winning the Anglo-Celt has become an obsession for the Ernesiders who share the unwanted distinction of having never won a senior provincial title with Wicklow. They came tantalisingly close in 2008 when Armagh beat in the Ulster final after a replay, while their 2004 team was certainly good enough to win one as they proved in their backdoor run to the brink of an All-Ireland final appearance.
"The big motivation for us is to win major silverware, whether that be an Ulster or All-Ireland title," the Enniskillen Gaels clubman explains.
"It's something that has never been achieved by any Fermanagh team, and it would nice if we could finally lay that hoodoo to rest. If you talk to guys like Barry Owens and Marty McGrath who have won individual awards like All Stars, they will tell you that they would gladly swap them for an Ulster medal. It hasn't happened for us yet, but we'll keep chipping away and see where it takes us."
Recognised as one of the top defenders in Ulster over the past decade, Ryan made his senior debut for the border county in a National League game against Sligo at Markievicz Park in 2002. In contrast to his inter-county career, Ryan has enjoyed plenty of success at club level. He has won seven Fermanagh senior championship medals with Enniskillen, including six-in-a-row between 1998 and 2003. The county town side reached Ulster club finals in 1999 and 2002, only to lose to Crossmaglen Rangers (Armagh) and Errigal Ciaran (Tyrone) respectively.
McCluskey has also had a successful soccer career with Portadown and Dungannon Swifts in the Irish Premier League. However, he has been concentrating solely on his GAA commitments since Tyrone legend Peter Canavan became Erne County boss at the end of 2011. Tweet
