Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
WATER WAY TO FINISH
Veteran Mccluskey Ernes final shot at glory with appeal and he’d love to walk off into sunset with trophy
HE holds the dubious honour of being the longest-serving inter-county player in the country and Ryan Mccluskey says “fire in the belly” is what’s kept him at the coal face, still mining for precious metal.
A Fermanagh player since the last millennium, no-one has waited longer for an Ulster medal and irrespective of the rest of his teammates, tomorrow’s D-day with Donegal will be his last chance to get one.
He is fortunate to be able to line out in Clones after being sent to the stands in the semi-final win over Monaghan for squirting water at Drew Wylie in his role as ‘maor uisce’.
Mccluskey was a Fermanagh substitute on the day but, because he was referred to as a water carrier in the referee’s report, his suspension was quashed on appeal. The 37-year-old has known more dark days than joyous ones at county level but remains evergreen.
“You play the game to win trophies and be part of that team element and to win things, but you could ask all the men in the county who played long before me and they’d bite your hand off for a provincial medal.
“I’m grateful to have one more chance.”
Always the shrewd ‘baller’ at the back with a knack of sensing danger, Mccluskey is the only survivor from Fermanagh’s last Ulster final appearance in 2008.
They should have beaten Armagh but ended up drawing the game. Underdogs only get one shot at it, and the inevitable beating followed in the replay (below).
If they had got over the line that year under Malachy O’rourke and won a fairytale first provincial title, would he still be there now?
“That’s a good question, I don’t know. It was hard taking those defeats in when you’re youthful. Ulster football’s a hard road and you have to be grateful for every chance you get to be in a final,” he replied.
“Would I still be here if we’d won (in 2008)? I probably would be knocking about here still doing something alright.
“God knows… I’d be water carrier or something. Or maybe I’d have been wiser and listened to some of those doctors’ consultations!
“It’s been a massive part of my life on and off the pitch.
“It’s been well documented in players’ lives that there is too much commitment and a professional side of it. Maybe I have been regimented by it at this stage but it’s something that I have loved.”
As well as a long, happy, association with his club Enniskillen Gaels, Mccluskey had a decent soccer career with Dungannon, Portadown, Sligo Rovers and Cliftonville.
But Fermanagh has always been a huge part of his life and even last year, after a mediocre final year under Pete Mcgrath, something prevented him from doing the sensible thing and announcing his retirement.
And when rumours circulated about Gallagher being interested in a quick turnaround from Donegal to Fermanagh as manager, he knew he was going nowhere.
“It was an easy decision,” he admits. “I knew his footballing brain and I knew his form. I knew from being on the pitch beside him how intelligent he was on the pitch.
“And to learn as much as I could as well. I still felt, and feel, that I have something to give to the squad. When I talked to that man (Gallagher) prior to his appointment, I was taken aback by him and delighted to have the chance to rejoin the squad and to try to get back in and win that elusive medal.”
Gallagher’s managerial team has insisted they stick to the process rather than the big picture swirling around outside the camp.
But when he lifts his head even for a brief second, Mccluskey knows too well what a win would mean.
“We battle the odds every year, in every game. It would be huge.
“A massive, massive, step in Fermanagh football.”