29 year old Devenish club man, Marty O’Brien has been forced to call time on his inter county career following medical advice concerning a long standing knee problem. 
Speaking to the Impartial Reporter Fermanagh boss Pete McGrath explained that O’Brien had confirmed the news to him recently;
“It is obviously devastating for Marty first of all, to have to retire from county action at a relatively young age but he has to follow the medical advice. 
“Last year he had problems with the knee and we had to manage that as best we could and it was a very frustrating time for Marty. It is a great pity and he will be a major loss to the team,” the Down native explained.
O’Brien, a tight marking defender for a number of years with the county was also known for his daring raids forward and ability to create or take scores. 
He was often given the job of marking the oppositions most dangerous forward and he is a real loss to this current Fermanagh squad;
McGrath spoke of O’Brien’s ‘old fashioned values’ and ‘no frills’ approach when describing the dashing defender and said that the Garrison man was a manager’s dream;
“Put it like this if you had 30 Marty O’Briens you wouldn’t really need a manager. The players would be self sufficient and self motivated. 
“He brought old fashioned values such as hard work and honesty and total transparency to the table, you always knew where you stood with Marty and of course he was an excellent player too. The bigger the game the better Marty played,” commented McGrath.
The Erne manager described O’Brien as a quiet character within the squad but explained that his words carried weight when he spoke;
“He would not have been one to be vocal at every team meeting but when he did speak the players really listened and it was always something utterly sensible and to the point.”
McGrath went on to explain that he hoped O’Brien, if able to manage his injury sufficiently, would be able to play a number of years for his club and stated that he knew his club was very important to him. 
On a wider note McGrath conceded that the demands placed on modern inter county players were extremely high;
“Maybe ten to 20 years ago players could get away with doing less training and putting in less time but now that is just not an option. 
“And while it is true that you can and indeed do have to manage each player differently the bottom line is that each player has to be ready come the big games. 
“They have to up to speed and in the best possible condition.”
O’Brien’s loss is another blow for McGrath on the back of the loss of both Richard O’Callaghan and Conall Jones, both of whom are travelling for the foreseeable future;
“These things happen, players become unavailable due to travel or injury or other commitments and we have to just get on with it and that is what we are doing at present,”said the Fermanagh manager.