Sunday was 25 years in the making for Ederney legend Marty McGrath as he finally got his hands on the New York Cup.

McGrath has soldiered on for the cause through the good times and the bad for Ederney, and he must have wondered if he would ever get the medal that he so craved, especially after losing the 2018 final.

But on Sunday he achieved that goal with the 39-year-old producing a massive display in the middle of the park as he and his team mates left everything out on the pitch, as they finally got over the line to secure the title.

“I’m delighted, as I’m 25 years working at it,” grinned McGrath on the Brewster Park pitch after the game.

“I remember as a 14-year-old cub watching Ederney take on Derrygonnelly in the quarter final of the championship, and I turned out later on that year when things weren’t going so well for the side, and that was the start of it.”

Marty’s father, Anthony, along with six of his brothers, were part of the Ederney side that last won a Senior Championship title back in 1968, and after the final whistle Marty embraced his father.

“I’ve been trying a long time, and to be honest with you, I saw my father up there and he was reluctant for the hug, but I couldn’t hold myself – I’m surprised I’m not more emotional about it,” he said.

Former All Star, McGrath was part of the side that lost a Championship final 14 years ago to Enniskillen Gaels, but a good crop of young players coming through at the club gave him hope.

“We weren’t always playing in the Senior Championship; we were down in Intermediate for a time as well, but a Minor team came along with the likes of Paul McCusker and Enda Ferris, and got to a couple of Minor finals, so we knew there was something there.

“Thankfully, we all stuck together and there is a great attitude among those players, which is typified by Finbar Gillen tonight, coming back and sacrificing himself after what he suffered in an earlier round,” he said.

Experience

The experience of previous finals also played a part, especially the 2018 one which they lost to Derrygonnelly.

“In 2018, we made a bit more of a deal of it but this year we just played the game and the shorter season, with no occasion, no parade maybe helped us.

“Not once was the final mentioned, and not once was a cup mentioned – it was all about the game, and it was about Derrygonnelly and what they do and what their strengths are.

“You have to narrow it down; you have to look at them and maybe in 2018 the likes of Sean Cassidy and Ryan Morris were very young at that stage, but they stepped up tonight when it really counted.

“You have to hand it to them. The pressure was on, but the pressure was on Derrygonnelly as well, going for six in a row, and we knew that chink might be there if we could get in at them – and we did,” he explained.

Ederney brought a high intensity to the game and were able to sustain that while they also brushed aside the setback of Derrygonnelly’s early goal.

“We knew we had to go to that level, Derrygonnelly have been there and they know how to win it.

“They got the early goal but we were expecting knockbacks, and we weren’t going to let it crack us; it was about the next ball, all the time.”

McGrath also helped his side get a strong footing in the middle of the park as they took a degree of control on the contest.

“Look, Ryan Jones has been the best club player in the county for this last number of years, and Stephen McGullion alongside him has come on leaps and bounds, and he will be a big player for Fermanagh, so we knew we had to stop them.

“I knew Stephen is a danger man going forward, and I had to watch him, and I thought Conor did a good job on Ryan,” he added.

There was always that belief that they had the players to get the job done.

“We read enough about Derrygonnelly being very strong in each position, but we felt that we were a match for them, and we tried our best.

“Derrygonnelly have set the benchmark, and we have to try and see if we can defend this now,” said McGrath.

With the year that it is, there is no Ulster Club for Ederney to prepare for, and while McGrath understands the reasons, he is disappointed not to get a crack at the best teams in the province.

“I suppose, in the circumstances, you can’t be giving out about it, but as you have seen in recent weeks club football is on a high.

“When you have the county players there and a full panel – it made a big difference to have our five county players there at every training, and they drove the whole thing on.

“I thought they might have moved the county football on, and maybe played the club championships, but it is what it is,” he said.