Fermanagh Captain John Duffy did not expect to be playing championship hurling in November in Croke Park, but with silverware on the line, it is something that he is relishing as Fermanagh look to secure the Lory Meagher Cup.

Covid-19 has left this year’s GAA season being a unique one, with a Winter championship and no crowd, but he is still looking forward to stepping out on to the hollow turf at Headquarters on Saturday afternoon.

“It is light at the end of the tunnel after the long year that we have put in, and we are looking forward to Saturday and getting out on to Croke Park.

“With everything that has gone on, it is not ideal – a final in November – but we are in a final and one win away from a Lory Meagher, so we will take that as it comes.

“It will be different, and there will be no crowd, but I suppose whenever you are on the grass, you don’t really be looking around – you try to ignore all that stuff and try and focus on the game, and try to get the win,” he said.

Fermanagh did not have the best league campaign at the start of the year but, as Duffy stresses, it is all about getting it right for the championship.

“We didn’t have the best league campaign but at the end of the day it is about the championship. You want to win a championship, and you want to be in Croke Park,” he added.

For the player himself, he is just glad to be playing, having suffered a number of serious injuries.

‘No better feeling’

“I have done a couple of cruciates but at the end of the day there is no better feeling than getting out on the pitch and pucking about with a ball; there is no better thrill that you will ever get.

“This is a chance to get out on Croke Park, and you have to take these moments as they come and relish them,” he added.

Duffy is now considered one of the senior figures in the side, and he is excited about the crop of young players who have come onto the scene over the past couple of years.

“Thankfully, we have had youth coming through this past two years maybe, and there is some serious talent in those young lads. They have a good head on them; they are smart on the ball, and they are physical and fit, and adding them to the squad has really helped us,” he said.

However, he says that it will be up to the more experienced players in the squad to help the younger members of the team settle into the final on Saturday.

“We have a lot of young lads there, but we also have a lot of experienced heads there too, in the likes of Mark Slevin, Francie McBrien and JP McGarry, and those lads will help to settle the younger players down good and early in the game.”

Duffy also feels that the strength of the squad will play a key role on Saturday.

“We have used all our subs in every game so far, and I have no doubt that in Croke Park – which is such a fast pitch to play on – they are going to be all needed again; it is a squad game.

“Thankfully, we have a good squad; there are the young lads, but there will also be some experienced men on the bench, and they will be chomping at the bit to get in and get going,”said the Erne Captain.

So, what of Saturday’s game and opponents, Louth?

“To be fair, we kind of got out of jail against them in the group stage, and I think we are still to be going in underdogs as they are coming in from a higher division than us.

“They will be well prepped and will know what we are all about but, likewise, we know what they are all about, too. It will be a tough one, but we’ll try and come out fighting.”

And he knows what a win would mean to the Fermanagh hurling fraternity.

“There is a wee buzz around the county at the minute, and this past couple of years there has been a lot of work going on in the background, and the sport has been picking up with a number of young clubs coming through, so this is a key moment for Fermanagh hurling.

“We want to push on and give those young lads the inspiration to keep the ball and stick in the hand. It is quite an important game for us.”

Indeed, he also wants to see the young players getting used to winning silverware early in their careers.

“It was 2015 since we last won, and we maybe didn’t think it would take so long to get back here, but we have been knocking on the door this past two or three years.

“There is only a handful of us who have won it before, and it would be great to get some of those young lads bred into a winning mentality.”