Fermanagh goalkeeper Mark Curry accepts that this could well be his last game for the county and, if it is, he is determined to try and go out on a high by securing his second Lory Meagher winners medal.

Curry, who lives and plays his club hurling in Cavan, has been involved in the senior set-up since 2011, and was part of the side that won the Lory Meagher Cup in 2015 – and he would love to leave the county in a strong position by seeing off Louth in Saturday’s Croke Park showdown.

“For some of us, this could be our last game and we all want to finish on a high. It would be brilliant to win another Lory Meagher, but more importantly, it would be brilliant for the county and might encourage others to pick up the hurl,” he said.

The goalkeeper feels that Fermanagh hurling is moving in the right direction, with a number of clubs fielding teams at underage level, and some of those players are now beginning to filter through to the senior Fermanagh squad.

“You need a couple of players coming through each year and with only one club in Fermanagh that can be hard, but now with the underage system going the way it is, you have the likes of Belnaleck, Erne Gaels and St. Aidan’s all competing, and that will only benefit hurling.

“We have Paul Johnston, from Erne Gaels, who came in this year; we have Vinny Woods, from Lisnaskea, who has come back; and the likes of Ronan McGurran, from Belnaleck, and that is great.”

With Tom Keenan and Caolan Duffy among the young players who have made their mark, Curry believes there is a good blend in the squad.

“You have six of the players left from 2015, and then there are the young lads, and they can only learn from the likes of John Duffy, Francie McBrien, Andrew Breslin and Shea Curran,” he added.

And he says that with a number of players having returned to the squad, there is a good competition for places ahead of the final.

“We have JP McCarry back and Ciaran [Corrigan] and Danny [Teague] have come in after the football finished, so that is a boost for us, and places are up for grabs, which is what you want,” he said.

2020 has been a disjointed year for all sports, and hurling was no different. Fermanagh did not have the results they would have wished for in the league, but Curry says that they worked hard during the lockdown and through to the championship.

“There is a lot of work that has gone in this year and, with the pandemic, we were doing our own programmes at home and it wasn’t easy, especially for the boys who live away, but we are in it for the love of the game and for Fermanagh.”

And that work paid off during the round-robin stage of the Lory Meagher Cup as Fermanagh came through to reach the final.

“The first match against Louth was very tight. We were on the back foot from the start, but our defence held in for the first half and our forwards came into it in the second half.

“We had to come from behind to win against Louth, and we came from four points down to draw with Cavan, so we know we have that determination and grit in the team,” he explained.

Curry expects another close game against Louth on Saturday.

“It will be tight again. Louth are a very big, physical team and they will be determined to overcome that defeat that got earlier from us.

“We got a last-minute goal to win it and they won’t fear Fermanagh, but we’ll be looking to give it our best,” he said.