There is nothing better than sibling rivalry to drive you on – getting one over on your brother or sister, claiming bragging rights until the next time.

That competitiveness can bring out the best in everybody.

But as well as that rivalry, for Darragh and Ronan McGurn, the help you receive from family can help push you on to the next level.

In 2019, Darragh took his step into the inter-county set-up with Fermanagh footballers. For Ronan, it was with the hurlers.

Darragh’s progress has been on a steeper curve, and he has been a regular feature for the footballers the last few seasons.

For Ronan, it is this season where he has felt like he is contributing more to the hurling squad than in previous years.

And he credits his brother with helping him with this progress.

“The first year on the panel, I didn’t get any game time; last year, I got a minute in total, and then this year I’ve been contributing a lot more and got to start three games this season,” said the 21-year-old.

“I used to be very heavy. Over lockdown I got my act together, and I suppose even with the help of Darragh giving me S&C programmes, now there is Davey Masterson [S&C coach with Fermanagh hurlers].

“I owe a lot to them to get me in a lot better shape.

“To be fair, Darragh does set the example in the house with his eating and stuff, whereas I used to be coming in, not eating the best stuff.

“But I have got my act together now and it is paying off, and I am getting game time, so maybe he was on to something the whole time.”

Darragh said: “Ronan wasn’t getting much playing time until the last year or two.

“He probably fed off me to try and get himself up a level and got himself in relatively good shape, and it has been different around the house.

“I would have all the food in the house, now he is starting to chip in.

“It’s bad enough trying to feed me – having to feed the two of us has been a bit of a handling.”

When it comes to recent success, it is Ronan who holds the bragging rights. Most recently, he started in the Division 3B League final triumph over Longford.

For Darragh, and indeed Fermanagh footballers, medals are like mythical creatures, the rarity with which they have won them.

“That’s definitely true; he has yet to get any trophies. Getting a league trophy, I have that over him anyway,” said Ronan.

Darragh added: “There’s a bit of banter in the house as well which comes with that competition: ‘We are winning something, you are not’.

“Them winning the league at the weekend – I got a bit of stick they have won something, and I will never win anything!

“It is definitely better to have than not to have it in the house. It brings you on a wee bit.”

The brothers are both in action this weekend with Darragh up first with the footballers against Tyrone in the Ulster Championship.

Ronan and the hurlers are then out on Sunday against the same opposition in the Nicky Rackard Cup.

Underdogs

For both games, the teams will be going in as underdogs, and hoping to cause a shock.

Looking ahead to Saturday, Darragh said: “[It’s] a massive task, but a task you kind of want when you are playing inter-county football, bringing the All-Ireland champions to your home patch. What more would you want, to be fair?

“There was a lot of doubts over them throughout the league, and whether they were at the standards they were at last year, but I think they proved to everyone down in Killarney. That win was massive, and probably came at the right time for them.”

The hurlers lost their Nicky Rackard opener to Donegal last week but Ronan believes the result did not tell the full story.

“I think the result didn’t show how good a performance it was. We went down to 14 men, and that kind of hampered us a wee bit and they kind of pushed on at the end.

“We proved to ourselves and everyone else we can compete in this division. We showed up really well and we know this is the division for us and this is where we want to be and we can push on.

“We are looking forward to Tyrone now,” said Ronan.

On Sunday evening, the results will be in, and will it be a case of one brother having bragging rights over the other again with a win over Tyrone? Or will they both be licking their wounds from defeat?

For them and the people of Fermanagh, let’s hope they are both celebrating.