McDermott and Burt chase Ulster Junior crown

BY RYAN FERRY

BURT manager Enda McDermott feels his club have been long overdue a good run in the province and he hopes they can grasp their opportunity when they face Lavey in the Ulster Club Junior Hurling Championship Final.

McDermott was part of the Burt side that won the Ulster Junior crown in 2011 when they defeated Creggan Kickhams after a replay.

The Hibernian Park side won four county titles on the trot after that but couldn’t quite crack the provincial Intermediate code, and their dominance at home then started to wane.

However, they have been to the fore at Under 21 level in recent times and it’s no great surprise that they are on the hunt for honours now.

McDermott and co have also seen how the likes of their great rivals Setanta and Castleblayney have kicked on at the higher grade after winning the Ulster Junior title, and they’d love for a victory over Lavey to provide a similar platform for them.

“I was part of that team in 2011. It’s a long time ago now.

“These things don’t come around that often. It’s 14 years since we progressed in any way in Ulster. It’s long overdue in my opinion.

“We beat Creggan in 2011 after a replay and we ended up playing them again in the Intermediate a few years after that and they ended up beating us.

“They have made steps forward and are a good senior team now in Antrim.

“Setanta have moved through the grades as well and it’s definitely a good thing for a club.

“Hopefully it’s a stepping stone for us as well towards next year too.”

It has been a peculiar season for Burt.

They relinquished their Donegal crown at the semi-final stage but with champions Setanta entering the Ulster Senior Championship and beaten finalists St Eunan’s going into the Intermediate, there was a spot open for a Donegal side to make a mark in the Junior and Burt have brought a good attitude to the competition.

Injuries were a factor during the Donegal Championship but they also played without star man Liam McKinney who spent the summer with Westmeath New York.

McDermott said: “He came to me two weeks before our first game to say he had the offer to go away.

“At the end of the day, Liam is young and I’m not going to turn around to him and say ‘no you can’t go, we need you’.

“Liam would be a massive lift to any team whether you have a full squad or not.

“I wouldn’t fault him for going. He’s out of college now and going into full-time work so he probably wouldn’t get that opportunity again. Most people get two weeks in the summer for the holidays and that’s the height of it.

“He was a big loss and then the two Currans – Ciaran and Paddy – did their cruciates and Kieran Brady was injured. I don’t want to make excuses but they were factors for us.”

McKinney was home in time to play for Burt in the Intermediate Football Championship but the hurlers had already lost their semi-final by that stage.

McDermott is adamant that the scheduling of the Donegal Hurling Championship title does not help teams when they head into Ulster in late October/early November.

“Liam was away and back in good time but the championship was over for us.

“I’m like a broken record at this stage but from the time we played Setanta in the county semi-final to when we played Castlewellan two weeks ago, it was 13 weeks of a break.

“Our championship is far too early for any team to prepare for Ulster.

“Eunan’s got beat unfortunately for them and we won. Setanta are out this week in the Senior Championship and in my opinion, it’s hard enough to prepare for that level with competitive games, never mind without them.

“I think something has to be done for the Senior Championship in our county to help teams progress and give Ulster a proper shot.

“We played a couple of friendlies that were alright but you can’t beat competitive hurling.”

Burt could have wrote the year off when they were eliminated in Donegal but when the opportunity to play in the Ulster Junior Championship was mooted, they viewed it as a real chance to finish the year out with a bang.

They’ve beaten Castlewellan (Armagh) and Con Magees (Antrim) to reach the decider.

“When we got the word that there was a possibility of Ulster, we sat down that week to discuss it and we were back training the following week.

“I was interested and the boys were more than interested.

“Since then training has been very good and our numbers have been brilliant. You have 22, 23, 24 during the week when boys are away at college and we’re hitting the thirty mark on a Friday night when everyone is about.

“It has helped us over the last two games and hopefully it will again on Saturday.

“We’re not going to be handed anything and there’s still work to do but the effort and commitment that they have given has been great.

“You’re basically just training for 12 weeks with no games. You have to have interest and commitment to do that.”

Lavey have made light work of Cuchulainns (Armagh) and Cootehill (Cavan) on their way through to the final and are a highly-rated side.

“Lavey even years ago were one of the main teams in Derry.

“I know they might have had a few years where they maybe dropped a wee bit.

“But you can still never underestimate them.

“We have some notes on them but I’m one of these people that prefers to put the focus on our game.

“Obviously there are boys we have to watch but if we play our game and get the performance then we will give ourselves a good chance.

“There will be nothing easy from Lavey, I can tell you that much.”

If Burt succeed, not only will they land the Ulster crown, but they will also advance to the Twinning Final against the British champions where a spot in the All-Ireland semi-finals will be up for grabs.

That should provide plenty of motivation and there’s also the opportunity for the young players to write themselves into the club’s folklore.

“It would be massive for us,” said McDermott.

“Even after winning last weekend, the text messages I’ve been getting have been unreal and the buzz that people are getting from it is great.

“You have underage managers texting to find out is the game definitely Saturday because they are going to get all the children lined up and sorted.

“If they see the club’s senior team winning an Ulster title, that would be something for them to drive towards. It’s a big day for the club.”