By Jonathan Hogan

THERE’S no shortage of motivation for Fermanagh captain Shannan McQuade heading into Sunday’s Lidl National Football League Division 4 final — but for the Tempo defender, it’s just as much about putting hard-earned lessons into action.

McQuade was part of the Erne side that edged Antrim 2-8 to 1-10 in the 2019 final to lift their last league silverware. This weekend, she leads them back to St Tiernach’s Park aiming to repeat that success — against none other than the same opponents.

“I was there that day and played, but I wouldn’t really remember too much from it,” she admits. “But there’s definitely been a big change since 2019. Even Eimear [Smyth] did a lot of scoring then and I think she’s come on even more as a player since, and there’s more people around her on the scoresheet too.”

Smyth remains a central figure — the Derrygonnelly forward hit 1-8 in the semi-final win over Sligo — but this Fermanagh team has evolved. Goals from Joanne Doonan, Sinéad Barrett and Cliodhna Martin helped fire CJ McGourty’s side to a thrilling 5-12 to 3-13 victory, sealing their place in Sunday’s showpiece and, crucially, promotion.

It also marked a milestone for McQuade, who had been largely sidelined for six weeks before returning to action with a second-half appearance against Sligo.

“Over the course of the league there were a lot of injuries, so there are players still trying to get back to full match fitness coming into the final,” she says.

“But it showed the strength of the squad too. Girls stepped up, players came in and out of the panel and still got the job done. That’s been impressive.”

Fermanagh have felt the sting of narrow league exits in recent years — including a heartbreaking semi-final defeat by a single, late, late point last year — but this time, they’ve made no mistake.

“That was one of our goals — to learn from the lessons of the last few years and get promotion. We definitely did that,” says McQuade. “Sligo was a great match and there was a lot of learning in it too. They still scored high, so we know there’s things to work on, but we’re excited and looking forward to the final.”

The Erne ladies will need to be at their best against an unbeaten Antrim side fresh from knocking out Leitrim — the reigning Intermediate All-Ireland champions. The Saffs also edged Fermanagh by a single point when the sides met in Tempo earlier this year.

“Antrim’s a very impressive side,” says McQuade. “They’ve just come down from Division 3 and Intermediate, so they’re coming from a high standard. We’re expecting a tough battle, and probably another close one.”

But for McQuade and her teammates, the return to Clones represents a chance to finish the league campaign on a high before rolling into this years’ championship.

“Any day in Clones is a good day, so we’re looking forward to getting out and playing there,” she adds. “I thought last year losing the semi-final helped us then throughout the rest of the year.

“We learned that lesson early on. So hopefully it’s lessons learnt and no more need to be taken now going into the championship this time.”

Meanwhile, while there’s a certain poignancy in facing his native county, Fermanagh boss CJ McGourty’s focus is fully fixed on delivering for a group he says has “given everything” to reach this point.

“It’s an interesting one I suppose but my loyalties lie with Fermanagh and the group that I’ve managed,” he said. “I have to prepare the girls the best I can as an individual but also make sure the management team are delivering on their end of things as well.

“My loyalty is with Fermanagh this weekend and the group that I’ve so much time for and love being a part of, to try and get us over the line in a National League final.”

The challenge ahead is sizeable. Antrim arrive in Clones as the only team in Division 4 with a perfect record – seven wins from seven – including a one-point victory over Fermanagh in Tempo back in February. In their semi-final, they dispatched Intermediate champions Leitrim with five goals, Bronagh Devlin accounting for 2-3 of their 5-8 tally.

“They’ve a load of threats all over the place and it’s a massive challenge for us,” assessed McGourty.

“They’ll probably go into the match as favourites, they haven’t lost all season – and there’s a reason they haven’t lost all season because they’re a very good outfit.

“They were intermediate last year and lost a few players who they’ve got back this year, so for me they’re really a division three side and an intermediate side. We’ll be up against it this weekend but that doesn’t mean we’re going into the match with any lack of confidence ourselves.

“We’re also a good team, we’ve lots of threats around the place and can hurt them in certain aspects of the game. If we’re on our game at the weekend, then it should be the making of a good game.”