29-05-2025
'There's nothing between the teams' says McDade ahead of Wexford
Skyscraper!
For the new rules have certainly benefitted Lisnaskea and Fermanagh midfielder Joe McDade.
And the sight of the towering McDade plucking the O'Neill's from the clouds has become one of the iconic images in the Erne County and beyond.
As a boy, he admired the late great Brian Óg Maguire and Marty McGrath, powerful men, who like Cristiano Ronaldo, seemed to hang in the air before making those jaw-dropping catches.
Still only 23 McDade is in his fifth season in the county senior colours and is enjoying every minute of it.
'Those old-style midfield battles had kind of gone away with all those short kick-outs but the new rules have given midfielders like me a new lease of life and an opportunity to put myself in the game," he said.
'With 80 per cent of the kick-outs going short in recent years it is a nice change to be able to compete for the ball in the middle of the field and I really enjoy that element.
'When I was younger, I looked up to the late Brian Óg Maguire and he was on the Skea team that won the All-Ireland Intermediate title in 2011, and Marty McGrath for the county.
'Sadly, Brian passed away the following year and that was a terrible tragedy, and he is still deeply missed."
Joe made his competitive debut against Antrim in the NFL in 2021 and he had to go off injured after 15 minutes in Kieran Donnelly's first year in charge so that was not a great start.
McDade who is a shop manager for his father in Clogher and Ballygawley, added that he is really enjoying the lifestyle of a county footballer.
'I am working in Clogher and Ballygawley, and Ballygawley is a very good football town as you might guess.
'It's never easy when you are not playing, and those first few years are hard when you are trying to get into the team.
'But once you are in, the enjoyment levels are huge, and we are a very tight and close-knit squad.
'So, there is that aspect and I would not have it any other way. It's another job but you would not give it up for the world.
McDade has arguably been Fermanagh's stand-out performer in a decidedly mixed season pockmarked by two disappointing defeats to Down (a game they literally threw away) and a shock defeat to Carlow.
There was redemption of sorts last weekend with a big win over lowly Longford.
But Division Four table toppers Wexford are up next weekend in Croke Park in a must-win match for the Erne County.
'In the Carlow game, there was probably a bit of a hangover and a bit of soreness going into the Carlow game from the Down game," he added.
'With the new rules, you never know what any team is going to bring especially those teams who can hit two-pointers.
'But we knew going into the Longford game, it was all or nothing for us and I think when we have our backs against the wall, we do tend to perform a wee bit better, so it was good to put in a better performance in the second half.'
Fermanagh now have some considerable height and physique in central slots in Che and Lee Cullen, McDade, Darragh McGurn, Conor McGee, Ryan Lyons and Garvan Jones and Brandon Horan has been on the bench.
So how much of a boost is this improved aerial power?
'That physical power is vital with the new rules and the kick-outs going long and contests at an all-time high and it is good to have that physicality and size around the middle.
'It is the one thing you can't coach so we have a squad of lads who are well capable of fielding a high ball and that can only be a good thing.'
Before the Carlow game Fermanagh were being rated as one of the sides who could go all the way and actually win the Tailteann Cup.
'But in every division, there is less and less between the top teams and that is why you are seeing so many so-called better teams being overturned, and I think the new rules feeds into that with less certainty in winning possession and especially the two pointers who have had a huge impact on results already.
'Fermanagh would believe we can beat any of the teams in the Tailteann Cup on any given day, but the likes of Wexford bring that element of two-pointers with them.
'They waltzed through Division Four but did not do themselves justice against Limerick in the final in Croke Park.'
But they will use that hurt to go far in the Tailteann Cup and they will see Fermanagh as a scalp they can take and both teams will be fairly confident they can win.
Wexford grabbed a draw with Fermanagh with a last-minute pointed free from keeper Darragh Brookes, but McDade was out that year through injury.
'It just shows there is nothing between the teams, a bounce of a ball.'
