Fermanagh are one of 13 teams that have played in the Tailteann in each of its five editions. For a while they appeared lukewarm about it. As if they could take or leave it. That the league was a bigger deal to them. In 2023 and 2024 they either played in or won promotion to Division 2, making them one of the three highest-ranked teams in the Tailteann, yet both summers they failed to get beyond the quarter-finals. Last year they made it to the
semi-finals. Croke Park. It still wasn’t that much to write or even leave home about though; only the die-hards like Fr Brian D’Arcy were amongst the 14,000 that bothered to attend a semi-final double bill that saw their county lose lamely to Kildare, 1-13 to 0-9, in what proved to be the last game of Kieran Donnelly’s four-year tenure. But this weekend they’ll return to Croker in their thousands, just as they’ve routinely flooded onto Brewster Park in their hundreds this summer. The way it’s
worked out, all five of their championship matches this year have been in Enniskillen. You might remember in the Ulster Championship Darragh McGurn taking Armagh for 1-12 from play. Then in the new-look Tailteann – no group games or dead-rubbers – Declan Bonner’s side had a home draw every round, allowing them to put up good numbers on the scoreboard – 1-24 against Longford, 2-20 against Wexford, 3-27 against New York and last week then 2-25 against Sligo – and through the turnstiles at Brewster.
Old-timers who had resigned to never again see its pitch invaded like it was after the 2015 qualifier win over Roscommon are basking in the sight of kids mixing and taking selfies with a new generation of heroes – McGurn, Conor Love, Shane McDermott’s young lad Mattie, Ultan Kelm. A year that saw them relegated to Division 4 has turned out to be a joyous one, all because of the Tailteann and fully embracing it. That said, it’s still hardly 2004 when the county also
made it to the last four of an All-Ireland competition, or 2008 or even 2018 when Fermanagh took over Fermanagh Street on Ulster final day. Most of the country tuned in to watch those matches. Players like Owens, McGrath, Quigley were household names, some of them All-Stars even. Unless you’re from Fermanagh, you likely hadn’t heard of Love, Kelm or McDermott’s young lad up before. And even if you had, you’re hardly going to watch the second half of their game against Down (on RTÉ
2) over Kerry-Armagh. Or pick Wicklow-Offaly on the RTÉ News Channel ahead of the concluding stages of the match in Killarney or the throw in for Mayo-Meath. That’s the continuing problem with the Tailteann. Even though its semi-finals are played in Croke Park and are televised live by the national broadcaster, they barely get a look-in with everything else that’s going on. Its participating counties may no longer treat it as an afterthought but the general public still does. And should Down become the competition’s
first two-time winners, it will copper-fasten the impression that its favourites inevitably win in out, that it always seems to have a team that is simply too good for it. That while a Fermanagh or Wicklow would love to win it, invariably a Down – just like Meath and Kildare before them – actually do win it and tend not to be overly-excited about it because they think they’re above it. The reality can be different to the perception. In its inaugural year of 2022,
its highest-ranked team, Offaly, with John Maughan and Tomás Ó Sé in their dugout, were ambushed in the semi-final by eventual winners Westmeath. The following year Meath only beat Antrim by two points in the semi-final. In 2024 the two sides who had operated in Division 2 that spring – overwhelming favourites Kildare and Fermanagh – were both knocked out before the semi-final stage. Last year Kildare eventually justified their favourites’ tag but only after beating Offaly by a point in the quarter-final and Limerick
by two points in the final, the second consecutive year a Division 4 side had made it to the decider and only lost by that margin. This year Down have been beaten by Offaly by eight points. Their fellow Division 3 finalists, Wexford, have been eliminated, having used up both their lives. Reaching a Tailteann Cup final is no formality. None of the deciders to date have featured the two highest-ranking teams, though that would change this year were Down and Offaly to win on
Saturday. A few years ago a majority of the Tailteann’s participants would have viewed it as a less significant competition than the national league. That’s no longer the case. But some counties continue to drift, namely the bottom half of Division 4. To date 21 counties have played in the Tailteann at some point (Twelve haven’t: Connacht’s traditional big three; Munster’s big two; Derry, Donegal, Tyrone, Armagh and Monaghan from Ulster; and in Leinster, obviously Dublin, and not so obviously, Louth). There have been four
different winners and three other runners-up. Five more counties have been semi-finalists not just once but twice without yet winning promotion to the Sam Maguire: Offaly, Fermanagh, Wicklow, Sligo and Antrim. A further three have made at least one quarter-final: Leitrim (2022), Carlow twice, and Wexford three times. Longford though still haven’t, as encouraging as this year’s away win to Clare was. Neither have London, Tipperary and Waterford. Should they really be in the same competition as a Down who won Division 3 and beat
Donegal just a couple of months ago? Will Antrim and Sligo eventually lose heart and interest in a competition they’re unlikely to win ahead of some traditional power or Division 2 team? A third tier was touted as a possible solution but there’s hardly the room or numbers for that now. Look at the buzz the Sam Maguire has generated with the mad scramble to make its last 12 and now last 8; you lose all that if you mess with the current 16 (Sam
Maguire) and 17 (Tailteann) format. Croke Park must feel it has finally hit the sweet spot, minimising mismatches (no one wants a return to Armagh and Waterford meeting in the qualifiers) and the promise of a golden ticket to the Sam Maguire (or threat of a trapdoor to the Tailteann) incentivising Division 2 and 3 teams to fight for a provincial final spot and as high a league position as possible. A few tweaks could be made around the margins. Maybe extend the number of
teams in the Sam Maguire to 17 or 18. Play the Tailteann final the day before the All-Ireland final itself so there’s more time and room to watch it and the semi-finals. But overall the formats are working for the counties that are working. Look at Louth. Westmeath. And now a Fermanagh too.
Tailteann Cup, Fermanagh, Croke Park, Brewster Park, Declan Bonner, Darragh McGurn, Down, Offaly, Wexford, Sam Maguire, Kieran Donnelly