In his prime, Shane McDermott was a dashing athletic centre-back for Fermanagh and was a key figure for the county in that magical year of 2004 when they came within an ace of reaching an All-Ireland final.

But he was also the mainstay of many St Pat’s Donagh sides and got his hands on the famous New York Cup in 2008.

However, It was a happy day for Irvinestown when romance called Shane and he moved to the sports-mad north Fermanagh town when he married Ciara Doonan who also comes from a very strong GAA family.

“I am in Irvinesown for nearly 18 years and I am married to Ciara Doonan who is still playing with the Irvinestown Ladies.

“I was coming from a rural club and am a very proud St Pat’s man and it was very different coming to Irvinestown.

“Irvinestown is a pretty big town, but the GAA has been growing rapidly in the town over the years.

“There are other sports but there is a lot of good work being done by various people and the underage is going very well.”

Shane became involved about a decade ago when his son Mattie began playing with the club.

“That was it and I am a proud St Pat’s man, and it was hard to make that switch in the beginning but the whole family are involved.

“Mattie, Ella, Louis and Moya are all involved in various sports as well as music, so it is a busy house, and it is a great help that Ciara is so much involved as well. It is great for the children as well.” 

On Saturday they lock horns with Lisnaskea Emmetts in the Intermediate final – a proud side with loads of senior county titles- and also ironically a side with whom McDermott had many stirring battles.

Irvinestown have torqued through the Fermanagh underage undefeated and recently took their fourth Erne minor League title on the trot.

And Shane’s gifted son Mattie McDermott, the darting Barry Goodwin and Oisin Swift are all key figures on the Irvinestown senior as well as the minor team.

In their recent semi-final win over Division One side Belcoo- a whirlwind start gave them a momentum they never lost as they deservedly earned a place in Saturday's final showdown in Brewster Park.

“We went hard at the start and got a few scores on the board early and it gave us a good platform.

“As expected, Belcoo came back strongly in the second half but we showed loads of composure to see the game out and that was pleasing.

“This was a big win for us as Belcoo are a Division One team and for us who have been operating in Division Two all year, it has been a big step up and semi-finals are for winning.

“We managed to finish well, and the lads communicated well and managed to regain control of the game.”

But, youth aside, Irvinestown also have a good mix of experienced players like Gary Maguire, Michael Mahon, Liam Murphy, the Largo Elis brothers, and John Doonan who are all key players.

However, while there is a fair bit of youth in the Irvinestown side- they are well used to winning which is a great habit.

But he admits that his minor squad was lucky to get over Belnaleck in the minor championship last week.

McDermott watched Skea against Tempo and while they gave away a few goals, he was impressed with his former neighbours.

“They had a flying start and really dominated from the off, and while they conceded a few goals late on, the game was pretty much over by then.

“But that is a testament to Tempo’s fighting spirit but Skea pretty much controlled the game pretty much from the start.

“They have Tom and Conor Clarke who are very strong around the middle as well as Justy and Joe McDade who are commanding figures as well as Mark Little who is making the whole thing tick.”

But for quite a few of McDermott’s squad, this will be their first Intermediate final.

“It is but it is exactly where they want to be and Irvinestown has a fairly rich tradition in winning Intermediate titles- winning three to four since 2000.

“The last time the club won an Intermediate title was in 2015 and we have quite a few survivors from that side so that will be a help on Saturday.

“We feel we did not turn up in the Division Two final against Teemore so there is a bit of hunger to make up for that loss.”

McDermott added: “For almost half the team- this will be their first final- but this is well balanced by the older heads who know what it takes to win an Ulster title- which is a great help.

“But Skea have a bit of momentum, and it will be a tough test on Saturday.”