Gary Maguire will step out as one of Irvinestown’s elder statesmen on Saturday at Brewster Park.

He’s been there and done it already for Irvinestown winning three Intermediate titles since 2004.

The 37-year-old has been donning the St Molaises jersey since 2003 and believes the club is in as strong a position now as it ever has before with an influx of younger players making their mark on the senior side this year.

“The young ones coming in have been a massive boost to the squad,” Maguire said.

“They have been a great mix with the old timers really well. I don’t think of all the time I’ve been playing we’ve had a squad like it.

"I’ve been very impressed with them, they have brought the club to a new level.”

Maguire played in last year’s semi-final defeat to Teemore where Irvinestown pushed the Shamrocks all the way to extra-time before suffering a defeat to the eventual champions.

“It’s never nice losing any game, but losing a semi-final is a hard take,” he added.

“Yes of course, it drives you on to want to do better next year but changing the management team has been a big impact to the team, everyone has really bought into what they want to do.”

After Shane McDermott took over at the start of the year, Irvinestown have confirmed their return to Division One after finishing first in Division Two, only losing to Teemore in the league final. Still their only defeat this year.

However, they will have the chance to put right their wrongs from the last time they played in Brewster Park against Lisnaskea.

Irvinestown won by a point at Emmett Park in the league but the sides played out a cautious draw on the opening weekend of championship action, with a halftime scoreline of just 0-02 apiece.

“The first game was very cagey with both teams not wanting to go all out, but the other game we had a very good first-half but truth be told, we shouldn’t have let them back into the game.

"I’ve been saying this to the lads all year, the only team that will beat us is ourselves, so if the real Shams show up, I know we will win.

"As Frog (McDermott) says at the start of the year, he is here for the long haul, so if he can keep his management team together and all the other coaches driving the youth, the future is very bright for our youth teams in Irvinestown.”