Fergal P. McCusker is a

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

er who played for the Derry county team in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. He played club football with Watty Graham's GAC Glen until retiring in 2007. McCusker was part of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland Championship winning side, as well as the 1993 and 1998 Ulster Championship winning teams. He earned a reputation for his ability to play in either defence or attack.

Personal life

McCusker was born in

Maghera Maghera ( ; ) is a small town at the foot of the Glenshane Pass in Northern Ireland. Its population was 4,235 in the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. Formerly in the Barony (Ireland), barony of Loughinsholin within the historic County ...

and attended St Patrick's College there. His brother

Damien Damien is a given name and less frequently a surname. The name is a variation of Damian which comes from the Greek ''Damianos''. This form originates from the Greek derived from the Greek word δαμάζω (damazō), "(I) conquer, master, overco ...

was also in the 1993 Derry team that won the All-Ireland. He works as a bank official and also writes a column for the County Derry Post newspaper. In 2007, he lodged a motion at the Derry GAA convention to rename Derry's training complex Owenbeg, to the Eamonn Coleman Centre of Excellence in honour of legendary Derry GAA figure Eamonn Coleman. Although a founding member of the

Gaelic Players Association The Gaelic Players Association (), or GPA, is the officially recognised player representative body for inter county Gaelic footballers and Hurling, hurlers in Ireland. The GPA's aim is to promote and protect all aspects of player welfare and to ...

(GPA) even coining the organisation's name, McCusker has renounced his membership and in a December 2007 meeting in Newbridge, McCusker publicly spoke out against the direction the organisation had taken in over the recent players' grants issue. On one occasion, he almost came to blows with a Newbridge aficionado who voiced his disapproval of the GPA, McCusker wasn't available to comment at the time and the issue has since died.

Inter-county career

Regarded as one of the best Derry minor players of all time, McCusker was called up at age 17 to the Derry's senior team during the 1988

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

by then manager Tom Scullion. McCusker made his Derry

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

debut that year against

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

and scored a goal in that match to save Derry from relegation. He was part of Derry's 1993 Ulster Championship and All-Ireland winning team, which defeated

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

in the final. McCusker added a second Ulster Championship medal in 1998. He won

medals with Derry in 1992, 1995, 1996 and 2000??, and retired from inter-county football in 2000. McCusker and Derry finished runners-up to

Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in honour of Philip II of Spain ...

in the 1998 National League decider. In September 2008 McCusker was appointed part of a special selection committee set up by the Derry County Board, to interview the candidates for the vacant Derry Senior, Under 21 and Minor managers' positions in both football and hurling. Following the committee's recommendations, Damian Cassidy was formally ratified as new Derry Senior football manager at the county board meeting on 7 October.

Club career

Among other club titles, McCusker won a Derry Minor Football Championship and Derry Senior League medal with Glen in 1987. He played club football up until 2007 when a serious leg break finished his career.

Soccer

Fergal McCusker also had a brief stint playing soccer for Ballyclare Comrades F.C.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCusker, Fergal 1970 births Living people Derry inter-county Gaelic footballers Glen Gaelic footballers People from Maghera Winners of one All-Ireland medal (Gaelic football) Gaelic footballers who switched code Ballyclare Comrades F.C. players Men's association football players not categorized by position Association footballers from County Londonderry Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland Gaelic games players from County Londonderry NIFL Championship players