Fergal P. McCusker is a

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

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 (pronounced , ) is a small town at the foot of the Glenshane Pass in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Its population was 4,220 in the 2011 Census, increasing from 3,711 in the 2001 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster Distri ...

and attended St Patrick's College there. His brother Damien 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 ( ga, Cumann na n-Imreoirí Gaelacha), or GPA, is the officially recognised player representative body for inter county Gaelic footballers and hurlers in Ireland. The GPA's aim is to promote and protect all aspects ...

(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 American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

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

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 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 (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland ...

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 Damian Cassidy (born 22 July 1965) is a former Gaelic football manager and former player for the Derry county team in the 1980s and 1990s, who was part of the county's 1993 All-Ireland Championship winning side, starting at left half forward. ...

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 Association footballers not categorized by position Association footballers from Northern Ireland