Hoping to Go the Distance

EMMETT McCluskey is a regular visitor to Owenbeg. He is more than a visitor. With his son Conor being put through his paces with Derry minors, McCluskey senior is busy jogging laps of the spacious Derry training complex. He has been there watching every ball of his son’s career so far: “It is good to have him pushing and encouraging”, said the St Mary’s Magherafelt defender.

 

- Michael McMullan

McCluskey has made a name for him self as a man marker, but now there is more to his game than that. Bessbrook saw him bear down on goal to win a free late in the semi-fi nal replay.

“Declan Cassidy gave me a wee pass. Sometimes it helps if a defender creates an overload, we have the cover that allows me to go sometimes,” McCluskey outlines.

Last summer he smashed home a late goal to sink Tyrone minors. His background in middle distance running and sprinting gave him a grounding that has helped him foster a soccer and GAA career. Something had to give.

“When I was younger, it was Gaelic, running and soccer but when I got older I had to choose. I did cross country with school, I used to go the Northern Ireland and Ulster athletics competitions with the Mid Ulster athletics club,” continued McCloskey.

By U14 level the athletics got parked and more recently his exploits at centre midfi eld with Irish league club Cliftonville have been sparser.

“At the start of this season I was playing with the U20s but that is on the backburner for a while. I fi nd it hard to get up to Belfast with the MacRory and all my study.”

McCluskey was selected in the Ulster College All-Star selection, despite picking up a knee injury in the fi rst trial. He soldiered on in the second trial, aggravating the knee further, so with James Crawford and Giuseppe Lupari out of action, Kevin Brady was short a third defender for the championship stages.