“It just erupted on the sideline”- Ryan McMenamin on his red card

Ryan McMenamin is eager to clear up his part in a recent sideline melee, which saw him sent to the stands in Brewster Park.

McMenamin, the newly appointed Fermanagh assistant manager, and Wexford’s Brian Malone were sent off for the incident which saw 16 players and mentors from both sides involved. Speaking on the latest GAA Hour, McMenamin, who served several suspensions for ill-discipline during his time playing with Tyrone, said that for once, the trouble came to him rather than him going looking.

“Well, I think more the wars came to me. But look it was nothing anyway”, he said. “It was one of them things that can happen sometimes. It was a nothing matter so I actually forgot about it and moved on. It actually did come to me for once so I’m happy enough with that.”

The major difference between incidences of the past involving the Canadian born Ulsterman and now, is that McMenamin’s role now requires him to stay on the managerial side of the whitewash. With his new responsibility, so too should come a new level of maturity and McMenamin asserted to be a reformed character.

“My main concern was player health and safety”, he said. “It was just one of those things, it just erupted on the side-line, and look, for me it happened last week. It was one of those things that happens up and down the lines in every game and unfortunately my name was involved in it so it makes it sound worse than it actually was.”

Perhaps it was partly because of the dogged defender’s playing record, that the phone call from Rory Gallagher propositioning McMenamin about the assistant manager role came as such a surprise. In his playing days McMenamin was known for his, self-coined, “banter” and on occasions he even shared words with Gallagher himself.

“I was surprised because I didn’t know who it was. I thought it was a wind up," Ricey admitted. "It was something that was never on my radar. I came across him with Donegal and you might have a few words to say, but it is what it is and if you can’t dwell on that too much, you’ve got to get on.”

He may not have shown Gallagher much respect in his playing days but since working under him at Fermanagh, the Tyrone man has a new-found admiration.

“It’s a great eye opener for myself working along with Rory and Leon and Shane McCabe. It’s learning both ways, I know that Rory and I throw ideas off each other”, he said. “As soon as I came in there was other stuff that they were working on, stuff that I have never seen before that he [Rory Gallagher] was keen to get into Fermanagh. You’re always learning, all the time, and the amount of detail he puts into it seems crazy.”

McMenamin has brought his own ideas to Fermanagh which have been welcomed alongside Gallagher’s visions and though Gallagher may receive credit for any brainwave that he brings, McMenamin’s main concern is ensuring the success of his team.

“It wouldn’t bother me as long as the team won. The only thing I’m worried about is setting up training tonight. If we won a game off my ideas and Rory got the credit I be more than happy with that and I think Rory’s the same”, he said. “I’m a guy that’s happy enough to stay out of the headlines. Anytime I get in the headlines its usually for the wrong reasons so I’m happy enough to stay out.”

Listen to full interview below. This article was written by Mícheál Ó Scannáil.