Damien McCusker (born 21 October 1966) 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 kic ...

er who played for the Derry county team in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. He still plays club football with Watty Graham's GAC Glen. With the exception of the 1989 season, he played as goalkeeper for all his Derry career, while he has played the vast majority of his football out-field for Glen. McCusker was part of Derry's 1993 All-Ireland Championship winning side, as well as the 1987, 1993 and 1998 Ulster Championship winning teams. The public voted him onto the All-Time Derry Team via an online poll in 2007.

Early life

McCusker was born in Maghera and attended school at St Patricks College in the town. His brother

Fergal Fergal or Feargal are Irish, male given names. They are anglicized forms of the name Fearghal.Mairéad Byrne, Irish Baby Names – 25 Apr 2005 The arts *Fergal Keane, OBE (born 1961), Irish writer and broadcaster *Feargal Sharkey (born 1958), for ...

was also in the 1993 Derry team that won the All-Ireland.

Career

School and college football

While at St Patrick's College school McCusker won Ulster Colleges Championship medals in 1982, 1983 and 1984.

Inter-county

McCusker won an Ulster Minor Championship medal in 1984 as part of the successful Derry

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

team. He joined the senior team during the 1984/1985

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 ...

when 17 years old and 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 ...

début in late 1984 against

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

. Having won Ulster Football Championships in 1987 and 1993, he went on to play on Derry's 1993 All-Ireland winning team, which beat

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

in the final and added a third Ulster Championship medal in 1998. He won

medals with Derry in 1992, 1995, and 1996 and has also won Interprovincial Championship/Railway Cup medals with

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

. McCusker initially retired from inter-county football in 1998, but returned in 1999, and again in 2000 after then-goalkeeper Eoin McCloskey was suspended. McCusker has also played on the Derry Masters (Over-40s) team.

Club career

He was part of the Glen team that won the 1983 Derry Intermediate Championship. McCusker won a Derry Senior League medal with Glen in 1987 and claimed back-to-back Derry Junior Football Championships in 2004 and 2005 with Glen Thirds playing in midfield. McCusker was in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

for a short period the 1980s and while there played with St Columbkille's GFC, Boston. He along with fellow Glen man

Enda Gormley Enda Gormley (born 8 March 1966) is a Gaelic footballer who played for the Derry county team in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. He played club football with Maghera club Glen, and currently plays with Belfast club Bredagh. Gormley was part ...

helped the club win a

Boston Senior Football Championship The Boston Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition, played in the Boston region of America. The competition is organised by the Northeast Division Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association. The games are played at th ...

in 1986. He along with Eamonn Higgins is managing Glen for the 2008 season.

Soccer

Damien McCusker also had a brief stint playing

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

for

Ballyclare Comrades F.C. Ballyclare Comrades Football Club is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club playing in the NIFL Championship. The club hails from Ballyclare, County Antrim and plays its home matches at Dixon Park. Club colours are red and white. The ...

He achieved a then club record of four consecutive

clean sheet In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s in 1997.

Honours

County

* All-Ireland Senior Football Championship - Winner (1): 1993 *

- Winner (3): 1992, 1995, 1996. *

Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in early May. The final is usu ...

- Winner (2): 1987, 1993. *

- Runner up: 1992. * Dr McKenna Cup - Winner (1/2?): 1993. * Ulster Minor Football Championship - Winner (1):1983,1984.

Club

*Derry Senior Football League - Winner (1): 1987 * Derry Intermediate Football Championship - Winner (1): 1983 * Derry Junior Football Championship - Winner (2): 2004, 2005 *

- Winner (1): 1986

Province

Railway Cup The GAA Interprovincial Championship ( ga, An Corn Idir-Chúigeach) or Railway Cup (''Corn an Iarnróid'') is the name of two annual Gaelic football and hurling competitions held between the provinces of Ireland. The Connacht, Leinster, Munster ...

- Winner (?): Years?

College

*3 Ulster Colleges medals: 1982, 1983, 1984

Individual

* All Star - Nominated (runner up)?: ???? *Captain Glen Derry Junior Football Championship winning sides: 2004, 2005 Note: The above lists may be incomplete. Please add any other honours you know of.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCusker, Damien 1966 births Living people Derry inter-county Gaelic footballers Glen Gaelic footballers Gaelic football goalkeepers Gaelic football in Massachusetts Gaelic football managers Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States 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 goalkeepers Association footballers from County Londonderry Men's association footballers from Northern Ireland