Corrigan fully believes the defeat could easily have been a win.
“Any day you concede five goals in a championship hurling clash then you are going to struggle to win. When you add into the mix that you are going to play 60 plus minutes with 14 men that it severely impacts your chances of a positive outcome.

“A couple of their goals were rebounds which went to a Monaghan player then on another day would have fell to a Fermanagh defender, but that’s the way it goes sometimes sadly.”

Next up for Fermanagh is Donegal this weekend and Corrigan acknowledges the Tir Chonaill men are a serious outfit.
“Donegal is another huge test for us, especially away from home. They hurled two divisions above us this season so we know what to expect from them. If we can cut out the mistakes then of course we have the potential to win the game.”

For Fermanagh it was well documented that the entire starting team and all but one sub were all Lisbellaw hurlers. With just one hurling club in the county can the Erne county’s small ball fortunes ever be improved?
An under-12 hurling league has started with six clubs, but for Corrigan feels it’s an injustice that hurling cannot attract the same interest and numbers as the footballers.

“It’s a real shame seeing only one team left in Fermanagh. It’s especially painful because to be honest, if you compare modern day football to hurling then there is only one winner in terms of skill, speed and enjoyment, and that’s coming from a dual player.
“At club level, Lisbellaw are playing at a higher level now than ever before and are competing with the best there is in Ulster. Some of our current underage players will hardly have played a game against another Fermanagh team, but they are some of the best underage talents we’ve ever produced, which is testament to the coaching going on.

“So, certainly at club level where it’s a level playing field, hurling is far from dead. The problem is that for Fermanagh to compete at county level we need other clubs. Even if there were five or six other clubs supplying two or three players each to underage county teams, it would be an indescribable help.
“No child is born with a dislike of hurling – they just aren’t given the platform to play it. Fermanagh needs to start at u12 and u14 level with a five or six team competitive scene and then build that up to u16 and minor. If that platform was given to children and no pressure was put on them to quit hurling then things could change. 

“However it will take a serious effort at county board level to support and organise that, and would also need strong personalities within current football-only clubs to give kids the chance to play both sports and not just concentrate on football because it’s easier to run and because they haven’t traditionally played hurling.”