Despite fears of flights being cancelled due to widespread panic over the coronavirus, the Belleek native is confident that nothing will not stop his ambitions of pursuing a professional career in a “dream sport”. Speaking to the Herald Ultan said, “Collective county training has been suspended, so we have to get the work done individually. I have heard nothing yet regarding what’s happening with the trials”, yet the Erne Gaels player remains positive. 

Ultan is one of four young Irish players who have been selected for Aussie Rules trials down under on April 14. “I’ve really enjoyed the challenge of learning a new set of skills from scratch, and as I could see myself improving from week to week, I began to enjoy it more and my enthusiasm for the new challenge is forever increasing”, the county player explained.

“I’m really excited about the trials, I think it’s an unbelievable opportunity to have been selected to travel to Australia and potentially be offered an AFL contract. It’s something I really want to pursue and give myself every opportunity to be selected. 

“Since a young age I’ve always wanted to play sport at a high level, playing for Fermanagh was always a goal of mine. Since getting the opportunity to play AFL has come on my radar, it’s something I really wanted to pursue and give myself every opportunity to achieve this”, he said. 

When asked what it would mean for him to be selected, he said, “It would be unbelievable, the chance to play a sport at a professional level would be amazing, especially a sport so similar to gaelic football. It would be a dream come true. It’s your skills and traits as a player which initially get you selected for trials but there’s so much more to it. Your attitude and commitment to learning a new set of skills and taking on board the information provided have a big part to play in staying in the programme and giving yourself the best opportunity to be selected.”

Ultan hopes to be following in the footsteps of Fermanagh women’s captain Joanne Doonan who joined the Carlton club in Melbourne late last year