This year's sole Fermanagh competitior in the Ulster Final of the GAA's Scór na nÓg competition is an instrumental family who hail from Devenish.

On Saturday night Eoghan, Blathine and Ruairi Maguire from Cashel, will travel to Silverbridge, Co. Armagh to take on the cream of Ulster's crop and in doing so will not only represent the Garrison club but will also fly the flag for the county.

Despite only being 11, 13, and 16, the Maguires are familiar faces on the local traditional music scene and are a family rapidly making a name for themselves in both competitive and entertainment circles.

Under the influence of parents Francis and Bernie, and their tutor Seamus Sweeney from Ballyshannon, they can frequently be seen 'all over' singing and entertaining throughout the county as well as in the border villages of Leitrim, Cavan and Donegal. They are regular competitiors in Fleadh, Feis, and Scór, and among their travelling pursuits, have journeyed to Scotland and England, where among others, they have played at the St. Patrick's Day Festival in Huddersfield, and competed against the best in the UK in the All-Britain Fleadh. They are also members of Botha Comhaltas where they have received encouragement and support from both the branch and Roslea's Gary Lynch who works in Comhaltas headquarters in Dublin, an instrumental figure in strengthening traditional music in Fermanagh.

Ever since they can remember the three have played and enjoyed music, something that was naturally instilled in them as they come from a family steeped in traditional music. The three credit 'Granda Denis' (Maguire) for their love of music and ability to both sing and play. Denis himself was a prominent member of the fifties and sixties showband era and played in family band 'The Blue Haven'. Excelling on the saxaphone, drums and tin whistle, he has since passed on a wealth of knowledge and skill to his younger generation of grandchildren.

Eoghan, a student at St. Michael's College and the eldest of the three, plays the banjo, tin whistle, guitar and drums. Blathine, a pupil at Mount Lourdes supplies the vocals, as well as playing the tin whistle, flute and piano, while Ruairi, a pupil at St. Martin's Primary School, despite only being 11 is a dab hand on the fiddle, banjo, mandolin and piano.

The family competed in the county heat of Scór which was held in Boho Community Centre before Christmas. Later they went on to represent Devenish and Fermanagh in the Ulster semi-final which was held in St. Ronan's Hall, Lisnaskea where they fought off stiff competition from other represented clubs in Tyrone and Donegal.

In Silverbridge, the trio will be directed by Devenish's cultural officers Mary Cullen and Rosaleen O'Brien. They will play two instrumental pieces, a jig and a reel, the same compositions they have performed in earlier stages of the competition.

Come showtime on Saturday night and there will be more than one worthy incentive for the family's performance to be at its best.

For while the Maguires have represented Devenish at Scór since 1999, this weekend is their first Ulster final, something that is made all the more significant owing to the fact that this is Eoghan's last competitive year at this level of the contest.

That said, as Eoghan explains, there is another figure, a man at the heart of Ulster Scór that the family will be thinking of when they hit the stage on Saturday night.

"It is great that in the same year that Peter Carty has been elected to county chairman that we are representing our club and county."