Victory over Dubs can spur Tyrone on
Beating Dublin in a 2005 All-Ireland quarter-final replay was the catalyst for Tyrone's march to Sam Maguire, and Owen Mulligan - one of the heroes of that team - believes victory for the current crop of Red Hands over the Dubs on Saturday can do likewise.In the drawn game 20 years ago, Mulligan scored one of the greatest goals seen on a football field when selling a pair of dummies before thumping past Stephen Cluxton to bring Tyrone level.Mickey Harte's men would win the replay with Mulligan again finding the net, before taking down Armagh in the semi-final and defeating Kerry in the decider to win a second All-Ireland title in three years.The Cookstown man was part of the Tyrone golden generation which claimed a third triumph in 2008, but his goal against the Dubs is one of of those moments that is replayed and revered to this day."My sister Michelle text into the family WhatsApp group 'happy anniversary' and I thought she was on about my mother and father," Mulligan said, speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Sportsound. "You can be remembered for far worse in the GAA. I was privileged to be part of a great Tyrone team with the glory years but the significance of that goal has followed me around. "It's nice to go to these matches and have people coming up, no matter what county they are, shaking your hand and saying 'you scored the best goal in Croke Park ever', it does make you proud."
Dubs are 'there for the taking' - Mulligan
Every team needs a spark and getting past a fancied Dublin team over two games proved to be the shot in the arm that Tyrone team needed, having lost an Ulster final replay to arch-rivals Armagh previously.Dublin was another team they had many battles against, but the big occasion was what they relished."We'd won the All-Ireland in '03 and in '04 there was a bit of a hangover that carried into 2005. To get the draw and then win the replay was a massive kick-on for us to go and win the All-Ireland," recalled 2005 All-Star Mulligan."As a young lad, you wanted to play in those games and I couldn't understand why teams were getting to Croke Park and choking. Dublin at 'Headquarters' would get any young lad's juices flowing and it did for us."The counties meet again on Saturday in a quarter-final and Mulligan, while expecting a tough battle, feels his county may have enough to get over the line.It won't be easy and there are so many variables, but Mulligan gives Tyrone the edge at midfield and if they can keep a lid on Con O'Callaghan in the Dublin attack, he believes the Red Hands have the firepower to prevail."I think it is finely balanced," he acknowledged."This is a massive game to kick-on your season and no better place than Headquarters against Dublin who are there for the taking. If the Tyrone forwards can click, we have so much going for us."Listen to the full interview with Owen Mulligan on Sportsound, which begins at 14:00 BST on Saturday 28 June.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
Legendary trainer Hills dies aged 88
Legendary racehorse trainer Barry Hills has died aged Lambourn-based trainer enjoyed more than 3,200 wins during a career lasting over 40 a career as a jockey and head lad, he began training in 1969 and won 10 British and Irish Classics, including the 2,000 Guineas with Tap On Wood in 1979 and the 1,000 Guineas with Ghanaati 30 years racked up victories across the world, including the 1973 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe with Rheingold, and broke records with Nagwa and Further Flight. Nagwa scored 13 wins as a juvenile and Further Flight landed five Jockey Club overcame serious illnesses and throat cancer to carry on retired in 2011 and handed over to his son Charlie, but came out of retirement for a period after the death of his son Michael and Richard were both successful jockeys.
BBC News
5 hours ago
- BBC News
Victory over Dubs can spur Tyrone on
Beating Dublin in a 2005 All-Ireland quarter-final replay was the catalyst for Tyrone's march to Sam Maguire, and Owen Mulligan - one of the heroes of that team - believes victory for the current crop of Red Hands over the Dubs on Saturday can do the drawn game 20 years ago, Mulligan scored one of the greatest goals seen on a football field when selling a pair of dummies before thumping past Stephen Cluxton to bring Tyrone Harte's men would win the replay with Mulligan again finding the net, before taking down Armagh in the semi-final and defeating Kerry in the decider to win a second All-Ireland title in three Cookstown man was part of the Tyrone golden generation which claimed a third triumph in 2008, but his goal against the Dubs is one of of those moments that is replayed and revered to this day."My sister Michelle text into the family WhatsApp group 'happy anniversary' and I thought she was on about my mother and father," Mulligan said, speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Sportsound. "You can be remembered for far worse in the GAA. I was privileged to be part of a great Tyrone team with the glory years but the significance of that goal has followed me around. "It's nice to go to these matches and have people coming up, no matter what county they are, shaking your hand and saying 'you scored the best goal in Croke Park ever', it does make you proud." Dubs are 'there for the taking' - Mulligan Every team needs a spark and getting past a fancied Dublin team over two games proved to be the shot in the arm that Tyrone team needed, having lost an Ulster final replay to arch-rivals Armagh was another team they had many battles against, but the big occasion was what they relished."We'd won the All-Ireland in '03 and in '04 there was a bit of a hangover that carried into 2005. To get the draw and then win the replay was a massive kick-on for us to go and win the All-Ireland," recalled 2005 All-Star Mulligan."As a young lad, you wanted to play in those games and I couldn't understand why teams were getting to Croke Park and choking. Dublin at 'Headquarters' would get any young lad's juices flowing and it did for us."The counties meet again on Saturday in a quarter-final and Mulligan, while expecting a tough battle, feels his county may have enough to get over the won't be easy and there are so many variables, but Mulligan gives Tyrone the edge at midfield and if they can keep a lid on Con O'Callaghan in the Dublin attack, he believes the Red Hands have the firepower to prevail."I think it is finely balanced," he acknowledged."This is a massive game to kick-on your season and no better place than Headquarters against Dublin who are there for the taking. If the Tyrone forwards can click, we have so much going for us."Listen to the full interview with Owen Mulligan on Sportsound, which begins at 14:00 BST on Saturday 28 June.
Belfast Telegraph
5 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
‘The people of Armagh have been paying my rent this last year': Viral singer opens up on beating cancer and becoming music legend in GAA scene
They say a lot can happen in a year, and south Armagh man Paul Loughran is the perfect testament to that. From being diagnosed with testicular cancer, to writing his county's most prolific GAA anthem, and then travelling the world based on his band's viral sensations — Paul is the ideal example of optimism, hard work and resilience. He makes up one-third of local folk group Plenty in the Tank, whose song 'G Stands For Geezer' became the theme tune for Armagh GAA's run to only their second All-Ireland win in 2024. Named aptly after the manager of the senior men's Gaelic football team, Kieran McGeeney — aka 'Geezer' — the song hit number 20 in the official Irish Singles Chart last August following the final. The song now has well over two million streams on the music platform Spotify, and it's picking up even more traction, now that Armagh are in the quarter-finals of the championship this weekend. Paul wrote the song, which he says has completely changed his life, but just a few months previous, he had received another life-changing announcement. 'I was diagnosed with stage two bilateral testicular cancer in early November 2023, which means I had cancer on both sides, and I had surgeries at the end of November and then that January (2024),' the 29-year-old explained. 'I then had a full month of chemo and got the all-clear in March. I think I left the cancer centre on March 14th or 15th, and then I went back to gigging again on St Paddy's Day, just a few days later. 'I had a sort of serious turnaround. Like, especially coming out of that [cancer treatment], I had no money whatsoever. 'I spent all my savings on just being alive for that couple of months, basically, and paying my bills and stuff.' What the Belleeks clubman didn't then realise, was that just a short while later, his fellow Armagh GAA fans would be helping sort out his bills. 'G Stands For Geezer' was created just a few weeks before Armagh went up against Galway in the All-Ireland final last July, with Paul dedicating one day in his bedroom to writing it and to say it took off instantly would be an understatement. 'I posted it on TikTok on a Wednesday afternoon and a couple of hours later it had a quarter of a million views,' he added. 'It was one of the first TikTok videos I ever posted and the reaction was absolutely mental.' Paul is even more grateful to the Armagh team for actually winning the Sam Maguire after it all, as the entire whirlwind has opened up more opportunities than ever before for Plenty In The Tank. 'We got to go to New York there with the team for a Q&A thing, we got to play in Manhattan, which was unbelievable, and then we got to go out to Abu Dhabi and Dubai there for Paddy's week,' said Paul. 'So we've got to get out into the world and do gigs, in places we'd obviously never have been gigging in before, and better still, we're still getting gigs from it; the amount of weddings we've been booked for just for people around Armagh — we're flat out.' The song has been getting around 10,000 streams a day since its release last summer, and that's on average, levelled out. It has been picking up again since the championship started this year, and as Armagh continue to get closer to an elusive second consecutive Sam Maguire trophy, Paul said the views and listens are increasingly climbing. He continued: 'I remember we were celebrating with the boys [Armagh team] over in New York, and they were all like: 'this is mental, and thank you for writing that song' or whatever. 'And I was saying, 'no, thank you for winning!' 'Because it wouldn't have been anywhere near as big as it was if we just got beaten in the final].' Reflecting on the last 12 months — beating cancer, extensive success and having their band be forever etched in GAA history - Paul noted that 'it was honestly the best year of my life'. He has also been able to give back to those who helped him, with Plenty In The Tank raising £2,000 for two charities — Friends of the Cancer Centre and Musicians NI. 'And now, I've been running for six weeks. I've signed up for the Belfast Half Marathon to try and raise a bit more money for Friends of the Cancer Centre. So, I'm trying my best to give back to them,' he said. 'The people of Armagh are absolute legends. I'm sorry to offend, but they're the absolute best fan base in the world, out of any sport, in any country. 'Thanks an absolute million to anybody that ever streamed or clicked on any videos that had 'G Stands For Geezer' on it — because you are still paying my rent.'
