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Extra.ie
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Extra.ie
Why multiple Sam Maguires now look inevitable for Tyrone
Whatever the outcome in Croke Park tomorrow evening, be certain that Tyrone are going nowhere. The profile of the senior squad is encouraging and it is in the care of a smart manager. But the real reason for optimism among Tyrone supporters relates to their underage success. It has been so consistently bountiful that multiple Sam Maguires look inevitable — and that's allowing for the notoriously tenuous connections between underage talent and senior delivery. Last week's minor final win over Kerry confirmed Tyrone as champions in the two prestige underage competitions this season, following their Under 20 triumph over Louth in May (they beat Kerry in the semi-final en route to that title, after defeating them in last year's decider at the same grade. Tyrone stalk the Kingdom far beyond the senior grade). The Tyrone team celebrate with the cup after the Electric Ireland GAA Football All-Ireland Minor Championship final match between Kerry and Tyrone at Cedral St Conleth's Park in Newbridge, Kildare. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile It was their fourth minor title in 15 years and their sixth since 2001. They have won three of the last four U20 titles as well, while also winning it in 2001, making them only the second county to do the underage double twice. And that matters because history shows us that the years immediately after these doubles invariably bring senior success. The first county to do it was Kerry in 1975, and thereafter dawned the Golden Years. Cork did it in 1981, and by the end of that decade, they were on their way to winning back-to-back All-Irelands. Then came Tyrone's double in 2001, before Dublin did it in 2012 — a year before Jim Gavin started building the greatest team of all time. Tyrone's Eoin McElholm celebrates scoring a late point. Pic: INPHO/James Crombie The one exception is, fittingly, Cork: they did it in 2019 but never got the dividend at senior level. That's as much about coaching and development structures within a county currently trying to correct generations of drift when it comes to football. But where the proper support is in place, prepared counties reap the bounty from a gush of success like the one the Red Hand County have enjoyed this season. Jack O'Connor, steeped in the schools and underage game himself, was aware of what Tyrone are building when he spoke before tomorrow's game. 'They have really good structures and really good people involved in coaching in the schools,' he said. David Clifford of Kerry celebrates with manager Jack O'Connor after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-final match between Armagh and Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile 'I'm not saying there are not good people involved in the schools down here but that's what it comes down to, it comes down to the quality of the people involved in coaching.' Mention of schools is pertinent, too: Omagh CBS have won two of the last three Hogan Cups, the prestigious senior schools competition. Tyrone also won last week's minor decider without the prodigious Joel Kerr, who signed for West Ham United on a contract that began on July 1. Negotiations to release him didn't get anywhere, but he wasn't required in the end, as they held out in a gripping finale. There was an expectation at the start of that season that Malachy O'Rourke, in his first season in charge, would feed through the produce of some of recent U20 triumphs, but the age-old mistake of throwing young players in en masse has been avoided. Tyrone manager Malachy O'Rourke after his side's victory in the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-final match between Dublin and Tyrone at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile There's a long and inglorious history of counties trying to fasttrack underage winners into senior football in bulk, and the challenge is simply too great. Eoin McElholm, Shea O'Hare and Seánie McDonnell, the latter with two goals in the win against Donegal in Ballybofey, have been the stand- out graduates. McElholm is a tremendous talent who is being used with deliberate care. The way he blitzed Ciarán Kilkenny to score a late point in Tyrone's quarter-final win was heralded as generational change in real time, with one of the true modern greats beaten by a coming talent. Kilkenny (a star on the All-Ireland-winning 2012 U21 team) has nothing left to prove in the game, but that cameo did vividly illustrate the potency of youth. Tyrone have already had a micro-taste of the effects of underage success recently. Joel Kerr of Tyrone during the Electric Ireland GAA Football All-Ireland Minor Championship semi-final match between Tyrone and Roscommon at Kingspan Breffni in Cavan. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile They won an U20 title in 2015, and Kieran McGeary, Pádraig Hampsey, Rory Brennan, Conor Meyler, Frank Burns and Mark Bradley all enjoyed senior success in 2021. That final was against the head, coming in the second Covid season and in a knock-out championship. In keeping with the spectral feel of those years, that Tyrone side dissolved. Key components of it remain, not least many of the names mentioned above, as well as an imposing midfield, but there was no sense at the time that this was a generational force emerging. Subsequent events proved that instinct correct. The rise of Derry and the enduring competitiveness of Armagh meant Ulster remained fraught for them in the years after the 2021 win, while the stroke suffered by joint manager Fergal Logan in early 2024 was another serious complication. If there was enough residual talent left in that group to convince O'Rourke of the potential for success, the other clear calculation was around what is coming through from the minor and U20 ranks. Pádraig Hampsey of Tyrone during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-final match between Dublin and Tyrone at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Ray McManus/Sportsfile Yet the manager has, in public at least, been keen to set that talent against the greater need for application. Some might suggest that's in keeping with O'Rourke's tradition of well-drilled teams, but it's also likely to be about tempering expectations around what remains, at senior level, mostly potential. 'There's no doubt there's a lot of talent there because they obviously had great underage success, but I suppose I've said to them and everyone else that talent only gets you so far,' he said earlier this season. 'It's about working really hard, it's about maximising what you have and it's about learning to work really hard as a team. Shea O'Hare of Tyrone during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 2 match between Tyrone and Mayo at O'Neills Healy Park in Omagh, Tyrone. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile 'I think that's the process we're going through and trying to make sure that we do that. 'There's no doubt there is a lot of really good players there. There's good experience there as well, there are lads who have been there a number of years who have had success at the top level, and then there are lads in between as well. 'But we're just concentrating very much in the short term.' That has been his challenge this year. Tyrone were flagged from his appointment as contenders for the All-Ireland, and have duly arrived in Croke Park in mid-July. Tyrone supporters are used to success and want more of it. Sporting wisdom has it that the only competition to target is the next one, so potential won't figure much in Red Hand discussions on the way to Dublin tomorrow. But Tyrone are coming down with it. No county looks better equipped to compete in the coming seasons — and some of their promising youths could yet tilt tomorrow their way.
Irish Examiner
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Heartbroken Kerry boss Quillinan sore over late 'no-brainer' free
A 'no-brainer' of a free was Kerry boss Wayne Quillinan's verdict on the series of late challenges Ben Kelliher was subjected to that brought about no equalising placed-ball attempt. The four allotted minutes of injury-time had come and gone when Kelliher was fed in the left corner. Elliott Kerr was first to tackle him, the Tyrone corner-back approaching from behind and wrapping both hands around the Kerry corner-forward. Kelliher broke free, Kerr and centre-back James Daly both then tackling him, with Daly's left hand firmly pressed on Kelliher's back as he attempted to dispossess him with the right hand. Kelliher wound up on the deck, no whistle sounded, and Tyrone were crowned champions. 'The penalty for Tyrone, I didn't quite see it rightly but, if I say what I feel, I will probably get reprimanded. I thought the free at the end was a no-brainer,' said a devastated Quillinan. 'I mean, that wasn't a hard decision at all but, unfortunately, the ref didn't blow the whistle, and we suffer the consequences now from it. Not just both teams, I would say all the supporters would have loved extra-time, and that's the beauty of minor football.' Quillinan's post-match thoughts - the aforementioned end-game aside - took in the bigger picture. He poured praise on his young troops and poured praise on all those that packed in behind them on the run-in to the county's first minor final appearance in four years. 'They've shown every characteristic you want from a young team; never-say-die attitude, never quitting, never letting up no matter what situation they're in. 'The last week in Kerry has been unbelievable, with the seniors starting it off, and just the support we got, the amount of messages, so much goodwill. We just got to realise in Kerry that we are stronger together. Everyone rowing in together and rowing in at Croke Park next Saturday for the seniors. Those minors showed everything that Kerry is about. 'I am absolutely heartbroken. But on the flipside, I am so proud of them. Those guys left it all out there. How can you complain about that? You just can't.' The bigger picture was taken in too by victorious Tyrone manager Gerard Donnelly. This victory stood not in isolation. It stood instead amid a deluge of underage success. Over the past four seasons, Tyrone have won a minor All-Ireland, three U20 All-Irelands, and back-to-back Hogan Cups through Omagh CBS. A remarkable return in such a short period. 'Clubs, schools, development squads; it's all flying. Long may it continue,' said Donnelly. 'Absolutely, no doubt about it [we're going to see a lot of these lads progress to senior], these games are something else. They're special. The only sad thing for us is that the season is over. 'That Kerry team is unbelievable. Wayne Quillinan is an unbelievable man, an unbelievable manager, and a great friend. I feel for him because I was there four years ago, beaten by a point in an All-Ireland final. And it's not that easy getting back, but I know Wayne and I know the way Kerry operate - he'll be back and he'll win his All-Ireland.' The achievement of Donnelly and crew was heightened by the absence of Joel Kerr. The multi-code talent took up a professional contract with Premier League club West Ham earlier this week. Kerr's value to the Tyrone set-up is reflected in his Ulster final man of the match performance, his vital green flag in the semis win over Roscommon, and the 2-13 total he contributed before having to bow out six days before the decider. 'We knew that from July 1 he was a West Ham player. Me and his father had constant chats. Joel is a West Ham player, he's away now starting his career. I just chatted to him there. He's the happiest man going,' Donnelly concluded.
