McShea's Say: An emotional evening in Omagh where sport and life intertwined

On Friday I went to Omagh to see the Tyrone County final between Errigal Ciaran and Trillick.  

I love Tyrone club football, and I had a vested interest in the final as my cousin Darragh McAnenly was playing for Errigal Ciaran.  

In the GAA, everything begins and ends with the club. The county's club championships contain a multitude of stories, generating wild extremes of heartbreak and sorrow, and on Friday evening, this trend continued.  

Over the years, because there are few counties where interest in club football reaches the fanatical level that pertains in Tyrone, and when I realised that this final was a repeat of last year’s, it was too good an opportunity to miss. 

Errigal Ciaran won a classic encounter by the narrowest of margins in what was a wonderful game of football in an electric atmosphere. Despite their great disappointment, the Trillick management team, led by Jody Gormley, and every player, did their club proud by acclaiming and congratulating the winners after the cup was presented.  

When the Trillick team made their way back to the dressing room, their manager, Jody Gormley, addressed his team. The news he gave his players was simply heartbreaking. He told them that he had received a medical diagnosis confirming that he was in the last three to four months of his life as his illness was terminal.  

Married with a young family, to those who know Jody well, he is considered an absolute gentleman. He played with distinction for Tyrone for many years, and in the 1995 All-Ireland football final, he was Tyrone’s only scorer, along with Peter Canavan.  

The courage Jody showed by even showing up for this game was simply incredible, and we can only hope and pray that he is blessed with much good fortune in the coming weeks and that he gets the strength to prove the medics wrong.  

This news put football in perspective, as a sense of terrible shock engulfed Healy Park when it was revealed. I can still see Jody warmly congratulating winning manager Enda McGinley at the final whistle. Such incredible courage that I will forever remember. 

This Saturday evening, St Eunan’s travel to Omagh to play Errigal in the Ulster club championship. I thought the degree of intensity in the Tyrone final was much greater than what was in evidence in the Donegal final when Eunan’s beat Dungloe.  

For all the physical intensity and local pride involved, sheer quality proved vital in the concluding stages of the Tyrone final. In Errigal, there is a link with the past. Darragh and Ruairí Canavan are sons of Peter, Darragh McAnenly’s dad Cathal won four championships with the club, and Peter Harte is a nephew of Mickey.  

So, like so many GAA clubs, no matter how forward-looking they are, the past is always there to give them sustenance. 

When you are playing for your club, you are representing something very personal, but at the back of your mind, there is the thought that if you do well, you may move on to the county squad. It’s every player’s ambition to wear a county jersey, but it can only be achieved through the club.  

Quite simply, if you are not doing well there, you are not going to make the county squad. As often happens, doing the right thing off the pitch leads to success on it. 

Eunan’s won their championship this year without managing to play with the potential that will be required if they are to prevail in Omagh on Saturday.  

In previewing their county final, we believed that the team seemed to play without concentration at times in every game. In the first half against Dungloe, yet again they did not turn up and they’ll be in real trouble if they take time out in Omagh, as this is a considerable step up in standard from what they encountered so far.  

This Letterkenny team has a number of quality footballers on board, but collectively they have flattered to deceive. Darragh and Ruairi Canavan were excellent in the county final, while Peter Harte also made a positive contribution.  

Errigal Ciaran won the midfield battle as well, and this is an area where Eunan’s will need to improve on from their county final. In modern football, home advantage is not as relevant as it was in the past, and this game may well be decided by St Eunan’s ability to keep tabs on the Canavan brothers. 

Erne Gaels, so near and yet so far 

In a Fermanagh County final played in dreadful conditions, the Beleek side could be considered unlucky not to have won a close game that ended 0-9 to 0-9.  

I thought that Beleek were the better team, but their accuracy let them down in the crucial closing stages, so it is back to Enniskillen this weekend for the replay.  

In preparing for the replay, teams, and managers vary a great deal, so what works for one might be completely wrong for the other.  

With little to choose between the teams, it would seem that both sides will spend much time at training this week sharpening up on their shooting, while both teams showed an alarming reluctance to have a go from 20 to 30 metres from goal. The side that shows most improvement in this area should prevail on Sunday. 

Sympathy 

It was with regret that I learned of the sudden death of Brendan Kelly from Ballymahon, Co Longford, at the weekend. I extend my sincere sympathy to Brendan’s sister Imelda McLoone and her husband Michael.