HISTORY WAS MADE in Newbridge on Saturday but the curious fact was that it had taken so long.
It fell to Errigal Ciarán to become the first Tyrone side to reach an All-Ireland senior club football final.
The county’s modern rate of success at inter-county level is well-documented, their club sides haven’t slacked off either when you consider that four of them have reached the All-Ireland intermediate final and five have contested the junior equivalent.
A senior appearance remained elusive until Errigal Ciarán smashed that barrier, winning a classic extra-time encounter against Dr Crokes.
There was a fitting sense to the fact that it is Errigal Ciarán who have made that breakthrough. The only Tyrone side to have lifted an Ulster senior crown, they conquered the All-Ireland semi-final stage at the third attempt.
Peter Harte could recall the 2003 loss to Nemo Rangers in Portlaoise and will have heard plenty down through the years of the 1994 defeat to the same Cork opposition in Newbridge.
Prolonging their journey was an objective he was desperate to realise.
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“It’s just the next step. I’m old enough to remember 2003 and losing semi-finals is maybe the worst stage of any competition to get beaten in because there’s no buzz afterwards. It just dies, so we were very determined that we wanted to keep this going and give ourselves one more week of being together and playing together. We have that now and we just want to make the most of it.”
The adventure takes them to Croke Park next Sunday. Harte has the capacity to draw on various All-Ireland final experiences at the venue from his days with Tyrone.
A draw with Mayo at minor level in 2008, a defeat to Jim Gavin’s dominant Dublin team in 2018, and victory after a dramatic summer against Mayo in 2021.
Running out on that pitch in Errigal Ciarán colours will hit differently.
“Aye, it’s magic. It genuinely is a dream come true of wanting to represent your club on the biggest days for the biggest honours. We have a chance to do that now. But a wee bit like the semi-final, you don’t want to be part of a losing final team. I’ve been part of a few and it kills it.”
Tyrone's Peter Harte and Darragh Canavan lift the Sam Maguire in 2021. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Saturday saw Errigal Ciarán’s resilience surface again. They have displayed an extraordinary ability to win tight games. Take out their Ulster tie against Antrim’s Cargin – they won by eight that day – and Errigal have won their eight championship games across Tyrone, Ulster, and the All-Ireland series by a margin of one to three points.
The semi-final was no different, Dr Crokes clinging to a one-point advantage until their Tyrone opponents forced extra-time when Harte was fouled and he fired a crossfield pass to Peter Óg McCartan who launched over the levelling kick.
“Aye, we’ve talked about being hard to beat, just staying in the game and making sure we just die in the boots,” says Harte.
“You saw it there in that last play (in extra-time) where they had possession and we just managed to get it turned over. Pádraig (McGirr) came up with a big turnover. It’s those sorts of wee plays that keep you alive in competitions
“It’s just staying alive, play by play and making sure that you’re in a position to stay alive and kick for the winner coming down the stretch. This time it was the opposite. We had to stay alive (in normal time) because we were one down. I thought Ogie’s score was exceptional to keep us in the game.”
They have coped with whatever is thrown at them. Adjusting to the break and training over Christmas, getting their heads right after the semi-final was postponed las Sunday week due to the weather conditions around Portlaoise.
One more hurdle to overcome in Dublin’s Cuala.
“That break was funny there, four or five weeks. You’re not kind of used to it. Thank God we managed it well and I think the game was played at a very high standard. You could see the weather at home and it wasn’t great so you kind of knew it was going to happen.
“You just reset and it maybe gives boys a couple more days to maybe recover or whatever. It was just one of those things. We live in Ireland and winter is a funny time of year so you just reset and go again.”
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'It's magic, a dream come true of wanting to represent your club on the biggest days'
HISTORY WAS MADE in Newbridge on Saturday but the curious fact was that it had taken so long.
It fell to Errigal Ciarán to become the first Tyrone side to reach an All-Ireland senior club football final.
The county’s modern rate of success at inter-county level is well-documented, their club sides haven’t slacked off either when you consider that four of them have reached the All-Ireland intermediate final and five have contested the junior equivalent.
A senior appearance remained elusive until Errigal Ciarán smashed that barrier, winning a classic extra-time encounter against Dr Crokes.
There was a fitting sense to the fact that it is Errigal Ciarán who have made that breakthrough. The only Tyrone side to have lifted an Ulster senior crown, they conquered the All-Ireland semi-final stage at the third attempt.
Peter Harte could recall the 2003 loss to Nemo Rangers in Portlaoise and will have heard plenty down through the years of the 1994 defeat to the same Cork opposition in Newbridge.
Prolonging their journey was an objective he was desperate to realise.
“It’s just the next step. I’m old enough to remember 2003 and losing semi-finals is maybe the worst stage of any competition to get beaten in because there’s no buzz afterwards. It just dies, so we were very determined that we wanted to keep this going and give ourselves one more week of being together and playing together. We have that now and we just want to make the most of it.”
The adventure takes them to Croke Park next Sunday. Harte has the capacity to draw on various All-Ireland final experiences at the venue from his days with Tyrone.
A draw with Mayo at minor level in 2008, a defeat to Jim Gavin’s dominant Dublin team in 2018, and victory after a dramatic summer against Mayo in 2021.
Running out on that pitch in Errigal Ciarán colours will hit differently.
“Aye, it’s magic. It genuinely is a dream come true of wanting to represent your club on the biggest days for the biggest honours. We have a chance to do that now. But a wee bit like the semi-final, you don’t want to be part of a losing final team. I’ve been part of a few and it kills it.”
Saturday saw Errigal Ciarán’s resilience surface again. They have displayed an extraordinary ability to win tight games. Take out their Ulster tie against Antrim’s Cargin – they won by eight that day – and Errigal have won their eight championship games across Tyrone, Ulster, and the All-Ireland series by a margin of one to three points.
The semi-final was no different, Dr Crokes clinging to a one-point advantage until their Tyrone opponents forced extra-time when Harte was fouled and he fired a crossfield pass to Peter Óg McCartan who launched over the levelling kick.
“Aye, we’ve talked about being hard to beat, just staying in the game and making sure we just die in the boots,” says Harte.
“You saw it there in that last play (in extra-time) where they had possession and we just managed to get it turned over. Pádraig (McGirr) came up with a big turnover. It’s those sorts of wee plays that keep you alive in competitions
“It’s just staying alive, play by play and making sure that you’re in a position to stay alive and kick for the winner coming down the stretch. This time it was the opposite. We had to stay alive (in normal time) because we were one down. I thought Ogie’s score was exceptional to keep us in the game.”
They have coped with whatever is thrown at them. Adjusting to the break and training over Christmas, getting their heads right after the semi-final was postponed las Sunday week due to the weather conditions around Portlaoise.
One more hurdle to overcome in Dublin’s Cuala.
“That break was funny there, four or five weeks. You’re not kind of used to it. Thank God we managed it well and I think the game was played at a very high standard. You could see the weather at home and it wasn’t great so you kind of knew it was going to happen.
“You just reset and it maybe gives boys a couple more days to maybe recover or whatever. It was just one of those things. We live in Ireland and winter is a funny time of year so you just reset and go again.”
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