A WEEK such as this, with so many eyes on the golf in an alluring part of the American South, stands as a reminder of how much sport trades – and relies – on nostalgia.
When the opening game of the Ulster championship is the blockbuster clash of Armagh and Tyrone, it should generate similar emotions. Even if showery April hardly evokes the 99s and Cidonas of childhood Sundays in Clones, there still should be more than enough memorable moments to go around.
Old school: Tyrone’s Seanie O’Donnell and Ciaran Daly close down Cork’s Rory Maguire
Think the most famous block in GAA history when Conor Gormley appeared from nowhere to deny Stevie McDonnell a goal that would have won the 2003 All-Ireland final or Owen Mulligan deferring to the genius of Peter Canavan when it came to kicking the winning free of their epic semi-final two years later.
And yet, Tyrone isn’t buzzing with anticipation these last few days. If there is not quite shoulder-shrugging indifference around Ballygawley and Pomeroy, there is a sense of trepidation about how things might transpire in the Athletic Grounds. How did they arrive at this point?
There was the promise of golden days ahead during Malachy O’Rourke’s first season. They bounced back from the misfortune of being the first county relegated from Division one on seven points to beat Ulster champions Donegal in Ballybofey in the Sam Maguire group stages and reach the All-Ireland semi-final, ending Dublin’s summer in the process.
Under the radar: Malachy O’Rourke goes into the Armagh clash with this team as underdogs
But that promise evaporated during a poor league campaign this spring when Tyrone even briefly flirted with the ignominy of playing Tailteann Cup football. Attendances to watch the team in one of the most fanatical GAA counties of them all has been on a downward curve since they last claimed Sam Maguire in 2021 – just over 2,000 came to Healy Park for their must-win game against Cavan last month.
It wasn’t just the performances that were a cause for concern. Experienced defender Rory Brennan left the panel at a time when it was clear that Tyrone needed leadership in that part of the pitch while Niall Morgan, who admittedly has been out-of-sorts, was dropped for a few games and replaced by Oisin O’Kane. Darragh Canavan had a sojourn in Australia planned before it was shelved because of the situation in the Gulf.
This wasn’t how things were meant to be. When O’Rourke was appointed in September 2024, it felt like it was the final piece falling into place for a period of Red Hand dominance. They have the best conveyor belt of talent in the country – they won the last two under-20 All-Ireland titles and were also All-Ireland minor champions last season, their fourth title at that grade in 15 years, while Omagh CBS won two of the last three Hogan Cups.
Aiming high: Tyrone’s Brian Kennedy is able to get his kick away under pressure in the league
Nowhere else, not even Kerry, is producing the amount of gifted young footballers that they are in Garvaghy’s Centre of Excellence. Adding O’Rourke, with his track record, seemed a match made in heaven.
His reputation is as someone able to get the utmost out of teams by instilling belief and togetherness where previously they might not have existed. In 2003, he guided Loup to their first Derry title for 67 years. In 2008 he brought his native Fermanagh to their first Ulster final in 26 years and had them within a kick of a ball of claiming a maiden provincial crown.
In 2013, his first year with Monaghan, they won an Ulster title for the first time since 1988. With Glen he won their first ever county title and brought them to an emotional All-Ireland.
The ambition and expectation were always going to be different – and on a far higher level – in Tyrone but having lived in Ballygawley for more than 30 years, and taken Errigal Ciaran to a county title, O’Rourke will have realised that the need for success was much more urgent. And the supporters are far less forgiving.
Shining bright: Tyrone’s Ethan Jordan is one of the most promising talents in Gaelic football
Ethan Jordan has been the find of the league for O’Rourke and Tyrone. The former Armagh City soccer player made his debut against Kildare on the opening night of the league and nailed 1-9, hinting that he may be the accurate dead-ball shooter that the county has craved for years.
But Jordan’s emergence has underlined another issue for Tyrone. The physical profile of most of the players coming off the conveyor belt is the same – and they all tend to be nifty, skilful attackers. Eoin McElholm, Shea O’Hare and Seánie McDonnell, who scored two goals against Donegal last summer, have been earmarked as having most potential from those under-age teams, but they are all similar type of players – and not unlike the likes of the Canavan brothers and Darren McCurry.
It is why at 35 years of age, Mattie Donnelly is still considered one of Tyrone’s most important players, simply because his physical presence and leadership gives them a focal point in attack. And it’s why they probably can’t reintegrate former Footballer of the Year Kieran McGeary back into the middle eight quickly enough.
For all the under-age success, there has been no sign of the county unearthing the next Ryan ‘Ricey’ McMenamin or Joe McMahon. And that’s why Padraig Hampsey’s return is badly needed.
Vintage class: Mattie Donnelly is now 35 but is still a massively influential figure for Tyrone
Given the week that’s in it, it should be noted that the great Tyrone teams were always better when they had a cause or a chip on their shoulder. That’s when their intensity was at its most manic, whether it was hunting Kerry in packs in 2003 or the bearded warriors who wiped Dublin from the field in 2008. Even in 2021, they were burned by what was said about the Covid controversy.
Of course, it’s a different game now and even though they beat Donegal and Dublin last summer, there is a sense that Tyrone still haven’t fully adapted to the new rules, especially the two-pointers, which may be a decisive factor in this year’s football championship. Perhaps, that is adding to the apathy among its support.
However, there is enough there for O’Rourke to work with, enough talent old and new and enough motivation to come up with something special under the radar.
And nothing should stir the senses in a Tyrone footballer than the sight of the orange shirt of their neighbours. This is a game that is drowning in nostalgia but all is quiet in the Red Hand County this week – and that could mean something is brewing.
If Malachy O’Rourke’s reign is finally going to catch fire, nowhere better to do it than in the Orchard County on Sunday.
