“There’s one man who couldn’t be here tonight,” said Tyrone’s chairman Mickey Kerr as he addressed the hundreds of supporters who had turned out for his team’s homecoming in Omagh last night.
“His name is Sam Maguire, but don’t worry - he’ll be here next year,” he smiled, as the roars of the crowd rippled through Healey Park under a sky as red as the team’s jersey.
Despite losing to Dublin in Croke Park on Sunday it was a heroes’ welcome for Mickey Harte’s side as they made their way into the stadium. Wearing matching grey tops and maroon coloured trainers the boys were in high spirits with some opting for bottles of beer over the tea and specially made fruit loaf on offer while others playfully wrestled one another during the speeches, including Harte’s.
Dedication
“They put in tremendous work, they are a dedicated bunch of athletics,” said Harte, ever the proud and encouraging father-like figure. “They give it their very best and for a few things that happened during the course of the game there would be something different special sitting here.
“If I was putting money on anybody to do this in the next short while then I would say this is the place to put it,” he said, to loud cheers.
The chanting and applauding halted for a moment as a philosophical Harte reminded the crowd that there were “no guarantees” in life.
“Many things happen in life and we have good experience of it right here, that’s what life is really about, it’s as stark as that. Yes, we get disappointed about football results but there are things that are more important than that,” he said.
Red Hands
Watching Harte was Shauna Hurl, a self-confessed Tyrone obsessive, who has decorated her house from top to bottom in red and white and has cancelled summer holidays for the past 10 years in support of the Red Hands. This year was no different.
“How could I go on holiday? Sure, Tyrone could be playing. You just don’t know. We went to Spain in 2008 and they ended up in the All Ireland and were devastated to have missed it. I vowed never again to go on holidays, so here I am,” she said.
“She’s the boss,” smiled Enda, her husband of 24 years. “You do as you are told,” he laughed.
Father and daughter Gerard McGlynn and Sinead McGlynn have been to all 21 of Tyrone’s matches this year and were among the first to arrive last night.
“You have to show your support,” said McGlynn. His daughter agreed: “It was my younger sister’s birthday was on Sunday and that was forgotten about. .... this is where we need to be,” she laughed.
“If we didn’t have GAA we would have nothing to do,” said Majella Quinn, who has been a supporter of the team for as long as she can remember.
“Tyrone might have finished up with a heartache on Sunday but I hope their hearts are full of pride tonight, like ours,” she said.
