Tyrone men help ‘Wolfhounds’ seal European silver medal success

The Irish came, they saw and they conquered!

That’s the jist of what happened in Kiel, Germany last weekend where fourteen countries were represented in the men’s Euro Cup and eight in the women’s competition, including sides from North and South of the border of this little island.

And what a performance the players in green produced with Ireland’s male and female teams both being crowned champions, but it was the gents from the North of this particular isle who arguably produced the biggest achievement overall by reaching the final thanks to the efforts of six Tyrone men.

Going into the prestigious tournament, the Ulster Wolfhounds held sensible aspirations but Loughmacrory native, Declan McClements and brother Niall, who were team manager and tactical support respectively, and players Dan O’Neill (Cookstown), Tony O’Hagan (Coalisland), Kevin McSorley (a Newtownstewart native based in Cookstown), Kyle Devine (Strabane) and Cormac Byrne (Eglish), who ended up on the team of the tournament panel, all played a key role as they left their hopes in the dust and achieved much more than they previously thought possible.

Having finished 13th overall last year, the Ulster men travelled to Kiel hoping for a top eight finish as they aimed to build on their 2023 debut, which fell a little short of the undoubted potential within their squad. But they went above and beyond what they deemed a realistic target by a significant distance, reaching the final where they lost narrowly to Ireland in a nip and tuck decider.

And in the end, it was only the bounce of a ball and one excellent piece of fielding by the Irish, who in a repeat of the previous year’s final squeezed past Wales in their semi, saw them win through by just ten points to seal victory by 6-2 (38) to 4-4 (28) and the title against an Ulster outfit who will look back on the tournament with nothing but pride over the next 12 months.

“We looked at the final as a free hit because when we got top four I breathed a big sigh of relief – I was more than happy,” beamed team boss, Declan McClements.

“It was just a buzz to get to the final but it was a tough game. They started very well and were four points ahead at half-time and about six minutes to go we were about eight points ahead, so it was heart-breaking.

“We thought when it got to the three minute stage and we were still ahead, we’d try to lock it down and slow the game down. Despite trying that, it was a lucky bounce of the ball going through the defence that got one of their players through on goal and the other one was just an exceptional bit of play from Ireland, so we don’t have any what ifs.

“We lost by ten points, which is only two goals and it’s not much in Aussie Rules, but we’re all looking back on it really positively because we couldn’t have done any more, anything different, it’s a massive improvement from last year.

“Our only ambition was to put Ulster on the map and we did that, it was unbelievable. I couldn’t be happier and to get the medal at the end of the day was lovely.”

The Wolfhounds hit the ground running in Kiel where thoughts of a place in the final hadn’t even crept into their collective consciousness ahead of their opening clash with last year’s semi-finalists and hosts, Germany, who they defeated by 21 points on a 4-4 to 1-1 scoreline.

Buoyed by that impressive triumph, the Ulster lads then overcame an excellent Denmark side 5-4 to 3-4 and then Poland 8-4 t0 1-4 to top their group, sealing a top four finish in the process.

“We scored the first goal against Germany, which I don’t think they expected and we were able to grind out the win from there,” Declan observed.

“We then only had a half hour break before Denmark, who are a brilliant side. They play nines really well and they were a challenge and that was the game we went behind going into the second half before we pulled it back to win by two goals.

“They gave us a hell of a scare and then we got through Poland, who gave us a bit of a scare too but I think our flare and skill saw us pull through and we won by about five goals to top the group.”

Those results led to a semi-final clash with a Croatia side, who boasted a physically daunting group of players, but a decisive hit by Eglish’s Cormac Byrne lit the fuse for the Wolfhounds who ran out 6-2 to 3-4 winners in the end to set up that derby decider with their southern neighbours.

“Croatia were all over six foot, rugby built lads and they are very well drilled, so I thought ‘we might be in trouble here!’,” Declan acknowledged. “Their manager has spent quite a bit of time in Australia and he’s played, so he’s very familiar with the rules, the style of play and they play a beautiful game.

“They were all dwarfing over us all over the pitch, but the boys were phenomenal and they made some massive tackles and Cormac ran about 30 yards, through player traffic and absolutely smashed one of them over the boundary line right in front of us and it was one of the best things I saw the whole day!

“It was pure determination, pure grit and that was the turning point. Everyone stood up and got stuck in after that. We never took a back step.”

And in the decider, the men from Ulster continued their front foot assault with North Tyrone duo, Devine and McSorley both impressing on an attacking front. Strabane’s Devine scored nine goals on the day, with two majors coming in the Grand Final, while McSorley registered six goals, with one (and a behind 1-pointer) in the all-Ireland showpiece which vindicated the decision to field two teams from this island, rather than just one.

With the tournament being based on the nine-a-side version of Australian Rules Football, AFL Ireland made the decision to field teams from North and South of the border to give more players the chance to play on the international stage and that move certainly paid off on this occasion.

“We still join together as an all-Ireland team for the 18-a-side game but the Irish manger and the chair said they had a dream probably about five years ago that they would have a North and South team in the nines,” explained Declan, who believes the Irish selectors will face a ‘headache’ ahead of the next 18-a-side game.

“A nine-a-side tournament only allows 16 players in a squad so having two teams going gives more players a chance but it now gives the 18-a-side coaches a massive headache because they have 32 lads who were there on Saturday to choose from for the next one!

“We’re setting the standard in Europe and that’s where we want everyone to get to. All the other countries are going to have to accept the challenge.”

Looking ahead, Declan and his fellow Tyrone men are looking forward to the start of the Northern Ireland AFL season, which is played during the winter, while the all Ireland league takes place in the spring and summer.

Teams involved are the Mid Ulster Scorpions, who finished third in last season’s European Champions League, Coalisland’s Oilean Hounds, East Belfast Eagles and a combined universities team, who will go head-to-head for the chance to represent their country against the best club sides across the continent next year.