Kennedy thrilled for Tyrone’s Buncrana Cup champions

DERRYLAUGHAN footballer James Kennedy is part of the management team that spearheaded Tyrone’s Buncrana Cup final victory over Mayo on Saturday – and he said they were particularly determined to get their hands on the trophy in the 25th anniversary of the important competition that honours all those who lost their lives in the Omagh bomb.

The Tyrone U16 academy squad produced a strong display to get the better of Mayo on a scoreline of 1-19 to 2-13 on a lovely summer’s day, marking their seventh ever title success in the tournament.

The Omagh Bombing had a devastating impact on the Buncrana community, and the tournament was established in their honour 25 years ago.

James Kennedy, who manages the Tyrone team with Paul O’Hagan and Ronan McGeary, said that the players were mindful of the competition’s broader context.

“We spoke about that to the lads during the week – that it’s the 25th year celebrating the competition and what it means.

“We’d won it six times and were determined to win our seventh – it’s right to commemorate the victims in a positive way, letting the young lads showcase their ability and skill.

“It was another great win for Tyrone – our U15s won the finals in the Brian McLernon competitions, so it was a clean sweep all round, and there’s more great stuff coming through the ranks.”

While a late Mayo surge made for a slightly nervy finish to proceedings, Tyrone were full value for their five-point victory and played some cracking football on the day. Kennedy was glad that the players got their reward for all their efforts since the start of the season.

“It was great to get the job done – we played Mayo in last year’s U15 final and it was a similar game, though I think this time around we were dominant for longer spells.

“The boys have played a lot of football between schools and counties and we had an eight or nine-minute spell in the second half where we got a bit of momentum and thankfully put our ascendancy to good use.

“Our big men stepped up when needed, and I’m delighted for all the lads. They’ve been on this journey for two years now, and on the go this season since February. Any questions asked of them, they do it, so it’s great they won today [Saturday].”