By 
Tyrone GAA mourns a true trailblazer as the last surviving player of the county’s first All-Ireland minor winning team, the great Liam Campbell, has passed away.
In 1947, ecstatic Tyrone supporters rushed the Croke Park field when the young heroes beat Mayo in a thriller, on a scoreline of 4-4 to 4-3, their names forever etched in the county’ GAA history.
A match report stated that vital changes at half-time, that included Liam Campbell moving from right-half to centre-half back to allow team captain and club-mate, Coalisland Fianna’s Eddie Devlin to go to midfield, was a huge contributing factor in the historic victory.
Mr Campbell, who resided in Dungannon, passed away, suddenly and unexpectedly, in Craigavon Area Hospital on Tuesday night surrounded by his loving family.
A hugely talented footballer, he lined out at corner back on the Coalisland team that won the O’Neill Cup in 1955. He was also won a Junior championship medal with the club in 1946.
He played for Na Fianna seniors for more than ten years and was selected to play for Tyrone at senior level. Liam went on to serve as a club official and Secretary of East Tyrone Board.
He was also a trailblazer with St Patrick’s College, Armagh winning the first ever Hogan Cup competition in 1946. He won three MacRory Cup medals during that era.
Two years ago, on May 7, 2024 he was a special guest of Coalisland Na Fianna at a 50th anniversary commemoration to the legendary Tyrone, Coalisland and college player Jim Devlin and his wife Gertrude. Liam played alongside Jim for club and college.
That night he shared memories of his playing days and was presented with a memento to honour his great contribution to Coalisland Fianna, Tyrone and college football. A hugely popular, figure Liam will be very sadly missed and remembered as a great player and official by all at Coalisland Fianna and across Tyrone
