Boss Devlin basks in Under-20s glory

THREE All-Ireland titles in a decade is the brilliant record which the Tyrone U-20s helped to enhance, with a success that sees them graduate with the highest honours.

More glory will beckon this latest group of talented Red Hand U-20s as they make the big step up to the senior ranks. But they will always look at Sunday’s 1-20 to 1-14 win over Kerry with a deserved sense of pride and joy.

It was a success which sees this team emulate the triumphs of the U-20s in 2022 and the U-21s of 2015. As they celebrate this latest All-Ireland glory, both the players and management will be aiming to make this a stepping stone to even more.

Team captain, Michael Rafferty, from Killyclogher received the Clarke Cup afterwards from the President of the GAA, Jarlath Burns. The Armagh official spoke of the resilience of the Tyrone captain, whose brother, John, was killed on the A5 road.

Tyrone manager, Paul Devlin, spoke of his delight as the players, management, their families and supporters marked a marvellous win. He now firmly expects them to maintain the momentum of this glory as they graduate to the senior ranks.

“I’m delighted for everyone involved in this success. I’ve been asked by Tyrone to look after these lads, and the role and the trust which the County Board has put in me to do this has been an honour,” he said.

Devlin continued, “This is our first All-Ireland since we lost Arthur McCrory, big Art. For me the big man was looking down on us today. It has been a great 25 years for me looking after Tyrone and to see the delight on these faces makes it all worthwhile.

“We wanted to see lads going out and enjoying their football and playing well and that’s all that I can ask from the lads.

“It’s a second All-Ireland title in three years and it’s brilliant for all the lads. It has been a roller-coaster year for Tyrone.”

The county’s victory over Derry after penalties in the Ulster Final marked the culmination of a tough provincial campaign. They followed it up with an All-Ireland semi-final win over Roscommon, and now the national title has been confidently secured.

How many of the players will go on to represent Tyrone at senior level remains to be seen. But there is little doubt that this team has the potential to help provide the backbone for Red Hands at senior level in the next decade.

“There have been younger lads joining the panel and we told everyone that this was their day,” added Paul Devlin.

“We can just do our best with a team and thankfully things have worked out this year. The lads were ready for this and up for it. They are brilliant all-round teams and the whole goal for them is to be county senior footballers.

“Part and parcel of what we’re doing here is to prepare these lads to go on and win another senior All-Ireland for Tyrone in the future.

“We could never take our foot off the pedal in this game. Kerry are a super team, but I never had any doubt because I really believed in the ability of this Tyrone team to go on and win.”

As the Tyrone seniors prepare for their All-Ireland series in the coming weeks, the success of this U-20 team has provided the county with the perfect boost as the latest challenge for the Sam Maguire Cup gets underway.