County Secretary praises Kerry and Croke Park response to Tyrone Covid crisis

THE Tyrone GAA Secretary has paid tribute to both Croke Park and the Kerry County Board for their conciliatory reaction to the Covid crisis which rocked the Red Hand senior camp during the course of their All-Ireland run this past summer.

In his annual report to next week’s County Convention, Dominic McCaughey praises officials from the Kingdom as well as the CCCC for their flexibility ahead of the All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park when Tyrone faced potential expulsion from the competition.

Following talks, the decision was agreed to afford Tyrone an extra week (Aug 28th) to prepare for the match following Covid diagnoses among alomost twenty members of the squad. It followed Tyrone’s announcement that they were unable to field a team on the initial rescheduled date of August 21st.

The Red Hands of course took full advantage of the reprieve to see off Kerry in dramatic fashion after extra-time before accounting for Mayo in the Sam Maguire showdown.

Dominic McCaughey said that the County owed Kerry and Croke Park a huge debt of gratitude for their response to the spiralling infections in the Tyrone squad.

“ It is appropriate to express our sincere appreciation to Coiste Chontae Chiarraí for its sympathetic consideration of the difficult position that the Tír Eoghain team found itself in, and for its facilitation of the desire of the CCCC to defer the All-Ireland semi-final. Gratitude is also due to the CCCC and its officers for their understanding of our critical and difficult situation.”

The Trillick man added: “Unfortunately, due to further transmission of the virus among the football panel and members of the team’s management, it was necessary to seek a postponement of this fixture. The CCCC agreed to a welcome six-day deferral which, however, was an insufficient time to allow all players to complete their required periods of isolation, and to safely return to training preparations for the All-Ireland semi-final.

“Having obtained medical opinion from one of the country’s leading experts in the fields of Infectious Diseases and Microbial Diseases, it fell to Tír Eoghain to inform the CCCC that the county team could not field a team on the proposed date; the CCCC consulted with Ciarraí, and the agreed outcome was that the semi-final would be deferred for a further week, with the All-Ireland final re-set for Saturday 11th September.”

Reflecting on the victory over Kerry when they match was eventually played, Mr McCaughey hailed the performance of the Tyrone side given the adversity which they had to overcome.

“ Simply put, this was a quite magnificent victory for Tír Eoghain taking into account, in advance, the severely disrupted preparations due to the Covid19 outbreak among players and management, and during the game, having participated with fourteen players for twenty-four minutes due to the imposition of three black cards.”

Also recalling the All-Ireland Final a few weeks later, the long -serving County Secretary stated that the sentimental view throughout the country suggested that Mayo – appearing in an eleventh All-Ireland final since their historic victory in 1951 – would at last reap the benefits of this vast experience and achieve the ultimate prize.

“ The Red Hands’ defence was well-organised throughout the final and made great recoveries when the few errors occurred; the midfield section held the edge, working very hard, and contributed significantly to several scores, especially the second magnificent goal; and the forward division, including the substitutes whose introduction in the second half was well-timed, always posed serious threats for the Maigh Eo rearguard while playing clever football.

“ There is no doubt that Tír Eoghain enjoyed some good fortune during the course of the game – and throughout the championship – while it eluded the Connacht champions, none more so than the second-half penalty miss. However, in this match Tír Eoghain rose to, and grew into, the occasion with most team members displaying personal bests in a well-executed gameplan, on the day.”

Mr McCaughey praised the management team and the players for securing the All-Ireland crown for only the fourth time in the county’s history.

“ While Brian Dooher became the sixth person to both captain and manage his county to All-Ireland victories at senior level, he and Feargal Logan became the first joint managers to win a senior All Ireland title.

“ We congratulate Feargal and Brian on their remarkable achievement in winning the 2021 All-Ireland title, in their first year of senior football team management, and we thank them both for all of the work undertaken with this group of talented players during a very difficult year and in such adverse circumstances.

“Appreciation is also due to the management team of coaches, doctors, physios, statistics’ and analysis personnel, assembled by Feargal and Brian, all of whom made immeasurable contributions to the highly successful season.

“ Finally we pay tribute to all of the Tyrone players who committed so much of their time and energy, mostly in very demanding circumstances, sometimes on their own, on the training grounds, in their gyms and in games, in order to win the Ulster and All-Ireland championships.

“ While some did not get the opportunity to take the field in as many games as they might have wished, each and every member of the 38-man panel contributed in some manner to these successes and we are grateful to all of them for bringing Tyrone back to the pinnacle of the GAA.”