Diarmuid the toast of Fintona after glorious game winning point

IT was a day to remember for Diarmuid Martin last Sunday. He went from enjoying his first start of the year with the Tyrone Minors to scoring the brilliant winning point in the All-Ireland Final against Kerry at Newbridge.

It was a dream come true for the Fintona teenager, who grabbed his chance with both hands to seal the Thomas Markham Cup for the first time since 2010.

He replaced Joel Kerr on the team, and turned in a display of real quality, scoring three points in total during the 1-16 to 1-15 victory. But that winning point right at the end will live long in the memory for both him, his teammates and the Red Hand fans.

“The ball dropped short and I just was in the right place at the right time. I picked the ball up, kicked it and hoped it would go over. Thank God it did,” said the heroic matchwinner.

“This is absolute class. Nothing can ever top doing something like that,” he told the TyroneHerald moments after the Thomas Markham Cup was presented by GAA President, Jarlath Burns.

“I was lucky enough to get the start after Joel Kerr wasn’t able to play. Thankfully, I was able to take the chance and we won which is the most important thing.

“They were ahead in the second half, and I suppose we were lucky to turn it around.

“Then it was just nip and tuck until the very last minute.”

Diarmuid’s amazing contribution generated immense pride among the Fintona Pearses club. His performance and those of Padraig Goodman at full-back and Peter Colton at centre-half-forward will be remembered for years.

“This is a proud day for the Fintona club. It’s the result of all the hard work being done by the coaches and everyone in Fintona that we’ve had players on the Minors and U-20s,” added Diarmuid.

“They’ve been putting us through our paces and getting us to levels like this. It’s a great credit to them.”

For Tyrone, this was a second All-Ireland title this year, following on from the U-20s a few weeks ago.