Gortin glad to be back on O’Neill Cup stage

SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST ROUND

LAST month marked the 40th anniversary of Gortin’s only appearance in the Tyrone Senior championship final back in 1985.

Defeat was their lot on that occasion in August 1985. Now, four decades on, that type of knock-out progress in the race for the O’Neill Cup is something that the current players are dreaming about, though more in hope than expectation.

It has been a challenging 2025 for the St Patrick’s club. A first return to senior football for more than 20 years has been tough.

But their survival is still within reach, and five points on the Division One table has highlighted their general competitiveness. Now they get set for the first of two crucial matches against the Plunketts with the teams likely to meet in a relegation play-off in a few weeks.

A Pomeroy side with a more-recently impressive O’Neill Cup pedigree finished just above them in the league, and the general consensus is that their clash at Healy Park at 6.45pm on Friday evening will be closely contested.

One thing for certain is that both clubs will be looking forward to aiming for a quarter final, and perhaps even more depending on the draw. For now, though, their full focus has to be on this first round pairing.

“It would be great to have a repeat of 1985, but we have to be realistic too. Getting to the final for the first time since then wouldn’t be something I’d be betting on at this stage,” said Ciaran Brolly.

“This is a game that all of us are looking forward to. We faced Pomeroy in the league and probably didn’t do ourselves justice, so we want to go out and change that and prove people wrong,” he continued.

“Our main focus has been securing our senior status and now the championship is what we’re concentrating on.

“Pomeroy are a strong team with some very good footballers, especially with their shooters. There’s plenty of experience in their team as well, so it’s going to be a tough job for us to beat them.”

Gortin’s promotion by winning the Division Two league in 2024 was one of the big stories of the year. Their resolve in that campaign is something that they’ve had to call upon regularly in 2025 as well. While there have been some big defeats, the St Patrick’s have also showed their ability to compete with the very best, and will no doubt take encouragement from some results which could have gone for rather than against them.

“There has been a lot of learning for us in 2025. It has been a tough season, but we’re all enjoying it as well and there’s was a fight in the team to try and stay up,” said Brolly.

“Division One has been the target for us. There’s a big incentive for us going into the championship. It’s a case of having nothing to lose, and playing Pomeroy in Healy Park is a good game to have.”