Kelly keen to build on hurlers encouraging campaign

ONE of Tyrone’s most commited hurlers of the past decade has pledged to continue his involvement with the squad as they prepare for the massive challenges awaiting them after securing Christy Ring status.

Action in the third tier championship and Division Two of the National League is the next step for the Red Hand hurlers, and they will be boosted by the news that the top scorer, Aidan Kelly, is ready and go remain with the panel in 2025.

“I’ll definitely be ready to play again next year. I’m 33 in June and hopefully I’ll try and go on another couple of years depending on how the body holds up,” he said.

The Carrickmore Eire Ogs player has been a mainstay of the team throughout 2024 and produced another sterling performance in their final season win over Wicklow recently. Although Tyrone’s status in the Christy Ring had already been secured, there was no doubting their determination to make their mark in this final match of the 2024 season and they did so emphatically.

“We really wanted to win this game, especially in front of the home crowd at Carrickmore. Four points in the Christy Ring competition is better than last year and all round we’re happy with the effort this year,” he said.

“I think we sorted of knew that Sligo, ourselves and Wicklow would be battling it out to stay in the Christy Ring at that lower end. We had targeted Sligo for a win and went down there and produced a fantastic performance.

“The Kildare game was against opponents who were really out of our league. That’s something which we have to accept. But we came here today, it was a great game of hurling from both teams and it’s really nice to finish the competition with a win.”

The 2025 season will be Tyrone’s third year in the Christy Ring competition. They are gaining in experience and team manager, Stephen McGarry, this year introduced a number of new players into the panel. That strength in depth should have a positive impact as they break for the club action and look ahead to those fresh challenges next season.

Kerry in the National League looks set to be the most mouth-watering of all. But there will also be ties against Meath and Derry, teams that they have good experience of playing against during the past few years.

For Aidan Kelly, the rise of Tyrone hurling over the past decade or so has been remarkable and he looks back with fondness on just how far the county’s senior hurlers have progressed.

This, combined with the progress of the U-17s to the Celtic Challenge final, augurs well for the future.

“When I started out on my career we were in the Lory Meagher Cup. We won it, and then we thought about the Nickey Rackard thinking how great it would be to win it. Now we’re in the Christy Ring Cup for three years,” added Kelly.

“Obviously we’re not winning it, but to maintain our status is important. Next year obviously the Division Two of the National League is a big one. There’s a couple of big teams who we’ll be playing.

“We have put in savage work this year. There’s been a big turnover and younger players coming in. We’re really happy with how things are going, and in fairness Stephen McGarry has brought in the likes of Conall McKee, Ben Gormley, Joe McToal, Mark McClean and others. They hadn’t hurled for the county until this year.

“Cormac Munroe came in from the football was massive and then Sean Duffin returned from Australia as well. We will need everyone next year again and the target now is to keep push. But 2024 has been a successful year in my eyes.

“Kerry, Derry, Down and Kildare are all on our list for next year. It’s something which we will look forward to and that’s what it’s all about.”

Action in the National League will begin in February once again. For now, though, the Red Hand hurlers can look back on their 2024 efforts with a sense of satisfaction that they have maintained Tyrone’s position as fairly formidable opponents for what opposition they meet in league or championship.