Masters of their craft

By Niall Gartland

YOU’LL hopefully be aware by now Tyrone have found themselves in yet another All-Ireland final.

The Masters competition generally doesn’t garner much publicity, and even the powers-that-be in Croke Park disowned it back in 2009 (it was resurrected under the guise of the Gaelic Masters Association), but you can be sure that the players themselves are treating Saturday’s final showdown against Dublin in Drumlish, Co Longford (throw-in 4pm) with the utmost seriousness.

There’s some household names – if you’re a regular reader of the Ulster Herald or spend your evening scrolling through the usual social media sites, you’ll have no doubt spotted that Stephen O’Neill has lost none of the old magic, and Ryan McMenamin and Ciaran Gourley don’t require any introduction. There’s another Tyrone legend as well – Conor Gormley – who has linked up with the panel after Carrickmore’s recent championship exit.

But reeling off a list of former All-Ireland winners is arguably missing the point of the whole operation. Whatever about name recognition, every single man on the panel is connected by a desire to put on the county jersey, an opportunity many weren’t really afforded in their younger days.

Take Donal McAnallen, who lines out in midfield. While he did play for the Tyrone minors in 1996, that was the height of it, and his club career was virtually ruined by serious back and hip injuries.

Then in 2017, seven full years after undergoing surgery, he took a leap of faith and started jogging again, the catalyst for his eventual involvement in the Masters team.

“I started jogging in 2017 and then started running properly again in 2018. I’m not the sort of person who enjoys endless running just for the craic again, so I took a mad notion of getting back into football.

“I’d have to pay tribute to Mark Gallagher. He was playing for the Eglish reserves and the Masters and he said ‘it’s still possible to do this’. I came back to the Eglish reserves in April 2010, literally ten years to the week since I’d last kicked a ball.

“I played a bit against Dublin in the Masters two years ago and it’s snowballed since then. In 2017 my fear was that it would be the same as before, that my back would go out as soon as I started exercising again, but I’ve been able to break that cycle. Three years ago I had no idea I’d ever play football again.”

It’s easy to assume that participating in the Masters competition means more for the likes of McAnallen. But he says that’s the wrong way of looking at things.

“It’s immaterial whether a player was ‘good enough’ to play for Tyrone or not, it just didn’t happen for a variety of reasons.

“It’s an honour to wear the county jersey at any level, and Tyrone are always competitive at whatever competition they take part in. There’s a sense of achievement in wearing the jersey, and you also know that Tyrone are going to give a good account of themselves, so you do feel a sense of duty even if you don’t have much left in the tank.

“It’s not just a matter of turning up on match day. You apply yourself in training and take the preparation seriously. It’s a great competition to take part in.

“It’s also great to play alongside fellas for the first time at county level, but it’s also great for reconnecting with guys you played against with for the club, or guys you haven’t played with since Minor level. I played against Adrian Harley when we were Freshers, and it didn’t happen again until now, so you’re going through a whole 25-year cycle in some cases.

McAnallen, who last week welcomed a new baby son to the brood, Cormac, continued:

“It obviously requires a certain amount of discipline when you’re busy with family and work, it can be hard. But it helps to have a structured competition to focus on.

“Whenever you’ve been injured as long as I was, it causes a lot of pain, a lot of fitness issues, it costs a lot of money and you miss out on to so much – the joy of winning, the pain of losing, the being part of a team. So this is given me the chance of doing something in a meaningful structured way where you were feel part of something.”

While some players give it a lash for a season or two, there’s a list of others for whom this has because an integral part of their lives. That’s without mentioning their management team as well – Joe Leonard has been involved with this level of football for the last 30 years, and Damien and Kieran Leonard, as well as Eugene Bradley, are equally dedicated to the cause.

McAnallen said: “Mark Gallagher has been on the team since maybe 2013 and he’s a remarkable individual. He didn’t come to Ireland until 1996 and I think he’s become a better footballer with age.

“If I look at the team that’s started the last few games, Liam Patterson, the captain and centre-half back has been involved for four or five years, I’m not exactly sure.

“Ryan McCallion and Eamon McElroy have been involved for a similar amount of time. Mark Donnelly has been around for maybe six years and I’m sure I’m overlooking a few as well.

“Then you’ve new guys coming in, there’s a lot of focus on Stephen O’Neill and you can still see his magic which sets him apart. Ciaran Gourley was supposed to take part two years ago but it clashed with club fixtures. Ryan McMenamin, Barry Collins and Eoin Bradley are new so there’s a lot of big names coming on board this year. Mickey Anderson has come in and he’s been really effective for us at centre-forward.”