Minor glory boosts Ardboe ahead of Errigal SFC encounter

AN ARDBOE team which has proven its worth with some brilliant results in Division One of the All-County League now faces the biggest challenge of its rejuvenation with a tantalising Tyrone Senior Championship first round clash on the horizon against Errigal Ciaran- the All-Ireland Club Finalists.

It is now 27 years since the O’Donnovan Rossa last reigned supreme in the Tyrone Championship. But their league form throughout 2025 suggests that something could be stirring in the camp of the perennial ‘dark horses’ of the Red Hand senior title-race.

There is a real feelgood factor around the club at the moment, not least due to the success of their Minors last Sunday in winning the Tyrone title for the first time since 2013. That has generated a lot of positivity as their seniors approach one of the ties of the first round.

Of course, the big question is whether or not that will be sufficient to defeat last year’s county and Ulster champions. They will be well aware of the threat posed by Ardboe, and the ingredients are in place for an intriguing and closely fought encounter.

Ardboe’s credentials are clear, and the success of their Minors in winning the Grade One championship against Carrickmore provides further evidence of their credentials/. There are several members of that squad who are also part of the senior set-up, and the boost provided by that victory should not be under-estimated.

Oisin Devlin is well aware of what’s at stake in the high profile Senior clash, and says that there is a determination among the Loughshore side to make the most of this one opportunity to claim the scalp of an Errigal side whose footballing pedigree is also undoubted.

“Errigal got to the All-Ireland final, so there’s definitely the pedigree there from them. But we have been building from the league this year. It’s something that we look at because our form in Division One was poor over the past couple of years,” he said.

“You can only start with the best and in order to do well you have to beat the best as well to get any further. The record of the county champions probably hasn’t been great over the past 20 years, but our focus is on getting our house in order.

“The fact that we haven’t won the county senior title for 27 years probably gets pushed on us quite a bit. The Minor team won the Championship on Sunday, and we’ve had multiple minor teams that have won over the past two decades. We have won four Minor Championships since 2009 and not many clubs can say that they’ve done that.

“But it’s about bringing that pedigree through to the senior grade and we haven’t been able to do represent ourselves in the championship as well. There have been wins here and there, and we need to start getting that winning mentality.

“Our league form suggests that we can get that form, so there is a lot of pressure that we can take on and we have to look at ourselves.”

Ardboe, whose seven O’Neill Cup titles were all won in the 30 year period from 1968, are pushing for a top three placing in Division One.

Achieving that would, like the achievement of their Minors in defeating Carrickmore last weekend, highlight the talents which are certainly evident within the club. Nevertheless, there is that burning desire to build on the tradition of success at senior level, and the Errigal Ciaran tie represents a massive test.

“We’re missing a couple of players at the moment and the priority for the next week or so is to get the bodies ready for the first round,” added Devlin,

“The last few league matches are definitely about keeping our form, and get a couple of wins. But we’ll also be aware of the Errigal game. Our aim will be obviously to put out their fires, but also trying to build on our own strengths as well.”