7 u Meitheamh 2018…

The 2018 Tyrone GAA Club Championships…Cluiche Ceannais Thír Eoghain 2018Failte Romhat/Welcome!Tonight is a very special night in the Tyrone GAA calendar, the night when we find out our various ‘Championship roads’ for 2018. The Club Championships lie at the heart of the GAA and remain the core currency for evaluating the worth of players and teams. It’s very proper that we should celebrate our Championships as we are doing tonight, by putting our Clubs and their players, present and past, centre-stage.

This is also a landmark event for us as we welcome our new Club Championship sponsors, LCC Group. LCC Group are a business and community inspiration to us all, having built something very special here in the heart of Mid-Ulster. It is, simply, very good for us in Tyrone GAA to be associated with such a brand. We are truly grateful for their support.

Michael Kerr Eunan Lindsay Eugene McConnellTyrone County Chair Tyrone CCC Chair Tyrone PRO

Clár• Welcome and introductions• Our new Sponsor: LCC Group• What it was like in 1968• What it’s going to be like in 2018: The LCC Group 2018 Tyrone GAA Club Championship Draws

LCC: Our Delight & Honour

LCC Group is an independent family-owned company, established in 1980. Based proudly in its home Parish of Lissan, Lissan Coal Company was initially set up to supply domestic coal to local homes. It now provides a range of services spanning various energy sectors ranging across the world. The Group includes LCC Coal, LCC Oil, Go Power and Go Forecourt, with a business reach that goes far beyond Ireland to Belgium, Columbia, Europe, Russian Federation, Spain, South Africa, South America and the UK.

It is Tyrone GAA’s delight and honour to be associated with LCC Group. We look forward to a long and happy relationship with one of Ireland’s best businesses.

www.gortreaghprinting.co.uk 028 8676 3377

Bunchlocha…Key-Stones: The Gaelic Clubs of Tyrone

Príomhghnó…Core Business: The LCC 2018 Tyrone GAA Club Championships Draw

The LCC 2018 Tír Eoghain Craobh Peile Sinsear The LCC 2018 Tír Eoghain Craobh Peile Idirmheanach

The LCC 2018 Tír Eoghain Craobh Peile Soisearach

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A Gaelic Tyrone Triad from 1968…Paddy Cullen presents The O’Neill Cup to Patsy Forbes

Na Captaein na bhFoirne…Team Captains 2018SeniorAghyaran St. Davog’s: Ronan McNamee Ardboe O’Donovan Rossa: David Mulgrew Carrickmore St. Colmcille’s: Johnny Munroe Clonoe O’Rahilly’s: PJ Lavery Coalisland Na Fianna: Stephen McNally Derrylaughan Kevin Barrys: Feargal McAliskey Donaghmore St. Patrick’s: Damian McCaul Dromore St. Dympna’s: Ronan McNabb Edendork St. Malachy’s: Donal Maneely Errigal Ciarán: Cathal MacRory Galbally Pearses: Fergal McGarrity Killyclogher St. Mary’s: Emmett McFadden Moy Tír Na nÓg: Sean Cavanagh Omagh St. Enda’s: Joe McMahon Pomeroy Plunkett’s: Hugh Pat McGeary Trillick St. Macartan’s: Matty Donnelly

IntermediateAghaloo O’Neill’s: Michael Muldoon Augher St. Macartan’s: Finbarr McQuaid Cookstown Fr. Rock’s: Ryan Pickering Derrytresk Fir an Chnoic: Niall Gavin Dungannon Thomas Clarke’s: Sean Molloy Eglish St. Patrick’s: Emmet McKenna Gortin St. Patrick’s: Brian McGarvey Greencastle St Patrick’s: Mark ConwayKildress Wolfe Tones: Philip Lennon Loughmacrory St. Teresa’s: Stephen Donaghy Moortown St. Malachy’s: Brian McLernon Owen Roe O’Neill’s: Brendan Boggs

Stewartstown Harps: Macauley Quinn Strabane Sigersons: Danny McBride Tattyreagh St. Patrick’s: Niall Keys Urney St. Columba’s: Fergal McNulty

JuniorBeragh Red Knights: Damian Meenagh Brackaville Owen Roes: Rian McHugh Brockagh Emmets: Mel McMahonClann na nGael: Paul Conwell Clogher Éire Óg: Mark BogueCastlederg St. Eugene’s: Sean Harper Dregish Pearse Og: Niall O’Kane Drumquin Wolfe Tones: Frankie McAlynn Drumragh Sarsfields: Gareth HaugheyErrigal Ciarán III: Dara TierneyEskra Emmetts: Joe McCarroll Fintona Pearses: Paul Martin Glenelly St. Joseph’s: Ronan O’Kane Killeeshil St. Mary’s: Shane MallonKillyman St. Mary’s: Ryan McKennaNewtownstewart St. Eugene’s: Damian CoyleRock St. Patrick’s: Niall Mullan

HurlingCarrickmore Éire Óg: Conor GruganDungannon Eoghan Ruadh: Damian CaseyKillyclogher: Conor O’NeillNaomh Colmcille: Mike O’GormanOmagh St Enda’s: Kevin CunninghamStrabane Shamrocks: Gary McGettigan

In the GAA being Captain of the team is a role of honour, trust, leadership and community standing.

The men entrusted with those roles by the Clubs of Tyrone in 2018 are:

Na Duaiseanna: What We’re All Playing For

The O’Neill CupThe ultimate prize in Tyrone Club football, the O’Neill Cup (proper title is ‘The O’Neills County Cup’) is in its 91st year having first been played for in 1927 and won by Donaghmore Éire Ógs who beat Ardboe in the Final played at Dungannon a week before Christmas. The Cup was bought in 1926 from Hopkins and Hopkins in Dublin (who a year later would craft the Sam Maguire Cup) for the then significant cost of £20.4s.0p and it took a cash-strapped Tyrone GAA more than two years to pay the bill. Since then it’s been won by 19 different Tyrone Clubs, the serial winners including Carrickmore (15), Omagh (9), Clonoe and Dungannon (8 each) and Ardboe, Errigal Ciaran and Trillick (7 each). The Cup has been rededicated to Paddy O’Neill, Tyrone County Secretary for 27 years over the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

The Paddy Cullen CupPaddy Cullen came to Cookstown from Leitrim via Strawberry Hill in London as a teacher in the 1940s. By 1949 he was Secretary of the East Tyrone Board, Chair in 1950 and then County Chair in 1951, a post he would hold continuously, apart from 1960, until 1969. After that he became Tyrone’s Central Council delegate. The Cookstown Fr Rock’s grounds are also named after this modest but tireless and totally-focused man who oversaw some of Tyrone GAA’s most significant advances.

The Pat Darcy CupThe Tyrone Junior Championship dates from 1905 and, until the Intermediate Grade was introduced in 1962, was the title sought by all Clubs not competing at Senior level. It’s a highly-contested crown and since last year the Championship Cup has been named in honour of Tattyreagh’s Pat Darcy. A past County Chair, among his many other achievements Pat oversaw the planning and development of Garvaghey, all the while working his way to the very top of the Nursing profession in these islands.

The Benburb CupTyrone’s first Senior Hurling Championship was played in 1905 (and was won by Strabane Lamh Dhearg) but then effectively disappeared until the late 1940s. Since then it’s been dominated by Carrickmore Éire Óg and Dungannon Eoghan Ruadh but others to win the crown have included Benburb, Cappagh/Killyclogher, Dromore, Dunananagh and Omagh. The Benburb Cup itself dates from 1949 (the year Benburb Priory opened) when it began life as a Schools Choir trophy in the East Tyrone Feis, but by the end of the 1950s it had become Tyrone’s hurling blue riband, the prize for our Senior Hurling Championship.

Cad é a Tharla Anuraidh…What Happened last YearOmagh St Endas’ ninth O’Neill Cup success came after wins over Ardboe (following an historic game in Armagh’s Athletic Grounds), Greencastle, Trillick and Errigal Ciaran (by 0-10 to 0-8 in the Final). Team Captain was the legendary Joe McMahon.

Moy Tír na nÓgs won a second-ever Intermediate title with wins over Augher, Cookstown, Gortin and Derrylaughan (2-5 to 1-7) – all those Clubs were previous winners of the title themselves. Moy, Captained by Eunan Deeney, would crown it all by going on to lift the Ulster and All-Ireland titles as well.

Tattyreagh St Patricks’ maiden Tyrone Junior crown came in their Centenary Year via a Final win by 2-11 to 2-4 over Clogher, following earlier victories over Beragh, Derrytresk and Owen Roes. Collie Harkin lifted the Cup at the end of a year when the losses of Pat Darcy and Dominic Early had shaken the Club to its core.

Clubs which, over their histories, have won all three Tyrone Championships include Ardboe, Augher, Coalisland, Cookstown, Derrylaughan, Donaghmore, Dungannon, Eglish, Fintona, Moortown and Moy.

Patsy Forbes, ArdboeO’Donovan Rossa

Ardboe O’Donovan Rossa had never won the Tyrone Senior Championship before 1968 but victories over Dromore, Stewartstown,

Derrylaughan and then Coalisland saw them delightedly take their place at Tyrone’s top table.

Captain of that breakthrough team was the remarkable Patsy Forbes, Tyrone Minor and Senior

player over many years, core member of the Ardboe three-in-a-row side of 1971-73, leading

edge athlete, entrepreneur and businessman extraordinaire and a driving force within Club

Tyrone for over twenty years.

Anthony Gallagher, Donaghmore St Patrick’s

Anthony ‘Doonan’ Gallagher was part of the Tyrone ‘Minor and Vocational Breakthrough’ of 1967 and would play in goals for Ulster in the

Railway Cup whilst barely out of his teens. Later a key figure in developing Tyrone’s coaching revolution, his 1968 Donaghmore team won

the Club’s second Intermediate title with a Final win over Moortown (having earlier defeated

Mountjoy and Brackaville), completing a League and Championship double. Donaghmore (the

original winners of the O’Neill Cup) have won the Intermediate title four times, playing in three Finals

between 1965 and 1968, winning two. ‘Doonan’ meanwhile has spent many years in Australia.

Gary McGahan, Killyman St. Mary’s

Gary Captained the St Mary’s from mid-field to this, their first-ever, Tyrone Championship title. Killyman’s 2-6 to 1-4 win over Killyclogher at O’Neill Park, Dungannon would be followed up with further titles in 1989 and 2010, with

Intermediate crowns added in 1973 and 2007. During 1968 Gary would also be part (along with Anthony ‘Doonan’ Gallagher) of Tyrone’s historic

All-Ireland Junior Championship side.He was also part of Killyman’s 1973 Intermediate

success and is a life-time dairy, and now beef, farmer.

Caoga mBliana ó Shin: The Men of 1968 Tonight we also celebrate our three Champion Captains, teams and Clubs from fifty years ago. They all made their own bits of Club and County history.