Tyrone GAA

File:TyroneCrest.png
Irish:	Tír Eoghain
Province:	Ulster
Nickname(s):	The O'Neill County The Red hands
County colours:	White and Red
Ground(s):	Healy Park, Omagh
Dominant sport:	Gaelic football
Competitions
NFL:	Division 2
NHL:	Division 4
Football Championship:	Sam Maguire Cup
Hurling Championship:	Nicky Rackard Cup
Ladies' Gaelic football:	Brendan Martin Cup
Camogie:	Nancy Murray Cup
Standard kit

The Tyrone County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (Irish: Cummann Luthchleas Gael Coiste Tír Eoghain) or Tyrone GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Tyrone. The county board is also responsible for the Tyrone inter-county teams.

Gaelic football[link]

History[link]

See main article History of Tyrone gaelic football

Tyrone have won three All-Ireland finals, from five appearances. They lost in 1986 and 1995, but won in 2003, 2005 and 2008. They reached the semi final of the 2009 All-Ireland championship but lost out to Cork.

Tyrone won their first Ulster Championship in 1956, defending it successfully in 1957. The last time they won was in 2010, that was their thirteenth. They have also won two National Leagues, in 2002, and 2003.

Tyrone exited the 2006 Football Championship after a poor display against Laois, on a wet Saturday night in O'Moore Park, Portlaoise.^[1] and followed this up with a poor showing in the 2007 National Football League. However the team bounced back by winning the 2007 Ulster Senior Football Championship at Clones in July for the first time since 2003 but then fell to Meath in the All-Ireland Quarter Final. The Tyrone panel had been depleted by injury, with team captain Brian Dooher (shattered kneecap), inspirational play maker Brian McGuigan (damaged eye) and midfielder Colin Holmes ruled out for the season, while other key players, including Stephen O'Neill, Gerard Cavlan, Michael McGee and Conor Gormley, all missing most or all of the 2007 campaign due to injury.

The 2008 campaign has once again plagued by injuries although things appear to looking up for the red hands after a rather disappointing league campaign finishing with a mid table position. Things then got worse for Tyrone as they relinquished their Ulster title to Down after a two game thriller in which Down edged them by a point after 160 minutes of football. After two wins in the Football Qualifiers against Louth at Drogheda and Westmeath at Healy Park in Omagh respectively, they faced Mayo in Round 3 on Saturday 2 August in Croke Park for a place in the quarter finals of the Championship. Tyrone went on to defeat Mayo on a scoreline of 0-13 to 1-9 meaning Tyrone earned a place in the quarter finals (last 8) of the championship, where they faced Leinster champions Dublin. Tyrone made the brighter start to this game with early points from Tommy McGugian and Colm McCullagh, Dublin got back to level terms however Tyrone pulled away with 2 further points the pick from captain Brian Dooher and a goal from Sean Cavanagh gave them a comating 1-5 to 0-2 lead, a mix up in the Tyrone full back line lead to a soft Connall Keaney goal however Dublins celebrations were short lived an a beautiful angled ball from Tommy McGuigan gave Joe McMahon a goal opportunity which he took in style to put Tyrone 2-5 to 1-2 up, Dublin scored another point before half-time to leave them trailing by 5 at the break. On the restart Tyrone added 2 points with McCullagh and Dooher the scorers. A brief Dublin revival followed with back to back points, But Tyrone raced up the field with Colin Holmes giving the ball McCullagh who the picked out the running half back David Harte and he made no mistake with the finish giving Tyrone a 3rd goal an ending the game as a contest. Harte, Cavanagh and Dooher added points but Dublin looked like a beat team with 20 minutes to go. While no Tyrone player had a bad game the GAA man of the match award went to Brian Dooher who scored 3 points and also set up vital plays bringing the ball out of defense.Tyrone then faced Wexford for a place in the senior football final but earlier in the day it was the Tyrone minors who booked their place in the final with a complete football performance, an eased past Meath on a scoreline of 1-21 to 2-7. They face Mayo in the final. The seniors then always looked comfortable in their meeting with Wexford. And after racking up a 8 point lead at half-time they went through pretty comfortably with 6 points to spare, However Wexford did cause problems during 10 minutes of the second half to bring the gap down to two points, then scores from Phillip Jordan, Colm McCullagh and Ryan McMenamin made sure that Tyrone would set up a September 21 date with All Ireland champions Kerry (who beat Cork earlier in the day 3-14 to 2-13). Tyrone's Colm McCullagh was named the GAA Man of the match after setting up and indeed taking crucial scores at the right times.

In a thrilling All-Ireland Final Tyrone defeated Kerry 1-15 to 0-14 to win the Sam Maguire Cup for the third time. Sean Cavanagh was man of the match with a personal tally of 0-5 and Tommy McGuigan also weighed in with a crucial 1-1. This was though a success on team spirit and hard work.

A week later the Tyrone Minor team defeated Mayo 1-20 to 1-15 in a replay to win the Thomas Markham Cup. Thus Tyrone became the first county since Kerry in 1980 to win All-Ireland Senior and Minor titles in the same year, and the first Ulster county ever to achieve this landmark.

Tyrone Football Squad[link]

• Manager: Mickey Harte
• Assistant Manager: Tony Donnelly
• Coach: Fergal Mc Cann

Squad as per Tyrone vs Dublin All-Ireland Quarter Final 2011, 6 August 2011

Honours[link]

• All-Ireland Senior Football Championships: 3
  • 2003, 2005, 2008
• All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championships: 4
  • 1991, 1992, 2000, 2001
• All-Ireland Minor Football Championships: 9
  • 1947, 1948, 1973, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2008, 2010, 2012
• All-Ireland Junior Football Championships: 1
  • 1968
• All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championships: 9
  • 1967, 1969, 1970, 1988, 1989, 1998, 2004, 2005, 2007
• National Football Leagues: 2
  • 2002, 2003
• Ulster Senior Football Championships: 13
  • 1956, 1957, 1973, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2010
• Ulster Under-21 Football Championships: 11
  • 1972, 1973, 1980, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006
• Ulster Minor Football Championships: 23
  • 1931, 1934, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1988, 1993, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012
• Ulster Junior Football Championships: 3
  • 1968, 1983, 1986
• Dr. McKenna Cups: 10
  • 1957, 1973, 1978, 1982, 1984, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007,2012
• Dr Lagan Cups: 3
  • 1943, 1957, 1958

All Stars: 39 – 1980: K. McCabe 1984: E. McKenna, F. McGuigan 1986: J. Lynch, P. Donaghy, E. McKenna, D. O’Hagan 1989: E. McKenna 1994: P. Canavan 1995: F. Devlin, P. Canavan 1996: F. McConnell, P. Canavan 2001: S. O'Neill 2002: P Canavan 2003: C McAnallen, C Gormley, P Jordan, S Cavanagh, B Dooher, B McGuigan, P Canavan 2004: Sean Cavanagh 2005: R McMenamin, C Gormley, P Jordan, S Cavanagh, B Dooher, P Canavan, O Mulligan, S O'Neill 2008: Conor Gormley, Justin McMahon, David Harte, Phillip Jordan, Enda McGinley, Brian Dooher, Sean Cavanagh^[2] 2009: S. O'Neill 2010: Phillip Jordan

Player	1980	1984	1986	1989	1994	1995	1996	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2008	2009	2010
Kevin McCabe	Y
Eugene McKenna		Y	Y	Y
Frank McGuigan		Y
John Lynch			Y
Plunkett Donaghy			Y
Damien O'Hagan			Y
Peter Canavan					Y	Y	Y		Y	Y		Y
Fay Devlin						Y
Finbar McConnell							Y
Stephen O'Neill								Y				Y		Y
Cormac McAnallen										Y
Conor Gormley										Y		Y	Y
Phillip Jordan										Y		Y	Y		Y
Sean Cavanagh										Y	Y	Y	Y
Brian Dooher										Y		Y	Y
Brian McGuigan										Y
Ryan McMenamin												Y
Eoin Mulligan												Y
Justin McMahon													Y
Davy Harte													Y
Enda McGinley													Y

Hurling[link]

Gerry Goodwin of Tyrone won the 1982 All-Ireland Poc Fada Championship.

Honours[link]

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships: None
• All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championships: None
• All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championships: 2010(All-Ireland C)
• All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championships: None
• National Hurling League Div 4: 2011
• Ulster Senior Hurling Championships: None
• Ulster Under-21 Hurling Championships: None
• Ulster Minor Hurling Championships: None
• Ulster Junior Hurling Championships: 3
  • 1995, 1996, 1999
• Lory Meagher Cup: 1
  • 2009

[nicky rackard cup]

Camogie[link]

High point of the Tyrone camogie story was the run of Eglish to the 1991 All-Ireland Senior Club Camogie Championship final. Led by the Jordan sisters they pulled off two of the shocks of the century in defeating Loughgiel in the Ulster final by 3-7 to 2-4 and then defeating Celtic of Dublin in the All Ireland semi-final, but lost the final heavily against Mullagh from Galway.

Tyrone qualified for the All Ireland junior final of 1980 against Cork, defeating Armagh, Antrim and Louth in their path to the final. Ursula Jordan was the outstanding player of the era and in the history of camogie in the county, and was selected for Ulster’s Gael Linn Cup inter-provincial team. Ann Jordan, Sheila Burke and Paula Vallely were other notable players from the 1980s. Vera Campbell refereed the All Ireland senior finals of 1939, 1940 and 1943.

Tyrone won the Máire Ní Chinnéide Cup in 2008^[3] and the fourth division of the National Camogie League in 2010.^[4] Under Camogie’s National Development Plan 2010-2015, “Our Game, Our Passion,”^[5] five new camogie clubs are to be established in the county by 2015.^[6]

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Tyrone Gaelic games magazine
• Tyrone on Hoganstand.com
• National and provincial titles won by Tyrone teams
• Club championship winners
• Tyrone GAA site
• Red Hands
• An Caisleán Glas CLG - First Club in Tyrone to win an All-Ireland Club medal

County Tyrone Contae Thír Eoghain Coontie Tyrone
Coat of arms
Motto: Consilio et Prudentia  (Latin) "By Wisdom and Prudence"
Country	United Kingdom
Region	Northern Ireland
Province	Ulster
County seat	Omagh
Area
• Total	1,260 sq mi (3,263 km2)
Area rank	8th
Population (2001)	166,516
• Rank	10th [1]
Contae Thír Eoghain is the Irish name; Countie Tyrone,[2] Coontie Tyrone[3] and Coontie Owenslann[4] are Ulster Scots spellings (the latter used only by Dungannon & South Tyrone Borough Council).

County Tyrone (from Irish: Tír Eoghain, meaning "land of Eoghan") is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 3,155 km², with a population of approximately 166,516, with its county town being Omagh. It is also one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland, lying within the historical province of Ulster.

Tyrone is the seventh largest of Ireland’s thirty-two counties in area and eighth largest in terms of population.^[5] It is the second largest of Ulster’s nine counties in size and fourth largest in terms of population.^[6]

Name[link]

The name Tyrone is derived from Irish: Tír Eoghain meaning "land of Eoghan". This Eoghan was son of king Niall of the Nine Hostages, and brother of Conall Gulban, who gave his name to the kingdom of Tír Chonaill.^[7] Historically, it was anglicised as Tirowen or Tyrowen, which are closer to the Irish pronunciation.

History[link]

Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on natural resources located there. Tyrone was the traditional stronghold of the various O'Neill clans and families, the strongest of the Gaelic Irish families in Ulster, surviving into the seventeenth century. The ancient principality of Tír Eoghain, the inheritance of the O'Neills, included the whole of the present counties of Tyrone and Londonderry, and the four baronies of West Inishowen, East Inishowen, Raphoe North and Raphoe South in County Donegal.^[7]

Geography[link]

With an area of 3,155 square kilometres (1,218 sq mi), Tyrone is the largest county in Northern Ireland. The flat peatlands of East Tyrone borders the shoreline of the largest lake in Ireland, Lough Neagh, rising gradually across to the more mountainous terrain in the west of the county, the area surrounding the Sperrin Mountains, the highest point being Sawel Mountain at a height of 678 m (2,224 ft). The length of the county, from the mouth of the River Blackwater at Lough Neagh to the western point near Carrickaduff hill is 55 miles (89 km). The breadth, from the southern corner, southeast of Fivemiletown, to the northeastern corner near Meenard Mountain is 37.5 miles (60.4 km); giving an area of 1,260 square miles (in 1900).^[7] Annaghone lays claim to be the geographical centre of Northern Ireland.

Demography[link]

It is one of four counties in Northern Ireland which presently has a majority of the population from a Catholic community background, according to the 2001 census. In 1900 County Tyrone had a population of 197,719,^[7] while in 2001 it was 166,516.

Settlements[link]

Large towns[link]

(population of 18,000 or more and under 75,000 at 2001 Census)^[14]

• Omagh

Medium towns[link]

(population of 10,000 or more and under 18,000 at 2001 Census)^[14]

• Cookstown
• Dungannon
• Strabane

Small towns[link]

(population of 4,500 or more and under 10,000 at 2001 Census)^[14]

• Coalisland

Intermediate settlements[link]

(population of 2,250 or more and under 4,500 at 2001 Census)^[14]

• Castlederg

Villages[link]

(population of 1,000 or more and under 2,250 at 2001 Census)^[14]

• Ardboe
• Carrickmore
• Dromore
• Fintona
• Fivemiletown
• Moy
• Newtownstewart
• Sion Mills

Small villages or hamlets[link]

(population of less than 1,000 at 2001 Census)^[14]

Subdivisions[link]

Baronies

• Clogher
• Dungannon Lower
• Dungannon Middle
• Dungannon Upper
• Omagh East
• Omagh West
• Strabane Lower
• Strabane Upper

Parishes

Townlands

Sport[link]

The major sports in Tyrone are Gaelic games, Association football and Rugby Union.^{[citation needed]}

• Gaelic football is more widely played than hurling. The Tyrone GAA football side has had considerable success since 2000, winning three All Ireland titles (in 2003, 2005 and 2008), they have also won thirteen Ulster titles (1956, 1957, 1973, 1984, 1986, 1989, 1995, 1996, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2009, 2010)^[15] and two National League titles (in 2002 and 2003).^{[citation needed]}
  • Underage Gaelic football teams have also had considerable successes on the field at both provincial and national level - winning the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship seven times (the most recent, also in 2010) and the All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship four times.^{[citation needed]}
• Association Football also has a large following. Omagh Town F.C. were members of the Irish Football League until they folded in 2005. Dungannon Swifts F.C. compete in the IFA Premiership. Other teams include Irish League Division One side Coagh United F.C. and Division Two sides Dergview F.C. and Killymoon Rangers F.C..
• Rugby Union is very popular in the county. Dungannon RFC are one of only three Ulster teams currently playing in All Ireland League One. Other teams include Omagh RFC, Clogher Valley RFC, Cookstown RFC and Strabane RFC.

People[link]

Notable residents of County Tyrone have included:

• Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone (Aodh Mór Ó Néill), c.1550–1616, Irish leader during the Nine Years' War
• Philomena Begley, Irish country music singer
• Tom Clarke, a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising
• John Dunlap (1747–1812), publisher of the first American daily newspaper the Pennsylvania Packet in 1784, also the printer of the American Declaration of Independence.
• Janet Devlin, soul and pop artist and contestant on the Xfactor
• John Hughes, (1797–1864), born in Annaloghan, first Archbishop of Roman Catholic diocese of New York.^[16]
• Mary Mallon (1869–1938), more commonly known as Typhoid Mary
• Peter Canavan, former All Ireland winning Tyrone captain and second top scorer in Senior Ulster Championship football.
• Professor P G (Gerry) McKenna MRIA, biomedical scientist and former Vice Chancellor, University of Ulster
• Darren Clarke, professional golfer.
• Paul Brady, musician.
• Brian Dooher, current captain of the Tyrone senior football team.
• Hugo Duncan, singer and broadcaster on BBC Radio.
• Dennis Taylor, former World Snooker Champion.
• Aaron Hughes, current captain of the Northern Ireland football team and also plays for Fulham.
• Benedict Kiely (1919–2007), writer and broadcaster
• Thomas Mellon, founder of Mellon Bank, now Bank of New York Mellon
• Flann O'Brien, 1911–1966, writer
• Victor Sloan MBE, Visual Artist
• William Burke, 1792–1829, grave robber and murderer
• William Carleton, 1794–1869, writer
• Brian Friel, dramatist and theatre director
• Chloe Coyle, The All Ireland Talent Show (series 2)^[17]
• Ivan Sproule, football player for Bristol City F.C.

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: County Tyrone

• Abbeys and priories in Northern Ireland (County Tyrone)
• High Sheriff of Tyrone
• List of civil parishes of County Tyrone
• List of places in County Tyrone
• List of townlands in County Tyrone
• Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone

References[link]

• The Memoirs of John M. Regan, a Catholic Officer in the RIC and RUC, 1909–48, Joost Augusteijn, editor, District Inspector, Co. Tyrone, 1920s, ISBN 978-1-84682-069-4.

Further reading[link]

• McNeill, I. 2010. The Flora of County Tyrone. National Museums of Northern Ireland. ISBN 978905989171

External links[link]

• County Tyrone at the Open Directory Project
• A Flavour of Tyrone
• County Tyrone.com
• Ulster-American Folk Park

v t e Counties of Ireland The counties are listed per province Connacht Galway Leitrim Mayo Roscommon Sligo Munster Clare Cork Kerry Limerick Tipperary (North Tipperary · South Tipperary) Waterford Leinster Carlow Dublin (Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown · Fingal · South Dublin) Kildare Kilkenny Laois Longford Louth Meath Offaly Westmeath Wexford Wicklow Ulster Antrim† Armagh† Cavan Donegal Down† Fermanagh† Londonderry† Monaghan Tyrone† Italics denote non-administrative counties. Brackets denote non-traditional counties. †denotes non-administrative counties of Northern Ireland

Peter Canavan

Personal information
Irish name	Peadar Ó Ceannabháin
Sport	Gaelic football
Position	Forward
Born	(1971-04-09) April 9, 1971 (age 41) Glencull, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Height	5 ft 09 in (1.75 m)
Nickname	Peter 'The Great',[1][2] 'Wee Peter'
Occupation	Teacher[3]
Club(s)
Years	Club
1990–2007	Errigal Ciarán GAC
Club Titles
Tyrone titles	6
Ulster titles	2
Inter-county(ies)**
Years	County	Apps (scores)
1989–2005	Tyrone	49 (9–191 (218))[4]
Inter-county titles
Ulster titles	5
All Irelands	2
NFL	2
All Stars	6
**Inter County team apps and scores correct as of (22:03, 21 December 2006 (UTC))[5].

Peter Canavan (born 9 April 1971) is the current manager of the Fermanagh intercounty Gaelic football team. He is a former player for Tyrone, and is one of the most decorated players in the game's history, winning two All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medals, six GAA All Stars Awards (more than any other Ulster player, and joint third overall),^[6] four provincial titles, and two National Leagues and several under-age and club championship medals. He represented Ireland in the International Rules Series on several occasions from 1998 until 2000.^[7] He is considered one of the great players of the last twenty years by commentators such as John Haughey of the BBC.^[8][9] and in 2009, he was named in the Sunday Tribune's list of the 125 Most Influential People In GAA History.^[10]

His scoring record of 218 points is the second highest of all time in the Ulster Senior Football Championship.^[4] His early high scoring rate, when he would often be Tyrone's best performer^[11]—particularly in the 1995 All-Ireland final when he scored eleven of Tyrone's twelve points—led to claims that Tyrone was a "one-man show," and that the team was too dependent on him, particularly in his early career.^[12][13][14]

Personal life[link]

Canavan is from Glencull, near Ballygawley, County Tyrone^[14] and was the tenth of eleven children.^[2] His older brother, Pascal, played with him on the Tyrone panel for most of the 1990s. He is married to Finola (sister of former Tyrone team-mate Ronan McGarrity^[14]), and has four children, Áine, Claire, Darragh and Ruairi, and has been a Physical Education teacher in Holy Trinity College, Cookstown, throughout most of his career (Gaelic games are amateur sports).^[14][15] While there, he taught Eoin Mulligan his point-taking technique, and the pair have been known in the media as 'master and student' ever since, particularly by television commentators.^[16]

He writes a column for the Gaelic games magazine, Hogan Stand^[17] and the Northern Ireland edition of The Daily Mirror.^[18] and in 2008, Canavan joined TV3 as a football pundit for their first year of broadcasting live GAA matches.^[19]

In 2003, just over a week before Tyrone's Ulster final appearance against Down, Canavan's father, Seán, died. It came as a shock to Canavan, who had thought his father (who was already in hospital) was getting better. He decided to play in the match, stating that he knew, subconsciously "[he] was going to be playing in the Ulster final all along and Daddy certainly wouldn't have wanted [him] to do anything but play."^[20]

Canavan has suffered from asthma since he was a child, and has battled throughout his career to control the ailment. He told the Asthma Society of Ireland, "I thought to myself, this is something that I am just going to have to put up with." In later years, however, improved medication has afforded Canavan what he described as, "a better quality of life".^[21]

Under-age career[link]

In order to play for an inter-county GAA team, Canavan had to work around a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) bylaw, because of a dispute in his parish, Errigal Ciarán. Two clubs claimed to represent the parish, the established Ballygawley St. Ciaran's club and the newly-formed club, then called Errigal Ciaran Naomh Malachai. Players from the Errigal team were not recognised as being GAA members, because the club failed to register correctly. Canavan registered as a member of the Killyclogher hurling club, even though he didn't play the sport, just so he would be eligible for selection for the Tyrone minors. Prior to that, he had not played legitimate club football, but had forged his way onto the Tyrone under-age teams with his performances at school level. The two clubs united under the banner of Errigal Ciaran two years later.^[22]

In 1988, Canavan won the Ulster minor Championship, an under eighteens tounament, but lost in the All-Ireland semi-final to Kerry. The crux of this team, including Adrian Cush, Ciaran Corr and others, would stay together as part of the senior team for most of the nineties. Canavan captained Tyrone to two All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championships titles in 1991 and 1992, having been on the team which lost the 1990 final, again to Kerry.^[3] In four years as an Under 21 player, Canavan scored 13-53 (13 goals and 53 points—each goal equals 3 points; 13 x 3 + 53 = 92 points, see GAA scoring rules) for Tyrone.^[5] By the time he was twenty, he was already an automatic choice in the senior panel.

Early senior career: 1993-1998[link]

Canavan's name was already known around Tyrone because of his exploits for the Under 21 team,^[8] but he started to make an impact in the Ulster Senior Football Championship in 1994, as Tyrone lost to eventual All-Ireland champions, Down. He was the top scorer in the province,^[4] earning him his first All Star, at the age of 23.^[23]

1995 All-Ireland Final[link]

Throughout the 1995 championship, Canavan had spearheaded Tyrone's march to the final, with round after round of massive scoring exploits. Against Derry in the Ulster Semi-Final, he scored 0–8, and against Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final, he scored 1–7.^[24]

Tyrone reached their second All-Ireland Final in 1995, and were up against Dublin who hadn't won a Championship since the 1980s. In a turgid match, Canavan scored eleven of Tyrone's twelve points in the, but still ended up on the losing side. The game was remembered as contentious for Tyrone fans, for the fact that a point that would have equalised the match in the dying seconds was controversially disallowed, because the blind-sided referee deemed Canavan to have touched the ball on the ground.^[12] The referee, Paddy Russell stated in his autobiography that he was certain the ball was on the ground, but Canavan contested in the same book that he mangaed to get elevation on the ball as he punched, which would have been very difficult to do if it was touching the ground.^[25] He was the top scorer in Ireland that year, with a total of 1–38,^[5] earning him the inaugural Footballer of the Year title.^[23] The fact that Canavan's scoring tally was so far ahead of his peers on the team led to suggestions that Tyrone were depending too heavily on him.^[12]

1996: Injury[link]

For the 1996 championship, Canavan was handed the captaincy of Tyrone, and was Ulster's leading scorer for the third year in a row,^[4] and subsequently awarded his third successive All Star.^[23] Tyrone reached the All-Ireland semi-final against Meath, but Canavan was one of six Tyrone players to sustain injuries that day, which some Tyrone fans attribute to Meath's heavy-handedness.^[26] Canavan's injury was so severe that he was still feeling the effects for over a year,^[8] and there was speculation as to whether he had been playing on a broken foot.^[27]

1998–2000: International stage[link]

During a weak period for Tyrone Seniors in the late 1990s, Canavan represented Ireland in the inaugural International Rules Series in 1998 against Australia. In 1999, he was named vice-captain of the team for the tour to Australia, and Ireland came away convincing winners, with Canavan scoring eleven points in the first test in Adelaide, South Australia.^[7] In 2000, In the first test Australia's Jason Akermanis gave Canavan a bloody nose 20 seconds into the game.^[28] Canavan was sent off in the second test, after fighting with Akermanis. He was banned for one match, which wouldn't be played until the next year, so he ruled himself out of the next series.^[29] In five tests Canavan scored 37 points, becoming one of the few Irish players to leave their mark on the Australian supporters.^[30]

Late senior career[link]

Tyrone were one of the favourites for the 2002 All-Ireland, having won their first National Football League in the spring,^[27] but ended up losing a qualifying match to Sligo, even though Canavan scored six points on the day.^[31] That particular defeat stunned him so much, he considered retiring Inter County football.^[32] Despite that, he won his fourth All Star that year, the only Tyrone player to do so,^[23] which made him Tyrone's most represented player on the All Star Roll of Honour, overtaking Eugene McKenna, his manager at the time.^[33]

2003: Championship glory[link]

In 2003, Canavan shook off his tag as 'the greatest player never to win an All-Ireland',^[15][34] captaining Tyrone to their first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. As he approached the podium on Croke Park's Hogan Stand after the final, his nervousness was visible, and after being handed the trophy, he made an emotional speech about how he had to enviously watch other Ulster teams lift the Sam Maguire Cup, but "to eventually win it is something else."^[35]

His appearance in the final was remarkable for the fact that he was the top scorer of the day with five points,^[36] despite having suffered an ankle injury in the previous match, and was not expected (or advised) to play.^[8] He started the final and was taken off before half time. During the break, and even some way into the second half, he was receiving treatment to his ankle, including pain-killing injections.
With ten minutes remaining, he was reintroduced by manager Mickey Harte,^[35] likely due to his experience as the only member of the team who had played in an All-Ireland final before. This reintroduction, while not the first time it had happened (blood substitutions had been used sporadically, for example), was seen as one of the greatest moments in the GAA in the last forty years.^[37]

In the drawn Ulster final against Down, Canavan was playing a week after the death of his father. He remarked in his autobiography that he feared Tyrone were going to lose by one of the biggest margins in Ulster Championship history, if they didn't stem the flow of the Down attack.^[38][39] When Tyrone were awarded a penalty, Canavan stepped up, due to Stephen O'Neill (the first choice penalty-taker) being on the bench. He took the kick, and managed to find the net, later describing it as "the most important [kick] of my career," citing the fact that if Tyrone had been heavily beaten, they probably wouldn't have been able to pick themselves up to play in the 'back door' qualifier series.^[40]

Over the course of the 2003 Championship, he amassed a total of 1–48 (a total of 51 points),^[36] and had won the National League in the spring, all of which earned him a fifth All Star.^[23] Among his more notable performances of the year included an eight-point haul in the replayed first round match against Derry,^[41] and in the replayed Ulster Final, Canavan scored eleven points.^[42]

He became the first GAA star to gain an honorary doctorate from the University of Ulster,^[15] and was also voted BBC Northern Ireland Sports Personality of the Year,^[43] a regional award of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. Following an email campaign throughout Ireland, Canavan was an early forerunner for the national award, despite the fact that Gaelic games have very little exposure in Great Britain.^[44]

Following the 2003 final, Canavan relinquished the captaincy to Cormac McAnallen, but the 24 year old died shortly after taking up the position. This tragedy adversely affected the mindset of the team, and they were unable to defend their All-Ireland.^[45]

2005: Championship swan song[link]

Canavan was used mostly as an 'impact substitute' throughout the 2005 Championship—brought on to either unsettle the opposition, or rally his teammates.^[8] This backfired when he was controversially sent off within a minute of coming on as a substitute in the Ulster Final replay replay.^[46]

In the All-Ireland semi-final against Armagh (who were meeting Tyrone for the third time that year), Canavan scored with the last kick of the game, winning the match for Tyrone.^[47] Kevin McStay, a former Mayo player, described it as the point of the season, despite the free kick being from a relatively straightforward position.^[48]

Canavan (13, white) drilling home Tyrone's winning goal in the 2005 All-Ireland final

Mickey Harte chose Canavan on the starting line-up of the All-Ireland final and went on to score Tyrone's only goal, winning on a scoreline of 1–16 to 2–10.^[49]

He retired from inter-county football following this performance with a sixth All Star, ending a sixteen-year tenure in Senior championship football.^[50] He said of his decision, "I have spent enough time on the treatment table", referring to the instances where he played while carrying potentially career-threatening injuries, as he had done in 1996 and 2003. Canavan's appearance in the 2005 final (his last game for Tyrone), was his forty-ninth Championship match.

Other intercounty successes[link]

Canavan was part of both Tyrone sides that won the National Football League title two years in a row—in 2002 and 2003^[8]—and he competed in the 1992 final against Derry. His success in other competitions include five Railway Cups, two Vocational Schools titles, and one Dr. McKenna Cup.^[5]

Club career[link]

After retiring from inter-county football, he continued to play at club level for Errigal Ciarán until 2007.^[51] During the seventeen years he played he won six Tyrone Senior Club titles and two Ulster Club Championships,^[52] and in 2006, he won his first Tyrone All Star for his performances in the club championship.^[53] In December 2008, he moved into management for the first time, by taking charge of Errigal Ciaran,^[54] leading them to win the Tyrone All County League final in 2009.^[55]

Disciplinary problems[link]

His career features many examples of indiscipline,^[56][57] including on-pitch scuffles with other players.^[28] which at times threatened to overshadow his achievements. Jack O'Connor, Kerry's manager in the 2005 All-Ireland final, suggested in his autobiography that Canavan tackled Colm Cooper off the ball, preventing him getting into a goal-scoring position,^[58] a claim backed up by The Sunday Tribune journalist, Kieran Shannon.^[59]

Management career[link]

Canavan was appointed manager of Fermanagh in November 2011 on a three-year term to be reviewed annually, with trainer Kieran Donnelly and selector Enda Kilpatrick joining him.^[60] His First game was Antrim and Fermanagh won 2 goals an 11 points to 1.6.

References[link]