Defeat to glory: Aoife Horisk looks back at a memorable season for Tyrone

By Daire Walsh

FOLLOWING the heartbreak of their defeat to Leitrim in the previous year’s final, Aoife Horisk and Tyrone were highly motivated coming into the 2025 edition of the TG4 All-Ireland intermediate football championship.

Despite Horisk helping herself to an impressive tally of 2-2 from play, Tyrone fell short by a single point to the O’Rourke County in the 2024 decider – having found themselves seven adrift inside the final quarter before staging a gallant late rally. This was a tough defeat to take, but with the vast majority of the squad back in harness, the Red Hand enjoyed another extended summer in 2025.

Under the guidance of new manager Darren McCann, Tyrone reached a second successive All-Ireland IFC showpiece at Croke Park on August 3. Horisk once again shone in GAA HQ with an excellent haul of 1-3 and even though Laois provided a stubborn resistance, Tyrone claimed the Mary Quinn Memorial Cup with a 2-16 to 1-13 victory.

“Getting beaten by Leitrim probably was the biggest wake-up call we needed going into 2025. New management and all, so there was big changes, but one thing that didn’t change was the girls. The girls who were there in 2024 also were there in 2025 and knew what it felt like to be hurt at that final whistle,” Horisk recalls.

“We brought that to the new management, that we couldn’t let that happen again. We probably had a really good opportunity to build again and get back there, but also knew it wasn’t an easy road back. Because the teams that are quality in intermediate weren’t going to make it easy for us.

“Looking back, we created 28 scoring chances in the first half and we scored eight. The chances were there, but we just weren’t converting. I suppose when you’re making those chances, you know that you’re there and it just has to click. In the second half, we just went out and it did click for us.”

Since making her senior inter-county debut early in 2023, Horisk has become a regular fixture within the Tyrone team. Having earned a spot at left corner-forward on the TG4 Intermediate Team of the Championship for 2024, she also made the cut at left half-forward for the 2025 selection in the same grade.

Additionally, after accumulating 4-25 across five appearances in the All-Ireland series, Horisk made the shortlist for the TG4 Intermediate Players’ Player of the Year award alongside her Tyrone colleague Sorcha Gormley and Westmeath ace Sarah Dillon. It was Gormley who claimed the top prize in the end and Horisk was understandably thrilled the Carrickmore attacker was honoured by her peers.

“All of those personal or individual accolades are really nice, but me and Sorcha would be quite close on the team. If either one of us are getting those accolades, we’re happy for each other and we’re really proud of each other because we both got each other to where we are.

“We wouldn’t be playing on those big stages without each other. Getting on the team of the year, it’s a great thing and The Irish News ones as well, they were on the same night. It wasn’t easy to celebrate them all. It’s really nice to get those accolades, but then at the end of the day, the bigger picture was winning the Mary Quinn. Which was the best part.”

The day after Gormley received the Intermediate Players’ Player of the Year award at the TG4 All Stars banquet in the Bonnington Dublin Hotel on November 15, Horisk featured for Errigal Ciaran against St Ergnat’s, Moneyglass in their AIB Ulster senior football championship final at Brewster Park in Enniskillen.

She contributed four points for the Ballygawley side, but it was eventual All-Ireland finalists St Ergnat’s who secured provincial honours on a final score of 3-10 to 0-6.

Aoife Horisk in action for Errigal Ciaran

Yet in spite of this disappointing result, Horisk still views 2025 as a positive year overall for Errigal Ciaran. After being part of the side that bridged an eight-year gap to their previous senior championship success with a final triumph over St Macartan’s in 2023, the Ulster University nursing graduate started at full-forward when Errigal Ciaran regained the top-tier county title against Dungannon in September.

“We had a great run through Tyrone against a couple of the favoured teams, like Trillick and Dungannon. Then we were lucky enough to get over the line against Dungannon and then went into the Ulster championship with no expectations from the outside. I suppose we had a lot of expectations inside for ourselves.

“We had said at the start of the year that a county championship would be great, but there was also an Ulster championship in this Errigal team. The Ulster final, it just wasn’t our day. We had so many chances in the first half and we just didn’t take them. Things just weren’t going our way, but no disrespect to Moneyglass. They’re a top notch team.”

Having enjoyed considerable success in 2025, both Errigal Ciaran and Tyrone will be hoping next year is another productive one on the field of play. When the latter previously secured an All-Ireland intermediate championship crown, they went on to enjoy a three-year stint in the Brendan Martin Cup.

They are aiming to make a big impression in the 2026 All-Ireland senior football championship, but before then Tyrone will have their sights set on a forthcoming campaign in Division Two of the Lidl National Football League. Horisk – who has signed with Melbourne Football Club for the 2026 AFLW season – was part of the Tyrone side that earned Division Two promotion in 2024 and is eager for a swift return to the league’s top-tier.

“Going into the Division Two league, we’ve loads of quality teams that you’re going to be playing. Like Mayo and Donegal and Westmeath. There’s no doubt that we’ll still have lots of challenges throughout the league to prepare us for Ulster championship and then the All-Ireland championship,” Horisk added.

“I think we’re in a good position. We’re coming off the high of the All-Ireland and everyone is pushing to get back, get fitter and get stronger. We’ll just put our heads down for the next few months and work away at that.”