Cassidy coming to the fore

ALL-IRELAND SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTER-FINAL

By Niall Gartland

IT’S too much to expect young players to hit the ground running at senior intercounty level, particularly in today’s quasi-professional era, but Ronan Cassidy has already shown ample evidence that he can enjoy a long and hopefully fruitful playing career with Tyrone.

The Donaghmore forward was drafted into the senior set-up just days after starring in Tyrone’s All-Ireland U20 final victory against Kerry in May 2024. He kicked five points that day as the Red Hands swept to victory, and you could devote an entire article to his underage career between club and county.

Last season he was limited to a couple of run outs in the league under the county’s new manager Malachy O’Rourke, but 2026 has been another matter entirely.

Cassidy is one of three Tyrone players who have started all ten matches across league and championship this year, the other two being Conn Kilpatrick and Cormac Quinn. Four others, Mattie Donnelly, Brian Kennedy, Ciarán Daly and Michael McKernan have played at least some part in all their post-McKenna Cup outings. All very familiar names and now Cassidy stands among them as playing an integral role in Tyrone’s run to Saturday’s All-Ireland semi-final date with Kerry.

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He produced his best performance in a Tyrone jersey to date on their last day out against Mayo, contributing four points from play in a dramatic contest in Omagh. Earlier in the year he operated out of the half-back line, but now he’s reminding us that he very much knows where the posts are.

Speaking after Tyrone’s win over the Connacht men, Cassidy said: “That’s what you want to do – add scores. That’s what Malachy said to me, to try and add to the scoreboard, and I’m just happy to repay his faith.”

When asked about the frantic finish to proceedings, a clutch free outside the arc from Niall Morgan propelling Tyrone to a one-point victory, Cassidy cited the impact of the Tyrone support base, who came out in force at Healy Park.

“You saw the Tyrone crowd, they came out in numbers. There was plenty of noise and it was class. The supporters were brilliant for us.

“It did become chaotic at times, but we kept cool heads. When we went behind, we showed great character to come back into the game and get the result.”

The prize for back-to-back wins over Roscommon and Mayo was automatic passage to the last-eight of the All-Ireland. One fewer game and an extra game to prepare – the hope is that Tyrone will benefit from the fortnight’s break ahead of their fourth blockbuster championship match with the Kingdom since the turn of the decade.

Cassidy said: “We really focused on getting back-to-back wins in the Championship, something we haven’t done in a while.

“We’ve done that now, but we’re into a quarter-final, so the full focus will be on that. That two-week break is massive. We can now sit down, watch the games and prepare ourselves for a big game in Croke Park.”

He also said the Tyrone camp were mindful of a bad day at the office against Mayo in last year’s Championship. On that occasion Mayo were full value for their All-Ireland group stage victory over Tyrone in Omagh, and the Red Hands were hell-bent on making amends.

“Look, Mayo came last year and gave us a real tough challenge and they beat us. That was on our minds. We’d just beaten Donegal and Mayo taught us a few lessons that day.

“We took a lot of learnings from that. We knew we had to match their intensity.

“They always bring a good intensity and we had to match it. I think we did for large parts of the game and we’re just glad to get the win.”

While Tyrone are underdogs heading into Saturday’s knockout clash with the All-Ireland champions, there’s no doubt that they’ve hit form at the right time. Cassidy says they used their six-week lay-off following their Ulster Championship defeat to Armagh productively, and now they’re one of only two Ulster sides remaining in the race for the Sam Maguire.

“It nearly feels like coming into a new season when you’ve been out of action for that long.

“But look, the ground is hardening up and I think that suits us more. This is the time of year that matters, and it’s good that we’re showing strong character at this stage of the season.”