The world at their feet: Tyrone’s golden generation

Pascal McConnell looks back 25 years later as a special Red Hand group claimed the All-Ireland U-21 title

By Shaun Casey

IN truth, no one else really stood a chance. This star-studded Tyrone team had already ruled at minor level and the u-21 stage was merely a platform to push on and create history in the Red Hand County.

The All-Ireland U-21 success of 2000 was a stepping stone. A sign of intent. In 2000, those players were fearless youngsters taking everything in their stride. By the end of the decade, most of them had an All-Ireland senior medal. Some of them had three.

Most of the same crop of players won an All-Ireland Minor title in 1998. They’d played in the 1997 final as well, but came up short against Laois, who they exacted revenge on the following season. That was the standard in Tyrone.

In 2000, at the u-21 grade, winning the All-Ireland wasn’t a hope. It wasn’t a dream. It was the expectation. The bar had been raised and now it was time for Mickey Harte’s team to deliver. And deliver they did.

Linking those 1998 and 2000 All-Ireland winning teams is an easy task. Pascal McConnell, Gavin Devlin, Michael McGee, Darren O’Hanlon, Cormac McAnallen, Kevin Hughes, Stephen O’Nell, Owen Mulligan and Brian McGuigan played in both finals.

McConnell was the one who guarded the goals for both teams and recalls the confidence, not complacency, within the squad.

“It was a very special campaign for us. From those minor teams, there was a bond built up between us leading into that 2000 campaign.

“With the sad loss of Paul McGirr in ’97, that team had a lot of lads that were involved that year and then you added in the ’98 successful minor team, it was all expertly guided by Mickey Harte himself.

“There was good confidence gained from those minor days but there was one thing Mickey always done and he always shielded us against and that was complacency. That year, we beat Limerick in the All-Ireland final, but Limerick were there on merit.

“One thing Mickey always had at the forefront of things was that guarding against complacency. The fact that we were successful at minor level didn’t guarantee success at that stage.

“What he wanted his teams to epitomise was hard work and if you worked hard enough, he was confident in the ability that we had and if we worked hard enough, we would overcome challenges, it wasn’t just going to happen by chance.

“That was a big thing that stands out looking back. Mickey was guiding us, we were still young, and we weren’t adults in a football sense at that stage, so it was a testament to Mickey and the way he guided us through.”

Coming in against Limerick, who aren’t necessarily known for their footballing talents or ability to win All-Ireland’s with the big ball, Tyrone gave them the credit and respect they deserved and prepared diligently for the task at hand.

“We did a lot of work for Limerick ahead of the All-Ireland final and we knew the threat they posed, and they were one of the biggest team I’ve ever seen at underage level,” McConnell recalls.

“They were just a typical Munster team. They had a lot of dual players; they had guys who went on to have successful hurling careers like Stephen Lucey and Brian Begley who played full-forward and Brian was 6’6 at u-20 level.”

The final itself proved the men from the Treaty County, who had a massive travelling support on the day, weren’t a soft touch. Tyrone led by the narrowest of margins at the break but pushed on after the turnaround to win 3-12 to 0-13.

“It was the ruthlessness of Richard Thornton that day, he grabbed two goals, and he punished any mistakes that occurred in the Limerick backline. Brian McGuigan (who also scored a goal) had another fantastic performance as well.

“Limerick outnumbered Tyrone 10-1 in support. Limerick had about 10,000 supporters where we only had 1000 down with us. The noise they made, I remember the first point they scored, it just hung in the air and dropped over the bar.

“They put up a good show and done themselves proud. A lot of that team went on to have fantastic careers with the Limerick footballers and the hurlers as well.”

At senior level, Tyrone would become the team of the decade in the noughties. Harte would lead them to the Sam Maguire trophy in 2003, 2005 and 2008, backboned by the group of youngsters that he managed at minor and u-21 level.

McConnell was one of a number of players that collected Celtic Crosses at senior level in the following years. McGuigan was another. O’Neill, Devlin, Mulligan, Hughes to name a few.

The talent was very much in that changing room but keeping the group together and developing a senior side fit to dine at the top table wasn’t something that was going to happen overnight.

“We were focusing on the moment because around that age group, in the back of your mind, you know there is a drop off and some players may peak at u-21 level. People make different choices and injuries, and different things can happen,” said McConnell.

“I can recall a couple of men that had the misfortune of bad, nasty injuries that cut their career short but there was a sense too that if we could keep this group together and work hard, the opportunities would present themselves.

“Looking round that team itself, even the bench had a lot of men that were just fantastic footballers. You could call upon anybody on the squad to do a job and I think it was a testament to the strength of the whole squad.

“I can recall in particular Aiden Lynch, he was a substitute on that team, but he won man of the match in the All-Ireland Minor final in ’98 and he was a fantastic footballer, I played with him at MacRory Cup level too. It was remarkable the amount of talent that was in that team.”

Cormac McAnallen was the captain of the team and the leader. Cormac didn’t get to fulfil his potential at senior level, sadly passing away in 2004, but he left a mark and a legacy not only in Tyrone but on the wider GAA community that is still fondly remembered.

“Cormac was actually sick leading up to the game,” McConnell added. “I remember leaving Belfast on the bus (coming home from university), me and Cormac were sitting chatting, and he was saying that he didn’t feel great, he was under the weather.

“He was hoping that the 48 hours before the game, that there would be a significant improvement. Cormac started and played as much as he could, he busted himself for the length of time he was on the field.

“Cormac was like a senior player playing u-21 football. His leadership, everything, he just epitomised it all. Obviously, he came through that minor team and played in both those All-Ireland finals.

“He went on then to captain us in 2000 and 2001 when we retained it. Cormac, everything he done and when he spoke, the way he carried himself, he was the leader of a fantastic group, there’s no doubt about that.”

The hope in the Red Hand County now is that history may be about to repeat itself. Once again Tyrone are the dominant force at underage level, but McConnell warns turning that into senior success isn’t always an easy task.

In the 2025 season just past, Tyrone were crowned All-Ireland champions at both minor and u-20 level. They’ve own three of the last four All-Ireland crowns at the u-20 grade, which could see Sam Maguire returning to the county in the near future.

“We live in hope. It does bring you back to the golden period we had and there will be people out there that will say it’s not guaranteed and it’s obviously not, we’re well aware of that, it doesn’t just continue on to senior level without hard work and dedication.

“They success now is bringing back a lot of very vivid memories of what happened in our time and no doubt the talent is there, but talent will only get you so far. It’s the hard work behind it and everything that goes with it.

“I feel with have the management there to oversee everything and hopefully see us getting back to senior success. I hope the lads take nothing for granted and put their shoulders to the wheel, but I think it’s really going to bode well for the future.”