By Barry O’Donnell

EOIN McElholm has already stockpiled an impressive array of medals and trophies in the still embryonic stage of his career, with both school and county, but even he was struggling to fully articulate what a first Tyrone title meant for Loughmacrory last Sunday.

An All-Ireland winner with both Omagh CBS and Tyrone u-20s, the dynamic attacker was named the official player of the match for the pivotal role he played in helping the St Teresa’s make history at the weekend, with that gripping one-point victory over Trillick at Healy Park.

Speaking in the aftermath of the triumph as he was showered with congratulations from ecstatic supporters on the pitch, McElholm stated that the milestone victory would mean the world to so many people.

“It’s unbelievable. I’m looking at all the ‘Lough people on the pitch, everyone who has done something for the club to get us to this day. It’s really special.

“There is huge emotion and there is relief too. We were up by a point but the experience Trillick have you were waiting for them to go up and hit a two-pointer or even a goal. So you do be nervous but when the final whistle went there was just pure relief.

“This means absolutely everything to the community and my own family too, my uncles have been Loughmacrory fans since they were young and they have been waiting a long time for this day.

“Seeing everybody – family, friends, people who have worked within the club to try and get us to this day, it just all paid off.”

The signs looked ominous for Loughmacrory early on when pre-match favourites Trillick raced into a three-point advantage, but Eoin was delighted with how the Lough responded to the challenge posed to them.

“We went down by three but we then scored seven points in a row. We got to grips with their keeper’s kick-outs and when we got the chances we converted most of them. I hit the crossbar and we missed a few others but it was just great to get over the line.”