O’Rourke hopeful of McGeary involvement

By Niall Gartland

TYRONE manager Malachy O’Rourke is hopeful that the vast majority of his 2025 panel will be available for selection when the new season commences with the return of the McKenna Cup in January.

There is no word yet of possible retirements, though it’s likely that Mark Bradley will be unavailable due to his decision to take a year out travelling.

All-Star nominee Kieran McGeary, who recently got married, has also gone on his travels, though O’Rourke has his fingers crossed that the Pomeroy man will return back home in time to play a key role in 2026.

Asked about potential retirements, O’Rourke said “I would be hopeful that they’ll all be back, there’s nobody who has said they won’t be back. The only one is Mark Bradley, he’s away this year travelling all around the world.

“Kieran McGeary is away but we’re hoping that he’ll be back during the National League. I don’t know the exact date when he’s coming back – I don’t know if he knows himself. The important thing for us is that he wasn’t writing off the year by any means.

“He’s in good shape, he’s keen to do the work when he’s away, and the earlier he’ll be back, the better for us. We’re hopeful that he’s going to be involved, and he’ll be working away while he’s away. Apart from that, hopefully we’ll have the full squad.”

O’Rourke also expressed a strong desire that the two most experienced members of his squad – the evergreen Peter Harte and Mattie Donnelly – will throw their lot in for the new season.

“Going from last year, going by their performances, it’s obvious that they have loads to offer on the field – their leadership, their experience, their ability to guide the other lads in the group, and for the other lads to watch the way they apply themselves and what they do around the camp.

“The way they’re playing at the minute, they’re both playing at a really high level, and they’re well worth their place in the panel and the team.

“You look at the work those boys have put in over the years and the role models that they are, that experience is so vital when there’s so many younger lads coming through in the panel.”

Hopes are high in the county that good times are ahead given the mammoth success that has been achieved at underage level in recent years, and O’Rourke expects that there will be a few fresh additions to the panel in 2026..

“I don’t want to be naming names, we’re going to have to sit down to look at exactly what is out there.

“There have been some really good competitive games and there’s plenty of fellows there who have put up their hands.

“So it will be a matter first of all to see who is interested and are they prepared to put in the commitment that’s required at that level, and hopefully then get them into the training panel.

“Once we get the go-ahead to start training again, we will be down to work and hopefully we will have a few additions.”