By Niall Gartland

TYRONE’S All-Ireland championship semi-final triumph over Kerry was nothing short of stunning, but joint-manager Feargal Logan was more than happy to bat away the compliments ahead of their date with destiny against Mayo on Saturday week.

It’s been widely acknowledged that their win over raging hot favourites Kerry was a tactical masterless, but Logan says there’s a bigger picture at play and that they’re following in the footsteps of legions of Tyrone Gaels down through the decades who have combined to take us to the brink of a fourth All-Ireland title.

Logan said: “We’re blessed with the footballers we have in Tyrone, but I have to say there’s been generations of hard work and endeavour.

“There’s a deep-rooted tradition in Tyrone of Gaelic Football and Hurling and all things, and you see the fantastic surroundings in Garvaghey. We have facilities that would be difficult to match.

“My biggest ambition in all that is to represent all the people who have gone before us, who have done so much for Tyrone GAA during all the difficult times.

“We have a big county and a big club structure, so we have a good feed of players coming through, and we’re very appreciative of all the contributions that are being made night-after-night on pitches across Tyrone.”

It’s been an astonishing journey for the Tyrone players and management this season – from all the zoom calls in the interminable winter months, a certain league defeat down in Killarney, bouncing back to claim the Ulster title and now qualifying for the All-Ireland final in truly unforgettable fashion.

The team seems to be getting better and better with every game, something Logan is happy to acknowledge.

“We had a short run at this. We sat tight at the start of the year, came in two weeks before the league, had a truncated league then went to Killarney and got emptied.

“We got started into the championship very quickly after that, and we hope the team is developing and that it keeps on this trajectory.

“The players are starting to express themselves a bit better as well, whether by design or otherwise, and long may that continue.”

There’ll be plenty of talk about who’ll make the starting line-up for their battle royale against Mayo on Saturday week, but Logan and Brian Dooher will also have to make some tough decisions about who to leave out of the match-day panel of 26.

“It’s an open slate now for everybody and the next two weeks will determine our panel. We do make decisions where people are in and out, it’s a cruel part of management and the game, but we hope that everyone will be fit enough to stake a claim for selection. We’d love to include everybody but unfortunately it’s not like that in life.”

Tyrone’s All-Ireland semi-final victory over Kerry was all the more remarkable when you consider the context to the match. We won’t run over old ground, but Tyrone somehow managed to concoct their first victory over a ‘big three’ side since 2008 even though Covid-19 had ripped through the squad in the lead up to the game.

Logan, who again expressed his thanks to Kerry and the GAA for accommodating their request for a postponement, said: “Resilience is born out of adversity. As I sit here I say absolutely sincerely that the last month for Tyrone football has been horrendous. Of course that brings with it a narrative and different slants are put on things that can cause all sorts of emotions and upset.

“We got back on the football field about a week before the match and it worked. It did work and that’s going to be the collateral issue that surrounds something like that. We’re just delighted to be heading to an All-Ireland final.”