My GAA Life – Tommy McGuigan

Name?
Tommy McGuigan.

Which teams did you represent?
Ardboe and Tyrone.

What is your current involvement with the GAA?
I’m involved with the Ardboe minor management.

What was your greatest moment in the GAA?
Winning a senior All-Ireland.

What was the most surprising moment in your career?
Going in for keyhole surgery and expecting to be out of football for three weeks. I woke up and surgeon said I’d be out for one year!

Who was the best player you ever played with?
Stevie O’Neill.

What was the best score you ever saw in a game you were involved in?
Brian Dooher’s point in the 2008 final.

Which manager made the biggest impact on you and why?
Mickey Donnelly. Always positive and knew how to work hard with enjoyment. Still a Liverpool pollution though.

What was the best piece of advice you ever received about playing?
From the old man, “It’s only a game. Enjoy it.” And that’s all it is.

What was the best thing about playing in your era?
No obsession with systems. The game was a lot more simple and enjoyable.

What was the worst thing about playing your era?
Drink bans. Ridiculous. It should have been up to team-mates to pull a man into line if he was taking it too far.

When did you know it was time to call it quits?
When I’d be struggling to walk properly for three days after a session because of the knee.

What interesting or funny story may readers not know about you or one of your former teammates?
Ryan McMenamin is actually dead on.