CIARAN Gourley: Giving something back

NIALL GARTLAND: First of all, what did you make of the win over Roscommon in the semi-finals? They really dug deep in the second half.

CIARAN GOURLEY: From a coaching point of view, it probably wasn’t the perfect performance, far from it, but semi-finals are all about winning. You have to give credit to Roscommon as well – they were really fired up for the game, which we expected, and we expected our boys to be like that as well.

We were a bit slow to get going, and it was probably only when Roscommon scored their goal that we came to life a bit. We were fortunate to lead at half-time but we were glad to have it.

The start of the second half was helter-skelter, there were a lot of mistakes made out on the pitch. Players were nervous and that’s understandable. It’s a big occasion and they didn’t want to make mistakes, and both sides were applying serious pressure on each other.

When we needed to grab control of the game, we showed composure, nailed on a few scores and got a bit of a lead. They got a few scores to make things a bit anxious again but we finished the game strongly.

NG: It’s a first All-Ireland Minor final for the county since 2021. How important is it for the county to back to that stage?

CG: Tyrone have a great track record at minor level, they’ve won a lot of minor titles and have done well over the decades, but I suppose every group coming in is a new team and wants to leave their own legacy. We know this group of players has the potential to do very well. Thankfully we’ve realised that potential, ultimately we’ve got ourselves to a final and we want to go on and win it.

NG: You’ve been involved right from the start of Gerry Donnelly’s tenure, what’s it been like on a personal level?

CG: I’ve been in for the full five years with Gerry, it’s been a good experience and enjoyable. At the time I was a bit hesitant to get involved. It’s a big commitment but it’s been a pleasure to work with the lads. I’m trying to give a wee bit back – I’ve had pretty good days with Tyrone and it’s nice to be able to help out again.

NG: There’s a big contingent of lads from St Patrick’s Academy, Dungannon, which must be pleasing to you as a teacher in the school.

CG: There would be a good contingent, I think there’s eight or nine players from the school involved. In fairness, Omagh CBS is well represented, we’ve boys from Dean Maguirc, Carrickmore as well. Omagh and ourselves have been strong at that age group so it’s nice to have a few familiar faces that I’ve seen before.

NG: Do you see this minor team as part of the wider Tyrone footballing ecosystem?

CG: Of course it is, the schools football is always very strong in Tyrone, and that level of competition helps when they come together in a minor set-up.

They’ve been battling against each other in schools football, they come together for Tyrone and in fairness to them this group has gelled together really well. They’ve had plenty of big battles at club and schools level but once they come together to represent their county, they do that wholeheartedly and hopefully it leads to good things down the line for the county as well.

NG: How much are you enjoying working alongside the likes of Niall [Morgan] and Sean [Murphy] and the other members of the backroom team?

CG: I’ve been involved in coaching for a good number of years and you’re always learning from others as well. You see what Niall brings to the table, he’s involved at senior intercounty level and has his own thoughts on how the game should go. Colly (Tuohey) has a good way with the lads, Sean’s come in and added his strength and conditioning expertise.

Gerard (Donnelly) leads us, he’s really good at keeping everything together and he puts in a lot of time and effort. The amount of work he puts in behind the scenes is immense. Thankfully we all gel really well together and that helps.

NG: Finally, when did your Rock clubmate Joel Kerr first come on your radar? He’s all set for a big soccer career…

CG: I saw Joel playing at Go Games level back at u-8s and u-10s. I wasn’t fully aware of the soccer side of things, but I think everyone’s aware of how talented he is now.

He’s a special talent and I wish him all the best when he heads over to West Ham – it’s a great opportunity to him. For the time being he’s with Tyrone and we want to make sure he has a good memory leaving us.