Plenty for O’Rourke to ponder

By Niall Gartland

Across their two McKenna Cup group stage matches, Tyrone boss Malachy O’Rourke handed game-time to a grand total of 30 players – a figure inclusive of 11 lads who had never before played a single minute at senior intercounty level.

On top of that, there are various players who are yet to take to the field for Tyrone this year – including quite a few mainstays who are sidelined with injury at present.

In that respect, there are as many questions as answers. Speaking after Sunday’s victory over Down, O’Rourke almost adopted an apologetic tone about the pending ‘cut’. Rather him than us.

Anyway, the crux of the matter is this: Malachy is working with a panel of around 45 players but that will be whittled back fairly considerably (to about 35 or so) in time for the National League. The remainder, he hopes, will slip into the county’s feeder panel.

From a Tyrone perspective, it’s made for instructive viewing. You have the panel’s most experienced player – Mattie Donnelly – excelling in both group stage outings. Members of the recent All-Ireland U-20 winning panel haven’t looked out of place.

Then you have a few lads with less obvious stories backboning their involvement. Ethan Jordan – a starter on the back-to-back Ulster U-20 Championship winning teams of 2019 and 2020 – has been given his chance after starring for Eglish last season (his Tour de Force against Coalisland will live long in the memory). Another player who excelled at Intermediate level, Michael Conroy, has been drafted for his second stint on the Tyrone panel (he was previously involved in the 2021 and 2022 panels). They scored a combined 11 points against Down, which was good going on a mucky, blustery day.

Two Loughmacrory lads who were already part of the panel bided their time and made their debuts in recent weeks. Goalie Oisin O’Kane lined out against Armagh while Cathal Donaghy – arguably the player of the 2025 Tyrone Senior Championship – came on in the second half. Ruairi McCullagh, still eligible for the u-20s this season, subsequently made his debut against Down for his first senior outing. Another St Teresa’s forward, Eoin McElholm is on the road to recovery from injury and will no doubt play a big part as the season wears on.

Donaghmore duo Joey Clarke and Conor O’Neill also made their intercounty bow and fared well. It goes on and on in that respect – Oisin Gormley, Shane Hughes, Michael Rafferty, Mattie Óg McGleenan and Peter McCaughey complete the set of 11 players who have made their debut against either Armagh or Down, while Eglish goalkeeper Jack Gibney made his first start in their semi-final defeat to Monaghan.

Other key talking points from the McKenna Cup campaign include the eye-catching performance of Ruairi Canavan in a playmaking role against Armagh, the sharpness of Coalisland duo Michael McKernan and Niall Devlin and Darren McCurry’s cameo against the Orchard (he evidently still has plenty to offer). Lorcan McGarrity has the potential to develop into a serious option in the inside forward-line, Ben Cullen is back in business after playing no part last year, and on the whole, positives are plentiful from a Tyrone perspective.

Meanwhile, a few well-known names will be unavailable this season. Conor Meyler announced his retirement in November, while Mark Bradley is on his travels. Kieran McGeary, who was nominated for a 2025 All-Star, is set to return from time spent abroad in time for the really serious stuff, though reading between the lines it looks like Peter Harte has retired. Malachy O’Rourke says the Errigal Ciaran star is unlikely to be involved this year, but stranger things have happened than a retirement u-turn.

The Red Hands are back in the Division Two ranks for the first time since 2016 and hopes will be high of a swift return to the top flight. Kildare are first in the pipeline on Saturday week at O’Neill’s Healy Park, followed by Derry at Celtic Park seven days later (there should be a big crowd in for that one). In total, four of the games on home turf, and the most extensive trip is Croke Park date with Meath on Saturday, March 14.

It’s by no means guaranteed that Tyrone lay waste to their various opponents over the coming months ahead of their Ulster Championship preliminary round clash against Armagh, but it would be disappointing if promotion isn’t achieved.

And what will likely be a brief stay in Division Two isn’t the end of the world either – Donegal and Armagh played in Division Two in 2024 and had fantastic seasons (Armagh went the whole hog and won the All-Ireland while Donegal fell short at the semi-final stage).

Last week, I was making chit-chat with a Tyrone supporter who asked ‘is there an All-Ireland in this team?’ Unfortunately I’m not equipped with a crystal ball but certainly there’s no shortage of talent in the panel. But that comes with the caveat that it will likely take time for the recent All-Ireland U-20 winners to develop and grow as senior intercounty footballers.

The new rules have added more than another layer to the tactical element of the game – going by last year, Kerry have stolen a march on their rivals – though it’s evident by Tyrone’s McKenna Cup outings that a measure of height and physicality has been added to the squad. They’ve been really strong under the breaking ball and the likes of Lorcan McGarrity (and others) have the potential to dovetail beautifully with the Canavans and McCurrys of this world. It should be a very interesting season, put it that way.