20 years on: Mellon recalls an All-Ireland final for the ages

Niall Gartland talks to former Tyrone star Ryan Mellon about an unforgettable All-Ireland final triumph over Kerry in 2005

TYRONE’S finest hour? Some will balk at the notion – surely the honour goes to that historic All-Ireland triumph of 2003, that memorable late-September day where we finally reached the promised land after decades and decades of trying. No longer were we ‘nearly men’ – we were Kings.

It’s only your first time once, but a credible argument can be formed that 2005 was even better. That rollercoaster 10-game run, those classic encounters against Armagh and Dublin, and an All-Ireland final for the ages against those self-appointed aristocrats from the Kingdom.

It certainly meant more for Ryan Mellon – and not just because he produced a stirring personal performance, steadying Tyrone nerves with two early points and edging a gladiatorial duel with five-time All-Star Tomas Ó Sé.

As the 20th anniversary of the game fast approaches – it was played on September 25, 2005 – Mellon takes “pride and satisfaction” that he was involved in one of the all-time classic All-Ireland finals, but there’s another big reason why he looks back with especially fond memories on the 2005 season.

His was a satisfaction rooted in personal adversity. After a series of eye-catching performances in the 2003 National League, the Moy man was struck down by illness. He never received a formal diagnosis, but these days – in these more enlightened times! – he believes it would be considered a form of chronic fatigue.

And it basically did a complete number on his burgeoning playing career for Tyrone for a prolonged spell.

Though he was retained on the panel, he didn’t kick a ball that summer as Tyrone reached the promised land for the first time in the county’s history. 2004 was another write-off, but better times lay ahead.

With the help of a health consultant from Castleblayney, Kathleen Ward, Ryan regained his strength and he returned to competitive action with Tyrone in 2005. That alone was an achievement, and we all know how the year ended for the Moy man and his teammates.

“I was 24 in 2005 and that was my first proper year playing for Tyrone. I was involved in 2003, played the first four or five league games and then I got sick and basically missed two full seasons.

“It was definitely a tough time, and while it was amazing that Tyrone won their first All-Ireland and beat Armagh in the final, for myself personally it was difficult watching on, not being able to contribute.

“It was that bad that I didn’t know if I’d get back to playing football at all, I really was quite ill at the time. I’m very proud of the fact that I was able to get back and contribute to the team. Because of that, 2005 does mean more than 2003 to me, to be honest.”

2005 will always be associated with an epic trilogy encounter with Armagh. The Orchard County won the battle – a controversial Ulster final replay encounter at Croke Park – but Tyrone won the war with victory in an epochal All-Ireland semi-final. In between times were two epic battles against Dublin, and Mellon says that there was barely time to take stock of an unforgettable campaign.

“It’s not something you really reflect on when it’s happening – it was always a case of ‘on to the next one.’

“It’s not until we got over the line against Kerry that we could take a bit of time to look back on that particular season.

“It was 10 games, which was unheard of at the time. Things are different now in terms of recovery and strength and conditioning, it wasn’t as advanced back then it was challenging in that sense.

“But in another way, all those games probably stood to us and helped bring us on. Then behind the scenes, we had very intense in-house games. As everyone knows, Mickey had a policy of not playing friendly matches, and we had such a brilliant team that it really was sink-or-swim in training. I think those in-house games were definitely a contributing factor in terms of how well we performed in the latter stages of the championship.”

Before the split season was a thing, there was a lengthier wait between All-Ireland semi-finals and finals. It’s almost hard to believe but five weeks separated Tyrone’s win over Kerry in the 2003 semi-final and their All-Ireland final against Armagh. In 2005 it was a more manageable three week-gap. It was impossible for players to avoid the hype , but Mellon says they found their own way of dealing with it.

“I think that was one of the things that we got right – we were definitely encouraged to enjoy the lead up to the big games. There was a sense that All-Ireland finals don’t come around too often, so rather than shutting ourselves away, we were encouraged to enjoy the build-up. At the same time, we were conscious that we were probably going to hear a certain amount of nonsense so the idea was to let it in one ear and out the other.”

To say Mellon, who was 24 at the time, was itching to get stuck in against Kerry is putting it mildly. He’d missed the 2003 final and now he had his opportunity, he was going to leave nothing to chance.

“I’d been playing corner-forward up until that game and it was decided I’d go out into wing-half forward.

“I hadn’t much experience of playing there, but looking back at it now, I knew I was going really well in training heading into the final. There was a burning desire within me to be honest. I’d missed the 2003 final and now I had my chance, I was so determined to go out and perform, and thankfully it worked out okay.”

Mellon landed Tyrone’s first two points of the day but he says he takes more pride in his overall contribution against a star-studded Kerry.

“A lot of people mention the first two points to me, and it was great to get off the mark early in terms of my confidence, but when I think about it, I’m more happy about my contribution over the full 70 minutes. I caught three or four kickouts and contributed both going forward and in defence, so I get more satisfaction with that than the two points.”

After a somewhat nervy start, Tyrone produced a performance of poise, skill and intensity to run out 1-16 to 2-10 winners. The fact it was Kerry added another layer of fulfillment, but Mellon says that was borne out of respect rather than any sort of animosity.

“There definitely was no hatefulness, and I’m not sure it was a big rivalry at the time. The 2003 was the first high-profile game between Tyrone and Kerry in nearly 20 years.

“It was a case that Kerry were such a good team, and you knew that if you weren’t totally on your game, you’d be blown away. You knew you had to be 100 percent on it, even just to compete.

“Maybe in later years, things soured a bit, but I don’t remember there being any bitterness – there was massive respect for that Kerry team and it probably brought out the best in us.”

In his acceptance speech after the 2005 final, Tyrone captain Brian Dooher dedicated their victory to their late teammate Cormac McAnallen, whose death on March 2 2004 devastated the entire GAA community. While Tyrone had been keen not to make a crusade of honouring their teammate, Ryan says that there’s no doubt that it was a major driving force in their 2005 success.

“Cormac was in everyone’s minds right the way through that campaign. When preparing for the final, we talked about our motivations and I remember someone came out and said it.

“It’s what everyone was thinking, and then when it was mentioned, it probably became a more collective thing.”

The 2005 showdown is now widely acknowledged as one of the greatest games of all time. The quality of football on offer was phenomenal, you had two teams at their respective peaks, jaw-dropping points, Peter Canavan’s peach of a goal. The critics had no choice but to eat their words.

“Winning the 2003 final was an amazing achievement but I don’t think Tyrone got the respect they deserved.

“We were the best team in Ireland that year, but I don’t think that was necessarily appreciated. I think that changed when we won in 2005. It was such a good game, and such an attacking game, that I think we really got the respect of the rest of the country.”