Chair hosts reception in honour of the Tyrone U-20’s GAA team

On Friday 1 November 2019, The Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, Councillor Siobhán Currie hosted a reception at the Council Offices, The Grange for the Tyrone U-20’s team to mark their success in the Ulster U-20 Championships and the Phil McGuinness Cup.

Speaking at the reception, Councillor Currie said:

A Aíonna oinigh, a chomhcomhairleoirí,

Mar Chathaoirleach na Comhairle Cheantair Fhear Manach agus na hÓmaí, ba mhaith liom fáilte a thabhairt romhaibh chun oifigí Comhairle anocht.

As Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, it is my great pleasure to welcome you all to the Civic Offices in Omagh this evening. I would like to extend a particularly warm welcome to the players and management of the Tyrone U-20 Gaelic Football team, in whose hour this reception is being held.

Tonight, I am honoured to have been afforded the opportunity of publicly paying tribute to a remarkable group of young footballers.

Your talent was flagged up early in the year when you successfully claimed the Phil McGuinness Cup with easy victories over Donegal and Mayo in the group stage before easily accounting for Sligo in the final.

Under the watchful management of Paul Devlin and Dermot Carlin, you blazed a trail through the Ulster Championship taking out Down and Cavan along the way before sweeping aside the challenge of Derry in the Ulster Final by 12 points at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh.

Surprisingly, Cork had overturned a highly fancied Kerry team in the Munster final setting up an All Ireland semi-final clash in Tullamore.

Unfortunately, it was this Cork team which was to prove just a step too far in the quest for All Ireland glory on a beautiful day in Tullamore. For long periods it looked as if you were going to prevail. Sadly, it ultimately proved not to be your day as you went down by two points in a pulsating game.

However, as Cork displayed in the final, they are an excellent and resilient team and while it was very disappointing, it was certainly no disgrace losing to the eventual champions.

There was some consolation for the team in that 4 members, Conal Quinn, Conal Grimes, Darragh Canavan and Sean Óg McAleer were selected on the Eirgrid U-20s, 20 of the year which is another excellent achievement.

What I would say is that given the quality that clearly exists on this team, the future of Tyrone football and the Tyrone Senior team is in safe hands. Whether it is Micky Harte or another senior manager who inherits this talented squad, they are indeed very fortunate.

It just remains for me to congratulate you on your Ulster success and wish you every success for the future.