Council Chair hosts a reception for the history making Tyrone Masters Team
20th May 2025
Recently the Council Chair, Councillor John McClaughry, hosted a reception for the Tyrone Masters Team who made history by winning the All Ireland Gaelic Masters title for the 4th year in a row.
The following is the speech made by the Chair at the reception:
Good evening Councillors, Ladies and Gentlemen
As Chair of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, I am delighted to welcome you all here to Strule Arts Centre, Omagh for this reception in honour of the history making Tyrone Gaelic Masters Team.
Your journey in your quest to retain the title started in May 2024 with a match against Donegal which you won comfortably with a scoreline of 2-19 to 0-09. This was followed by further comfortable wins against Monaghan and Derry in Rounds 2 and 3 respectively.
Round 4 saw you take on tough opponents Dublin and unfortunately you lost the match 5-16 to 0-12. This result didn’t affect you and you show great strength, resilience and determination in Round 5 to achieve an impressive 8-29 to 0-06 win over Down.
In the final group match you took on Cavan and again you had another comfortable win of 4-16 to 0-08.
Your success in the group stages earned you a well deserved place in the semi-final where your opponents were Dublin. Having already lost to them earlier, this was undoubtedly a daunting encounter. Dublin opened the scoring early, however, an early goal helped to allay any nerves and you played at a high level for the remainder of the half leading 1-06 to 0-03 at half time.
Dublin came out strong in the second half, however, your talent and determination were strong and you won 1-10 to 0-08 earning you a place in another final.
All roads led to Breffni Park, Cavan for the final on 14 September 2024 where you took on Roscommon. With barely two minutes on the clock, you opened the scoring and showed your dominance and by the 19th minute you were leading the match 2-05 to 0-02. Roscommon opened the scoring in the second half and, once again, you held strong to score again before netting your 3rd goal. Roscommon bounced back again before you scored an injury time goal to take the win and the title of All Ireland Gaelic Masters Champions.
This win was even more significant as you made history winning the title for the fourth year in a row.
The Gaelic Masters Association promotes Gaelic games among people over 40 years of age and was established in 2011. This is important because it provides you with the opportunity to continue to participate in Gaelic games and maintain a sense of community. This plays an important role in promoting and achieving positive physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Playing sport requires a great deal of talent and fitness and to have continued to maintain your talent and fitness levels is commendable. It also requires commitment to training which can be challenging as you have work and family commitments as well. I commend each and every player for your dedication to training and to the game. I believe the success of the Team is also down to your passion for the sport and your desire to continue to play and put on the Tyrone jersey.
I would also like to commend Manager Joe Leonard and Coach Kieran Leonard for your work to train and inspire the team. I thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with the players and providing them with the opportunity to enjoy special moments like this.
Fermanagh and Omagh District Council is committed to ensuring that our people are healthy and well and have opportunities to be active. Tyrone Masters helps us to achieve this by offering opportunities to continue to play sport and be part of the Gaelic games community.
On behalf of Fermanagh and Omagh District Council, and on my own behalf, I would like to congratulate the Tyrone Masters Team on your 4th All Ireland Gaelic Masters title and on your historic 4 in a row. I wish you continued success as you start your journey to your 5th title.
Thank you.