Dalata Hotel Group U-20 Footballer of the Year Eoin McElholm with his trophy.
By Paul Keane
There's a clip available online of Eoin McElholm booting a terrific point off his left foot for the Loughmacrory U-16s back in 2019.
It was a Tyrone league final, against Coalisland, and McElholm was still just 14 but showed he'd already developed a high skillset, shooting that score off his apparently weaker left foot.
Next to the video clip, it was explained that in three county finals that year, two of which were at the U-16 grade, McElholm contributed 4-18.
Six years on, and about to turn 20, he is the Dalata Hotel Group U-20 Footballer of the Year for 2025 and at the early stages of a promising senior inter-county career.
McElholm's two goals in last month's Dalata Hotel Group All-Ireland U-20 final, midway through the second-half, helped shrug off a determined Louth.
The Ulster University student scored 2-4 in all, bettering the 0-7 he contributed in last year's final defeat of Kerry whilst he also rifled 2-5 in a 2023 Hogan Cup final win for Omagh CBS, as captain.
Having come on as a sub in Tyrone's first three Championship games this season, he is pushing for a first Championship start ahead of Sunday's crucial group game against Cavan in Enniskillen.
What you may not know about McElholm, and what helped him to develop and expand his impressive bilateral skillset, is that he is also a brilliant handballer.
"I played until I was 16 maybe," said McElholm "I won a few All-Irelands and stuff. We won a Grade 1 Feile actually for Loughmacrory. We definitely had a few good days out with the handball. It was class.
"It definitely helped your football, just in terms of moving around and your agility and hand-eye coordination and fitness. There's definitely things that you'd take from handball and bring into your football game and things too that you could take from football into handball. Playing it definitely helped my foot work and stuff in football."
McElholm eventually put handball on the backburner as his football commitments grew but he never lost his love for the game.
"My uncle, Kenny, who was my handball coach, he's the biggest handball fanatic you'll meet," smiled McElholm. "But he's also the biggest football fanatic you'll meet too. He knew I was always going to, when it got to a certain stage, that I was always going to pick football. He just got the most out of me until that.
"He was actually texting me there during the week, 'Could you come in and play the lads for an hour, or come in for half an hour, play the younger lads?' Obviously I couldn't this week with the game coming up but maybe when the football's not on I'll go back into handball and just help the younger lads train and stuff, and give them any wee tips I can. But yeah, I still love handball, love watching it."
The two goals that McElholm scored against Louth, both after searing runs through the middle, were off his right foot. It doesn't much matter at this stage; left foot, right foot, they're both wands.
From left, Joey Clarke, Ben Hughes and Eoin McElholm celebrate Tyrone's Dalata Hotel Group All-Ireland U20 football final win. Photo by Oliver McVeigh/Sportsfile
And yet he wasn't even Tyrone's highest scorer that evening in Armagh. Noah Grimes took that mantle with 2-6, all from play. That's three All-Ireland U-20 titles in four seasons for Tyrone and a whole pile of talented young players with aspirations of pushing on for the senior team.
"There could have been a few different players here today, taking this award," said McElholm. "It was unbelievable the amount of huge individual performances over the whole campaign from everybody. Literally, it could have been anybody."
McElholm is a special talent though, finishing the campaign with 6-24 in total. He is already one of Tyrone senior manager Malachy O'Rourke's go-to impact substitutes, coming on against Cavan, Armagh and Donegal so far in this year's Championship.
The next challenge is to break into the Tyrone senior starting team on a regular basis, no easy feat when you consider that O'Rourke's other options include the Canavan brothers, Mattie Donnelly, Peter Harte, Mark Bradley and Darren McCurry.
"It's just about picking up wee tips off them and looking at their strengths and what works for them and trying to implement that into my game," said McElholm.
"When I do come on the pitch, I just have to make the biggest impact I can in that short period of time. It's an absolute honour to play with those boys. They're unbelievable. The two Canavans, Peter, Darren, they're boys you watched growing up. Now playing with them and learning different tips and skills from them, it's a complete pleasure."
All possibilities remain on the table for Tyrone ahead of Sunday's All-Ireland SFC Group 1, Round 3 clash with Cavan. All four teams in the division are locked on two points ahead of the final round so while a win could see Tyrone finish top, and secure a quarter-final place, a loss could equally end their campaign.
It bodes well for Tyrone that they beat Cavan earlier this season in Ulster and haven't lost a Championship game to the Breffni since 1983.
"It's a knock-out game, that's the way you have to look at it," said McElholm, a Sigerson Cup semi-finalist earlier this year with Ulster University. "It's an elimination game now. You have to prepare for it as if it's your last chance basically. The main thing is getting a performance.
"Cavan showed great glimpses of what they can do against Mayo and Donegal. They're going to be very up for it, especially after us beating them in the Ulster championship."
