Tyrone's All-Ireland win will live long in Niall Morgan's memory
Tyrone goalkeeper Niall Morgan with his son Criostai after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Mayo and Tyrone at Croke Park in Dublin.
By Cian Murphy
Niall Morgan says Tyrone’s incredible will to win was driven by their desire to prove a point in 2021.
The Red Hand hero was an integral part of the Tyrone charge to claim what was a fourth Sam Maguire for the county, landed after a character-building success in Ulster before a Covid disruption and then pulsating battles and victories over Kerry and finally Mayo.
Speaking in Ar gcluichí féin, the GAA Croke Park Annual, the new PwC All-Star goalkeeper says the Tyrone squad had no shortage of motivation in 2021.
Niall said: “I think we have been so close on a number of occasions in the past and were maybe driven a little bit by this hurt. We had a bit of a point to prove, not to others, but to ourselves that what we were doing was worth it. We did everything we could to succeed in the past, but I feel like this year we were made more independent in how we approached things and we thrived off this which helped us to finally reach the Holy Grail.
“For me it was a huge sense of relief. I have been part of the team for nine years and after losing the final in 2018 as well as four semi-final defeats, I was starting to think I would never get to win an All-Ireland. It was absolutely amazing to realise that dreams can come true! I couldn’t wait to see my family and share the victory with them. Having my son Críostaí running around Croke Park with me after the final is something that will live long in my memory."
The Official GAA Croke Park annual is now available.
The Edendork star explained how the new management team of Brian Dooher and Fergal Logan empowered the players.
“The new management team put a lot of things back on the players and allowed us to express ourselves a lot more. They gave us every platform to succeed and left no stone unturned. The whole management team of Brian, Feargal, Pete, Collie, Joe and Des as well as the entire backroom team deserve a serious amount of credit for all the work put in as they spoiled us rotten.
"They all seemed to know the right things to say at the right time – and it wasn’t necessarily always what we actually wanted to hear. They are an extremely personable group of people and they always went out of their way to do whatever they could for us,” added Morgan.
A chastening league defeat to Kerry earlier in the season left Tyrone looking the least likely of so-called heavyweight contenders coming into the Championship. However, Morgan looks back on it now as a turning point in the season.
He added: “For me a lot of the highlights are away from the pitch. The defeat to Kerry in Killarney will never be forgotten for the wrong reasons but the team spirit we gained from the subsequent night out can never be replaced. The journey we came through to win by beating teams that we have struggled against in the past made it even more special to win.”
Ar gcluichí féin, the GAA Croke Park Annual is available from DBA Publications
