Optimism surrounding Tyrone has vanished with McShane’s injury

IT’S often said that the National Leagues are the most finely-balanced competitions in the GAA considering how teams with similar abilities are pitched against each other week in, week out.

That does nothing to explain the sheer amazement of the margin that existed between Galway and Tyrone at the end of Sunday’s meeting in Tuam Stadium. 19 points was a huge gulf, even allowing for the context of the Red Hands being down to 13 men and the late scoring burst from the victors.

It was, as has been widely noted, a record defeat for Tyrone under Mickey Harte, the type they routinely doled out to opponents themselves.

But they will get over that in short time. What they will find incredibly hard to deal with is the loss of Cathal McShane (right) through a terrible ankle injury that will have him out until the Super8s, should Tyrone reach that stage.

The league’s in-built competitiveness ensures that many storylines present themselves like low-hanging fruit, ‘oven-ready’ as Boris Johnson might put it.

Even allowing for that, it is remarkable how the narrative surrounding Tyrone has completely transformed in a fortnight.

Two weeks ago, they had beaten Kerry in Edendork. That week, the news came that McShane had turned his back on an opportunity to play Aussie Rules Football with

Adelaide Crows and instead was to take up employment with a firm within the county.

In truth, he probably never truly wanted to go. This is a lad who, according to clubmates, used to have a bit of loose pocket money from his parents. What did he spend it on?

Well, he used to give it out to the youngsters around his Owen Roes, Leckpatrick club who would stand behind the goals and kick the footballs back when he went down by himself to practice his shooting as a teenager.

When Tyrone were beaten in last year’s All-Ireland semi-final by Kerry, they went to Forbes’ Bar in Ardboe to let their hair down on the Monday.

The bar is ran by former Tyrone great Brian McGuigan, and that day his father Frank was working the counter.

McShane spent most of the day trying to prise gems of information out of ‘The King’ about how to play as a full-forward.

In the days after, the news emerged that Conor McKenna was coming home from Essendon to stay in Tyrone for a while.

Naturally, that made Red Hands fans very excited — but he will be returning to Australia.

The optimism around the county has gone like a puff of smoke.

What happens in Omagh this Saturday when Dublin come to town will be of utmost concern.