Deeply moving and intimate portrait of a star taken too soon

ICAN still remember the morning in March, 2004, when a work colleague arrived in our office and announced: ‘isn’t that terrible news about the Tyrone footballer?’ I hadn’t heard the radio on my own short commute, so I was shocked to discover that All-Ireland winner and All Star Cormac McAnallen had died suddenly during the night.

The tragedy rocked the G.A.A. world to its core, with this versatile young star cut down at such a young age a mere six months after playing a very significant role in his county’s first-ever Sam Maguire Cup triumph.

His successful switch from midfield to the problematic full-back position was one of the key reasons behind the victory as the Eglish clubman completed a clean sweep of national titles following previous successes in the Minor and Under-21 grades.

He had earned an All Star award for his heroic displays, having been selected as national young footballer of the year in 2001.

It looked like McAnallen was destined to be the mainstay of Tyrone teams for many years to come, but his life was cruelly ended owing to an undetected heart condition.

It seems hard to credit that it’s more than 13 years since that shocking turn of events when a gifted young sportsman was taken from his heartbroken family without any prior warning.

However, his deeds will never be forgotten, and now his brother, Dónal, has penned a deeply moving account in ‘The

Pursuit Of Perfection - The Life, Death and

Legacy of Cormac McAnallen’.

This book will tug at the reader’s heartstrings, especially the chapter outlining that fateful night when Dónal was burning the midnight oil in the family home and heard a sound from upstairs that he later realised was his brother’s death rattle.

Even though we are fully aware of the incredibly sad outcome, it’s still a gripping account of a tragic occurrence, written with perception by Cormac’s sibling who had to go through this truly horrific experience as panic and helplessness set in during the early hours of the morning.

While I have never met Dónal face to face, I have exchanged e-mails with him over the years owing to our mutual interest in programme collecting.

He is a prolific writer, mainly on matters of historical interest, and he deserves the highest commendation for his work in completing this remarkable insight into the factors that made Cormac achieve his lifelong sporting dreams.

They were close in age and grew up playing together on various club and school teams, and that tight bond is evident in every page.

Cormac kept detailed diaries so we are able to share his inner-most thoughts as several extracts are published throughout.

He was meticulous in his approach to every aspect of life, and his competitive streak was so strong that he would regularly sit down with his mother at home to watch ‘University Challenge’, complete with pen and paper to mark their own individual scores.

In the last years of his life, Cormac sustained some head injuries in a few games, and the book doesn’t shy away from wondering if these may have contributed to his sad demise.

And in the aftermath of that All-Ireland win in 2003, his diary was full to overflowing with commitments as he was in such strong demand in Tyrone and further afield to attend various functions.

This is a book well worth reading. It will likely move you to tears at times, and it is certainly the most intimate and heart-rending account of a G.A.A. hero I can ever recall. Put simply, Dónal McAnallen has done a wonderful job on a most difficult subject.

ALAN AHERNE

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