Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BEATEN BLACK & BLUES
Hero Gormley recalls day Dubs came to Omagh to send out a message ahead of latest instalment
REFEREE Paddy Russell described it as “frightening,” considered abandoning the game and questioned his future as a match official.
It came after he had sent four players off in what became known as the ‘Battle of Omagh’, when Tyrone and Dublin faced off in their opening League game in February 2006. The two counties had met at the All-ireland quarterfinal stage the previous year, with Tyrone scoring a decisive victory in a replay following a thrilling drawn game. They went on to win the Allireland and Dublin, understandably, wanted to make a statement when their paths next crossed but it boiled over into something
God Almighty couldn’t have refereed the game today..
much more than that. There was an early indication of what was to come when a skirmish broke out after four minutes but things really kicked off in the second half with two all-out brawls, one of which spilt over onto the sideline.
Fearing for their safety, Dublin manager Paul Caffrey called his subs down from the stand.
“Maybe their ears were getting warm with what was being shouted at them,” says Tyrone’s Conor Gormley (left), who was replaced with an injury at half-time that day.
Russell sent off Dublin’s Alan Brogan and Denis Bastick along with Tyrone pair Collie Holmes and Stephen O’neill.
“If Paddy Russell had been God Almighty he couldn’t have refereed the game today,” commented Tyrone manager Mickey Harte.
In total nine players were later charged but only Holmes served a suspension as he was the only one to have been issued with a straight red card. The GAA disciplinary system was littered with loopholes that were regularly exploited though they were tightened up considerably in the aftermath.
Dublin scored a three-point win and have journeyed to Omagh several times since for League games and enjoy a good record at Healy Park, where they won as recently as last February.
Harte remains in charge of Tyrone more than 12 years later while Bryan Cullen, who scored a point for Dublin that day, is now the county’s high performance manager and oversees the team’s physical preparation. Paul Clarke was part of Dublin boss Paul Caffrey’s management team back then and reprised a similar role earlier this year on Jim Gavin’s invitation.
“We didn’t sense that it was going to spill over the way it did but we probably knew that Dublin were coming up to lay down a marker and I suppose it was unfortunate the way things happened,” says Gormley “The scenes weren’t that pretty but we always expected a hard, physical game against Dublin no matter when we played them.”
A couple of years later, details of Dublin’s ‘Blue Book’ were leaked, including a reference to the Omagh affair as “a day when we crossed the line together like a Dublin squad hasn’t done in years”.
Dublin saw that game as a seminal moment in their development but ultimately it didn’t work out that way, with Tyrone dishing out a merciless beating when next they met in the Championship in 2008.
“They were seen maybe as a soft touch and wanted to get one over on
Tyrone, which they did that day and that was their target to win the game and they did that and maybe by whatever means possible,” adds Gormley.
Dublin finally got the better of Tyrone in the 2010 All-ireland quarterfinal and have held the whip hand since but Gormley, who retired after the 2014 campaign, would relish the opportunity to tackle them on home turf in a Championship game.
“I definitely would love to be playing on Saturday evening at Healy Park. It’d be amazing.
“That’s what you look forward to as a child, going to Croke Park for the ‘95 All-ireland final, to get playing against the Dubs is a dream come true and the boys are lucky to get the opportunity against a great Dublin team with three-in-a-row.”