Legend O’Neill still has drive to lead Red Hand masterclass over Dubs
STEPHEN O’Neill says his competitive streak hasn’t left him.
Neither has his predatory instinct he showed once again with a fivepoint haul to help Tyrone overcome
Dublin after extra-time in the All-Ireland Masters final on Saturday.
The 2005 Footballer of the Year was on top of his game at Ballinagh in Cavan as Tyrone made it back to back Dr Mick Loftus Cups in a repeat of last year’s decider.
O’Neill, who turns 42 in November, was voted Man of the Match in a Tyrone team which also featured Red Hand AllIreland winners Conor Gormley and Ciaran Gourley and Fermanagh All Star Martin McGrath.
Clann na Gael club man O’Neill now holds eight All-Ireland medals with Tyrone — three senior, two masters, two Under-21 and one minor.
“We definitely had to dig deep there for the win but we knew coming down the road that Dublin were going to be a tough nut to crack as they give us a very difficult game last year,” said O’Neill.
“It was the same here and even when they got the man sent off at a time when they trailed by three points they rallied to go two in front.
Wasteful
“That is testament to how good a side they are.
“We were a wee bit wasteful with possession at times and taking the wrong options when lumping the ball in and after they got their goal they got a bit of a run on us.
“We got ourselves settled, though, and managed to get a couple of points late on to draw the game.
“To be honest I missed a handy enough chance to win it in normal time.
“We are just glad that the team came together and the boys that came on did their bit and we managed to just get across the line.
“This year the Masters started early so we have been training for a longer time but most of the lads are still playing some football of some sort. “And hey listen it’s good to keep fit and keep a bit of weight off when you get to over 40s age. You take it as a bit of craic at training and that but when you get out onto the pitch for a match you still want to win.
“That competitive streak doesn’t leave you.”
Brother
The Dublin side featured Brendan McManamon (above) — older brother of Kevin — and All-Ireland winner Denis Bastick, who came off the bench but was sent off soon afterwards.
Dublin rallied after the red card and made a serious game of it.
For O’Neill it’s not the first medal he has won this season as he helped his club to a Division 3 reserve league title.
However, the Junior Championship may be a bridge too far, the three-time All-Ireland winner and All Star reckons: “Junior football in Tyrone would be too quick for me.”
O’Neill did score an outstanding 47 metre free with the outside of his boot on the stroke of half-time on Saturday.
NOBODY tried harder to prove himself as a Dub than Jason Sherlock.
He knew that some found him hard to accept — and that was their problem.
But there were times when they tried to make it his problem too.
He had to deal with racist jibes over his Asian heritage.
He was dismissed as a soccer interloper, as a mercenary for using his profile — something that virtually all top players do now.
Sherlock is a sports fanatic, and is as mad about soccer as he is passionate about golf.
But nothing matches his love of Gaelic football, and of the skyblue jersey. He is Dublin to the core, and his second coming as a coach under Jim Gavin meant the world to him.
So how did this quintessential Dub come so close to taking the reins at Monaghan during the summer?
“We all experience things and I have been very lucky to have experienced a lot from the GAA, both as a player and as a coach,” he said.
“I have a big interest in GAA, I have not been involved since I finished up with Dublin in 2019 so I am always going to be open to explore getting involved in certain capacities.
“So from my perspective, it is not necessarily having the ambition to be a manager or to be with a county, it is just being courteous as to where I might add value.
Conscious
“I’m kind of conscious that there’s a process still going on. It’s fair to say that certainly it was something I explored.
“The one thing I would say is that from anyone I met from a Monaghan perspective — players, officials, people that had been connected with Monaghan GAA in the past or relative past — they all care about Monaghan deeply and I personally would like to see them progress.
“I haven’t had any involvement (with any teams) really since I finished up in 2019.
“That’s probably why I’m in a stage where I am curious and open to see what certain areas I might be able to add value. Be it in a coaching or any capacity. As it stands, I’m not involved with anyone.”
Monaghan are still on the hunt for a new manager and there was a feeling that Dublin might be in the market too.
Dessie Farrell (right) was widely tipped to move on as the Dubs manager after a second successive
All-Ireland semifinal defeat.
But he has decided to stay on for another two seasons.
Sherlock knows
Farrell well from both club days with Na Fianna and their time together with the Dubs.
A lot of big names have stepped away since he finished up in 2019, but Sherlock thinks there is plenty there for the manager to work with — and that their clash with Kerry proved that.
“From a performance perspective I thought Dublin had their best performance of the year in that game and who knows, ifs and buts, if the free isn’t given or if the free doesn’t go over, who knows what might have happened?” he said.
“But, at the same time, that’s all hypothetical, Kerry won and deservedly so on the day.
“The big benefit, or assistance, from a Dublin perspective is the pool of players, I don’t know how many players Jim Gavin would have used in our time but I suppose we would have used a lot of players in O’Byrne Cup and National Leagues as well,’’ he said.
Pool
“That is one of the benefits of Dublin, because we have such a big pool of players.
“At the end of the day, it’s about having 15 guys performing at the end of the season. I would be hopeful that Dublin can do that again next year.”
During Sherlock’s time as a player, the shadow of Kerry was a long one.
He was gone from the scene by the time the Dubs stepped out of it in 2011, but was back in for the most glorious win over the Kingdom — the capture of the