In the opening minutes of that 2005 All-Ireland final the finger of a Tyrone player ended up in Colm Cooper’s eye. Once Jim Gavin came along though, he completed bucked the dynamic between All-Ireland finalists playing each other in the following year’s league. Defeating the team that had edged them in the 2013 All-Ireland final could mark the most significant signpost and scalp of them all. In 2019 they failed for the first time to reach a league final under Gavin, losing to a Tyrone team they had beaten in the previous year’s All-Ireland final. McGuinness has obviously worked on something.” Darran O’Sullivan who soldiered with O’Connor for many league campaigns is of a similar mind.

Source: Irish Examiner January 31, 2026 13:51 UTC