IT was a case of smiles and banter all round as the Tyrone senior football squad warmed up for Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final with a trip to the Opera House last night.
Mickey Harte took his team's mind off the game temporarily by bringing his players to see “Dancing Shoes – The George Best story” about the life and times of the former Manchester United winger, who died in 2005.
The squad appeared relaxed ahead of the Croke Park clash, when they will face defending All-Ireland champions Kerry.
Captain Seán Cavanagh was among those posing for pictures alongside Give My Head Peace actress Alexandra Ford and George Best lookalike Martin O’Hare.
The team will be hoping to transfer George’s silky skills into a different code on Sunday as they aim to repeat their successes over the Kingdom in 2003, 2005 and 2008.
Directed by Peter Sheridan, the man responsible for Shawshank Redemption, and co-written by Marie Jones and Martin Lynch, ‘The George Best Story’ was a huge hit when it premiered at the Opera House in summer 2010.
On that occasion around 23,000 people came to see the story of Best’s life over the course of three weeks.
In addition to the Tyrone squad, a host of other famous names were in attendance, including John Linehan, aka May McFettridge, and Barbara McNarry, the sister of the late Manchester United winger.
Best’s son, Calum, said the show was "brilliant", adding that it had "put me through the emotional wringer."
