INITIAL fears about Cormac McAnallen's death sparked by two "bizarre, creepy" text messages were allayed when it emerged they were innocent banter about a squash game, his brother Dónal's new book reveals.
Harrowing details of the night the Tyrone GAA star died suddenly in March 2004 are contained in The Pursuit of Perfection, the Life, Death and Legacy of Cormac McAnallen.
It reveals how relatives were initially troubled after reading text messages found on the 24-year-old's mobile phone.
However, police later tracked down the source of the texts and were able to rule out anything untoward.
It was also confirmed that the footballer died of a rare heart condition and there were no suspicious circumstances.
The messages had been sent to Cormac the evening before he died. One read “Ur going down”, followed by another text saying “Get ready to die on court”.
The number the messages were sent from had not been saved under a name, leaving the footballer’s family confused and worried.
In the book, Dónal says he "will never forget the chilling feeling that they sent through me".
“Our minds went into overdrive, sparking off into wild possibilities,” he said.
“Did some shadowy figure actually want Cormac dead?
“Had they tried to kill him? Was he poisoned?
“Who could possibly have it in for him, of all people. Could ‘on court’ refer to something legal.”
Amid the grief Mr McAnallen also said his thoughts turned to how his brother might have felt on receiving the text messages.
“Did he feel threatened, or at least taken aback by the language?
“Did it cause him to think - momentarily - of his own death?
“It was upsetting to think that ‘get ready to die’ was one of the last things he read.”
Mr McAnallen reveals that he and his brother Fergus later told his father Brendan and police about the bizarre texts.
And he confirms that police later tracked down the message sender - who turned out to be a passing acquaintance.
It emerged that the person had arranged to play the Tyrone captain in a game of squash and the unusual texts were merely “his form of pre-match banter”.
* The Pursuit of Perfection, the Life, Death and Legacy of Cormac McAnallen is published by Penguin Ireland today and available priced £14.99.
