Football

Ronan O’Neill silences doubters by becoming integral for Tyrone

Ronan O'Neill looks to have finally made a breakthrough in the Tyrone side this summer<br /> Picture by Colm O'Reilly
Ronan O'Neill looks to have finally made a breakthrough in the Tyrone side this summer
Picture by Colm O'Reilly
Ronan O'Neill looks to have finally made a breakthrough in the Tyrone side this summer
Picture by Colm O'Reilly

SIX years ago, Ronan O’Neill was glaring down at legends of Tyrone football from the Gerry Arthurs stand, still buzzing himself.

The proud new owner of an Ulster minor medal, to which he’d add an All-Ireland two months later, the Omagh man watched on as the seniors made it a double for the day with a ten-point win over Monaghan.

It’s well established by now the blasé nature of the celebrations that afternoon. Three All-Irelands and six Ulster titles from the turn of the century had lessened their impact on Tyrone supporters.

“We probably took it for granted that Tyrone would win Ulster titles back then,” he recalls.

“You then seen when Donegal and Monaghan won it the pitch was filled with people after a long barren spell.

“I remember the scenes in ‘03’ 05 and ‘08 very well.

“I’ve grown up as a supporter going to Clones to watch Tyrone greats like Peter Cavan and Brian Dooher lifting Ulster titles. It’s where you want to be as a youngster.

“We’re lucky enough now to be part of a Tyrone team that has a chance of winning one. It would be a massive confidence boost for this squad and in our belief if we can win Ulster.

“Six years is far too long for a team like us to go without being in an Ulster Final. We said at the start of the year that we wanted to be in the Ulster final, and now we are here.”

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then - enough to have easily swept O’Neill away, had he let it.

For Tyrone, those six years have passed with only their repeat successes in the Dr. McKenna Cup to show.

Early season was where O’Neill was playing a frustrating chunk of his football.

As a percentage, he has played less of his football in the summer than any of the graduates of the same era, such as Peter Harte, Connor McAliskey, Darren McCurry, Mattie Donnelly and co.

When he was undergoing his rehabilitation from his cruciate injury, Louis O’Connor guided him and Kyle Coney back to fitness.

It would have been easy for O’Neill to follow the same path as the Ardboe man.

Both seemed destined for big things from a young age. Both came into senior football basking in hype, their All-Ireland minor medals for weight.

O’Neill has survived. But he cut an awfully frustrated figure last summer, starting just one of their seven Championship games en-route to an All-Ireland semi-final.

“Getting just four minutes in the All-Ireland semi-final was very frustrating and three minutes against Donegal equally so,” he admits.

“I just took it upon myself in October and November time, after Omagh got knocked out early from the Championship, to knuckle down, train hard and lose a bit of weight.

“As a player all you want is a run of games so that if you don’t play well the first day, you’ll get another opportunity the next day to play better.

“That brings confidence, and confidence as a Gaelic footballer is massively important. So things have fallen into place and I’m happy with how it has gone so far.

“But I’m under no illusions that I will be judged on how I do the next day so hopefully I can bring my performances up till now into the Ulster final.”

For his frustration, though, he questioned only himself.

“At the end of the year you always have these thoughts going across your head, thinking am ‘I wasting Mickey’s time, or even my own time.’

“But what really drove me on was to prove people wrong.

“People had a lot to say about me last year, now you can’t control that, but I wanted to prove people wrong. I wanted to play for Tyrone and be successful for Tyrone. That is what drove me on at the end of last year heading into this year.”

A beautiful dummy sold to Thomas Mallon and Oisin Duffy at the Brandywell End of Celtic Park in May was simply trademark. O’Neill has never carried a fear of expressing his individuality.

Finishing with 2-2 that afternoon laid down a marker, but that’s what he’s always been capable of. Five points in the drawn game with Cavan was maybe not the tally he could have had, but it was arguably his scoreless afternoon in the replay that showed why Mickey Harte has put his faith in the 23-year-old now.

He turned ball-winner and provider on an afternoon when Tyrone racked up 5-18. A youthful O’Neill might have gone hunting a few scores of his own, but instead he was content to do the simple things have helped cut the Breffni blues in bits.

“The last day I couldn’t hit a barn door,” he laughs.

“I hit three wides in the first half and I thought I would ease myself more into the game in the second half. When boys come off your shoulder in better positions, you should be giving them the ball.

“I’d like to think my vision is a quality in my game. If I see people in a better position I would give the ball to them.

“But next day there might not be that space, so when I get the ball I will have to weigh up whether to shoot for a score or pass. Thankfully I have that in my locker to set up other people if need be.”

He smiles as Tyrone’s apparent lack of a marquee forward is brought into the discussion once more.

It certainly hasn’t harmed them so far. Their average score of 3-15 per game is the highest any team has recorded en route to an Ulster final in living memory.

“People can say what they want, you can’t control that,” he says, again.

“We know within our squad we have more than one marquee forward, we have five or six.

“People only have to go and watch club games to see the talent we have.

“The boys have been playing well this season so people can say what they want.”