RONAN O’NEILL knows the qualities of Joe and Justin McMahon better than most and hopes his club-mates will follow the lead of Tyrone captain Sean Cavanagh by committing to the county cause for another year.
The McMahon brothers have been the cornerstone of the St Enda’s, Omagh team since O’Neill first burst on to the scene around the turn of the decade, and have also been there for some of Tyrone’s greatest days.
Injury curtailed Joe’s involvement last year, while Justin returned in time to play a pivotal role as the Red Hands landed a first Ulster title since 2010 with victory over Donegal in July.
Joe is unlikely to be involved in the short-term after picking up a hamstring in a club game last month, and Tyrone boss Mickey Harte indicated before Sunday’s O Fiaich Cup win over Louth that there had been “no declaration of definite intent” from either sibling.
But with Cavanagh ending speculation about his future by committing for the 2017 campaign, O’Neill admits he would love to see his club-mates back in county colours next year.
“Both are quality footballers,” said the 2010 All-Ireland MFC winner, who scored 1-2 against the Wee county.
“This time of year, they’re probably taking time to reflect on last year, they’ve put their shoulder to the mill for quite a number of years and there’s injuries to clear up too. Joey got a bad enough injury in the league semi-final there, and Justy just needs to recharge the batteries.”
The Red Hands are back in Division One of the National Football League next year, and Harte’s panel is likely to have a youthful look as they build on the 2015 All-Ireland U21 success.
But with several members of past Sam Maguire wins having exited the stage in recent years, O’Neill feels the McMahons can still play an important role in the evolution of this Tyrone team.
He added: “That’s where we always want to be, you learn more playing against the big teams in Croke Park and the likes of Castlebar and Fitzgerald Stadium.
“We want to test ourselves and hopefully that will stand to us by the time we play Derry in the first round of the Championship. Whatever happens after that, we’ll deal with it then.
“Those boys [the McMahons] just need time and their quality will shine through later in the year. For us, experience is massive going into Division One so to have those boys around the dressing room - never mind being on the pitch - is important for the younger boys. Hopefully they’ll come back out again, but it remains to be seen.”
As for Cavanagh, O’Neill was never in any doubt that the Moy man would continue in the wake of the Red Hands’ All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Mayo.
“I never thought Sean would’ve retired, the way things panned out," he added.
“It’s great to see him back again, he’s been there since the very first training session and he’s putting in as much effort as anybody else. We can only take inspiration from him.
“It’s good to see because we’ll need his experience, his leadership and his football ability against the bigger teams. It’s great to see him back again.”
