TYRONE’S All-Ireland winning goalkeeper Niall Morgan wants the Red Hands to prove last season’s epic victory was no fluke – but urged his team-mates to embrace the challenge of being chased by Dublin, Kerry and Mayo in 2022.
The Edendork clubman, who accepted an ambassadorial role to help the Northern Ireland Hospice, believes there is a lot of improvement left in the 2021 All-Ireland winners and doesn’t want this team to rest on their laurels over the coming seasons.
“When you work hard to get to the top you don’t want to fall away,” said Morgan, who has spent the last nine years trying to become an All-Ireland champion.
“I’m not going to say we’re going to stay there but you want to stay up there and enjoy the challenge of other teams chasing you, and not always being the chaser.
“We have a huge challenge ahead because Tyrone has never done two-in-a-row for a start, so that’s a challenge for us. We’re not the most decorated county either so there are still loads of challenges ahead of us.
“I think what sets county players apart is the mentality of wanting to get better. Individually, there are lots of things I can improve on from last year and so can the team. You look at Dublin and they won six-in-a-row; they kept improving every year, it wasn’t that nobody could catch them, they kept improving. That’s the standard everybody is trying to get to and emulate.”
It's been an unforgettable year for the 30-year-old goalkeeper. At the beginning of 2021, he became a father for a second time, he graduated with a Masters Degree and rounded off the year with an Ulster medal, a Celtic Cross and his first Allstar.
Team-mates Padraig Hamspey, Conor Meyler, Peter Harte, Kieran McGeary, Brian Kennedy, Niall Sludden and Darren McCurry also received Allstar recognition in guiding Tyrone to their fourth All-Ireland title.
Even before Tyrone went on their fantastic provincial and All-Ireland run, Morgan spoke about the need for a breakthrough win.
“We beat Kerry and Mayo in the Championship and that was the first time we’ve beaten those teams since I’ve been playing.
“We still haven’t beaten Dublin in a Championship game so we’ve still a lot to prove in my eyes. Kerry are going to be gunning for us obviously, but we have to prove last season wasn’t a fluke. Whenever you win it once, people might call it a fluke. We need to get a big Championship win under our belts again to prove that we didn’t just get lucky.”
In a bid to raise some much-needed funds for the NI Hospice, Morgan has decided to raffle one of his All-Ireland jerseys. Every £10 donated is one entry to the raffle.
“Obviously the hospice does great work, as most charities do, so it was just an honour to be asked,” Morgan said.
“There’s around £1,800 raised so far and hopefully we can reach £2,500. People have been so generous and the money is going to such a worthy cause.”
Mary McCall, Director at Hospice, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that Niall has come on board as an official Hospice Ambassador. Niall brings high energy and passion to everything he does, and we have no doubt that he will inspire and motivate many GAA fans to fundraise and support us.”
To donate to enter the fundraising jersey raffle, click on to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/niall-morgan
