Errigal Ciaran’s chances of retaining the Tyrone SFC title have been dealt a blow in the form of injuries to two key players.
Defenders Cormac Quinn and Niall Kelly, both members of the county squad, could miss the champions’ defence of the O’Neill Cup, which begins next month with a difficult first round tie against Killyclogher.
Kelly is understood to be out for the remainder of the season due to a collarbone injury, while Quinn is struggling with a hamstring problem.
Quinn, who established himself as a regular in the Tyrone half-back line as an exciting newcomer this season, has not played since the All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Kerry.
Neither player has made an appearance for their club this season.
But on a positive note, Errigal have been boosted by the return of Ben McDonnell, an All-Ireland winner with Tyrone in 2021.
He left the county squad last year to go travelling, but returned from Australia last week, and made a substitute appearance in Errigal’s Division One League defeat to Ardboe at the weekend.
Errigal Ciaran have a plethora of county players in their ranks, including Peter Harte, the Canavan brothers, Darragh and Ruairi, and Joe Oguz, but the face a huge test in their efforts to win the notoriously difficult Tyrone SFC for a second successive season.
It’s 18 years since the O’Neill Cup was last retained, when Carrickmore won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005.
And at least half a dozen teams are considered leading contenders for this year’s series, including last year’s beaten finalists Carrickmore and 2022 winners Dromore.
The Connollys of Moy Tyrone SFC begins on Thursday September 22, with the entire first round to be played over five consecutive days.
The Tyrone Championship remains one of the few to retain its traditional straight knock-out format.
And replays have been reintroduced this season following a three-year suspension, after a finish-on-the-day protocol was implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic.
First round games will continue to be decided by extra-time and penalties, where necessary, but replays will decide drawn games from the quarter-finals onwards.
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