Colm Cavanagh (Tyrone)
Highs: 2016 certainly had plenty of highs, from back in January winning the Dr McKenna Cup, to winning Division Two, but best of all was winning our first Ulster Championship since 2010.
This was a special occasion given the time gap since our last Ulster Championship. It was also great to do it with a special bunch of players and backroom team.
Lows: One loss the whole year was the massive low point. We had high expectations entering the Mayo game, however, things just didn’t go as planned. Sport can be cruel and on that day it wasn’t to be.
It took a few long winter nights to get over that one.
Eamon McGee (ex-Donegal)
Highs: Beating Monaghan and putting to bed [the idea] they were a better team than us.
Lows: Losing the Ulster final to Tyrone. Another medal would have been brilliant before I bowed out and we were in a good position at the start of the second half but we never pushed on.
Patrick McBride (Antrim)
Highs: Going unbeaten in the National League to get Antrim back out of Division Four and guaranteeing a game in Croke Park.
Another high was catching Paddy McAleer topless in the gym doing bicep curls in front of the mirror the week before we played Fermanagh. He’s lucky I didn’t take my phone to the gym that day.
Lows: A disappointing performance and an early exit in the Championship [against Limerick] which we hope to rectify this year.
Matthew Donnelly (Tyrone)
Highs: Finally winning an Ulster medal with Tyrone and getting to Dubai on the Allstar trip was also a good experience – more so for off the pitch endeavours.
Lows: The Mayo game for obvious reasons and not being unable to defend the club championship to my potential because of injury.
Patrick McBrearty (Donegal)
Highs: The two Monaghan games were two real rollercoaster games, but the second day was probably the high point for us. The first day we were probably annoyed that we didn’t finish the job, but to get over the line in the second game was a great feeling, especially after losing the Ulster final to them the year before.
Lows: The Ulster final defeat was hard to stomach. We were leading by a point going into injury-time, you would have taken that at the start of the game. But then we were disappointed with the way the game panned out – two wonder scores from Peter Harte and Sean Cavanagh decided the game.
It did take a few days to get over it. It’s still difficult to be honest.
Barry Mulrone (Fermanagh)
Highs: Staying in Division Two. In order for us to progress we needed to be playing the bigger teams in order for us to improve and have a better chance of competing in the Championship.
Lows: The way we exited the Championship against Mayo. Nobody knows what way the game could’ve finished had that penalty [for a tackle on Aidan O’Shea] not been awarded.
Don’t get me wrong, Mayo were playing brilliant stuff at that stage, but I think we had one last push in us to try and get over the line.
Ronan McNabb (Tyrone)
Highs: Returning to play after cruciate injury for both club and county, along with winning the Ulster Championship with Tyrone and winning Division One of the league with my club.
Lows: Suffering one point defeats to Mayo in the All-Ireland quarter-final and in the Tyrone championship
semi-final to Killyclogher.
Cahal Carvill (Armagh hurler)
Highs: One of the highs was undoubtedly lifting the Armagh championship for the sixth time with Middletown. Watching my cousin and good friend David Carvill lift the trophy as joint captain made it extra special.
We recently had our yearly dinner dance which also honoured the men of the 1991 team that lifted the same trophy 25 years ago. As we watched the old video of the final – narrated by the late, great Joe Jordan – it reminded me again of the special group of people and players in Middletown.
Winning Division 2B in March with Armagh was another great feeling and helping to make Armagh Ulster’s number two hurling team was a great achievement.
At the launch of the 2016 Ulster Championship back in June, I told Ulster Council president Michael Hasson that there were only two certainties this year – Donald Trump would be in the White House come January and Armagh would be Ulster hurling champions in July. At least the Donald held up his end of the bargain.
On a serious note, I was immensely proud to be the third man in history to captain Armagh in an Ulster hurling final, it was a real honour to lead out the team that day.
Lows: The Nicky Rackard final defeat to Mayo, although not as hard to stomach as the previous year’s defeat to Roscommon, left a very bitter taste.
Possibly the hardest defeat to take was against Slaughtneil in the Ulster Club semi-final. We believe in Middletown that we are capable of beating anyone on our day and I felt this year was our time to bring the Ulster Club Championship home and create our own piece for history.
