TODAY is Tomás Haigney’s 18th birthday. It’s not been a bad week.
In Sunday’s MacRory Cup final, he picked up the man-of-the-match award. His electrifying pace tore holes in Holy Trinity’s defence.
Haigney scored two points himself and was at the heart of so much good about Omagh CBS in an attacking sense.
It was a special day for the St Enda’s club man to win it at Healy Park, the club’s home ground.
His grandfather, Liam McGrath, is the club’s current president.
Tomás’ father, Eugene, was a notable dual player with Omagh.
Perhaps a fair bit of his physical make-up is owed to his mother Deirdre. She has a long history in athletics and is a past NI Masters champion at both 200m and 400m.
Their offspring Aoibh, Enya, Dan and Tomás have all carried on that tradition, all potent runners at various distances.
Tomás’ athletic concentration has largely been on Cross Country. In 2018, he won Omagh CBS’ Spirit of Enda Dolan 5km shield. Most of his running has been with the Omagh Harriers club.
Last year was intensely frustrating. He missed out on virtually a whole year’s football, including the MacRory Cup campaign, because of a back injury.
“I do a lot of running outside football. A lot of cross country when I was younger, but since my injury it’s been mainly football since I came back, I haven’t really had a chance to get back at it yet but I’d love to.
“I hurt my back last year and was out for months and months. I didn’t get to play any MacRory Cup last year, I was on the panel but didn’t get to play.
“I’m so happy this year I was able to stay fit and help the team.”
There was no particular bang or knock that hurt his back, just the wear and tear of competing on so many different fronts he reckons.
Standing to the side of the pitch on television duty was Conor Meyler. For Haigney, there couldn’t be a better role model than his own clubmate.
His own background in athletics has stood to him, shooting him to a Footballer of the Year nomination in Tyrone’s All-Ireland winning year of 2021.
Meyler had actually pushed himself so hard training in his earlier days that his body broke down. He would run from home to the gym, do a session there and then run home timing himself, trying to beat his best time.
“Conor’s a great role model,” says Haigney.
“If you ever need to look up to someone and push yourself to get to where you want to be, it’s Conor.
“He never started off as the big name but eventually he earned it. He’s a big influence on me.”
Omagh came into the final against county rivals Holy Trinity as big underdogs but produced an accomplished display that saw them win by seven points.
In front of a crowd just of just over 6,000, it was a margin that didn’t even flatter the winners.
“With an atmosphere like that, you’re a bit nervous at the start and maybe they had a better start than us,” he said.
“We came into the game and knew by the end of it, we were the team that deserved to win. They’re a great side but we were just too much for them today.
“There’s boys there that have played for Tyrone minors and things like that, but it’s the first time for me [in an atmosphere like Sunday].
“It maybe took me a wee bit longer to get into the game than other boys but I’m glad we could get it done.”
