WHEN MICKEY HARTE finished up with the Tyrone minors in 1998, he left behind him some big shoes to fill.
Tyrone’s All-Ireland minor title that September was their first in 25 years. After eight seasons on the road with the U18 age-group, he spent three years with the U21s before eventually making the leap to the senior job in 2003.
Thankfully for the Red Hand’s youth development, Harte left the minors in safe hands.
Liam Donnelly, father of All-Star midfielder Mattie, and Martin Coyle carried on his great work and helped bring through a golden generation of Tyrone footballers.
They delivered further minor All-Irelands in 2001 and 2004, and a host of players from those two sides would go on to become key figures in Harte’s senior squad.
The 2001 success was a special time for Mattie Donnelly and Sean Cavanagh. The Moy powerhouse was the star of that team and made it clear in that campaign he would have a bright future with Tyrone.
Donnelly was an impressionable 10-year-old in the habit of accompanying his dad to training and games.
“We’ve always joked about it,” he says. “I used to be one the wee boys going around pestering (Sean) and kicking the ball out to him. To be playing with him is unbelievable. It wouldn’t have crossed your mind back then and it probably didn’t cross his mind.
“We’ve laughed about that in the past and it’s been a pleasure to see him from them until now and really get playing with him.”
Tyrone’s upcoming All-Ireland semi-final against Dublin could be the last time Donnelly and Cavanagh go to war together. Cavanagh has announced he’ll step away at the end of this season after a glittering career at the top.
By the time Donnelly broke through to the senior ranks, Cavanagh was decorated with three All-Irelands and a Footballer of the Year under his belt. Now, as Cavanagh nears the end, it’s Donnelly who is a current All-Star and driving force of the team.
He’d love nothing more than for Cavanagh to bow out in style.
“There’s a lot of people that deserve fairytale send-offs but going out and getting it for him is the big one,” says Donnelly. “There’s no doubt the service he’s given Tyrone and Gaelic football in general has been unbelievable.
“Even seeing him about the gym and training, he’s still staying on after and kicking. You do take time to stop and think about the commitment of that man over the years and he’s probably more enthusiastic this year than he ever has been.
“You probably draw hunger from it that you do want to put your shoulder behind the wheel and give him the best of your effort.”
Sean’s younger brother Colm was another one to pass through Liam Donnelly’s hands. He was full-forward on that ’04 minor team and has since blossomed into one of the finest midfielders in the country.
He took a heavy knock to the hip in the quarter-final win over Armagh, but it’s not something that’ll stop him from lining out in a game as big as this.
“He’s grand, Colm will be alright I’d say. He always has some sort of knock,” smirks Donnelly.
“I don’t think he would be right if he didn’t have a knock. He always seems to recover, he’s made of good stuff.”
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