BOTH ARMAGH AND Tyrone will go into 2026 without two stellar talents, after their respective managers stated that Rian O’Neill and Peter Harte are not part of their county panels at present after their Dr McKenna Cup meeting on Friday night.
Asked about returns for some of his missing players, Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney stated, “Rian (O’Neill) is not back in. Rory (Grugan) is the end of January.
“Barry McCambridge, Jason Duffy will hopefully be sooner rather than later. Cian (McConville), there’s just a lot of colds and flus over the winter period. TK (Tiernan Kelly) is the same.
“Greg (McCabe) has just got married there. They had to get the day off for that! We have eight or nine knocking about and will see them in the next three, four weeks.”
Pressed on Rian O’Neill and if he might be coming back into the panel at a later stage, as he did last season, McGeeney added, “I wouldn’t say so, no.”
Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney with Aidan Forker. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
The 28-year-old is a significant loss for his incredible abilities that he showcased throughout the last number of years. His brother Oisín won Man of the Match in the loss to Tyrone, and younger brother Aaron O’Neill made his Armagh debut when coming on as a sub and later notching his first point.
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Meanwhile, 35-year-old Peter Harte appears to have kicked his last ball for Tyrone.
Having made his debut in 2009 he has been one of the greatest talents of Gaelic football and the new rules rewarded his stunning kicking range.
“I think Peter at this stage is not going to be able to commit unfortunately,” said Tyrone manager, Malachy O’Rourke.
“Peter has given so much service to the county, a brilliant role model for all the boys. He is going to be missed greatly.
“We are never going to close the door on him and if it were a case that he had a wee bit of breathing space later on in the year, he was able to come back, well then the door would be open for him.
“But at this stage, he’s not able to give the commitment. We just have to move on in the short term without him and see how things go.”
Asked about how his loss will be felt, O’Rourke continued, “Both on the field and off the field, the way he conducts himself, the way he trains, the way he prepares himself to train, everything about him is what you want in a panel and it is so great, so many young lads coming through who are learning the trade at this level.
“The more people like Petey about, the better. Hopefully, maybe there will be some chance he will be back later on in the year. But Petey owes nobody anything. He has had a tremendous career and he was brilliant to work with last year.”
Tyrone manager Malachy O'Rourke. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
Even allowing for frigid January conditions and the somewhat diminished importance of the competition, Dr McKenna Cup games between Armagh and Tyrone have frequently been verging on bloodbaths.
Take the clash 11 years ago. Even in the McKenna Cup press nights, Armagh stalwart Ciaran McKeever was promising Tyrone that they would be ready for them.
Early on in that game, McKeever and Colm Cavanagh were red-carded. Armagh had three red cards in total. 8,463 paid through the gates.
It was 19,631 in attendance when they met in the same competition in 2006 at Casement Park.
Even last night, allowing for a Friday night game, there was 7,180 in through the gates. The argument that there is no appetite for pre-season games does not hold weight up north.
But the football was a little on the tame side. Not even a good row to get the people invested. The only bit of devilment was Cormac Quinn deliberately hand-tripping Oisín O’Neill and stopping him from supporting an attack.
It should have been a black card. It was instead awarded a yellow. You’d forgive the young referee Diarmuid Boylan as it happened behind his back and logic would determine that he was going off the advice of his linesmen.
While Armagh were handing debuts to Daniel Magee who might have been gifted a first-half goal by an Oisín O’Kane handling error, Fergal O’Brien and Dan McCarthy, while Malachy O’Rourke was introducing Peter McCaughey, Conor O’Neill and Oisin Gormley, the intrigue here lay with who was not on the field, on the bench, or spotted around the place.
Rian O’Neill and Peter Harte would light up any championship. The hope for any neutral is they find a way to make it work.
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Peter Harte and Rian O'Neill unlikely to feature in 2026 for Tyrone and Armagh
BOTH ARMAGH AND Tyrone will go into 2026 without two stellar talents, after their respective managers stated that Rian O’Neill and Peter Harte are not part of their county panels at present after their Dr McKenna Cup meeting on Friday night.
Asked about returns for some of his missing players, Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney stated, “Rian (O’Neill) is not back in. Rory (Grugan) is the end of January.
“Barry McCambridge, Jason Duffy will hopefully be sooner rather than later. Cian (McConville), there’s just a lot of colds and flus over the winter period. TK (Tiernan Kelly) is the same.
“Greg (McCabe) has just got married there. They had to get the day off for that! We have eight or nine knocking about and will see them in the next three, four weeks.”
Pressed on Rian O’Neill and if he might be coming back into the panel at a later stage, as he did last season, McGeeney added, “I wouldn’t say so, no.”
The 28-year-old is a significant loss for his incredible abilities that he showcased throughout the last number of years. His brother Oisín won Man of the Match in the loss to Tyrone, and younger brother Aaron O’Neill made his Armagh debut when coming on as a sub and later notching his first point.
Meanwhile, 35-year-old Peter Harte appears to have kicked his last ball for Tyrone.
Having made his debut in 2009 he has been one of the greatest talents of Gaelic football and the new rules rewarded his stunning kicking range.
“I think Peter at this stage is not going to be able to commit unfortunately,” said Tyrone manager, Malachy O’Rourke.
“We are never going to close the door on him and if it were a case that he had a wee bit of breathing space later on in the year, he was able to come back, well then the door would be open for him.
“But at this stage, he’s not able to give the commitment. We just have to move on in the short term without him and see how things go.”
Asked about how his loss will be felt, O’Rourke continued, “Both on the field and off the field, the way he conducts himself, the way he trains, the way he prepares himself to train, everything about him is what you want in a panel and it is so great, so many young lads coming through who are learning the trade at this level.
“The more people like Petey about, the better. Hopefully, maybe there will be some chance he will be back later on in the year. But Petey owes nobody anything. He has had a tremendous career and he was brilliant to work with last year.”
Even allowing for frigid January conditions and the somewhat diminished importance of the competition, Dr McKenna Cup games between Armagh and Tyrone have frequently been verging on bloodbaths.
Take the clash 11 years ago. Even in the McKenna Cup press nights, Armagh stalwart Ciaran McKeever was promising Tyrone that they would be ready for them.
Early on in that game, McKeever and Colm Cavanagh were red-carded. Armagh had three red cards in total. 8,463 paid through the gates.
It was 19,631 in attendance when they met in the same competition in 2006 at Casement Park.
Even last night, allowing for a Friday night game, there was 7,180 in through the gates. The argument that there is no appetite for pre-season games does not hold weight up north.
But the football was a little on the tame side. Not even a good row to get the people invested. The only bit of devilment was Cormac Quinn deliberately hand-tripping Oisín O’Neill and stopping him from supporting an attack.
It should have been a black card. It was instead awarded a yellow. You’d forgive the young referee Diarmuid Boylan as it happened behind his back and logic would determine that he was going off the advice of his linesmen.
While Armagh were handing debuts to Daniel Magee who might have been gifted a first-half goal by an Oisín O’Kane handling error, Fergal O’Brien and Dan McCarthy, while Malachy O’Rourke was introducing Peter McCaughey, Conor O’Neill and Oisin Gormley, the intrigue here lay with who was not on the field, on the bench, or spotted around the place.
Rian O’Neill and Peter Harte would light up any championship. The hope for any neutral is they find a way to make it work.
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absence absent friends Armagh GAA Gaelic Football Gone gone gone Tyrone