SUNDAY, December 1 2002 will be forever engrained in the memory of Darragh McAnenly.
The storm that swept through Clones, leaving the field at St Tiernach’s Park little better than a bog, left no hope of free-flowing football. Once referee Mickey Convery threw the ball in, the 60-plus minutes that followed offered up the sorry total of 12 scores.
Not that Errigal Ciaran, or their merry band of supporters, cared as they stood singing in the rain after edging the arm wrestle. On days like those, only winning or losing matters; everything else is immaterial.
And McAnenly was among the sea of young faces who gleefully ignored the elements to celebrate with their heroes as Mickey Harte’s men were crowned kings of Ulster.
“I was only 10 or 11,” he says, “but I remember that whole Ulster club run - the Crossmaglen games, going to Cross and watching the boys, then being at the back of the stand in Clones the day of the Ulster final.
“As a young cub back then you definitely thought this will happen again, but it didn’t - we had to wait a long time before we won the [Tyrone] championship again.
“It was special watching them games, watching them boys playing, and now they’re back on the line with us.”
The likes of current Errigal manager Enda McGinley, and management team member Paul Horisk, were on the bus back home that day, eyes snatching an occasional glance at the Seamus Mac Ferran Cup, taking pride of place up top.
Twenty two years on, that famous trophy is back – and this time McAnenly was one of those who helped deliver magic memories for another generation of Errigal fans, the long wait for Ulster glory at last coming to an end with victory over Kilcoo earlier this month.
As understudy to Tyrone goalkeeper John Devine, McAnenly had to bide his time before making the number one jersey his own. There have been great times in the years since but, stood beneath the stand at the Athletic Grounds as Darragh Canavan addressed the masses, the feeling was beyond compare.
From then to now, the fulfilment of a childhood ambition, and the hope of going even further as Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final date with Dr Crokes looms.
“Every day since, I’ve been dreaming of it,” he smiled.
“I suppose at my age, same with Tommy [Canavan], Aidy [McCrory], a lot of us have been around a while now. It is something you always wanted, something you always hoped would happen, but you didn’t know if it would become reality… now it has.
“To hear the final whistle was something special; I don’t know if you’d ever match that. Getting out of Tyrone is so hard – if you were to throw the ball back in today and try to pick another Tyrone champion in six weeks’ time, there’s a fair chance it could be someone different. That’s just the nature of the championship, and that’s what people love about it.
“God knows what the chances are of us winning next year and getting back to an Ulster final… if it takes another 22 years, I’ll definitely not be there anyway.
“But being here, seeing all the youngsters on the field - the way we were - it’s unbelievable. You have to cherish these days, every minute of it, because we know they don’t come around too often.”
Especially not when you have to fight for every inch in Tyrone, just to earn a crack at Ulster.
And this year was no different, with Errigal forced to battle beyond Pomeroy, Clonoe after a replay, Killyclogher and eventually Trillick before getting their hands on the O’Neill Cup.
“It doesn’t happen by accident,” said McAnenly.
“I think it’s a bit of belief, a bit of togetherness and saying it’s not over until the board goes up. It’s just believing in yourselves and then, once you come out of Tyrone, the shackles maybe come off a wee bit - you can go and try and express yourself.
“Thankfully this year we’ve done it. Winning Ulster was Christmas come early for us.”
