THEIR manager and most experienced player may both have brushed off the idea, but there IS expectation surrounding Errigal Ciaran. There always is.
Not just in Tyrone but whenever they step onto the Ulster stage.
That element may just provide the extra edge required to see off what will surely be an extremely testing challenge from their opponents, Armagh champions Clann Eireann.
The Lurgan men will want to make history, not only for their own club but by becoming the first finalists from Armagh other than the mighty Crossmaglen Rangers since Mullaghbawn sparked their neighbours’ extraordinary run of success by winning Ulster in 1995.
The task for Errigal Ciaran is different, to repeat history.
It may not be a popular thought around the O’Neill County, but the Ballygawley men are their county’s standard-bearers. They’ve been in as many Ulster finals as all the other Tyrone clubs combined (four) – and they’re the only Red Hand representatives to lift the Seamus Mac Ferran Cup.
Manager Enda McGinley was a player the second time around, in 2002, but played down the significance of such history as not even witnessed or remembered by many of the present-day panel.
Still, that expectation about Errigal comes from within and without.
You saw it on the faces of former stars who flocked onto the pitch at Corrigan Park after they comfortably saw off Antrim champs Cargin by eight points in their quarter-final.
Clann Eireann edged past the Derry representatives, but that task was made somewhat easier because it was against newcomers Newbridge, who’d shocked provincial title-holders Glen in the Oak Leaf county final.
Ballygawley St Ciaran’s were far from a powerhouse in Tyrone football, their two titles coming in 1926 and 1931. The ‘new’/re-formed Errigal Ciaran have always been a different beast since their inception in 1990.
Within three years they were the best in Ulster, spearheaded by one of the greatest players ever, Peter Canavan.
Much attention focuses on his highly talented sons, captain Darragh and Ruairi, but as in the great man’s heyday, there’s a strong supporting cast.
Among the Tyrone players past and present are defenders Aidan McCrory and Cormac Quinn, last year’s county captain Peter Harte, and the versatile midfield duo of Ben McDonnell and Joe Oguz, who aid both defence and attack.
Of course, Clann Eireann have a strong contingent from All-Ireland champions Armagh, including Irish News Footballer of the Year Barry McCambridge, fellow Allstar Conor Turbitt, and the adaptable Tiernan Kelly.
Clann Eireann may have some internal pressure, the men trying to match their Ladies team, who retained their Ulster senior title last weekend.
However, Errigal are striving to live up to a glorious past, to step out of the shadow of the previous generation.
After losing a slugfest against Glen two years ago, in their club’s first Ulster appearance for 10 years, the Ballygawley men appear more composed and resilient this time around.
Clann Eireann will test that sense of assurance to its limits, but Errigal Ciaran are taken to end another decade-long wait, for an Ulster final appearance by a Tyrone team.
