Tyrone’s fiercely competitive league is the perfect breeding ground for championship success, according to Trillick captain Rory Brennan, who has just led his side to back-to-back Division One titles.
The Reds used last year’s league victory as a platform for championship triumph this season, and now they have completed the first double since Dromore’s all-conquering 2011 campaign.
A narrow win over Carrickmore in Sundays’ final confirmed the St Macartan’s as Tyrone’s dominant force in 2023.
“Last year it gave us a massive platform for this year. We put a lot of focus on winning last year’s league, and we saw what it did for us this year,” said Brennan.
“It gave us a bounce going into the new year and we continued that momentum right through.
“We knew what a league title had done for us last year, so we weren’t willing to hand that over easily to someone else.
“We knew that if Carrickmore, an up and coming team as well, would get a league title, they would go on the bounce as well.
“So it was just about taking each game as it comes, building momentum, and that’s what we have done all year.
“We have just tried to keep the show on the road, do the simple things well.
“It mightn’t have been pretty, but we had to dig in and we got the win, and we’re happy with our performance.”
Rather than allow a one point loss to Scotstown in the Ulster Club semi-final dishearten them, the Trillick players used the disappointment as a motivational tool as they returned to domestic action in the league semi-final a week later.
“We had the game, the game was there for us, and we could have had it in normal time.
“We’re proud of our performance on the day, but there were a lot of wee simple things, a few mistakes that caught up with us in the end.
“Yes, it was very tough to take, but we used that as a driving force to show the character that’s in this team.
“Last year we were put out early in the championship, we stuck at it, we put our focus on the league.
“That’s how we’re trying to build, we’re trying to build good character and that’s what it’s all about.”
Trillick’s only previous double was achieved 40 years ago, and four decades on, former Tyrone defender Brennan believes the current team still has some way to go in its desire to match the legendary side of 1983.
“The men that have gone before us speak for themselves, some of them won five championships and seven leagues.
“It’s been 40 years since a team from the club has done the double, so it just shows you how hard it is to do.
“We’re just happy to emulate those boys. We have a wee bit of catching up to do yet, but it’s a big one.”
The Christmas break will fly through, ahead of a renewed focus on achieving what no Tyrone club has managed to do in almost two decades by retaining the senior championship title.
“We know how hard it is to do. It’s been a long time since any team in Tyrone has done it.
“We were in a similar situation in 2019/2020 when we thought we were going to go back-to-back, and we got nipped narrowly in a penalty shoot-out.
“It’s a tough thing to do, and we’ll keep that until the new year, but we’re happy with our lot this year.
“It was disappointing in Ulster, but to win a double is no mean feat.”