HE had laid his brother Caolan to rest just days earlier but Niall Devlin showed immense resilience to help Tyrone see off battling Monaghan in Saturday night’s vital relegation dogfight at Healy Park.
Caolan Devlin (30) died in a two-car collision on the notorious A5 between Omagh and Ballygawley on March 5. Younger brother Niall, a pall bearer at the funeral on March 10, lined out for the Red Hands in their crucial Division One fixture and afterwards Tyrone manager Brian Dooher said the county would always be there to support the Coalisland Na Fianna clubman and his family.
“All credit to Niall and it’s a testament to him and his family,” said Dooher.
“The support the boys have given him and the supporters have given him - we’re very thankful for that and Niall’s family are very thankful for it and they are going to need it all because it is a long road yet for them.
“It was tough on my mum and dad. I knew I was self-destructing. And I also knew the next phase of that, if I had carried on, it was not being here. I was in a very dark place...” - the life and times of Caolan Mooney
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“It is going to be tough for them but we will do what we can and keep supporting them.”
Before throw-in a minute’s silence was observed in memory of Caolan Devlin and the Tyrone players showed their support for their grieving team-mate who played all 80 minutes of a hammer-and-tongs battle against a Monaghan side that needed to win to avoid relegation to Division Two.
What unfolded, particularly in the second half, was a Championship-level clash as the Ulster heavyweights made light of difficult conditions and slugged it out as the rain poured down.
In the end, Tyrone dug their heels in and forced a three-point win that has eased relegation fears in their camp but not before the battling Farneymen had pushed them to the final whistle.
“It looked like we were going to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory at one stage,” said a relieved Dooher.
“But thankfully we held on because the momentum was with Monaghan. They were a couple of last ditch tackles – Ruairi Canavan made one near the end - and that made the difference. It was people putting their bodies on the line.”
