NIALL Morgan has expressed his delight at the appointment of new Tyrone boss Malachy O’Rourke and says the Fermanagh native will be entering a “good environment” with “plenty of ambition” among the current crop of players.
O’Rourke was announced as successor to outgoing co-managers Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher who held the reins for four seasons, winning the All-Ireland in their first season in charge in 2021.
O’Rourke, who guided south Derry club Glen to the All-Ireland title last year and remains in charge there, made no secret of wanting to manage at inter-county level again having stepped down as Monaghan manager in 2019.
Morgan tells the story of his one encounter with O’Rourke when he managed a team for a charity game in memory of Donegal kitman, the late Pat Shovelin.
“It was Pat’s friend who organised the charity match,” Morgan recalls.
“My only memory of Pat was him launching abuse at me in the 2013 game [Donegal v Tyrone] up in Ballybofey.
“I was always thinking, I can’t wait to get back that man at some stage. Anyway, Pat’s friend told me that before he passed away, they sat down in his house to pick his dream 15 outside Donegal and I was the goalkeeper Pat chose.
“I was so taken back by that as he obviously had admiration for me.
“Malachy took the team for the charity game and even though it was only a charity game his team-talk about Pat’s family, the Donegal players and the local people, I just thought it was amazing. Every one of us sat in complete silence and I remember thinking, ‘That’s who we need in Tyrone.’
“Any of the Monaghan boys I’ve been speaking to, they say he makes you feel that you’re the absolute best at your job.”
O’Rourke, notably, won two Ulster titles during a hugely fulfilling seven years in Monaghan where standards in the county were never higher.
Morgan added: “In terms of resources, we’ve got one of the best training facilities in Ireland. The pitches are always brilliant, the gym is brilliant, there’s a county board that backs the team. And you’ve got a group of players, some of whom have a wealth of experience, and on the other side you’ve a bunch of lads that have that innocence of youth.
“Throughout the whole squad there’s a group of people that have won in the past and will have the ambition to win in the future. It’s a good environment to be coming into and one that Malachy will definitely add to.
“I’m delighted about the appointment. Now, don’t get me wrong. As players we don’t mean we’re delighted Feargal and Brian are gone. It wasn’t that we went looking the two men out; [but] I think it was evident that things needed to change, and Malachy coming in is a massive coup.”
Since Tyrone’s famous and somewhat unlikely All-Ireland triumph in 2021, Morgan admitted the hunger among some of the Tyrone players had sagged.
They suffered Championship losses to Derry and Armagh the following season. They reached the All-Ireland quarter-finals in 2023 and exited the All-Ireland series to Roscommon in ‘24.
“The hunger went from some players, including myself. At the time, we were all saying, ‘Right, we’re going to win two-in-a-row.’ But you could sense it.
“In 2021, the amount of time I put into kicking… but the problem was in 2022 it was a case of what do I need to do now? I started doing a lot of gym work and put on three or four kilos, but it didn’t suit me. So, I went away from what was working and a lot of boys did the same.
“I remember one of the first matches the following year [after winning the All-Ireland] was against Armagh and we had three boys sent off, and you suddenly thought, this is different.
“You realise, we’re the ones with a target on our backs. It nearly suits Tyrone to be the underdog and be the chaser, the one that’s got a chip on their shoulder. We couldn’t really have that anymore because we were sitting at the top of the tree.
“Armagh will find that next year too.”
The 33-year-old still wants to win more silverware with Tyrone and in O’Rourke the county board couldn’t have appointed better to see what potential resides in the Red Hands panel.
“You want to win. There’s no better way to be a role model than to be a success in your county. Armagh will see a massive influx of kids around the county playing for clubs this year and we want to do that in Tyrone as well.
“I suppose one of the biggest things for me now is I’m one of the older ones on the Tyrone panel. There’s a group of U20s coming through and I want to be a leader for them - and just being a good team-mate. That’s maybe something I didn’t focus on in the early part of my career.
“When you’re a bit older you do take defeats to heart a wee bit, whereas the younger fellas come in and just lighten the mood again. Sometimes you’re thinking, ‘Would you take this a wee bit more serious?’ But that’s the innocence of youth – ‘we got beaten, let’s get on with it.’
“There’s the likes of Ruairi Canavan, Niall Devlin, Seanie O’Donnell, Lorcan McGarrity – they’re thick as thieves and four great lads to have in the dressing room.
“And the ability that they have is hanging out of them. You saw Lorcan kicking the winner for Carrickmore the other night. I think he’s a brilliant player and I just hope he can kick on with the county and be as good as he is for the club.”