The New Millenium

We Welcome in a New Millenium.

 

Eoghan Ruadh Hurling Club had been going strong for 56 years as the clock chimed Midnight and we moved into January 1st 2000.

What a year 1999 had been for our Senior Hurlers, a great accomplishment for the Club.

Could we scale the same heights in 2000?

A County Hurling Development Committee was set up in 1999.

The focus was on helping the existing 6 Clubs and then exploring future opportunities for expansion.

Would this see hurling develop in Tyrone? Only time would tell.

Without a greater competitiveness of Clubs within the County, challenges would need to come from our neighbouring counties of Armagh, Antrim and Derry.

 

 

Senior Success Continues.

 

With winning form, Peter McCaughey would again Manage our Seniors.

Peter had proven pedigree over his years of Management.

There had been few retirements this year.

The core of the team now were lads in their late teens and early twenties.

Martin Devlin, Terry Mc Intosh, Barry Winters, Ryan Winters, Fearghal Mc Cluskey, Eugene Molloy Paul Lavery, Shay O Neill, Cathal and Peter Mc Erlean, Ryan Clarke and Shane Jackson.

The Championship semi finals had been fixed for the 28th of July with Omagh being our challengers.

Eoghan Ruadh had not been expecting the challenge that Omagh would bring.

Playing below our usual intensity, the game was well in the balance entering the final quarter.

Dungannon leading only by 3 points.

In the space of 10 minutes goals from Terry Mc Intosh and Peter Mc Erlean put the result beyond doubt.

Omagh had been well in this game up until then and proved great challengers despite the final scoreline.

Eoghan Ruadh 4:10

Omagh 0:7

Carrickmore had overcome Shamrocks in the other Semi Final to once again be our challengers for the Benburb Cup.

 

The Championship Final of 2000 was set for Pomeroy on Sunday 13th of August.

 

 

It was a cagey, tight affair and for anyone who came to witness a tense battle they were not disappointed.

The score line didn’t matter in the end for Eoghan Ruadh as the Benburb Cup returned to the town.

Our stand out Man of the day was Stephen Donnelly who pulled off save after save to repel Carrickmore throughout the game.

With Stephen Woodhead and Thomas Colton strong at Centre Half Back and Centre Half Forward respectively and Barry Winters, Declan Molloy and Mickey McHugh clearing long balls up the field, the Carrickmore defence was under siege for long periods but managed well no less.

It fell to Eamon Devlin (0:4) , Paul Lavery (0:3) and Brian McIntosh (0:1) to provide the scores, in a low scoring affair.

With Liam Kelly scoring a super point in the closing minutes as the final whistle went.

Final Score

Eoghan Ruadh 0:9

Carrickmore 0:7

 

1). Stephen Donnelly 2). Barry Winters 3). Declan Molloy 4). Ryan Winters 5). Shay O’Neill 6). Stephen Woodhead 7). Michael McHugh 8). Eamon Devlin 9). Paul Lavery 10). Eddie McCurry 11). Thomas Colton 12). Peter McErlean 13). Darren Quinn 14). Brian Mc Intosh 15). Martin Devlin

With another Benburb Cup in the bag, our focus once again turned to Ulster.

A big chance for a first Tyrone team to retain the Ulster Shield – no easy feat.

Following victory over Monaghan Champions Castleblaney after a replay, Cavan Champions Mullahoran stood in the way of us reaching another Ulster Shield Final.

A convincing win was never in doubt following first half goals by Brian Mc Intosh, Eamon and Martin Devlin.

Despite a determined effort after the break by Mullahoran, Eoghan Ruadh ran out comfortable winners 5:11 to 1:6.

 

Ulster Shield Final 2000

 

Clones was the venue for the Ulster Shield Final on Sunday 1st of October and Fermanagh Champions Lisbellaw were standing in the way of the first Tyrone team to win back to back Shield titles.

An outstanding first half by Lisbellaw saw us 6 points down.

Our lads would have been forgiven for putting the heads down.

However, our team were battle hardened and ready for the challenge.

A fine goal by Peter Mc Erlean following the restart wasn’t long in driving the lads on.

Once an Eamon Devlin long distance free hit the back of the net, the fight was on to see who would be crowned champions.

Unfortunately for Lisbellaw, accuracy in front of the posts was their downfall.

Points from Eamon Devlin, Thomas Colton and Paul Lavery in the final quarter put the minimum between the teams and as the final whistle went, celebrations began as Stephen Woodhead lifted the Shield.

What a brilliant display by our whole team.

 

A Massive Challenge.

 

As we entered the Ulster Club Championship proper, our challengers would be Derry Kingpins Slaugthneil.

Derry Hurler’s had just won the Ulster Hurling Championship in 2000 for the first time in 92 years.

Based on the result in the semi final of 1999, Slaughtneil was going to be a huge scalp to take.

In the first half, Slaughtneil probably thought is this a team from Tyrone we are playing?

Slaughtneil had gained an early lead but with goals from Brian Mc Intosh and Martin Devlin, Eoghan Ruadh had an unbelievable 1 point lead at the break.

However, with the wind at our backs in the second half and a greater composure by our opponents, Slaughtneil ran out winners in the end.

 

 

Despite this defeat, our valiant effort against one of the top teams in the country could not be denied.

 

 

U21 Success

 

With a large number of our Senior team still in their teens or just turned 20/21, the result of the U21 Championship was never in doubt.

Dungannon ran out winners against Carrickmore on a scoreline of 1:8 to 0:2

 

Underage Development

 

With little success at Minor, U16 or U14 in the previous few years, a new Underage Development structure was required.

A plan put in place to attract new players, build structures throughout the relevant age groups and make progression.

Thanks to Dungannon Youth Club and Scout Hall, we now had facilities to use during the colder, darker Winter months.

Our Underage Coaches had the desire to pass on all their knowledge that had stood them well over their years of hurling for Eoghan Ruadh.

 

2001

 

2001 will be remembered for lots of historic moments outside of hurling.

After a long successful career, Peter Mc Caughey decided it was time for him to call it a day on Managing our Seniors.

The task of replacing him was a great challenge, having delivered a 2 in a row of Ulster Shields – the strength of our Senior Squad was in an unenviable position not seen in years.

The Benburb Cup was retained to mark our first 3 in a row since the 1950’s.

 

 

As we successfully made our way to another Ulster Shield Final, hopes were high for a 3 in a row of Shield titles too.

Our Challengers were Donegal Champions Burt – who had been making great progression over the past decade.

Burt got the better start, in a half which was very low scoring.

With a strong breeze affecting playing conditions, Burt scored 2 first half goals to go in with a 2:02 to 0:2 lead.

Dungannon came out in the second half with newed vigour and with points from Shay O’ Neill and Ryan Winters the lead was now back to one score.

The game developed into a tit for tat of scores with Dungannon needing a goal to turn this one around.

Unfortunately, Burt weathered the storm and after a fine save by the Burt goalkeeper from Dungannon’s Ciaran Molloy, the clock ticked away as Burt claimed the title to deny us a famous 3 in a row of Ulster titles.

 

Watch the 2001 Ulster Club Shield Final by Clicking here

 

2002 – 2004

 

With the exception of our U16’s and U14’s there wasn’t much to celebrate from 2002 until the start of 2005.

Carrickmore had been dominating the U18 Category for a few years at this stage and seemed to be carrying a lot of these successful players through to Senior level.

They had just completed a 3 in a row of Benburb Cup titles in 2004.

The Tyrone Senior league title had not reached Dungannon since 1999

Carrickmore Minors had won Ulster in 2003 and their Seniors added the Armagh League title for the first time in 2004.

It was time for that to change.

 

 

2005

 

A New Club Championship System was initiated for 2005.

The Tyrone Senior Hurling Championship involved five clubs playing each other once in a round robin group.

After all games were completed, the top two teams played each other in the Tyrone Senior Hurling Championship Final for the Benburb Cup.

The winners of which went on to represent Tyrone in the Ulster Intermediate Club Championship.

The teams that finished 3rd and 4th played for the Tyrone Junior Hurling Championship, the winners of which went on to represent Tyrone in the Ulster Junior Club Championship.

The first point of order for our Committee was to nominate a Senior Management team for the year.

Two wonderful hurler’s and friend’s from childhood Eamon Devlin and Brian McIntosh agreed to take on the role of Senior Management in 2005.

The two lads knew it was going to take a huge effort by all involved for the Benburb Cup to be won again.

 

 

Thankfully with the hard work put in by everyone our Captain Barry Winters lifted the Cup beating Carrickmore in the Championship Final.

 

 

 

 

You can watch the 2005 Senior Championship Final by clicking here.

 

2008

 

Our U16’s reclaimed the championship title after a few years of absence when they took on Carrickmore on the 30th of September 2008.

You can see some star names of the future in the programme below.

 

 

Our seniors played out a draw game in the Championship Final and unfortunately came up short in the replay.

There’s a great player profile of 2008 Captain Ryan Winters in the programme below,

 

 

2009

 

Youth Progress Continues.

 

With great numbers turning out at youth training from week to week, it was a pleasure to watch our kids progress in skill development.

U16 and U14 success continued where it left off in 2008 with wins in both league and championship.

At Senior level, Carrickmore had completed a 3 in a row of Benburb Cup wins in 2008.

With determination and guidance from Gerry and Barry McIntosh, the lads put in a huge effort to prevent a further win in 09.

 

Watch the 2009 Tyrone Senior Championship Final by Clicking here.

 

 

We were drawn against St Galls of Antrim in the Ulster Club Intermediate Semi Final.

Unfortunately, St Galls were too strong for us and they would eventually go on to win the Intermediate title beating Middletown of Armagh in the final.

 

 

 

A successful end to the Decade.

 

Just like that another 10 years has passed in our Club’s history.

If you have any information that you would like included in this decade please email

pro.dungannoneoghanruadh.tyrone@gaa.ie

 

All forms of information is welcome for any age groups and is really appreciated.