Mark Harte, Brian McGuigan and Kevin Hughes have teamed up today to announce the documentary TÍR EOGHAIN: THE UNBREAKABLEBOND which will air this Sunday August 26th at 8.30pm on TG4. The EMM Production tells the story of how Mickey Harte's minor teams of 1997 and 1998, despite the despairing lows, went on to drive their county to three All Ireland senior titles.  Ahead of next week's All Ireland final against Dublin, Journalist Eamon Mallie's documentary examines how a county that had failed to win Sam Maguire before 2003 found the belief to become champions. 

Featuring Tyrone manager Mickey Harte and All Ireland winners Brian McGuigan, Enda McGinley, Mark Harte and Kevin Hughes the documentary charts how the seeds of Tyrone's success were sown by a special group of minor players from 1997 and 1998. Thirteen of these players went on to feature on the Tyrone team as they claimed the Sam Maguire in 2003, 2005 and 2008.

A skilful and driven group of players, these young men brought unbridled joy to the people of Tyrone. The squad became a symbol of hope having faced the devastation of losing teammate Paul McGirr following an accident during an Ulster Minor Championship match in 1997. A year later they endured trauma again with the 1998 Omagh bombing, but amazingly showed resilience to win the Minor All Ireland title just weeks later.

 

Former All Ireland winning Tyrone senior player Brian McGuigan said: "From the death of our friend and teammate Paul McGirr to the utter devastation of the Omagh bombing these players went through more than anything a group of young men should. We faced challenges on and off the pitch and came through them because of the incredible bond we had with each other and the guidance of our management team led by Mickey Harte. We would not be weighed down by the disappointments of the past or the pain we had endured and believed we could achieve a success never done before by any other Tyrone team." 

 

Former All Ireland winning Tyrone minor and senior player Kevin Hughes said: "The 1998 minor title was very important for the people of Tyrone to perhaps close a dark chapter in which the county struggled. Following the death of Paul McGirr, my own brother Paul and the Omagh bombing, it brought a new spirit and it gave the people of Tyrone a lift. Looking back at everything that happened a group of people came together at the right time. We were lucky as a county to have such a strong bond because our talent on the field of play and the terrible losses we suffered, created a unique spirit resulting in our being in a circle that will never be broken."

 

Producer and Journalist Eamon Maille said: "Tír Eoghain: The Unbreakable Bond charts the heart breaking personal and collective loss visited upon a group of minor footballers when Paul McGirr died one hour after an on the field accident in 1997.  Paul's death, which might have destroyed lesser players of tender years had the opposite effect. It bonded those footballers and laid the foundations for unimaginable success culminating in Tyrone winning the first of three All Ireland's in 2003. This film about Tyrone also unlocks something else about the GAA family - the confidence that success brings to a county like Tyrone which suffered in silence in the famine years as trophies eluded teams and supporters, generation after generation."

 

Directed by the multi award winning Declan McGrath TÍR EOGHAIN: THE UNBREAKABLE BOND underscores the link between Tyrone's success and tragedy. It tells how a unique bond spurred this group, a group representative of a new generation in Tyrone, to change how Tyrone football would be regarded, and how it would change irrevocably football throughout the country.

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