McCullagh and McElhom fire Tyrone past Kerry into another All-Ireland U20FC final

May 11, 2025

Tyrone's Ruairí McCullagh comes up against Aodhna Ó Beaglaoich of Kerry ©INPHO/Ben Brady

Ruari McCullagh and Eoin McElhom combined for 1-13 as Tyrone defeated Kerry in Portlaoise this afternoon to stay on course for their third All-Ireland U20 football championship title in four years.

In what was a repeat of last year’s decider, the Red Hands defeated Tomas O Se’s side by 2-14 to 0-14 this time round with the goal of McElhom and Noah Grimes during the first-half ultimately proving the difference.

The holders were 0-5 to 0-2 in front when senior star McElhom lashed in their first goal in the 17th minute and Grimes found the Kingdom’s net on the eve of half-time to leave it at 2-8 to 0-9 when the teams went in at the half.

Paddy Lane (0-7) top-scored for Kerry on the day and would help bring them back within three points with just over 10 minutes to go at O’Moore Park.

However, the points of Shea McDermott, McCullagh (2) and McElholm steadied the ship for Paul Devlin’s lads who now look forward to an All-Ireland final date against with either Mayo or Louth who face each other in the other semi-final on Friday evening.


Most Read Stories