The Tyrone Celtic Challenge team players and management.
By John Harrington
When Chris Cross finally hung up his boots in 2023 after 14 years hurling with Tyrone, he didn’t rest on his laurels for very long.
Three months, to be precise, before he was persuaded by Tyrone GAA’s Hurling Officer, Aidan Maguire, to manage the county’s U-17 hurlers.
Cross brought in former Tyrone team-mate, Mark Winters, to help him coach the team, and it’s been a very encouraging work in progress that has taken them to Saturday’s Electric Ireland Celtic Challenge Division 4 semi-final against Westmeath.
Along the way they’ve had some impressive wins, none more so than when they played superbly to beat Offaly by 4-16 to 2-20 in the Round Robin phase of the competition.
“In fairness to the players, they've all been brilliant,” Cross told GAA.ie. “They've all turned up and given a full commitment. When lads are buying into it and you have no drop-offs, then they're happy with something.
“You're obviously trying to get the best out of your players because a lot of them are playing football and they're out a lot of nights of the week so you want to keep it fresh and interesting.
“There was a bit of a fear of the unknown at the start but, now I'm in the thick of it, it's great, I love it. It's always player focused and you want to get the best out of your players and have the players enjoying it because then you'll keep more of them hurling.
“We've had a serious squad, we could nearly play two teams which is great.”
Shea Monroe in action for Tyrone against Armagh in the 2024 Electric Ireland Celtic Challenge.
Cross knew he had a talented bunch when they pushed a strong Kildare team all the way in the round-robin phase.
The self-belief they sourced from that performance gave them the impetus to stun Offaly in their next match, a result that electrified Tyrone’s small hurling community.
“That gave us a big boost alright,” says Cross. “You're always trying to keep things going up here in the north and you're not in a hurling stronghold so it can be challenging.
“So when you do then beat the likes of Offaly then the players can sit up and take a bit of pride in themselves and probably get recognised a bit more in the county as well.
“Lads need game-time. If they're getting game-time in county jersies playing with the best players from each club then you're building something with them that will hopefully carry through to U20 level and then senior.
“The good thing about the Celtic Challenge is that you're guaranteed round-robin games and then a quarter-final against opposition of your own level.
“We beat Armagh and now we're into a semi-final against Westmeath, so that's great for our lads. They're getting quality hurling, they're playing in their county colours, and they're being tested.”
Ollie Daly in action for Tyrone against Armagh in the 2024 Electric Ireland Celtic Challenge.
Tyrone will host Westmeath in Garvaghey next Saturday 12.30pm and Cross knows it’ll be a tough challenge, but he’s hopeful his players are primed for another big performance after a very impressive win over Armagh in the quarter-final.
“If we could beat Westmeath it would be some lift for the boys because we know it's going to be a big challenge,” he says.
“A Westmeath U-15 schools team beat a Kilkenny schools team in a Leinster Final earlier this year so if they're beating the likes of Kilkenny they're not far away.
“But our lads are really looking forward to it. We have training tonight to prepare and I know our lads are mad-keen to get at it.
“They bought into it from the start and they're now looking forward to their hurling and they're enjoying their hurling so that's when you get the best out of the players.
“We're telling them to enjoy the occasion and just do your absolute best and stick to the process and do the basics right because the result will look after itself after that."
Callum Jackson in action for Tyrone against Armagh in the 2024 Electric Ireland Celtic Challenge.
Regardless of how Saturday’s match goes, Tyrone’s performances in this year’s Celtic Challenge offer proof that the significant development work undertaken in the county is starting to pay off which bodes well for the future of the game.
“Yeah, a lot of new clubs have started hurling,” says Cross. “Clubs like Omagh and Fintona have really started promoting hurling and have teams at all age-grades of youth level. Strabane had stopped hurling for a while but they're going again now at youth level.
“We now have lads in that Celtic Challenge team from Omagh, Fintona, and Strabane, and those clubs never really would have before fed in to that age-level.
“Those new clubs are hurling very competitively as well which is very good.
"So there's a lot of work going on at youth level and we have a good squad now at U-17, a good squad at U-20 level, and our senior county team has never played at a higher level than it currently is doing now.
“There's a good pathway there now and it's important to keep that going because you have to keep replenishing your senior team.”
