Red Hands start All Ireland journey with crunch game against Donegal

GAA reports by Francis Mooney

CHAMPIONSHIP 2025 gets serious this weekend when Tyrone set out on the road to Croker with a high profile Ulster derby clash with Ulster champions Donegal

It’s a tough start to the round robin series, and to make it all the more difficult, the Red Hands must enter the lion’s den at Ballybofey to take on their high-flying neighbours.

Donegal go into the game on the back of a thrilling Ulster final victory over Armagh, holding on for a narrow win to retain their provincial crown and deny the All-Ireland champions a first Anglo-Celt Cup triumph since 2008.

Saturday evening’s Group One opener is the first of three ties which will also see Tyrone host beaten Connacht finalists Mayo at O’Neills Healy Park on Saturday May 31, before travelling to a neutral venue to tackle Cavan in a second Ulster derby of the series and a repeat of the Ulster SFC quarter-final.

The first three in the four-team group will advance to the knock-out stage, with the bottom placed team eliminated from the race for the Sam Maguire Cup.

The group winner goes straight through to the All-Ireland quarter-finals, with the next two contesting a preliminary quarter-final.

Following a four-week break since their exit from the provincial series in a narrow Ulster SFC semi-final defeat to All-Ireland champions Armagh, Tyrone will approach this weekend’s test with a freshness and a spirit of renewal.

Much work has been done on the training field at Garvaghey in the meantime to address the failings which have stifled the season to date, but there has been disruption in the form of the departure of attacker Cathal McShane from the squad.

Nevertheless, Malachy O’Rourke and his men know that they’re not far away from becoming major contenders, despite a disappointing league campaign which ended with relegation to Division Two.

But their strong finish to the league marked and upward trend in form and development, which found expression in the championship.

Tyrone comfortably saw off Cavan in the first round of the Ulster SFC, before losing out to a last gasp Armagh winner in the semi-final, desperately unlucky and bitterly disappointed not to get the better of the All-Ireland champions, but buoyed by the quality of their display.

Against that highly encouraging backdrop, they will not fear, and they are well capable of emerging from MacCumhaill Park with two points to virtually assure themselves of progression to the knock-out phase.

Injury and illness issues have cleared up, and manager O’Rourke expects to have a full-strength squad to select from, with experienced campaigners such as Padraig Hampsey and Mattie Donnelly ready to play their part.

And with Darragh Canavan and Darren McCurry capable of inflicting damage on the score-board, Tyrone supporters will travel with a genuine belief that their team can deliver a big result and breathe new life into their season.

Following the appointment of Malachy O’Rourke prior to the beginning of the 2025 season, it took some time for the new manager’s ideas to bed in, with a difficult spell in the initial stages of the Allianz League dragging Tyrone into the lower reaches of the Division One table.

The finished the series strongly with quality performances against Galway, Donegal and Dublin, but the points gained in the latter part of the league were not enough to keep them in the top tier.

Despite finishing with just one point less than Division One finalists Mayo, the Red Hands suffered relegation, but retain the pride and confidence that characterises the county’s stoic footballers.

And they’ll not be found wanting in their championship challenge in the weeks ahead.