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11th May 2020
05:26pm BST

"We had a local pitch down beside us and that was my theatre of dreams, that was my Croke Park. There was big bank behind the goals and I went down every day imagining I was Mikey Sheehy kicking the ball over the bar in an All-Ireland final. It gave me ample opportunity to practice the skills of the game...
"So look, they were still good times. We didn't have huge numbers but we trained, we had tournaments and challenge games. It's something I would say now that there are youngsters who have too many training sessions... and then they don't have the time to go down to the pitch and practice on their own skill-set. As a result, our game has become a little bit regimented at an earlier age..."
At a time like the current, with GAA games off and with time on our side, it underlines the opportunity we all have to improve our own game.
"In first or second year, I didn't make the team. The manager said I was too small, he wanted to play the bigger lads. I didn't take it too well but I said right, I'm going to prove this myself wrong. I'm not going to make myself any bigger, but I certainly can make myself more skilful...And I had no shortage of time to practice.
"After that, there was a rejuvenated group. A really focused emphasis towards football. It gave us an indication of how important football was to the people here. As a result, the club went on and won their first county title in '93 and went onto become the first Tyrone club ever to win Ulster.
On top of that, Canavan is the player who inspired Tyrone to All-Ireland glory. And another Errigal Ciaran man, a man by the name of Mickey Harte is the one who led the way.
You can listen to The GAA Hour's Canavan tribute show here.
https://soundcloud.com/sportsjoe-gaa-hour/peter-canavan-tribute-show-ft-martin-oconnell-and-owen-mulliganExplore more on these topics: