‘We were probably the only bright spark after the Omagh bombings’

Tyrone All-Star Brian McGuigan has said that his former minor team were probably one of the only bright sparks in the wake of the 1998 Omagh bombings.

The bombing killed 29 people in the town of Omagh, County Tyrone and injured some 220 others in what was one of the single deadliest incidents of the troubles. The Tyrone minor team were due to play Leitrim in the semi-final just eight days after the attacks and McGuigan said that it was important for the team to continue to play despite the horror of what transpired only one week before.

"A lot what said before the All-Ireland final in 1998 that it would be great lift for the people of Omagh if we could go on and win the Tom Markham so there was a lot of pressure on us," said McGuigan on Tyrone: The Unbreakable Bond. "There was a lot of doom and gloom around that time and we were probably the only bright spark after the Omagh bombing."

Former teammate Mark Harte added that the relationship between the team and the community only strengthened after the atrocity.

"There was a close bond between the players and Tyrone fans after the bombing," said Harte. "The entire county was heartbroken by what had happened."

Tyrone would go onto win the semi-final against Leitrim and then would avenge their loss to Laois in the previous year's final with a win over the O'Moore county in Croke Park.