‘I think he gave seven decades of his life to Tyrone football in one shape or form ... A year on, it’s still raw with a lot of people’
‘I think he gave seven decades of his life to Tyrone football in one shape or form ... a year on, it’s still raw with a lot of people’
Art McRory was a big figure in the development of football, not alone in his native Tyrone but in the province of Ulster. He served the county as senior manager — mostly with former player Eugene McKenna — for 14 years out of 20 up to the turn of the century, spread over three periods in charge.Dessie Dolan to step down as Westmeath manager
He was involved with the minors, who in 1973 lifted the All-Ireland for the first time in 25 years, followed by high-profile senior management, which guided the county to its first two senior finals, threatening sensation on Kerry in 1986 and thwarted by a wafer-thin margin against Dublin in 1995. “As a person, you’d imagine him being stern and a difficult person to operate with but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Once you knew him, he was a very witty, very funny man. I had an awful lot of time for him and what he achieved with Tyrone.”
“Then there were the stories. He was obviously a popular character. I got my chance to play under him when he came in for his second term in 1993 and worked very closely with him during two different spells. That first spell culminated in reaching another All-Ireland final in 1995, which was narrowly lost.
He was so big into the basketball that after a trip to the United States and whatever reconnaissance he was on, he came back with these basketball-type runners with big heels on them that American basketballers were wearing in the pre-season to help with their vertical jumpOne of his characteristics as a manager was an interest in other sports, primarily basketball but he was also a founder of the Northern Ireland Volleyball Association in 1970, an involvement he eventually had to relinquish...
“The boys used to slag him he was so big into it. He walked the dogs and loved taking them to greyhound meets and there were lotions and remedies that would be rubbed into the muscles of ageing greyhounds to have them perform. “Then all of a sudden, he’d say something funny because he was a very humorous man as well. He was never afraid to have a dig at players either, but he did it in such a way that he was able to get away with it. If someone wasn’t playing up to scratch, he had a lighthearted way of engaging with players to make serious points.”
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