Saturday marks 20 years since the GAA was rocked by the sudden death of Tyrone's Cormac McAnallen.
Just 24 years old, McAnallen had the previous September started at full-back, as the county claimed their first ever All-Ireland senior football title,
He had captained Tyrone early in 2004, and lead them to the Dr McKenna Cup title just a week before his untimely death. .
Tyrone and the GAA community were left in mourning just weeks later. In the early hours of the morning on March 2nd 2004, McAnallen died suddenly in his sleep. His death was attributed to sudden adult death syndrome.
McAnallen's death had a profound effect on the Irish sporting landscape and the weeks, months, and years which followed were defined by efforts to commemorate a great of modern Tyrone football.
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Remembering Cormac McAnallen, 20 years on
The GAA was left stunned on that dark March morning 20 years ago.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and President Mary McAleese were among the public figures who paid tribute to the late Tyrone captain.
28 September 2003; Tyrone's Enda McGinley, left, Declan McCrossan, centre, and Cormac McAnallen, right, celebrate after victory over Armagh. Bank of Ireland All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, Armagh v Tyrone, Croke Park, Dublin. Picture credit; Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE
GAA president Seán Kelly also summed up what had made McAnallen such a special presence not just in his own county but in wider Gaelic football spheres:
Cormac exemplified everything that was good in a Gaelic footballer and human being. He had that great and rare gift of greatness, allied to humility.
His achievements, his modesty and unassuming nature endeared him to everybody and would be a monument to his memory forever.
Tyrone's league game against Cork the following weekend was postponed and manager Mickey Harte explained what kind of character the playing group had lost with McAnallen's untimely death:
[Cormac] had leadership qualities, and he was a very good footballer, but the ardent value he brought to his football life and his sporting life was the true gentleman that he was, and I've said today and many times already that he was the perfect role model.
Sometimes we do use this term loosely when people speak of role models but there are no additions necessary to Cormac McAnallen's character to say he was the perfect role model. He brought so much to the game, his personality, his determination, his dedication.
The funeral took place the following Friday, March 5th, and the unspeakable sadness of McAnallen's passing was truly driven home by the sight of his teammates and family mourning the loss of such a beloved young man.
5 March 2005; Eglish and Tyrone players carry the coffin at the funeral of Tyrone footballer Cormac McAnallen at St Patrick's Church in Eglish, Tyrone. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
A poignant piece in the following weekend's Sunday Independent by Dermot Crowe described the "day the GAA world stopped" to remember their fallen friend.
For Donal McAnallen, the death of his younger brother was hard to even comprehend. Cormac had turned 24 less than a month prior.
Donal was grateful that the pair had managed to share a special moment after his younger brother had ensured Sam Maguire came to Tyrone the previous September. Having cleared the pitchside barrier (these were the days of regular Croke Park pitch invasions), Donal made a beeline for his little brother:
I think as I got there, two other Tyrone players had just joined him. I don't think he realised it was me, and I said, 'Hey, it's Donal. Donal!' He grabbed me by the hand and dragged me towards the presentation area, but we got separated in the crowd.
But I managed to get into the dressing-room and they weren't letting many in. That will be one of the great memories I'll have of us together.
We regularly hear tributes about "humility" and character when people are taken before their time, but Dermot Crowe's Independent article makes clear that just about everyone in the GAA world who had come across McAnallen had nothing but love for a man who seemed destined to go on to wonderful things.
Crowe lists the names of those who arrived in McAnallen's home town of Eglish for the funeral. Alongside GAA president Seán Kelly and McAnallen's Tyrone teammates, titans of both codes arrived in the small town just south of Dungannon. Brian Cody, Jack O'Shea, Pádraig Joyce, Dessie Farrell, Kieran McGeeney and more came to pay their respects.
"It stands alongside any of the great GAA funerals for size and impact." - Dermot Crowe writing in the Sunday Independent
Ian O'Riordan, writing in the Irish Times that week, noted that McAnallen had "also earned the total respect and affection of the media, not least of all because of his intelligent and insightful comments before and after Tyrone took to the field."
5 March 2004; A floral wreath at the funeral of Cormac McAnallen, St. Patrick's Church, Eglish, Co. Tyrone. Picture credit; Ray McManus / SPORTSFILE *EDI*
2003 had seen an all-Ulster All-Ireland final for the first time ever, with Tyrone defeating defending champions Armagh in a titanic battle. The tribute left to McAnallen by Armagh captain Kieran McGeeney in the book of condolences was among the most poignant.
Like all great athletes he had the lot, real courage, unbelievable focus, an unwavering dedication and commitment to his sport, true loyalty to his team-mates, the ability to never give up, integrity, honesty and above all the mark of all great leaders, the ability to really listen and the modesty to learn.
The National Football League powered on as Tyrone continued to mourn. Ahead of each game that weekend, there were tributes to McAnallen. McGeeney led his Armagh team out wearing black armbands.
7 March 2004; Kieran McGeeney, Armagh, wears a black armband in memory of Cormac McAnallen. Allianz Football League 2004, Division 1B, Round 4, Cavan v Armagh, Kingspan Breffni Park, Co. Cavan. Picture credit; David Maher / SPORTSFILE *EDI*
Ahead of each league game, a minute silence was observed, as the world of Gaelic football yet again paused to reflect on the scarcely believable shock of the previous week.
7 March 2004; Dublin players stand in silence as a mark of respect for the late Tyrone captain Cormac McAnallen ahead of the Allianz Football League Division 1A Round 4 match between Westmeath and Dublin at Cusack Park in Mullingar, Westmeath. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
The tributes spread further than just the world of GAA, as sports teams elsewhere observed similar moments of pause to remember a brother in sport.
5 March 2004; The Leinster Lions team stand for a minute silence in honour of Tyrone's Cormac McAnallen ahead of the Celtic League Division 1 match between Leinster Lions and Cardiff Blues at Donnybrook Stadium in Dublin. Photo by Pat Murphy/Sportsfile
Tyrone returned to action the following weekend. It is an extraordinary testament to the fortitude of McAnallen's teammates that they summoned the strength to push through the 2004 season in memory of their captain, and that they returned to the pitch so soon after his death.
There was another conspicuous absence on that Sunday afternoon in Castlebar as Tyrone lined up to face Mayo. There was no number three.
How could anyone have stepped into those shoes, have filled that void? Ciaran Gourley, tasked with lining out at full-back, wore the number 31 on the day, and Tyrone retired the number 3 jersey for the 2004 season in honour of their fallen leader.
14 March 2004; Tyrone full back Ciaran Gourley, in the pre-match team huddle with his team-mates, wearing 31 instead of the traditional number 3 jersey for a full back, which has been retired by Tyrone for the season as a mark of respect to Cormac McAnallen ahead of Allianz Football League Division 1A Round 5 between Mayo and Tyrone at McHale Park in Castlebar, Mayo. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Tyrone won that day, a resounding nine-point win on one of the most difficult days in the county's history.
It was to be a difficult year on the pitch and, when the championship rolled around that summer, it would ultimately be Mayo who eliminated the All-Ireland champions at the quarter-final stage.
14 March 2004; The Tyrone and Mayo squads stand for a minute silence as a mark of respect for the late Cormac McAnallen ahead of Allianz Football League Division 1A Round 5 between Mayo and Tyrone at McHale Park in Castlebar, Mayo. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
Having played in back-to-back-to-back International Rules series in 2001, 2002, and 2003, it was fitting that the organisers announced in the aftermath of Cormac McAnallen's death that the series trophy would be named in his honour.
21 November 2015; Ireland captain Bernard Brogan lifts the Cormac Mcanallen Cup. EirGrid International Rules Test 2015, Ireland v Australia. Croke Park, Dublin. Picture credit: Brendan Moran / SPORTSFILE
Though the series has not been played since 2017, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ireland-Australia internationals held in the past 20 years have always ended with a reminder of the late young man who excelled so brilliantly there in the early 2000s.
In late 2004, it was announced that the Cormac Trust would be set up in memory of Cormac McAnallen.
Present at the launch of the foundation in Croke Park were McAnallen's teammate and All-Ireland-winning captain Peter Canavan, Republic of Ireland football manager Brian Kerr, and Irish rugby captain Brian O'Driscoll.
2 December 2004; Former Tyrone captain Peter Canavan, Republic of Ireland Manager Brian Kerr and Irish Rugby Captain Brian O'Driscoll at the official launch of a fundraising banquet for the Cormac Trust in memory of the late Cormac McAnallen.The Cormac Trust Fund will not only honour and remember Cormac but also attempt to reduce the chances of young people dying from such heart conditions. Croke Park, Dublin. Picture credit; Ray McManus / SPORTSFILE
The Cormac Trust set out with the stated aim to raise awareness of sudden cardiac deaths in young people, to provide cardiac screening for young athletes, to provide education and information on the matter at government level, and to provide AEDs for sports clubs in the local region.
It was announced this week that the Cormac Trust would be wound up on the 20th anniversary of McAnallen's passing, after almost two decades of outstanding work in not only raising awareness of the complications which led to his death, but providing life-saving equipment to sports clubs around the country.
Through unspeakable tragedy, the McAnallen family can be commended for raising hundreds of thousands of pounds to improve the lives of young sportspeople in memory of the late Cormac.
After their horrific experience in 2004, Tyrone were back to their best on the pitch in 2005.
Mickey Harte's team won the All-Ireland championship for the second time with a memorable victory over Kerry in the decider at Croke Park.
The memory of the man who should have been out on the pitch that day hung over the occasion, and Tyrone captain Brian Dooher paid emotional tribute to his late teammate in his post-match speech.
It was clear from Dooher's words that McAnallen's presence had not left the Tyrone panel and that his memory had driven the team on.
First and foremost, probably the most important man. This man should be here instead of me, receiving this cup today. His name is Cormac McAnallen.
Before Cormac was taken away from us he told us that he didn't want to be a part of a Tyrone team that only won one All-Ireland.
Well Cormac, now you have two.
Tyrone would go on to claim a third All-Ireland in McAnallen's memory in 2008, in a tribute the great man would perhaps have seen as the most befitting.
Ar Dheis
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