Tyrone's surprise All-Ireland triumph of 2021 felt fitting for one of the most unusual seasons of championship football we have ever witnessed.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic Dublin entered the year hoping to add to their seven-in-a-row, while both Kerry and Mayo harboured ambitions of being the ones to take the Dubs' place on the Hogan Stand steps.
In the end, it was Tyrone who burst through under the stewardship of Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher to bring Sam Maguire back to the county for a fourth time. Their route to All-Ireland glory was not, however, without significant controversy.
Tyrone v Kerry is already one of the great rivalries of the modern game, and it received a significant new edge in 2021 with the contentious rescheduling of their clash in the All-Ireland semi-final.
The day before the original date, Tyrone confirmed they would be unable to field a team for the game due to a mass COVID outbreak amongst the squad. Kerry reluctantly agreed to push the game back two weeks, with the All-Ireland final also forced back as a result.
Not only did Kerry go on to lose, but Tyrone would go all the way to Sam Maguire. The blurred lines around where the COVID cases had originated, combined with the very public jabs thrown in Tyrone's direction, left a hint of a sour taste surrounding their first All-Ireland triumph in 13 years.
READ HERE: Hairstyles, Socialising And Generational Players: The Making Of DCU's Sigerson Dynasty
READ HERE: Jim McGuinness Can't Help Himself With Cheeky Michael Murphy Hint For Armagh Game
Feargal Logan opens up on toll of 2021 Tyrone COVID saga
28 August 2021; Conor McKenna of Tyrone shoots to score his side's first goal past Kerry goalkeeper Shane Ryan during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship semi-final match between Kerry and Tyrone at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Feargal Logan was joint-manager of Tyrone at the time, and he appeared on this week's GAA Social alongside Oisin McConville and Thomas Niblock.
Logan suffered a stroke early last year. It was wonderful for listeners to hear him speak candidly of his recovery.
Despite the personal tribulations of 2024, he said few periods in his life had been tougher than the controversy surrounding Tyrone in the last summer of 2021.
Listen, I've had a rumbly enough year. But I genuinely had three of the worst weeks of my life around that Ulster final and the next couple of weeks leading into that Kerry game.
The criticism that came, the social media...I go into school sometimes and say about social media. Friends were sending you stuff saying, 'Wait until you hear about what your man is saying.'
Logan was keen to stress that his players had not breached any protocols, pushed any rules to the limit, or taken advantage of any situation, saying that they deserved immense credit for how they handled the situation.
The former Tyrone boss said that the toughest pill to swallow was the belief prevalent across the country that Tyrone had played the system in some way by getting the semi-final delayed.
"What was the low point in all that?" mused Logan, "Probably this belief across Ireland manifesting itself that Tyrone were trying to dupe the system or whatever. But, again, we did what we thought was best [with] return-to-play [protocols].
"That was the one time in all my years that [turning up for a game] wasn't a given. The data, the health stuff...we just couldn't. You just get your dates and you just get on with it. That's when we said, 'No.'"
Logan stressed that the management team had only done what they felt was right by the COVID protocols and right for the Tyrone football team.
Throughout all the criticism, Logan received a curious gift to his home. Its origin will be in no doubt to people familiar with the phrase, and Logan says he has kept it to this day.
I have a bar of chocolate in my house saying, 'Cute hoor!'"
How I haven't eaten it in all these years...chocolate doesn't last long around our house.
It's good to see some in Kerry were able to see the funny side of the situation.
Amid it all, Feargal Logan and co-manager Brian Dooher stood by their players, in the hope of delivering what they saw as deserved recognition for the playing group.
"I do remember having thoughts," Logan said, "'There's guys here on their way to All-Stars potentially.'
"We acquired a relatively old squad. I thought, 'Are we gonna mess up their chance to win an All-Ireland? Are we gonna mess up their chance to win an All-Star?' Some of these guys were in the 2-3 year bracket left.
"That weighed on me a lot at that stage."
Thankfully for Logan, Dooher, and Tyrone, those dreams of Sam Maguire and All-Stars came true.
SEE ALSO: Oisin McConville Says That Armagh Players “Won’t Care” If Antrim Game Is In Corrigan Park
