My Greatest Game - Peter 'The Great' Canavan on Errigal Ciaran's historic 1993 Ulster club win
- Published
Canavan won two Ulster club titles with Errigal Ciaran before going on to lift Sam Maguire twice with Tyrone
Even the greatest can remember a time when their talent was questioned, and so it was in 1993 for one Tyrone footballer who was earning a big reputation fast.
Talk was flying about a boy wonder with magic in his boots long before Tyrone's back-to-back All-Ireland Under-21 football titles in 1991/92, but after four false starts with the Tyrone senior team some began to wonder if the lad was the real deal after all.
So when 22-year-old Peter Canavan stepped out for Errigal Ciaran in the Ulster club SFC Final against Downpatrick in December 1993, he felt he had a point to prove.
"County football wasn't bringing good memories or good experiences," he says.
"I had been playing for four years and hadn't won a championship game.
"In some quarters and in some media articles it was said that I wasn't able to do it at senior level.
"We lost first day out to Armagh (1990 and '93) and Derry (1991 and '92) and that was the harsh reality of knockout football.
"People take it for granted now because there is a back door, but you spent all year slogging hard and if you got a tough draw or you were injured or you were suspended, it was all over.
Canavan endured a tough start to his inter-county career amid high expectations
"We suffered because Ulster was so competitive. Teams were winning All-Irelands and it was very much do or die.
"Winning underage titles was one thing (he had also captained Tyrone to an All-Ireland Vocationals title in 1989 and won an Ulster minor title in '88) but I was not cutting the mustard at senior level apparently.
"People were using the fact that Tyrone hadn't got past the first round in Ulster to justify saying that.
"I felt I had a point to prove at senior level so it was good to answer the critics winning that Ulster club title."
Canavan may now be generally regarded as the most gifted footballer of his generation but he wasn't born 'Peter the Great'.
The revered title bestowed on him by Tyrone fans was well earned, from scoring 0-8 in a 13-man comeback against Derry in the 1995 Ulster semi-final to the 11 points in the All-Ireland final later that year, to captaining the Red Hands to a first All-Ireland in 2003, scoring a majestic goal to help win a second in 2005, and countless other inspirational performances in between.
But it says a lot about where his heart lies that the six-time All Star looks back on that 1993 Ulster club final win in the Athletic Grounds with the most satisfaction.
It broke new ground for him in many ways.
He was showcasing his skills to a nationwide audience, he was captain and playing alongside three of his older brothers Pascal, Barry and Stevie and it was a first Ulster senior club title for a Tyrone club.
Errigal repeated the trick in 2002 but they remain the only Tyrone club to do it, the speed with which they managed it in '93 all the more remarkable given their recent troubled past.
From Glencull to Errigal Ciaran
The nine-year internal strife which split the parish in the 1980s was threatening to deprive the county and the country of a special talent.
Tyrone All-Ireland winning manager Mickey Harte and the Canavans among others were reduced to challenge matches and pitch openings with the unaffiliated Glencull, whose players no longer lined out for St Ciaran's Ballygawley meaning they could not play for the county either.
Canavan won the Ulster club championship with Errigal Ciaran in 1993 and 2003
To cut a very long story short, fences were mended and emerging under the new parish name of Errigal Ciaran a first Tyrone SFC county title in 62 years came to Ballygawley in 1993.
That sparked a memorable run through Ulster against the 'D's who were winning All-Irelands for fun in the early 1990's.
Canavan said: "We beat Lavey in the first round who had won the All-Ireland a few years before and had a lot of Derry players who had just won the All-Ireland a few months earlier".
"Winning a Tyrone title was big but to show we could compete with a team like Lavey was an important step and we started to get a lot of support from other clubs in Tyrone as we gathered momentum.
"In the semi-final we played Kilcar, Donegal had won the All-Ireland the year before, and they were dogged games in heavy conditions.
"We beat them 0-5 to 0-3 in the replay and the general perception was that it was a poor game - even though it was a brilliant game to play in - and that Downpatrick should have no trouble beating us in the final.
"Down had won the All-Ireland in '91 so again we were coming up against players with All-Ireland medals.
"They had a very physical and powerful midfield in Barry Breen and Conor Deegan while we had Pascal and Hugh Quinn who were a good bit smaller, but they had a great battle and that was the launchpad for what followed."
Backs to the wall
A bit like the epic Tyrone v Derry Ulster semi-final that was to follow 18 months later Errigal, like Tyrone, had to win it with 13 men and in another strange coincidence, Cavan referee Tommy McDermott took charge of both games.
Canavan loved the team move which led to the first goal for Errigal.
"Our fullback Mickey McGirr was sent off after 20 minutes and the corner forward Roger McAleer went in the second half, but we scored one of the club goals seen that year.
"The move started in the cornerback position by Seamus Mallon, Ciaran McCrory gave a long ball in to me which I gathered and laid it off to my left to Eamonn McCaffrey who blasted it into the top corner.
"We led 1-4 to 0-2 at half time but we were a man down."
Danny Ball, who would later take charge of Tyrone, was the manager who made it all happen with trusted aides Anthony 'Doonan' Gallagher and Mickey Mullan.
Against the breeze and a man down, Errigal came out and delivered a great team performance with Canavan at the heart of it all, winning 3-7 to 1-8.
"I got a goal from a poor kickout and Stevie (Canavan) got the other one to keep our noses in front.
"Errigal invaded the pitch. People were drunk on emotion because it had never been done by our club or any Tyrone club.
"It is a game that is still vivid in my mind and certainly not forgotten in this part of the county.
Peter shared his club triumphs, and much of his early inter-county career, with older brother Pascal
"To play alongside three of my brothers made it very special."
As captain, Canavan had delivered and who could dare cast doubt again on his ability to shine on the big stage.
"From my own point of view, I wouldn't say it was a dream performance. I made mistakes but scored a goal, set up a goal, kicked a few points and made a good contribution," he admitted.
"It was the sort of stuff you dream of playing in an Ulster final."
Long wait continues for Tyrone clubs
Errigal lost to Cork giants Nemo Rangers in the All-Ireland semi-final but it is hard to fathom why no Tyrone club has followed in their footsteps at provincial level.
Ardboe and Coalisland reached Ulster senior finals before Errigal got over the line in '93 and outside of that only Omagh St Enda's (in 2014) have reached the final.
"It is hard to explain," Canavan added.
"It shows how competitive the club structure is in Ulster.
"Derry and Antrim are not shooting the lights out at county level, but any time you play one of their clubs in the championship you are up against it, but it is as hard to win Tyrone as it is to win Ulster.
"Some people throw up the excuse that players put so much effort in with the county that there's not a lot left but Tyrone teams do prepare well.
"There are around eight clubs in Tyrone who expect to win the county title every year - not expect to do well, expect to win it.
"That has been borne out by no team being able to win back-to-back titles since Carrickmore in 2005.
"Tyrone teams have got close to winning Ulster. I expect it to happen at some stage, hopefully sooner rather than later."