This article recounts the history of Errigal Ciaran GAA club, highlighting their formation amidst a bitter 1980s split in Ballygawley. It details the role of Mickey Harte and Peter Canavan in this conflict and their subsequent contributions to the club's success, culminating in their Ulster title triumph in 1993.
Mickey Harte was at the centre of a split in Ballygawley GAA in the 1980s but went on to manage Errigal Ciaran to county and provincial titles and remains involved in the club to this day. While the post-match interviews were taking place, other players somehow summoned up the energy for the autographs and the mobile phone snaps with young, middle-aged, and the more senior as proud parents such as Peter Canavan himself had their hands almost shaken off.
In those particular moments, one could have been forgiven for thinking that it was always thus among the Errigal Ciaran faithful. Except that it wasn't. The story has been well documented but as the club prepares to de-camp to Croke Park this weekend, it's probably worth recalling the bitter 1980s split in Ballygawley GAA whose victims at one stage included the burgeoning career of the young Canavan and whose initial two protagonists included none other than Mickey Harte. This followed a decision by the then St Ciaran's Ballygawley club to keep football going in the parish in the winter of 1982 by staging an internal competition featuring the four townlands of Ballygawley, Glencull, Garvaghey, and Altamuskin. During one of the new competition's games, a row broke out between Glencull's Harte, then a Tyrone county player, and a Ballygawley opponent. The decision to hand Harte a suspension and exonerate the Ballygawley player caused an almighty row as Glencull pulled out of the competition, then withdrew their personnel from St Ciaran's before taking the nuclear option of setting up their own new club. 'We felt we were a bit victimised so a group of us decided that unless this was sorted out in a fair manner to our liking then we would withdraw our services,' Harte told the However, the Tyrone county board refused to sanction the new club and for the next eight years, St Malachy's Glencull found themselves in effectively a GAA limbo with their games confined to challenge matches and unofficial tournaments. But for the stand-off, Glencull men such as the older Canavan brothers Stevie and Barry conceivably could have been part of the Tyrone side that played Kerry in the 1986 All-Ireland Final - where the Red Hands' goalscorer was St Ciaran's Ballygawley and later Errigal Ciaran man Paudge Quinn - while the third Canavan footballing sibling Pascal had been among those to miss out entirely on the underage and minor grades. The need to get Peter Canavan's unique footballing gifts on the inter-county stage hastened the end of the bitter eight-year dispute which split Ballygawley GAA. But it was the emergence of the precocious talents of Peter that finally forced sense to prevail in the Ballygawley parish. Tyrone GAA's refusal to affiliate the St Malachy's outfit had led the young Canavan to register with Killyclogher Hurling Club which enabled him to line out for Francie Martin's county minor football team in 1988. But this slight of hand couldn't work for everyone and after a Glencull-less St Ciaran's were beaten by Coalisland in the 1989 Tyrone Football Final, parish priest and former Armagh manager Father Sean Hegarty brokered a solution to the dispute which resulted in the formation of the new Errigal Ciaran club in 1990. Within three years, Errigal Ciaran had landed the first Tyrone senior title to arrive in Ballygawley since 1931 and for good measure went to clinch provincial honours as the four Canavan brothers played in the 3-7 to 1-8 Ulster Final win over Downpatrick. Despite all his subsequent successes in the Tyrone jersey, Peter Canavan plumped for the '93 provincial club final triumph when he contributed to the ' County football wasn't bringing good memories or good experiences. I had been playing for four years and hadn't won a championship game,' said a player whose performances for club, county, and country were to lead to him being dubbed 'Peter the Great'. 'In some quarters and in some media articles it was said that I wasn't able to do it at senior level.' Therefore, winning the Ulster title for a club that hadn't even existed four years earlier brought a redemption of sorts as they also became the first Tyrone outfit to lift the Seamus McFerran Cup. 'I felt I had a point to prove at senior level so it was good to answer the critics winning that Ulster club title,' continued Canavan. '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. 'Errigal invaded the pitch. People were drunk on emotion because it had never been done by our club or any Tyrone club. Nemo Rangers proved a bridge too far in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final as they earned a 1-13 to 0-11 extra-time victory and the Cork men proved Errigal Ciaran's nemesis again nine years later at the same stage on an uncannily similar 1-12 to 0-11 scoreline after the Ballygawley club had clinched their second provincial title with Mickey Harte at the managerial helm
GAA Errigal Ciaran Mickey Harte Peter Canavan Ballygawley Tyrone Ulster Championship Club History
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