John Rafferty, Michael's brother who also represented Tyrone at U20 level, was killed on the A5 road in October 2022
“There is an empty seat today in O’Moore Park that should be taken up by his brother John.” The words of Jarlath Burns were still fresh in his mind as Michael Rafferty lifted the Clarke Cup surrounded by his teammates following last Sunday’s six-point win over Kerry in the All-Ireland U20 Football Championship final in Portlaoise.
Read more: Recap as Tyrone clinch second All-Ireland U20 title in three seasons with impressive defeat of Kerry Rafferty was one of a host of standout performers as Tyrone claimed their second All-Ireland U20 title in three years. Joey Clarke’s first half goal set the tone for a dominant display from the Ulster champions, but they also squandered a host of goal chances to keep Kerry in the game.
“It is unbelievable. To captain these lads. . . they are one the of most talented bunch of lads I’ve ever played with,” said Rafferty. The Red Hands were four ahead at the break with Gavin Potter hitting a shot off the post while Cormac Devlin was also denied a goal with Kerry goalkeeper Michael Tansley pulling off a fine save.
“Then the management told us to come out in the second half and said Kerry would come at us from the start of the second half, but we just have to be calm. Rafferty is the second Tyrone man to lift the Clarke Cup in three seasons. Unfortunately, he shares an unwanted similarity with Niall Devlin, who captained the U20s to All-Ireland success in 2022.
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