Victory sets off wave of emotion

When the whistle went, Cormac McAnallen found the ball in his hands, he clasped it as though it contained the very preciousness of the moment and ran to the sideline. Mickey Curley, the referee, trotted after him.

"He just said to me, `Hold on, the ball has to be given to the captain'. I said, `I am the captain' and he said `grand'. There might have been a wee smile on me then," said the Tyrone midfielder.

Joyous dignity and a sense of redemption descended on Croke Park with this minor team's victory. Who could blame them for drinking in the moment, taking in a lap of the pitch, a lap which was acknowledged by the fluttering colours of Laois and rapturous ovations? Tyrone fans, pocketed in the lower Hogan and lost in the maroon of the Canal End, awaited their arrival. And then a wonderful, humbling moment: the Laois minors, devastated after failing in their chase for a third consecutive title, formed a guard of honour as their opponents left the pitch. It ought to be the enduring image of this sporting summer.

As his young charges tumbled boisterously through the old tunnel, Fr Gerard McAleer, who along with Mickey Harte has been the lifeblood of Tyrone underage football for nigh on a decade, allowed his eyes to well while he was articulating the reasons behind this moment.

"Character, working for each other, lifting each other's morale, creating visions and giving expressions to those and hard, hard work. We are a good team technically and today, I think, we were good tactically, but character was the key. Fighting for one another, dying for one another - we are reluctant to use that word but one of our boys actually did that last year in Omagh.

"Tyrone badly needed something to lift their moral , with what happened on June 15th last year when Paul (McGirr) died and then on August 15th of this year, when such havoc was wreaked on Omagh.

"You think, `What do you have to do, how much to you have to take'? But I think it strengthened our resolve that we wouldn't endure yet more disappointment. And here we are today."

Here they are, in a steamy dressing-room, skinny, grinning teenagers, some of them striking up a few bars of the Fields of Athenry, others just taking it in.

The county referee, Kevin Skelton, comes in, a man who lost family in the Omagh bombing. Quickly, the players move to extend handshakes and embraces. Never again will winning a game release such poignant undercurrents. Omagh shook the core of this side, as did the tragic passing of their team-mate Paul McGirr, who died after sustaining injuries during Tyrone's win over Armagh last summer.

Oliver Phelan, the scorcerer behind the Laois minor era, offers some telling words. "I came in here last year and I told you you'd be back. I didn't mean ye had to take it on us, though," he grins.

"But fair play, if we were to lose this to anyone it would be you. Hopefully now we'll meet at under-21 and senior level and maybe we will win one back."

Teenagers and adults break into applause. The cup rests among bags and towels. Cormac McAn allen talks of the moment it was handed to him.

"I just tried to savour every second of it. It was the greatest moment of my life. So many people have put so much into this. We had our highs and lows and now that this is over, hopefully we will all stick together."

Mickey Harte echoes his words. "We seemed to be waiting for so long that you'd wonder if it was ever going to be possible. But I remember being in the kitchen one day and saying to the children that no one would stop the minors until the cup was sitting on the bench at home. It seemed a ludicrous thing to say at the time, but we are here, thank God."