Brothers taking it in their stride

ALL-IRELAND SFC FINAL KERRY v TYRONE: Ian O'Riordantalks to the McMahon brothers, Joe and Justin, as they prepare for Sunday's clash with Kerry

ANYONE STILL stuck for an All-Ireland ticket might want to try the McMahon household in Omagh. With both Joe and his younger brother Justin set to start, father Paddy himself a former Tyrone player, and youngest brothers Conor and Eamon also football mad, they're bound to be well connected.

Judging by the mood of Joe and Justin, it's just another game anyway. Joe played in the 2005 final so he's been through it all before, and Justin only has to look across the dinner table every evening to get an idea of what's in store. Moreover, Joe played full back in the previous final, and Justin will play there on Sunday - as if to emphasise the family ties.

Normally, the McMahon brothers would be practically indistinguishable, but Joe is currently sporting the optional team-issue beard, which appears to have relaxed him even more.

"Sure we're all brothers in this team, so to speak," he says. "We're all so close, all train together. So Justin has a lot of boys around the team to help him on, keep him on the straight and narrow."

They're far from the first set of brothers to play an All-Ireland final (the McGuigans, Brian and Tommy, are also set to start for Tyrone, and Kerry have the three Ó Sés - Darragh, Tomás and Marc). Yet at 22, and three years younger than Joe, it was Justin who first nailed down the starting place this summer, selected at full back for the opening game against Down.

"It was unexpected, to be honest," he says. "A few years back I never thought I'd be there. So it was great to get the opportunity. Of course, being involved in an All-Ireland final with your brother is something special - even better if things go right on the day.

"And Joe's been giving me some advice, all right. Just little things, what ways to play. But I have found that very beneficial. We're both living at home and there's a good bit of banter in the evening. It's all new for me, and he knows what to expect."

Joe, meanwhile, had been in and out of the team since the replay against Down, first at midfield, before settling at left wing forward for the past three outings - against Mayo, Dublin and Wexford. He started the 2005 final at full back, long seen as something of a troubled position for Tyrone, although he retired early that day through injury and was replaced by Chris Lawn.

His first-half goal against Dublin, however, rubberstamped his new role in the forward line, not that he takes much credit for it: "Well at the time I hit it I thought I had more time. Looking at it again, Stephen Cluxton came out well, so it was a relief to get the score. And a lot of credit to Tommy McGuigan, though, for putting such a great ball across.

"I think the big turning point that day was just after half-time, when we got the first three scores of the half. I think that just called Dublin in.

"In the end it was one of our best performances, just because a lot of people expected Dublin to win the game, and win easy. We were just determined to give it our all, and the performance just clicked on the day. You always see the potential there, but fortunately for us it came at a good time in the season."

The advice to his younger brother, he says, would be the same as for the rest of the team: "Just to go out and enjoy it. Take it all in your stride. It's an All-Ireland, not something you'll get to play very often. Unless you're from Kerry.

"So we'll just approach it the same way we did three years ago. I think though Kerry are a more rounded team now. They have good variety in their play. Their half-back line starts a lot of attacks. They're a big team now, and would definitely be seen to match us now with their physical strength. But I just think it's an All-Ireland final, and you want that medal, no matter how many you're going for, or have."

It may well be that both McMahons will take up a defensive role, but given he is wearing the number three shirt, the greater responsibility rests on the shoulders of Justin. Standing 6ft 4ins, he'll hardly be dwarfed by the so-called Twin Towers of Kieran Donaghy and Tommy Walsh, and the younger McMahon also played a fair bit of basketball in his youth.

"I did play a bit of basketball at school," he says, "though I wouldn't be as good as Kieran.

"They're two big players, for sure, having a great year, and there are a lot of jokes going round about that. That I should bring a step ladder, maybe.

"I realise it's a huge task, but hopefully if we put up a team performance we'll be good enough. You might look to compete with them in the air, or let them win the ball, then starting tackling them. But I think everyone would agree that if the tackles go in farther down the field it makes the defender's job a lot easier. It's about working together, preventing the ball going in, in the first place. Philip Jordan and Conor Gormley are good at picking up on the breaks.

"But we can't predict what they might do. You just prepare your own game as best you can. With Kerry, it's difficult to know what way they'll play anyway, switching about and all that. So to be honest, we haven't done too much analysis of them, not yet anyway. Before the game we might do a little more." No doubt such tactics are already well discussed around the McMahon dinner table.

McMahon Facts

Joe McMahon

Age:25

Club:Omagh St Enda's

Position:Left wing forward

Honours:All-Ireland SFC 2005; Ulster SFC 2007; Ulster Under-21FC 2002, 2003

Justin McMahon

Age:22

Club:Omagh St Enda's

Position:Full back

Honours:Ulster SFC 2007; Ulster Under-21FC 2006 (captain)