Eugene McKenna
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Eugene McKenna is a former
Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...
manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
and player for Augher St Macartan's and for the Tyrone county team. With three
All Stars An all-star is an individual with a high level of performance in their field. All-star or All Star may also refer to: Awards * GAA GPA All Stars Awards, annual awards given to practitioners of Gaelic games ** Camogie All Stars Awards ** Ladies' ...
, three
Ulster Senior Football Championship The Ulster Senior Football Championship is an inter-county competition for Gaelic football teams in the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and begins in April. The final is ...
medals as a player, two as a manager to his name, and, in 2002, he guided Tyrone to their first all-Ireland triumph in the
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
. He later managed his county. His son Niall won the
All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it was replaced by an under ...
with Tyrone in 2008 having played the season in midfield. His second son, Peter, represented the Tyrone Minors in 2012, playing wing half back and both sons currently represent Donaghmore St Patrick's GFC at senior level.


Playing career

McKenna was the captain of a noteworthy Tyrone team in the mid-eighties, which included All Star winners,
Plunkett Donaghy Plunkett Donaghy is a former Gaelic footballer who played for the Moy club and the Tyrone county team. With his county, Donaghy won three Ulster Senior Football Championship medals (in 1984, 1986 and 1989) and an All Star in 1986. He lives in ...
,
Frank McGuigan Frank McGuigan is a former Gaelic footballer who played for the Ardboe O'Donnovan Rossa club and the Tyrone county team. Despite his playing career being cut short by a car crash, which broke his leg, he is considered a legend in Tyrone foot ...
, Damian O'Hagan and John Lynch. Eugene started his playing career with Augher St Macartan's, a small club in the south of Tyrone. He achieved great success with Augher, such as winning the Tyrone County Championship and captaining them twice on this occasion. In 1986, he led Tyrone to their first ever All-Ireland Final, against the much-fancied Kerry, who were going for their third title in a row. Tyrone gained a massive seven-point lead during the second half, but a missed penalty dented their confidence, and McKenna had to be replaced due to injury. Tyrone then suffered a heavy defeat to the experienced Kerrymen, with the score ending 2-15 to 1-10 (21 points to 13). He won the Ulster Championship again in 1989, although this time he was under the skippership of
Plunkett Donaghy Plunkett Donaghy is a former Gaelic footballer who played for the Moy club and the Tyrone county team. With his county, Donaghy won three Ulster Senior Football Championship medals (in 1984, 1986 and 1989) and an All Star in 1986. He lives in ...
. Tyrone defeated Donegal in a replayed final. McKenna won three All-Star awards during his career, in 1984, 1986 and 1989, making him Tyrone's most prolific representative, until the emergence of
Peter Canavan Peter Canavan (born 9 April 1971) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer, manager and pundit. He played inter-county football for Tyrone, and is one of the most decorated players in the game's history, winning two All-Ireland Senior Football C ...
in the mid nineties.


Management career

After he retired from playing football, McKenna joined his longtime manager, Art McRory, guiding the team to its second sustained spell of success. This began in 1994, with Tyrone reaching the Ulster Final, although they lost to Down. Down went on to win the All-Ireland Final, to continue a streak of four Ulster teams winning the accolade in a row. In 1995, Tyrone won the Ulster Championship, including winning a heated encounter against
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
, where they came back from five points down, despite having two players sent off. In the Ulster Final, against
Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...
, McKenna's substitutes both scored goals, and Tyrone comfortably won the match by nine points. When Adrian Cush scored the second goal with less than two minutes remaining, the jubilant Tyrone fans (who were already lining the pitch) initiated a premature pitch invasion. However, they quickly broke, avoiding the possibility of the match being abandoned. In the next game, the All-Ireland Semi-Final, Tyrone beat
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
, with an emerging
Peter Canavan Peter Canavan (born 9 April 1971) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer, manager and pundit. He played inter-county football for Tyrone, and is one of the most decorated players in the game's history, winning two All-Ireland Senior Football C ...
leading the team with a personal tally of 1-07. It had only been the second time Tyrone had won the Semi-Final, the first being in 1986, when McKenna was captain. In the All-Ireland Final against
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
, Tyrone took an early lead, just as they had in 1986, but the Dubs fought back, and ended up winning the match by a single point, 1-10 to 0-12. Peter Canavan had scored eleven points that day, but still ended up on the losing side. Tyrone fans remember the final with bitter taste, due to a controversial decision by referee Paddy Russell. With seconds remaining, and Tyrone down by a point, Russell adjudged Canavan to have touched the ball in the ground, when he was passing it to teammate Sean McLaughlin. McLaughlin put the ball over the bar, but the point was not counted. In 1996, Tyrone again won the Ulster Championship, beating Down in the Final. The match is probably best remembered for the two great saves by Tyrone goalkeeper Finbar McConnell. In the semi-final, Tyrone lost to
Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...
. Tyrone fans remember this match because of the perceived "dirty" tactics by Meath. Several of Tyrone's key players sustained injuries in that match, including Peter Canavan, who subsequently found out he had been playing with a broken foot. Brian Dooher and Cairan McBride both had their heads heavily bandaged during the match. McKenna and McRory's hands were tied, because they had used up their tally of three substitutions. After defeat in the semi-final, McKenna and McRory stepped down, only to return again in 2000. They won another Ulster Championship in 2001, and led Tyrone to National League success for the first time in their history (and the first All-Ireland Senior title Tyrone had ever won), but they were replaced in 2002 after a disappointing loss in the Championship to an unfancied
Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...
. There is speculation that the departure was acrimonious, and the Tyrone Board offered a public apology to McKenna. The vacancy, however, paved the way for
Mickey Harte Mickey Harte (born 1954) is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former player. He has been joint-manager of Offaly since 2024. Harte managed the Tyrone county team from 2003 until his resignation in 2020, at which time he was the longest ...
who has surpassed McKenna's achievements as manager since taking over, by winning the All-Ireland. Since leaving the Tyrone manager's spot he has become heavenly involved in his local GAA club (Donaghmore St Patricks). He has guided the youth teams in Donahghmore to great success. In 2008 Eugene became manager of the Donaghmore senior team after the departure of Joe Faloon


References


External links


Hogan Stand Magazine Immortals
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna, Eugene Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Augher St Macartan's Gaelic footballers Gaelic football managers Tyrone inter-county Gaelic footballers