By Niall Gartland

ERRIGAL Ciaran are bidding to become the first Tyrone team to participate in an Ulster Championship SFC Club final in a full decade when they lock swords with Clann Éireann in Sunday’s semi-final showdown at Páirc Elser in Newry.

Played as part of a double-header with Derrylaughan’s Intermediate Championship clash against Ballinderry, Errigal Ciaran’s match will be broadcast live on TG4 and it represents a golden opportunity that precedent tells us doesn’t necessarily come round too often.

Back in 2014 Omagh, St Enda’s made the final, losing out by a single, solitary point to Sleacht Néill but since then, it’s been Intermediate and Junior teams that have carried the flag for the county on Ulster final day.

Errigal Ciaran have history in the Ulster Championship, however, and plenty of it, while they’ve also built up something of a head of a steam, clinching victories over Trillick, St Eunan’s and Cargin on successive weekends before earning themselves the relative luxury of a fortnight’s break for this Sunday’s meeting against Armagh representatives Clann Éireann.

One of their steady hands en route to this point, Aidan McCrory, has packed a lot into his club and former county career.

Now 36 years of age, he had a lengthy Tyrone career and he’s won three Senior Championship medals with his club.

As the years have rolled on, he’s developed a heightened sense of appreciation for the success that comes his way and he’ll be as delighted as anyone if Errigal book their spot in the final.

McCrory said: “When you’re younger and you win something, you think this is great and it’ll always be the way of it, but it doesn’t really work like that.

“I’ve been lucky to win two more county medals in the last three years, and each time I’ve thought it could be the last one, so you do enjoy it a bit more.”

The Dunmoyle-based side have been afforded a fortnight’s wait for Sunday’s showdown following a particularly hectic spell of matches.

For a number of weeks they barely had time to pause for breath, but that had its plus points and they’re a seriously battle-hardened side at this juncture.

“It was a long three weeks from the run up to the county final until the Cargin game,” acknowledged McCrory.

“We hadn’t a lot of time to think of things, but we’ve been running with a bit of momentum and I think that’s carried us over the line in our games in Ulster.

“I’ve just been concentrating on our next game but we’re glad to have had a weekend off, we probably needed it after the battles we’ve come through in the last few weeks, and now we’ll see what we can do (against Clann Éireann).”