The car flags and bunting are just a few traditions that have been etched into people’s minds as soon as Tyrone GAA starts to prepare for an All Ireland final.
One of those which started back in 2003 and remains a staple of the build up to the big day is the banner at Sally’s of Omagh.
This year, the Game of Thrones themed banner sees the proclamation that ‘Sam is Coming’, emblazoned with one of the stars of this year’s campaign, Eglish’s Conor McKenna.
Sally’s owner John McGirr said the banner is a bit of fun that helps get people talking about the match.
“We started it in 2003 with the ‘Probably’ the greatest footballer in the world with Peter Canavan, then we continued on the tradition into 2005, 2008 and 2018,” John said.
“With there only being a two week turnaround this year, we only really had a couple of days to get the banner together and get everything printed.
“It’s got a great reaction this year, bigger than what we expected. It’s great for the town here and Tyrone, to get people talking about things and bring a wee bit of positivity back.
“The match has brought about a real feelgood factor which has given the whole county a lift and something to look forward to.”
The banner has been a collaboration between Sally’s and Niall Laird of Laird Designs, and John added that they started to make plans during the semi-final victory over Kerry as it looked like Tyrone were heading for the big day on Saturday.
“We spoke at half time in the match and then obviously left it until full time and we said we basically had to have this done within two days so we would have time to get it printed.
“Before the game we hadn’t even chatted about it so even to begin the conversation during the game was brilliant.
“It turned out great considering how much time we had to work on it.
“There’s a lot of smiles back on people’s faces this week around Omagh, and we are really looking forward to the match here.
“A lot of people aren’t obviously able to go down so we will be delighted to have people here in Sally’s cheering the team on to victory.”
