Back in 2006, Peter Canavan topped the scoring charts to lift the Patsy Forbes Trophy as Errigal Ciaran won the Tyrone Senior Football Championship.
On Sunday, he was in the stands to watch Errigal win the O’Neill Cup again, this time with his sons causing havoc against Carrickmore while Darragh Canavan also picked up the top scorer award for this year's Championship.
The Tyrone star hit 0-3 in Sunday’s thrilling two-point win over Carmen in Healy Park while he also played a stunning flick to set up Joe Oguz for Errigal’s second half goal.
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Darragh Canvan scored 0-19 over four games and his nearest challenger for the Forbes Trophy was his youngster sibling Ruairi, who hit two points from play in the final.
“Darragh (Canavan) has developed into a leader in this team whereas he would have been seen earlier in his career as someone who is capable of fantastic bits of skills,” said Errigal Ciaran boss Mark Harte.
“He has taken on a bit of leadership now which our team needs. He is part of the new generation coming through and there are a number of them who have won Minor titles back-to-back.
“They are now in their early 20s so we do need them to step up.
“Okay, it was Darragh today, but over the course of the Championship campaign, you need a team of men to step up.
"I think back to the Moy changing room at half-time - we were eight points down and Darragh got a free just before half-time to make it seven.
“We had a battle against Dungannon, a battle against Dromore and another against Carrickmore. There’s one guarantee - there’s no easy Tyrone Championships and these boys have had to go to the well on four occasions and I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
It’s been 10 years since Errigal Ciaran last lifted the O’Neill Cup and their relief was evident at Healy Park on Sunday.
Perennial favourites for Tyrone SFC glory, the Dunmoyle men have flattered to deceive in recent seasons and have suffered some stinging losses.
As well as losing the 2017 and 2019 county finals to Omagh and Trillick respectively, Errigal endured a crushing defeat in last year’s semi-final as Coalisland plundered three goals in the last 10 minutes to reach the final against Dromore.
Those defeats along with some hard-fought battles in this year’s campaign has helped forge a new resolve among the current panel according to joint-manager Harte.
“There is never anything between Carrickmore and Errigal, it’s always nip-and-tuck,” he added.
“We probably had a poor first 20 and I thought the goal and a couple of points before half-time put a bit of a gloss on it.
“If we had kept the goal out early in the second half we could have given ourselves a bit of a buffer but Errigal-Carrickmore games take on a life of their own.
“It was always going to go down to the wire and that’s what we planned for mentally.
"We had to go and win that game two or three times so, for a group of players’ whose mentality has been attacked, both outside the club and within in because, at times, we’re our own worst critics as well, it was good to stand strong whenever the heat came on and to get over the line."
When asked to put into words what it meant to win a county title as manager of his home club, Harte held back the tears as his thoughts turned to his sister Michaela, who was murdered while on honeymoon in Mauritius in 2011.
“It’s unique. With every group of players you work with you build a bond but there’s a bond there since the day I was born,” said Harte.
“I didn’t want to build it up with the players but now that we have achieved this, it is like nothing else, winning with your own.
“Today was going to be a really hard day to stomach or a day to celebrate.
“We have a number of families struggling in the parish with relatives who are ill and to see people coming towards me with tears in their eyes… they didn’t have to say anything because I know exactly what they’re feeling and I know who they’re thinking about.
“We’re all thinking of people who aren’t with us any more . . . and they are so important and that’s who I’m thinking of now.
So for everybody who is struggling in the parish and for everybody who has gone over the last 10 or 12 years - this is just such an important win for so many reasons.”
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