The final programme of the series features Tyrone footballer Ryan McMenamin. Ryan was vital to the success of Mickey Harte’s team of champions winning five Ulster titles and three All-Ireland Senior Football title with Tyrone in the 2000’s. A player who gained a reputation for playing on the edge and a ‘win at all costs’ attitude, Ryan opens up about the many incidents that gained him notoriety on the field of play.
In 2004, Tyrone and Ryan were shaken to the core when their teammate Cormac McAnallen died suddenly, “It was probably one of the biggest shocks of my life, I just couldn’t fathom it.” Inspired to win again for Cormac Tyrone reached the All Ireland final in 2005 but Ryan was at the centre of several controversial incidents that year. He openly admits that at times his behaviour was regrettable, ‘It was my style of play, I wanted to win everything that was out in front of me and I probably went too intense. I probably did cross the line.’
Nevertheless Ryan’s performances were vital to Tyrone’s success in 2005 and against Kerry in the final he renewed his old rivalry with Gooch Cooper as he made every effort to negate the effects of the Kerry star. His hallmark driving runs up the field were also key to getting the Tyrone sharpshooters like Peter Canavan the quality ball they needed to seal victory once more.
Having claimed two All-Ireland’s Tyrone still felt they had more to prove to their doubters and in 2008 they did winning a third All-Ireland title against Kerry once more and cementing their status one of the greatest football teams of their era.
A controversial figure Ryan opens up about a career spent playing on the edge, “ I’m big enough to know that if I went on like that in real life I’d probably be in jail somewhere, that’s probably the reality of it.” The programme also features interviews with Tyrone’s Mickey and Mark Harte, Armagh’s Oísin McConville and Kerry’s Dara Ó Cinnéide.