Tyrone’s trojan is not a talker, he’s a Dooher

A FEW minutes in Brian Dooher’s company and you realise this is not a footballer who enjoys being the centre of national debate. Quiet, with an accent as hard to penetrate as his Tyrone team’s defence, Dooher is an unlikely focus point for the media.

Yet, the Derry-based vet, and his contribution to the team, have been the subject of much conjecture this year. On The Sunday Game, Colm O'Rourke was especially trenchant in his criticism of the player this summer, blurting out at one point that he would eat his hat if Tyrone lift the Sam Maguire with Dooher in the team.

Now only 70 minutes or so stand between football fans and that beguiling sight. For Dooher's part, he has never joined in the debate, preferring, as he always has, to let his football do his talking in its typically unfussed manner.