Cormac McAnallen immortalised in song

A FORMER team-mate of Cormac McAnallen released a CD last night in memory of the late Tyrone captain.

Mickey Coleman, a member of the Tyrone squad that won the county's first All-Ireland title in 2003, has composed a tribute in song to one of the greatest players to don the Tyrone jersey.

As the Red Hands continue their bid this weekend for a second All-Ireland, the release of The Brantry Boy is a timely and poignant reminder of the role that Cormac McAnallen played in the history of the GAA in Tyrone, and of the legend that he became in his short and fulfilling life.

It is a song written and sung from the heart by one of the players who celebrated Cormac's finest hour as a Gaelic footballer with him in September 2003.

When his Tyrone colleague passed away suddenly on March 2, 2004, Mickey Coleman knew he just had to compose something special to capture the magnitude of what Cormac McAnallen achieved when he was alive, and to convey the manner in which his passing touched the lives of thousands of people from all parts of Ireland.

The Brantry Boy' will be launched at McAleer's Bar in Dungannon tonight, and all proceeds from sales will go to the Cormac Trust Fund.

"This song was the best thing that I felt I could do to remember Cormac and pay tribute to him," said Mickey. "It's what I believed I needed to do.

"There have been a lot of things named after Cormac and I thought that the best thing I could do was to write this song about him.

"When I was writing it, I could have written so much more about him. There were so many things that I wanted to put down on paper; it was so hard to sum Cormac up in a few verses. I tried to express my feelings as best I could, but this song is only a fraction of what the man was.

"I think this song is a good tribute to him. It says a lot about how people felt when they realised he was gone. Sometimes people don't realise how good someone like Cormac really is until they're no longer around. It's only then that they appreciate how happy they made people feel and the joy they brought to those around them.

"Many a person has said it before, but the best way of summing up Cormac McAnallen is that he was a perfect role model. If any young player wanted someone to look up to, Cormac was certainly the man."