Emotional homecoming for Tyrone players and Sam

IT was just after six o’clock yesterday evening when history was made. A Tyrone football team crossed the Blackwater with Sam Maguire, bringing to an end with one small step, 119 years of heartache.

A dream that so many people had thought they would never see, had finally come true. The sight of Peter Canavan and Mickey Harte, at either side of the trophy, symbolised the good times that have arrived in the Red Hand county.

More than 60,000 people thronged the streets of Tyrone to welcome Sam, thousands more lined Monaghan towns and villages to wish the All-Ireland champions well.