TYRONE HOMECOMING: Thousands of Tyrone fans descended on the border town of Aughnacloy to welcome home their All-Ireland winning heroes who lifted the Sam Maguire for the third time in six years when they defeated favourites Kerry at Croke Park yesterday.
Mickey Harte's men left by coach from their base at the CityWest Hotel and are expected in Aughnacloy shortly after 6pm before they travel to Omagh for a night of celebrations at a reception in Healy Park from 9.30pm.
"You never really believe it's going to happen," said Harte of yesterday's 1-15 to 0-14 win over the Kingdom before leaving CityWest. "It has happened a few times for us now and we are equally thrilled each time."
The manager also heaped praise on their opponents describing them as "the traditional aristrocrats of Gaelic Games".
"They have 35 All-Irelands, this is our third. You can begin to imagine the quality we were up against.
"It is great to win the All Ireland any year, but to win it against a team like Kerry adds value to the accomplishment," he added.
Although Tyrone had stars all over the park in yesterday's final Harte gave special praise to man-of-the-match Sean Cavanagh and veteran captain Brian Dooher.
Cavanagh contributed a personal tally of 0-05 while Dooher cut down the right flank to score one of the finest points ever witnessed in an All-Ireland final while the midfielder's work rate was just as impressive.
"It was a revelation for him to get out at midfield and show the whole repertoire of skills that he has,' Harte said of Cavanagh.
"We certainly have not seen the end of Sean Cavanagh. He will get better. I see him becoming a more complete footballer every year he plays."
"Brian Dooher, that man defies logic. The point he scored (in the first half) will go down as one of the greatest points ever scored in Croke Park and there are plenty of them about,' added Harte.
"He is special, he is the leader. The players take their cue from him and we have been blessed to have leaders like that in the past, Peter Canavan, the late Cormac (McAnallen) and Brian Dooher was some replacement.