The death of Cormac McAnallen is not the first tragedy to strike this generation of Tyrone footballers.

In 1997 Paul McGirr fractured a rib after an on-field collision against Armagh in the Ulster Minor Championship. On his way to hospital McGirr suffered a punctured lung that eventually proved fatal. McAnallen was the team captain that day.

Father Gerard McAleer, who taught McAnallen in St Patrick's Armagh, and was also a selector of the minor, under-21 and, including the current, senior panels he played on.

"We learned so much from Paul McGirr's death. You hope that you will never have to endure something like that again, that a family will never have to endure it again," he said yesterday.

"I learned so many lessons at this time, but the main lesson was that about the fragility of life and the random nature of Paul's death.

"But the immediate lesson that I learned, and the one that I want to apply at this time is that we have to deal with the tragedy, the loss, the pain at this particular time, and help other people to deal with it, rather than look for any explanations.

"There's no easy answer as to how to help people to deal with grief, but it's important to be there for people.

"Paul's death was a very public event, and while Cormac's is not as public, he was a much more public figure."

Two years ago, another member of the current panel, midfielder Kevin Hughes lost his sister in a car crash.