Tyrone manager Malachy O’Rourke said the news of Frank McGuigan’s passing made his side “determined to put on a performance that he would be proud of” during their 3-16 to 2-18 win over Roscommon.
It was announced on Sunday that former Tyrone forward McGuigan had died at the age of 71.
Later in the day, O’Rourke’s side won their All-Ireland SFC first round match at Dr Hyde Park thanks to a late free from Ethan Jordan which gives his side two chances to reach the last eight of the competition.
“We knew that the boys were determined to put in a big performance. There’s a great spirit among them,” O’Rourke told BBC Sport NI.
“We’ve worked hard and, as well as that, the news this morning that Frank McGuigan, a legend in his own right, had passed away.
“Everyone was determined to put on a performance that he’d be proud of. It’s not necessarily winning the game, but as long as you represent the jersey in the right way and I think that’s what we did.”
McGuigan captained the Red Hands to the 1973 Ulster title in just his second year in the senior panel at the age of 19.
After a spell in the United States, he played a huge part in the 1984 Ulster final win over Armagh in what became known as ‘The Frank McGuigan final’.
“I wouldn’t remember him as well as some people, but I remember going to see him. I was at the 1984 final when he scored the memorable 11 points,” O’Rourke reminisced.
“Five on the left, five on the right and a fisted point. I remember even chatting to fellas who would have played along with him and the one thing they said was, even though he had all the skills, he was a very tough competitor.
“He was also a great teammate. He always had your back and those are the things that you want in every teammate and that’s what we were hoping that we’d get today and, in fairness to the boys, they didn’t let us down.”
