Proud Harte agrees to new three-year term with Tyrone

MICKEY HARTE has agreed another three-year term as Tyrone football manager that will see him in charge until at least the end of 2015 – or 13 continuous seasons.

Harte was in the final year of his current three-year stint, but a meeting of the Tyrone management committee on Tuesday night voted to offer him a further three years.

Harte then accepted this offer yesterday: “It is a great privilege to be asked by the county committee to take charge of the Tyrone senior football team,” he said, “and I gladly accepted that offer. To be asked to manage the best players that your county has to offer is still a wonderful honour.”

It means Harte is on course for 13 consecutive seasons in charge, during which time he has won three All-Irelands – in 2003, his debut season, plus 2005 and again in 2008. More recently he has guided Tyrone back to Division One of the league, although they lost out to Kildare in the Division Two final last Sunday.

Hopes that Dublin hurling would return to full strength in time for the Leinster championship have been knocked back as the apparent cruciate jinx has struck again, this time on defender Paul Schutte.

Although there is still hope given Schutte hasn’t suffered a full rupture, he has sustained a partial tear that is certain to keep him out of Dublin’s championship opener against either Laois or Carlow, on June 2nd – and also the potential Leinster semi-final on June 23rd, should Dublin progress.

The Cuala defender had established himself as one of Dublin’s most versatile defenders during the league. Although Schutte could yet play some part in the latter stages of the championship, he becomes the fifth Dublin player to sustain the injury within the last two seasons, as Conal Keaney, Stephen Hiney, Tomás Brady and Shane Stapleton all endured the more serious tear.

In the meantime Keaney, Hiney and Brady have all been edging their way back to full fitness, and look set to be ready for Dublin’s championship opener.

However, manager Anthony Daly also faces a nervous wait on both Danny Sutcliffe and Alan McCrabbe. Sutcliffe sustained a hand injury playing for his club, St Jude’s, over the weekend, and although he did actually finish the game, the hand has since been put in a cast, possibly ruling him out of the Laois/Carlow game as well.

McCrabbe suffered a shoulder injury playing for his club Craobh Chiaráin, and will be out of action for between three and four weeks.

Meanwhile veteran Sligo forward Eamon O’Hara will begin his 19th championship season when he travels to New York for this Sunday’s Connacht championship preliminary round.

The 36-year-old, who made his debut in 1994, has overcome a second cruciate ligament tear over the winter, and will be part of Kevin Walsh’s Sligo panel that travels to New York later today.

The last time Sligo went to New York they went on to win the Connacht title, in 2007. This year marks New York’s 13th season in the football championship and despite some close calls, they have yet to record a championship win.

However Sligo also boast the unwanted record of being the only team to lose an FBD final in the US, when they were defeated by New York in 2004.

Finally Westmeath manager Pat Flanagan is expected to welcome back Dessie Dolan ahead of their Leinster championship opener against Louth on May 20th. Dolan had been contemplating his intercounty future since his club Garrycastle lost to Crossmaglen in the All-Ireland club final replay, but it seems he will be available for at least one more season.