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Canavan brothers are a “frightening” prospect for Cuala says Tyrone U20 manager Paul Devlin

Errigal Ciaran's Ruairi and Darragh Canavan pictured with their father Peter following the Tyrone SFC final win over Trillick last October
-Credit:©INPHO/John McVitty


All-Ireland Club SFC final: Errigal Ciaran (Tyrone) vs Cuala (Dublin) (Sunday, 3.40pm, Croke Park)

It happened in the blink of an eye, so rapidly that the TG4 cameras didn’t catch the initial, impish piece of brilliance.

They caught the end of it though, as a driven arrowed ball fell into Darragh Canavan’s run, he steadied and smashed to the roof of the Dr Crokes net.

The camera panned back to capture his younger brother Ruairi, the man who delivered the ball.

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It was a moment that took the breath away on an afternoon in Newbridge where Darragh hit 1-6 from play and Ruairi shot 0-7, with four from play, while he won the frees for the other three.

The numbers alone are staggering. 1-13 between them out of 2-18, and it was the closing stages of normal time before any other Errigal player would score.

At one point in extra-time the Errigal crowd were cheering a Ruairi shot before the ball had even come off his boot, such was his frightening accuracy up to that point.

As it happened, that one tailed wide, while another edged off the post in extra-time, probably due to fatigue as much as anything else.

“They would have talked about that (goal move),” says Paul Devlin, who managed both Canavans at under-20 level, and had Ruairi in Tyrone All-Ireland winning under-20 squad in 2022.

“It’s the wee things that make the difference with them. There was a wee bit of a scrimmage going on at the sideline over a foul or a sideline ball.

“They weren’t worried about what was happening there. They were on the same wavelength. They were thinking, ‘Right, we are going to try this. The game is dead but the referee is not stopping. Keep her moving.’

“They are like gunslingers. They go at the goal all the time. Ruairi banged it and Darragh made the move.

“I remember Darragh doing the same thing as Ruairi, finding the man inside against Derry in an under-20 Ulster final in 2019 - the awareness.

Tyrone U20 manager Paul Devlin
Tyrone U20 manager Paul Devlin -Credit:©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

“It comes down to fine margins and whoever was going to get a goal at the right time was probably going to win the game. Crokes were nipping away and the goal kept Errigal in the game. It boiled down to the class of the two lads.

“Enda McGinley (Errigal Ciaran manager) is a cute fella and has been around the block.

“If Crokes or whatever team is trying to get into us here, we’ll have the awareness to hit on the break quick. Lucky enough the two lads are of that mindset and they take it on board and put it in place.

“It’s okay telling lads that, but getting them to do it is another thing, and having the skill to execute the pass and take the goal.

“You see when Darragh is in there, he is a ruthless boy in front of the goals.”

In that moment we saw the quick thinking and ability to execute that sets the brothers apart.

Then came the almost perma-smiles that fit neatly alongside the joy the dynamic duo seem to play the game with, and which unavoidably draw people to them.

The grins were a little broader than usual. No indentured slaves here.

That smile, Devlin says, is a McGarrity thing. Their mother, Finola, is a McGarrity from Carrickmore, a sister of Ronan, who played alongside Devlin and their father, Peter Canavan in the 1995 All-Ireland final.

Other inside forwards might be giving out about the ball not being kicked in, or the quality of the ball.

The ‘blame game’ doesn’t seem to be a thing with the Canavan brothers. Instead of slabbering or pointing fingers, they’re generally off, on the move again.

“I’d say smiling all the time is probably the McGarrity in them,” laughs Devlin. “The McGarrity fellas always come with a smile on their face. That’s just the way they go about their business.

“Running up to Garvaghey, lads like that, the stars that they are at the minute, it just tells you enough about them that they would never go by you.

“They’d always stop for a chat. That’s the lads they are. They will definitely not get carried away with where they are at. You can take them from me.

“They are grounded lads. It comes from both sides of the family. They carry themselves the right way and once they get on that field you have two very dedicated, ruthless fellas there that will go to town on you if you let them away with it.

“There is no such thing as who they came from, their background. Nobody handed them a silver spoon.

“What they have done through the years, they have worked hard for it. They want to learn all the time.

“Darragh and Ruairi want to make their name. And that would be put to them from no better place than home itself.

“The mother’s side are all hard working people, the McGarrity family from Carrickmore. They carry themselves well too.

“Yes you have talent surely but they know well that if they don’t put the effort in, the talent won’t get you anywhere.

“But I think the way the two boys went about their business last week (against Dr Crokes) was frightening for Cuala, what way they will go about stemming the flow.”

The brothers both have vision and skill to burn, but they’re different. Darragh is bobbing and weaving goal threat with impeccable decision-making and constant movement. A nightmare to mark.

Ruairi is a shoot on sight, gunslinger, launching points off both feet from all angles and distances, and rarely missing.

In the Dr Crokes game, the pair scored all of Errigal’s first 1-8. They are the epitome of get it to the shooter.

“Darragh has that ruthless edge about him - you see the way he takes scores along the endline,” says Devlin.

“Ruairi would be a player that likes to float around more. That burst of pace of Darragh is a help to him, maybe more than Ruairi. You’ll see him looking to take the shot on quicker. If Darragh gets the half chance, he is going to go at you.

“He is not there to take it easy. And once he does that and goes by you, he just throws the eyes, gives you a smile and lets you know it. He doesn’t have to verbally do it because he just looks at you, ‘Here boy, there is more of that coming.’

“Both had niggly injuries coming out of minors into under 20s and senior level that was holding them back a bit. You see now the two boys are injury free and have a hell of a lot to give to Tyrone, never mind Errigal.”

The Ruairi dummy is also something else.

“That’s Ruairi,” says Devlin. “He’s looking to learn all the time. I remember we played an Ulster under-20 game against Cavan back in ‘22 and we had a sideline ball.

“He lined it up and Mugsy (Owen Mulligan - coach)) was standing. He came down with the hands on the head and he said ‘No, no, no he is not going to do it. He is not going to do it.’

“He thought it maybe wasn’t on, kicking from the right hand side with his right foot at the 21 yard line. It’s on some of them video snaps. That’s Ruairi. He knew it was on.

“Next thing he pumped it over the bar and Mugsy came walking down, ‘That wee flipping’ so and so.

“At the end of the game Ruairi was looking at Mugsy, never even said a word, just smiling at him as if to say, ‘To hell with you Mugsy, I was going to try it.’

“I remember chatting to Ruairi at half-time in that game. There were a couple of chances to take on the Cavan defender and I suppose it’s learning stages.

‘That’s the time, Ruairi, one on one, go to town on him.’ He takes everything on board, no matter what coach he is dealing with.

“Naturally, everyone is going to compare them to the father, but they are their own types of players. They want to be Ruairi Canavan and Darragh Canavan and make their own way. The family would be happy with that too.

“There are days it will be tight for them, where it is harder to get scores. They know that they have to take everything on board, with the rest of the team.

“They’ll do the dirty work too - on the tackling and closing down. They are team players. That’s what they are, all about the team, and they know that themselves.

“Yes they are going to get the limelight surely, but that’s part of it. They’ll put the head down and do the dirty work if it has to be done.

“They are great lads to work with. There is no airs or graces about them. They are all about being as good as they can be and it’s hard work they put in. That’s what it all boils down to.

“Yes, super talented lads and the awareness of the game that they are playing. It’s not all the nice ball with them all the time. They’ll work hard for everything going and you will not mess with them.

“I’ve seen a couple of boys try to throw up to them and make them take a step back, but it’s not going to happen. They’ll work very hard for the team.”

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