Peter Hart-Ryan O’Neill: Tyrone and Armagh stars set to move away in 2026

Tyrone manager Malachy O’Rourke says Peter Harte “will likely not commit” to Tyrone ahead of the 2026 season, while Rian O’Neill looks set to exit the 2026 campaign for Armagh.

O’Rourke was speaking after the Red Hands opened their Dr McKenna Cup campaign with a 2-13 to 0-17 win away to Armagh.

Matty Donnelly who was also part of the 2008 All-Ireland winning team with Hart, contributed 1-2 on the night.

O’Rourke told BBC Sport NI: “I think Peter, at this stage, probably won’t be able to commit, unfortunately. Peter has done a lot of services for the county, he’s a great role model for all the boys, and we’ll miss him very much.”

“We would never close the door in his face, and I certainly don’t want to close the door in his face.

“So, if it’s that he gets a little bit of breathing room later in the year and he’s able to come back, well, the door will always be open for him.

He added: “But at this stage, he is unable to make the commitment. So, we will have to move forward in the short term without him, and we will see how things go.”

With a conveyor belt of underage success in Tyrone at the moment, including an under-20 side and last year’s All-Ireland-winning minor teams, the 35-year-old’s experience will be beneficial to the county.

“Whether on or off the field, the way he carries himself, the way he trains, the way he prepares for training, everything about him is what you want in a committee,” O’Rourke continued.

“Which is great. We have a lot of young players who I think are learning to trade at this level in many ways.

“And the more people like Peter we can learn from, the better. Maybe there will be a chance he can come back to us later in the year. But, at this stage, I’m not sure that will be okay.

“But Peter certainly doesn’t owe anyone anything. He’s had a tremendous career. Even last year when he was with us, he was great to work with.”

O’Rourke also confirmed that Darragh Canavan should be available for selection ahead of Tyrone’s NRL opener at home to Kildare on 24 January.

The Tyrone coach confirmed: “All the boys who were not involved tonight were all training earlier today, including Darragh.”

“They were all on the field. So, everyone was training. Everyone was at different stages.”

“But no, hopefully they will all come back and be in contention for a National League start.”