Cormac McAnallen

Cormac McAnallen

Cormac McAnallen's Tyrone headshot
Personal information
Irish name	Cormac Mac An Ailín
Sport	Gaelic football
Position	Full Back / Midfield
Born	(1980-02-11)11 February 1980 The Brantry, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Died	2 March 2004(2004-03-02) (aged 24)
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Occupation	Teacher
Club(s)
Years	Club
? -2004	Eglish
Club titles
Tyrone titles	1 (Dublin)
Inter-county(ies)
Years	County
?- 2004	Tyrone
Inter-county titles
Ulster titles	2
All-Irelands	1
All Stars	1

Cormac McAnallen (Irish: Cormac Mac An Ailín; 11 February 1980 – 2 March 2004) was an Irish sportsperson. He played Gaelic football at senior inter-county level for Tyrone, as well as at club level for Eglish St. Patrick's.

With Tyrone McAnallen won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 2003, and twice won both the Ulster Senior Football Championship and National League titles. At underage level he won an All-Ireland Minor and two All-Ireland Under 21 Championships with Tyrone. He also won an All Stars Award for his performances in the 2003 Championship.

McAnallen played for UCD while studying in Dublin and helped the university win the Dublin Senior Football Championship.

McAnallen died suddenly on 2 March 2004, aged 24. Despite his relatively short career, he won almost every honour in the game. He was often captain of successful teams, and was known as a particularly inspirational captain.

Cormac McAnallen was born on 11 February 1980 in Dungannon. He lived in the Brantry, with his parents Brendan and Bridget, and his brothers Donal and Fergus. Between 1984 and 1990 Cormac attended Derrylatinee Primary School; from 1990 to 1997 he attended St. Patrick's Grammar School in Armagh. At St. Patrick's he was part of the team that won the Blackboard Jungle quiz on RTÉ (1996/97). He was a student at Queens University Belfast between 1997 and 2001, and in 2001/02 he studied at University College Dublin, while doing teaching practice at St. Benildus College, Stillorgan. He graduated from Queens in 2000 with B.A. in History, and in 2001 with Postgraduate Diploma in Computer-Based Learning. He graduated from UCD in 2002 with a Higher Diploma in Education. He was named Queen's University Graduate of the Year in 2004.