Ganesh Kendale
Tyrone man Conor McKenna has become one of only two players who have been part of teams who have won both All-Ireland Senior Football and Australian Football League premiership titles, emulating the feat of Tadhg Kennelly.
McKenna joined the elite club when he was introduced as a substitute during the final quarter of Brisbane Lions’ convincing 120-60 win over Sydney Swans in the AFL Grand Final.
The Eglish man had previously been part of the Tyrone squad which collected the All-Ireland title in 2021.
The Lions proved much too strong for their opponents at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in front of 100,000 fans.
McKenna’s team had lost to Collingwood in last year’s decider but made up for that disappointment by dominating against Sydney, who had Kennelly in their ranks when they won the 2005 AFL showpiece.
Kerry man Kennelly helped his native county win the Sam Maguire Cup four years later.
Brisbane led 27-19 after the first quarter of this year’s decider and extended their advantage to 73-27 by half-time.
They were 73 points in front by the end of the third quarter before the Swans reduced their deficit in the final 20 minutes.
Kai Lohman and Callum Ah Chee scored four goals each for the victors while Luke Parker scored three for the Swans.
A brilliant underage gaelic football career in Tyrone led McKenna to be snapped up by AFL club Essendon in late 2014.
He spent six seasons at the Melbourne-based club before returning home to help Tyrone land the 2021 All-Ireland crown, scoring two goals in a dramatic semi-final win over Kerry before setting up Darren McCurry’s decisive major in the final against Mayo.
But after Tyrone’s disappointing defence of the All-Ireland title in 2022, McKenna opted to return Down Under and signed for Brisbane Lions.
