Owen "Mugsy" Mulligan (born 1981) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Gaelic footballer who played for the Cookstown Fr. Rock's club and for the Tyrone county team. He helped Tyrone win the 2003, 2005 and 2008 All-Ireland Finals. His talent on the pitch marked him out as one of his generation's bright young stars of football.

Underage achievements

At underage level, Mulligan's success is prolific. He achieved notable success with Cookstown Father Rock's from Under 12 upwards, collecting county leagues and championships. As an Under-18, he reached the

All-Ireland final The All-Ireland Final may refer to: * All-Ireland Hurling Final, the last match to be played in the All-Ireland Hurling Championship (Senior, Minor and Under-21 levels) * The last match to be played in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship ...

in 1997 and 1998, (which includes two Ulster titles), scoring a goal in the 1998 final, and was part of the Tyrone

vocational school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the task ...

s team that won the All-Ireland in 1998, although a broken arm prevented him playing in the final. As a pupil at Holy Trinity College, Cookstown, where he was a pupil of former Tyrone Footballing great

Peter Canavan Peter Canavan (born 9 April 1971) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer, manager and pundit. He played inter-county football for Tyrone, and is one of the most decorated players in the game's history, winning two All-Ireland Senior Football Ch ...

, Mulligan won the Tyrone, Ulster and All-Ireland Championships also in 1998.

Senior career

Mulligan was part of the Tyrone team that won the All-Irelands in 2003, 2005 and 2008. He made an immediate splash to his senior career against local rivals Armagh by scoring a goal in the first thirty seconds. However, his contribution to the game was stifled after that and he was replaced at half time. His best-remembered performance is probably against

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

in the drawn All-Ireland Quarter Final in 2005, when he scored what the Irish Independent described as "what can definitely be called one of the greatest goals of all time." When Tyrone were on the backfoot, Mulligan picked up a pass from Stephen O'Neill on the 45m line. He turned his marker, and started heading goalward, dummying two more defenders out of the tackle, and shooting the ball past an oncoming Dublin player and the goalie to rocket the net. This performance almost single-handedly earned him the Ulster writers Player of the Month award. In the replay, 'Mugsy' showed that he had returned to form by scoring 1-07, and was named the

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match or man of the match or woman of the match award is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chosen from the winn ...

in the 2005 All-Ireland Final, including deftly setting up Tyrone's winning goal with a huge catch, and perfectly timed lay off to

. His disciplinary record became a talking point in 2007, having been sent off twice in the 2007 National League, and allegedly dropped from the team by manager,

Mickey Harte Mickey Harte (born 1952) is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former player. He has been manager of the Louth county team since 2020. Harte managed the Tyrone county team from 2002 until his resignation in 2020, at which time he was the ...

, during the campaign for not showing up to training due to work commitments. Whilst in Brisbane, Australia, in 2000, he played a key role for Shamrocks Gaelic Football Club in winning the 2000 Queensland Gaelic Football Championship. Mulligan also represented Tyrone in the 1996

Milk Cup SuperCupNI, formerly called the Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament and the Dale Farm Milk Cup, is an international youth football tournament held annually in Northern Ireland. The cup matches are mainly played in the North Coast area o ...

, and played under-15 soccer in Canada. As a student, he was under the tutelage of Tyrone great,

, who often managed him in the school football team. As Mulligan rose up the ranks, the two players played together on the Tyrone team in the late nineties.

References

External links

RTÉ News video report (RealPlayer) of the drawn Tyrone-Dublin match, including Mulligan's goal

Isolated footage of Mulligan's goal from YouTube, with original commentary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mulligan, Owen 1981 births Living people Gaelic football forwards Irish international rules football players People from Cookstown Tyrone inter-county Gaelic footballers Winners of three All-Ireland medals (Gaelic football)