The long winding road for Derry from Mickey Harte to Paddy Tally

The crowd roared as Mark Beaumont pedalled through the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. 

Setting off from the same point 78 days, 14 hours, and 40 minutes earlier, he began his attempt to circumnavigate the world in record time. 

Beaumont covered more than 18,000 miles, cycling through some of the harshest conditions one man and his bicycle can endure.

As Beaumont made history, he achieved this feat before Derry found a replacement for Mickey Harte as their inter-county manager.

Paddy Tally has accepted the role, bringing to an end the prolonged saga of 129 days since Harte stood down in July after just one year in charge.

Despite guiding Derry to a National League title in March, Harte left the role under a dark cloud after a poor championship campaign ended in a whimper with a quarterfinal defeat to Kerry.

The performances throughout, but particularly the Oakleaf County’s defeats to Donegal and Armagh, had many fans calling for the removal of the Tyrone manager.

Their prayers were answered on July 8.

However, this was the start point of the long, drawn-out process of finding his replacement.

Talk around the county began about who would take the role, with former interim manager Ciaran Meenagh, who won an Ulster Championship with the county, and Derry Under 20 manager Damien McErlain, who guided them to back-to-back All Ireland minor titles this season, ruled themselves out of the role almost immediately.

A plethora of names were then linked with the job, but on each occasion news would soon break with the touted individual denying any link to the role or that talks had broken down.

Word spread in September that James Horan would be Harte’s successor, but the former Mayo manager denied that he would be taking the role.

In the same month, Derry ruled out former manager Rory Gallagher returning after speculation the Fermanagh native was set for a second stint in charge.

As the Derry Senior Football Championship progressed throughout the summer and autumn, Slaughtneil, impressed with their attacking fluidity and great defensive discipline, had many touting them to lift the title.

This would not come to pass as Glen defeated them in the semi-final, but in the buildup to this loss, their manager, Mark Doran, was named as the favourite for the vacant inter-county job.

Again, a similar story played out with reported talks breaking down between the county board and the Down native, with Doran choosing to take a coaching role in the Roscommon set-up.

Within a week, the next name mentioned with the position was Donegal’s four-time All Star and Kilcoo manager, Karl Lacey; however, he quickly denied any connection to the job.

Fans were left scratching their heads as to who would take over.

Fixtures for next year’s Ulster Championship and opening weekend of the National League were announced with the defending champions still managerless.

However, as of November 14, Derry has begun the Tally reign.

Whether this becomes a dynasty is yet to be seen, but the Tyrone man has an impressive coaching CV.

Having been part of the coaching staff under Harte for the 2003 All-Ireland win and the Kerry setup for the past three seasons, helping the county win their first All-Ireland in eight years in 2022.

The former Down manager has been appointed on a three-year term, with an initial backroom consisting of Paul McIver, Kevin McGuckin, and Paul McFlynn.

With the saga over, Derry can turn their attention to the opening fixture with Tyrone in the defence of their crown.

To hold his hands aloft as people congratulate him on achieving history is exactly what Tally is hoping to achieve in his tenure as Derry boss—a similar scene to Beaumont as he finished his incredible journey in Paris in 2017.