[citation needed] He made an immediate splash to his senior career against local rivals Armagh by scoring a goal in the first thirty seconds.
[3] His best-remembered performance is probably against Dublin 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.
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.
[5] In the replay, 'Mugsy' showed that he had returned to form by scoring 1-07, and was named the Man of the Match in the 2005 All-Ireland Final, including deftly setting up Tyrone's winning goal with a huge catch, and perfectly timed lay off to Peter Canavan.
[citation needed] His disciplinary record became a talking point in 2007, having been sent off twice in the 2007 National League,[6] and allegedly dropped from the team by manager, Mickey Harte, during the campaign for not showing up to training due to work commitments.