Frank McGuigan: Tyrone’s two-time Ulster winner dies aged 71

In a statement, O’Donovan Rossa GAC ​​paid tribute to Ardbo “The King” who is regarded as “one of the greatest footballers ever to wear club and county colors and a true legend of Ardbo and Tyrone football”.

“Frank played a central role in the famous Ardboe teams that won three successive Tyrone Senior Championships between 1971 and 1973 and famously returned from the USA to help the Roses win another championship title in 1984,” they said.

“That year, he produced one of the greatest individual performances ever witnessed in Ulster football, scoring eleven points from play for Tyrone in the Ulster final at Clones — five with his left foot, five with his right and one with his fist — an unforgettable display of unique skill, composure and supreme talent.

“His exploits in 1984 earned Frank Ardboe the distinction of becoming the first All-Star recipient and he would later continue his lifelong service to the club as manager of our senior teams.”

It continued: “Affectionately known throughout Tyrone and beyond as simply ‘The King’, Frank was a footballer’s genius who commanded the respect and admiration of the entire GAA fraternity at home and abroad.

“Through his brilliance, humility and love of Gaelic games, he really put our great club on the map and inspired generations of players that followed. King has left the field, but his legacy will live on in Ardbo and Tyrone forever.”