Peter Canavan

Who is Peter Canavan?

Peter Canavan is a former Gaelic footballer and manager.

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 Championship medals, six All Stars Awards, four provincial titles, and two National Leagues and several under-age and club championship medals. He represented Ireland in the International Rules Series on several occasions from 1998 until 2000. He is considered one of the great players of the last twenty years by commentators such as John Haughey of the BBC, and in 2009, he was named in the Sunday Tribune's list of the 125 Most Influential People In GAA History.

His scoring record of 218 points is the second highest of all time in the Ulster Senior Football Championship. His early high scoring rate, when he would often be Tyrone's best performer — particularly in the 1995 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final when he scored eleven of Tyrone's twelve points—led to claims that Tyrone was a "one-man show," and that the team was too dependent on him, particularly in his early career.