Sir Alex Ferguson told Mickey Harte he was “impressed” by the former Tyrone GAA boss in a letter 10 years ago, Harte has revealed in his new book.
hree months after the murder of Harte’s daughter, Michaela, in 2011, he received a letter from the legendary ex- Manchester United manager.
It came in light of the murder of Ronan Kerr (25), a Catholic PSNI officer from Co Tyrone that was killed outside his home by a car bomb.
Harte had carried Kerr’s coffin at the funeral, something which was “unheard of” for someone who “so strongly identified as a Catholic and a GAA man” to do, he writes in ‘Devotion - A memoir’.
But he “just sensed that it was the right thing to do”.
He continues: “"Some time after the funeral, I got a letter from Manchester: Alex Ferguson had taken the time to write to me. I could hardly believe what I was reading.
"He wrote: 'I was always impressed by your achievements with the Tyrone team and how long you've been there. I meant to write to you after what happened to your daughter. I knew I had to write to you after Ronan Kerr.'
"He left a contact number for me to get in touch. I remember calling him and he said to come over to Old Trafford.
"So we got tickets for a derby game through Martin Logan, a great friend of mine from Galway who spent most of his life in Manchester.
"Myself and the boys went across in October 2011. But we picked the worst day possible: City beat United 6-1.
"I called Alex a couple of weeks afterwards and told him about the game we had been to. He said: 'I hope you don't think it's like that all of the time.'
"But the trip gave us a lift, something we badly needed. And the boys got a real kick out of it."
Harte adds that Ronan Kerr’s death united both Protestant and Catholic communities, “which was such a positive thing at the time”.
“And the GAA came out in force to condemn what had happened. It was the first time that we saw the GAA take that kind of stand.
“I think everyone recognised the significance; it was a powerful moment. I knew what it was like to lose a child; I could identify with that hurt. And I felt so much for the Kerr family.”
'Devotion – A memoir' by Mickey Harte with Brendan Coffey is available in all good bookshops from October 14. Price UK £21.99.