TRONE great Seán Cavanagh fears Cathal McShane will regret quitting the county. The 29-year-old walked away last month ahead of their All-Ireland group-stage campaign. Owen Roes clubman McShane was an All-Star in 2019 when he finished as the Championship’s top scorer with 3-48. The forward made his SFC debut in 2015, won three Ulster titles and helped the Red Hands lift Sam Maguire in 2021. But he has struggled for game-time this year under Malachy O’Rourke, and his last appearance came in their Ulster SFC win over Cavan on April 13. He will play soccer for Strabane Athletic for the rest of the summer, but Cavanagh was sad to see his former team-mate depart ahead of Saturday night’s All-Ireland quarter-final with Dublin. The 2008 Footballer of the Year said: “I think he obviously wasn’t happy with his game-time. It was disappointing if I’m being honest, I would have expected him to hang around, he’s a good lad. “He’s very experienced, he came on the panel in 2015 so it’s not as if he hasn’t understood that it’s a competitive environment. “Obviously he’s grown a little bit frustrated. But just for me, and I say the same every year, it’s always a little bit strange when you kind of leave whenever the season is getting good. “For me anyway, if I was going to leave, I’d leave in November when the wind and rain was beating the head off me in Garvaghy. "I would never want to leave in mid-May or April whenever the sun was coming out and the hard pitches were there. “I don’t know what he’s doing for the summer but I know if it was me and I had a chance to pull on a Tyrone jersey this Saturday night and head to Croke Park with a Tyrone team playing Dublin . . .  you would do anything to be in that position again. "So I wonder whether he might just regret that.” But as one door closes, another opens. Omagh ace Conor Meyler made an emotional comeback in Tyrone’s final group game against Cavan earlier this month after missing their entire 2024 campaign through injury. O’Rourke’s men defeated Donegal and the Breffni and lost to Mayo in between, but did enough to take the direct route to the last eight. Tyrone have not beaten Dublin in the Championship since the 2008 quarter-finals en route to Sam glory, when Cavanagh won the game’s top individual honour. ANY GIVEN SATURDAY But the three-time All-Ireland winner hopes Saturday’s clash can spark their summer as they chase their first semi-final since going all the way in 2021. He said: “I feel there’s a big performance in this Tyrone team. The talent is there, and I know Malachy is the right man to get it out. “I think the sight of Croke Park and the sight of the Dubs and the Sky Blue jersey will definitely bring out whatever’s in those players right now. “As a supporter I do feel there’s a big performance in the team, and I think they’ll all see it in that way. They’ll all see it as an opportunity to bring it on Saturday night. “Any year that Tyrone has good years, it usually takes a big game and the sight of something that will energise and excite the team to get it out. “So I’m cautiously optimistic that the sight of a Dublin jersey on a Saturday night in Croke Park will do that.”  THIS summer, Electric Ireland will proudly champion the Electric Ireland GAA Minor Stars Teams of the Year winners from 2017 to present. The artwork, which will be displayed in Croke Park will highlight Electric Ireland’s consistent support for the Championship and showcase the major impact the Minor Championships hold in nurturing GAA’s stars. #ThisIsMajor