Louth footballers playing the villain’s role in O’Byrne Cup Final

This Saturday afternoon the Louth Footballers get the chance to add further silverware to the mantlepiece when they contest the O’Byrne Cup final for the first time since 2010.

But it is fair to say, after what has happened in the last week, that few in the Leinster Council will be rooting for the Wee County.

Last week it was reported that Mickey Harte’s side had decided to award Wexford a walkover in their final Group A tie away to Wexford. After two previous wins over Kildare and Westmeath, they were already in the final.

With just one team progressing from the group and two defeats already to their name, a win was of little consequence to Wexford either, making it essentially a dead rubber match.

However, while in principle the decision did make sense for Louth, this walkover led to a series of further withdrawals which has put a black cloud over the competition.

Soon afterwards Kildare decided not to contest their game away to Westmeath, while a match between Carlow and Laois, initially rescheduled due to an unplayable pitch, was ultimately never played either.

Louth were set to square off with the winners of Dublin and Offaly, but once again Louth’s decision to not play Wexford had further consequences on the O’Byrne Cup knockout stages.

The Faithful County ended up playing some nice football to account for the reigning provincial champions, but two days later they informed Leinster GAA of their intention to withdraw from the rest of the competition.

They cited player welfare and a lack of availability of its panel due to a mix of commitments to college GAA, injuries and illness, which ultimately meant they were not in a position to field a team against Louth last Sunday.

It would’ve been a third game in nine days for Liam Kearns troops, whereas the men in red had a week to rest and prepare. With the National League just around the corner, you can understand why they withdrew.

What that means is Louth are into the O’Byrne Cup Final. Standing in their way of silverware is Longford, whom they face in Pearse Park, Longford, this Saturday afternoon (throw in 2PM) after the Midlanders won a coin toss for home advantage.

The men in Blue and Gold are under new management in 2023, with Paddy Christie taking over the reins this season following the departure of Billy O’Loughlin.

He has a decent CV having worked for the past few season with the Tipperary Footballers and was part of their coaching ticket when claiming the Munster title back in 2020.

He was also part of part of Declan Shaw's team that went up for the Mayo job vacated by James Horan. When that gig was given to Kevin McStay, the former Dublin captain was soon contacted by Longford, where he get his first taste of senior inter county management.

On a cold Wednesday night in Portarlington, Longford began their quest for silverware with a decisive win over Laois. The visitors ran riot in the first half as goals from Joseph Hagan, Dylan Farrell and Daniel Mimnagh helped them coast to a well deserved 3-18 to 0-13 victory.

Next up was a date with Carlow on home soil, a contest that was spoiled by the strong breeze in Pearse Park. Playing against the elements, Longford needed to work hard for every score due to the ultra-defensive tactics of their opponents.

At the break they still led by 0-6 to 0-2. And once they had that wind backing them up, it was plain sailing for the home side, seven in a row helping them towards to 0-15 to 0-4 victory. They had seven different scorers too, showing they have firepower when given opportunities.

Then came their biggest test when making another journey, this time to Ashbourne to take on Colm O’Rourke’s Meath. In the atrocious wet weather conditions, Meath got off to a flying start and they surged into a 1-1 to 0-0 lead inside three minutes.

Despite this setback, they finished the half a point in front, while four in row midway through the second half helped them to record a draw, 1-7 to 0-10, that was enough to book their place in the final. Meath threw the kitchen sink at them, but they couldn’t get back in front.

While most reading this piece will already be aware of Louth’s current form, here is a brief insight into their year so far.

In wins over Westmeath and Kildare, The Wee County showed an ability to weather an early storm before building up a lead. In both ties they faced late fightbacks but were steely in defence when it mattered most. A trait you can always expect from a Mickey Harte managed team.

Conor Grimes was immense near the square in the opener versus Westmeath, while it was great to see Sam Mulroy back in form, albeit after a few early hiccups, against Kildare. Paul Matthews starred in both ties, as he looks increasingly likely to be switching allegences from the small ball to an O’Neill’s size five.

The sides met on two occasions last year, a late comeback from the men in Blue and Gold seeing them account for an experimental Louth in the first round of last year’s O’Byrne Cup.

Meanwhile in the National League it was Mickey Harte’s troops that fought back from adversary to clinch a hard-fought draw, a Mulroy free deep into injury time leaving the teams level at 1-6 to 0-9.

Longford will be looking to bring home the O’Byrne Cup for a fourth time having last hoisted the trophy in 2020, when they beat Offaly.

The Wee County have won the pre-season competition on four occasions. The last time was all the way back in 2009 when they managed to get past DCU in Drogheda.