Joe Carroll: Louth played Offaly in the first O’Byrne Cup final

Had it gone ahead as planned last Sunday, Louth’s match with Offaly wouldn’t have been the first between the counties in the O’Byrne Cup.

There have been many over the years, the first of them the one that stands out.

The trophy, commemorating a Wicklow man, Matt O’Byrne, who was prominent in the Leinster Council circles, was on offer for the first time when the sides lined out at Croke Park in 1955.

This is listed as the 1954 final, and Louth had made it to the last round with wins over Kikdare (by 6-5 to 1-10, Drogheda), Wicklow (2-6 to 0-9, Ardee) and Meath (2-10 to 3-3, Navan), three matches that had been played the previous year.

The Meath tie attracted a crowd of over 4,000 and was played on September 12th, a fortnight before the Royals beat Kerry 1-13 to 1-7 in the All-Ireland final. Could you imagine a county agreeing to play a subsidiary league match today, no more than a close-in free away from contesting the biggest game of the year?

But it was the norm at the time. Here in this county, for instance, a week after the 1957 All-Ireland semi-final win over Tyrone, Oliver Plunkets took on raging hot favourites, St Mary’s, in the senior championship final in Dundalk and won, by 3-3 to 1-6.

Former Co Board chairman, the late Terry Maher, was in goals for the winners.

Six of the Mary’s team and two from Plunkets would figure on the Louth panel for the All-Ireland final, three weeks later.

The importance the Leinster Council attached to the O’Byrne Cup was emphasised by the staging of the final at Croke Park.

Proceeds from this and all other matches played in the competition went to a players’ injury fund.

Louth were strong favourites to win, but reports say they may have under-estimated the opposition. At the time, Offaly were still waiting for a first Leinster senior title – since then they’ve won ten, along with three All-Ireland titles.

Louth played with the wind in the first half but trailed by 0-4 to 0-2 at the change-over. There was an improvement after that, but it ended with Offaly ahead by 0-10 to 1-5.

The Louth line-out will jog a few older memories: Mickey McDonnell (Darver Volunteers); Eugene Duffy (Dundalk Gaels), George Carroll (O Plunkets), Johnny Malone (St Mary’s); Patsy Coleman (St Mary’s), Tom Conlon (Stabannon P), Stephen White (Y Irelands); Jim McArdle (Stabannon P), Hubert Reynolds (O Plunkets); Paddy Woods (O Plunkets), Patsy Byrne (Stabannon P), Alfie Monks (Nh Mhuire); Jimmy McDonnell (Darver Vol.), Tom Rogers (Dundalk Gaels), Paddy Butterly (Stabannon P). Jim ‘Red’ Meehan (Nh Mhuire) came in as a sub.

Louth hadn’t long to wait for further O’Byrne Cup action. They were out the following Sunday, this time taking on Kildare at Newbridge in the opening round of the 1955 competition. No luck here, either. The home side won by double scores, 2-6 to 1-3, thus avenging the drubbing at Drogheda the previous year.

For the record: Louth have won the O’Byrne Cup four times, in 1963, 1980, 1990 and 2009.

They have been beaten in six finals, one of them by Offaly, 4-7 to 2-7 in Drogheda back 1998. The most recent defeat was at the hands of DCU in St Brigid’s Park in 2010. A year earlier Louth won the cup by accounting for those same students.