Joe Carroll: Louth back in Croker to play Dublin in a first league tie in over three decades

This is the chance to put my name up in lights, I thought as I scanned the records to see when Louth last played Dublin in a league match in Croke Park. (No, I didn’t really think that; what I had in mind was showing the Louth line-out to the next generation, and saying to them what a wonderful footballer their grandfather was. Same thing, I suppose.)

I was satisfied that the last time there was a Louth league clash at Croker with what was for years the auld enemy, but are not any more – Meath now fill that role – was in 1970.

The match, as I remember it, was a fairly brutal affair – as in, there was a lot of kicking and thumping, Louth as much responsible as the Dubs – and it ended in a draw. I was playing at No 4 at the time.

The replay was in Navan and we won, qualifying for a quarter-final meeting with Down at Croke Park. That game is best remembered for Paddy Gallagher’s tour de force in goals and the gale-force wind that blew towards the Canal End.

Down had the advantage in the first half and led by five or six points at the break. It ended with the Mournemen holding out for a narrow win.

My plan for this column was to go into detail on the Dublin match mentioned above, but having been less than sure-footed with some of the stuff I’ve been coming out with a late, I decided to take another look at what passes for my records. Just as well.

A more recent meeting of the counties at headquarters in the points competition was unearthed. It was 30 years ago, around a time when, in my humble opinion, Louth had its best crop of players in maybe two or three decades, or maybe even as far back as the ‘Fifties.

But for whatever reason there was nothing to show for it. Yes, there was that near miss in the 1991 Leinster semi-final, when a draw with Laois – it should have been a win – was followed by a replay that had a mother and father of all fights that is still recalled by those who were there to witness it.

Laois won before going on to be beaten in the final by a Meath team still recovering from their marathon four-match epic with Dublin in the opening round and the two games they needed to find a way past Wicklow in the semi-final.

An arduous campaign would eventually stymie Meath though having given away a huge advantage in the opening half of the All-Ireland final with Down, the Royals fought back to be beaten by just two points.

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Back to Louth. At no time, however, did the team of the early ‘90s ever put themselves in line for a competition win. Indeed, the league campaign which included the Dublin match – ‘92/’93 – wasn’t very productive. It had a few hairy results, with seven games yielding just five points.

And it was followed by another championship defeat by Laois, this one in the opening round. Even worse was the previous season’s league, just one win from six outings.

Which makes it even harder still to understand why a panel which included the O’Hanlon brothers, the Reillys, the O’Neills, Melia, O’Donnell, Mulligan, Fitzpatrick, White, Kelly, Kerin and so on, couldn’t make an impression.

A one-point defeat by Limerick, away, got the league under review away to a poor start. It was followed by a draw with Galway in Drogheda. Then came the Dublin match. It ended in another defeat, 1-8 to 0-9, and was followed by a narrow home win over Wexford.

The new year opened with a defeat by Antrim at Casement Park. After that two points were picked up in an away win over Sligo, before Derry came to Drogheda to inflict a four-point beating, 1-11 to 0-10.

Here’s the team that lined out against Dublin:

Niall O’Donnell (Clan na Gael); Padraig O’Neill (Cooley K), David Mulligan (St Joseph’s), David Reilly (Stabannon P); Peter Fitzpatrick (Clan na Gael), Stephen Melia (J Mitchel’s), Kern Rooney (St Mary’s); Seamus O’Hanlon (Clan na Gael), Kevin O’Hanlon (Clan na Gael); Davy McDonnell (Dlk Gaels), Brendan Kerin (St Mary’s), Colin Kelly (Newtown B); Stefan White (Clan na Gael), Cathal O’Hanlon (Clan na Gael), Pat Butterly (Stabannon P).

Donal Brady (Newtown B) and Redmond O’Neill (Cooley K) came in as reserves.

The football played then was much different to today’s. Let’s see if the way Mickey Harte’s play it is good enough to down the Dubs on Sunday.