Inside Track: Louth team of ‘48 was dominated by Mary’s and Cooley players

Stephie Gernon, a staunch St Mochta’s supporter, has asked for the publication of the Louth team that played Cavan in the 1948 All-Ireland semi-final.

Glad to oblige, Stephie, and also provide some background to the team and that year’s Leinster campaign.

First, the team: Sean Thornton (Civil Service, Dublin); Jack Bell (St Mary’s), Eddie Boyle (Sean McDermott’s, Dublin), Johnny Malone (St Mary’s); Sean Boyle (St Mary’s), Paddy Markey (St Mary’s), Jimmy McDonnell (Darver Volunteers); Ray Mooney (St Mary’s), Kevin Connolly (Cooley Kickhams); Mick Hardy (Cooley Kickhams), Frank Fagan (Young Irelands), Stephen White (Cooley Kickhams); Larry Carr (Oliver Plunkets); Jim Quigley, captain (Young Irelands), Mickey Reynolds (St Nicholas’).
Jack Regan (Dundalk Gaels) replaced the injured Stephen White in the second half.

Mickey Reynolds is listed as a St Nicholas’ clubman, and that, indeed, is the name which appeared on the programme.

Also, Fr John Mulligan’s Louth History says that St Nicholas’ (Stabannon) played in the county senior and second division championships that year.

But in the years prior to that, coming into football for the first time in 1933, and then from 1949 up to this day, the mid-Louth club was/is known as Stabannon Parnells.

Mickey wrote the Stabannon Parnells’ history, published in 1989, and in it he dismissed 1948 as “a bad year for the club and they (the seniors) were beaten in the first round (of the championship) by Wolfe Tones”.
But it was different the following year.

Better organised and more determined than ever, Stabannon avenged the defeat by Wolfe Tones, then beat another Drogheda side, St Magdalene’s, in the semi-final, and by getting the better of neighbours and keen rivals, St Mary’s, won the championship to become the first team to be presented with the Joe Ward Cup.

Another name in brackets, the one following Stephen White’s name, might cause some readers to wonder.

No, there was nothing wrong with Cooley Kickhams.

In fact, there must have been something good about them, since they had three on the county team. Two others, Eddie Boyle and Sean Thornton, had also worn the green-and-gold jersey before transferring to Dublin clubs.

But wasn’t Stephen White’s club career best remembered for his time in the Young Irelands?

Yes, but prior to moving to the Dundalk side Louth’s only representative on the GAA’s Team of the Millennium, in 2000, played with Kickhams, along with his brother John, and was part of the team that won the 1947 junior championship. (Kickhams also won the second division championship that year, bringing up a unique double.)

The Louth ’48 team could not have been without help from above – Kevin Connolly, Larry Carr and Mick Hardy were all priests and seemingly allowed to play, not running foul of the hierarchy.

However, five years later, Kevin Connolly had to play under an assumed name – ‘McArdle’ – when he came in as a sub in another All-Ireland semi-final. Yes, God and His agents work in mysterious ways.

As today’s Mary’s team continue in defence of their senior crown, they can take inspiration from their forerunners of the 1940s and ‘50s. The title came Ardee way five times in the two decades, including in 1948.

Their dominance is reflected in the county team of that year, five clubmen lining out, and another, Paddy Smith – Kevin Beahan’s brother-in-law – playing for Cavan.

Ardee-based Paddy was corner-forward for the county final defeat of Young Irelands, but was at wing-full when Cavan went on to beat Mayo by just one point, 4-5 to 4-4, in the All-Ireland final.

Louth had the province’s top teams to contend with in Leinster en route to the meeting with Cavan. Longford were easily beaten in the opening round. Next up were Dublin, at Croke Park, and by winning by 1-8 to 0-6 the Jim Quigley-captained side were through to a semi-final meeting with Meath.

This was a tight one, just one point, 2-6 to 2-5, between them. Louth were big favourites to beat Wexford in the final, and won easily enough, 2-10 to 2-5.

It didn’t go so well for in the first half of the All-Ireland semi-final, which attracted a crowd of just over 51,000. Electing to play against a stiff breeze, Louth trailed by 1-7 to nil at one stage and by 1-10 to 0-1 at the break.

The second half, however, told a different story. Goals from Ray Mooney, Mick Hardy and Frank Fagan had Louth back in it, and when Hardy came up with another goal there was just one point in it.

With a game, described as “absorbing”, on a knife edge, Cavan rallied and late scores gave them a 1-14 to 4-2 win and a place in the final.

That year’s Leinster win was Louth’s second on the decade, following on from the 1943 success. There were three more provincial titles in the 1950s, the first of them yielding a place in the All-Ireland final, and the third, victory and custody of the Sam Maguire Cup for the first time.

Stephie, I’m sure, didn’t think the reply to his simple request was going to run to over 800 words – and to tell the truth, neither did I. But I think it was still a story worth telling.