Inside Track: Mary’s face All-Ireland champions in bid to reach Leinster final

Four intermediate Louth club teams have won the Leinster championship and one has been successful in junior. The senior, however, has evaded all triers, despite the competition being in place since the early 1970s.

St Mary’s hope to be the ones to break the glass ceiling, while Glyde Rangers are attempting to emulate Young Irelands, the only team from this county to win the junior title. 

Both mid-Louth teams are engaged this weekend at the semi-final stage in their respective competitions. They’d have been joined by the county’s intermediate representatives, Roche Emmets, had the county champions been able to find a way past Scoil Uí Chonaill.

But just a few days after beating Kilkerley Emmets to ensure full membership of senior football next season, Jamie O’Hare’s side had to give way to the Dublin champions, losing by the minimum.

First of all, a bit of the provincials’ history. The senior competition was first played in 1970 and Newtown Blues were the Louth flag-beaters. 

The Drogheda side had a torrid passage through the preliminaries, experiencing such rough handling in one of their games, which ended in a draw, that this paper’s GAA writer at the time, the ‘Scribe’ himself, Paddy King, suggesting they should pull out of the competition.

Never ones to shirk a challenge, Blue lined out for the replay, won, and then made it to the final, in which they met Gracefield, the Offaly champions.

What was unusual about the fixture was its setting – Croke Park on a Sunday at 7 o’clock. 

Earlier in the afternoon, Louth minors were beaten by Dublin in the Leinster final. Having been led at the break, the Blues worked themselves into a one-point lead inside the final quarter. 

The effort wasn’t sustained, however, Gracefield winning by three points.

Cooley Kickhams were next to try their luck in a final. Their 1973/’75 joust with a star-studded UCD side, which included Benny Gaughran and a host of other inter-county players was at Drogheda. 

But superior knowledge of the venue was no help to Kickhams. They were two goals behind at the finish, UCD going on to win the All-Ireland

Nor was there any luck for the peninsula men in the final of three years later. This time they were out against Portlaoise at Croke Park, and lost by 1-12 to 0-8.

It would have been some feat had Mattock Rangers won the final of 2002. Having claimed their first-ever Louth senior title earlier in the year, the Collon boys weren’t given much hope of making progress in the provincial series.

They proved the doubters wrong, going all the way to the last round.

 Their trip caught attention beyond this county’s boundaries, then-chairman Peter Murphy finding himself on national radio, and the dailies wanting to know about a club that wouldn’t have come to their attention before.

The Sunday before Christmas wasn’t a great day to be playing a provincial decider, but that’s how it was, Rangers facing Dunshaughlin at Navan. More experienced at this level, the Meath champions ran out easy enough winners.

A win on Sunday at home will see St Mary’s become the fifth from this county to reach the decider. 

But, however daunting the task the others had to face to get there, it would be nothing to compare to what’s ahead of the Louth champions.

In the other corner will be Kilmacud Crokes. Who we’re talking about here is not only the best team in Dublin and Leinster last year but in the entire country. 

It was the third time they took the supreme title. 

Their All-Ireland win over Derry’s Glen was followed by an objection, appeals and counter-appeals, all of them centred on Crokes finishing with 16 players on the field. 

The Dublin side were eventually declared champions, a win which compensated for their extra-time defeat by Down champions Kilcoo at the same stage the previous year. 

There is no shortage of players Mary’s will have to keep a special eye.

 Chief among them are Galway ace Shane Walsh and Dublin’s multiple All-Ireland winner, Paul Mannion. The former scored 1-2 in Croke’s quarter-final win over Carlow’s Eire Óg. 

On the same weekend, Mary’s, showing no ill-affect of the controversy surrounding their post county final celebrations, ran up 3-9 against Wicklow champions, Blessington. Tom Jackson bagged two goals, while Daire McConnon maintained his rich vein of form with 1-1.

It was more, however, than a two-man show: in confining Blessington to just one point in the second half, the backs more than paid their way.

There will have to be a repeat, maybe more, if Mary’s are to beat the Andy Merrigan Cup-holders. Playing on their home patch should be worth a few points to them.