Your Guide to Louth's upcoming Senior fixtures in football, hurling, ladies football and Camogie

As the top GAA starts returned to the training fields, the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association began releasing fixtures, giving supporters of all four of Louth’s Senior teams some idea of what lies ahead this summer.

The Footballers

Mickey Harte will begin his championship journey with the Wee County when taking on John Maughan’s Offaly in what was the draw in the opening round that drew the most attention nationally.

The game if fixed for Pairc Tailteann in Navan on June 27th with a throw in time yet to be announced by the Leinster Council.

The two sides haven’t locked horns in the province since 2005, when Louth succumbed to a nine-point loss, while the men in red came out on top when the two sides did battle in the 2001 Qualifiers.

It was the Midlander’s who prevailed when the two counties last met in competitive action, traveling to Drogheda and walking away with a 2-13 to 2-10 win last February in Division Three of the 2020 National League.

If they are to defeat the men from the Faithful County, a tussle with Kildare awaits in the Quarter Finals, who they last faced in the province back in 2014 when beaten emphatically by 1-22 to 1-7 at Croke Park.

Harte will warm up for the championship by trying to bring his side back into Division Three of the National League, having finished bottom of the league after winning just one game against Down.

Division Four will be split into two groups, with Louth in the North group alongside Leitrim, Antrim and Sligo, while the Southern group contains Waterford, Carlow and Wexford with the top two teams from each group contesting the semi finals while the other teams enter a shield competition.

They will open their account at home to Antrim on May 15th before making the trip west to face Leitrim in Carrick on Shannon on May 23th and will finish the round robin stages back at home to Sligo on May 30th with both home ties fixed for St Geraldine’s GAA Grounds in Dundalk.

The Hurlers

The fates of the hurlers have also been announced with the Wee County set to defend their Lory Meagher Cup crown they won after beating Fermanagh in Croke Park last October.

The two finalists and Cavan were the only sides to contest lasts year’s competition, but are joined this year by Longford and Monaghan who were relegated from the Nicky Rackard Cup.

The format sees three teams grouped together, playing one home and one away game with the top two finishers qualifying for the Semi-Finals.

The other two teams not in the group will have a play-off to determine who goes straight to the semi-finals and who contests a quarter final against the bottom side in the group of three in which the winner becomes the fourth team into the semis.

Paul McCormack’s men will begin their defence of the trophy on the road when they face Longford on Saturday June 26th before welcoming Monaghan to Louth a week later July 3/4, knowing they have a cushion of a quarter-final place if they have a poor start.

While the hurlers ended their year on a high, their National League campaign was another story, not picking up a single point from five games which resulted in them finishing bottom of the table and being relegated to Division 3B.

They will begin their fight for promotion on the road, visiting Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada a week before the footballers to take on Leitrim on May 16th, before two homes games at the Louth Centre of Excellence in Darver against Cavan on May 23th and Fermanagh on June 6th.

Ladies Football and Camogie

While their championship destinies are still unknown, both the Ladies football and camogie teams know where they stand in their Leagues.

The footballers will be eager to get going, having been unbeaten at the top of Division Four with four wins and were the big losers when Covid-19 resulted in all results being null and void and the league abandoned.

They will play in a condensed League as well this season and have been placed into 4A along with Antrim, Leitrim and Derry while in 4B there will be Carlow, Limerick and Offaly with a place in the semi-finals for the top two sides in each group.

On the same day as Mickey Harte’s troops are due to visit Carrick on Shannon (May 23th), Wayne Freeman’s women are also fixed to play the Westerners at a yet to be determined Leitrim venue before hosting Antrim (May 30th) and Derry (June 6th) at home.

Meanwhile in camogie Louth are back in Division Four as well, having struggled in Division Three taking on the likes of Carlow and Clare and have been placed into group two alongside Kildare, Mayo and Roscommon.

First up will be a trip to Kildare on May 15th, with Roscommon making the trip to the East coast a week later on May 22th, while once again a Louth team will head to the West of Ireland when the Wee County finish up their round robin campaign away to Mayo on May 29th.