St Mochtas on the hunt for championship glory

Ciaran Byrne is a player who is used to training at an elite level, be it during his time playing Aussie Rules with Carlton or since his return to Irish soil the time spent in camp with the Louth Senior Footballers under the tutelage of Mickey Harte.

While the St Mochtas man loves that sort of almost full-time setup, he is also chomping at the bit to get going with his club again.

“It is hard transition, going from county football back into the club scene, as there is so much less going on as you are only there with the lads a couple of times a week” he exclaimed.

“But it is a great change, as that is where all football starts. Playing for the club again, that was the main reason I came home, I missed the GAA so much. I’m 27 now so I’ve missed a lot of GAA. As a result, I’ve had a short enough career and I want to make up for lost time.”

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And one thing is for sure, his time in a yellow jersey off will forever being remembered, having helping the Louth Village outfit make a first ever Senior Final.

Byrne knows this was a huge feat, given where this side was just a couple of seasons ago and he fully expects the experience will help them in their continued development as a team.

“At the time you were living in the moment. It was surreal that we actually got that far, it still only feels like yesterday that we were battling away at the Junior and Intermediate level.

“To come up through those grades over the last number of years and then be that first team after so long trying to get to a county final, it was a massive moment for a lot of the lads and that showed on the day. We were shocked and that lack of experience caught us out.

“We’ve learnt from that loss, gone away and studied the tape. Hopefully we can implement the needed changes in these next two games which are going to be just as tough as that final. It will show if have have learnt anything which I’m confident we have.” 

The Mochtas have been thrown into what looks to the group of Death, alongside St Patricks and Newtown Blues. They open their account on Monday night when they take on the Lordship men in the group stages for a second year in succession.

That tie went right down to wire, two late scores from Declan Byrne and Craig Lennon seeing them come out on top. While they of course have lofty ambitions, for now nothing outside of their opener has been discussed, knowing how important a win would be to their cause.

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“We have been pretty unlucky with the draw over the last number of years. The Pats have started to fly in the league while the Blues have been one of the top two all year. Both games are going to be crackers, if we are not on our game we are going to get caught out.

“We are more worried about the first game as a win there, you are essentially through to the next round, so all the focus has been on the Pats for now.”

Looking at their league form, the Louth Village side have had a shaky campaign, one where a mix of injuries to big names such as Declan Byrne and the unavailability of their county men Craig Lennon and of course Ciaran himself, left them forced to field weakened teams.

League results suggest St Mary’s and the Blues are the teams to beat, but when speaking about who he expects to be the main dangers this year he made sure to stress the reigning champions Naomh Mairtin could not be written off, despite a lacklustre run in the league.

“There is a couple of clubs that seem to be ahead of the posse, you look at the Mary’s this year who are such a young and vibrant team that are firing from all cylinders at the minute. They will be a team to look out for.

“The Martins are going for four finals in a row at this stage and are a team that people will want to beat. We know what they can do, as everyone does. They are a championship team, who are always preparing for the big day. Nobody ever looks past them, and they are sure to be involved again.”

Having tasted what it’s like to make it the biggest stage in Louth sport, Byrne believes this side will now have loftier goals in their sights. With a strong panel to call upon, he feels they will not be satisfied until they can go one better in the coming years and win the championship.

“We are still a very young group” he stressed. “Yes, the likes of Decy, Philly (Englishby) and Eamo (O’Neill) are getting older but we are still a relatively young set of players.

“We’re high achievers, we want to go that one step further and until this group wins a Joe Ward Cup, which I’m sure within our time we will, we won’t be happy."