Louth GAA Year in Review: Mickey Harte brings national glory back to the Wee County

In the next few days the Louth Senior sides return to competitive action, the footballers hosting Westmeath in the O’Byrne Cup while the hurlers make the trip North to face Queens University in the McGurk Cup.

With their return in mind, what better time to reflect on the year gone by, as the Democrat recalls both team’s seasons which had plenty of high and low points.

First up in this piece, let's take a look back on the season Mickey Harte had with the Footballers.

Pre-Season

On a cold, windy afternoon in Lanesboro, a small but devoted crowd of Louth supporters descended on the Longford venue for the opening round fixture in the O’Byrne Cup.

Both sides left most of their big guns off the team sheet entirely, as to be expected for these sorts of ties, with those named on Mickey Harte’s side looking a world ahead of Longford for much of the contest.

A strong start saw them build up an early cushion and they were eight up with 20 minutes of the contest left. However, this experimental 15 then shipped 2-7 without reply as the Longford bench brought more to the game than anything introduced by the Wee County.

Not the way Harte would want to start the year, yet tougher a task lay ahead in a midweek date with Dublin in Parnell Park.

Dessie Farrell gave Louth the upmost respect and put out a much stronger team then what is usually expected of the Dubs in winter. Brian Fenton, Cormac Costelloe, John Small and David Byrne all featuring in the starting 15. It led to an all so predictable outcome. 3-19 to 1-10.

Rounding off the campaign was a first home tie of the year, as Offaly were the visitors to Pairc Mhuire, Ardee for what was both sides’ third game in a little over a week.

Despite two second half goals, a lacklustre attacking display saw Louth slump to a third defeat. This was a real dead rubber affair, one which the Wee County trailed in for vast chunk of. It really was grim reading ahead of bigger days to come in the National League and championship.

It did at least Harte a chance to give anyone not recovering from injury a chance to prove their worth, with 32 different players given a starting berth across the three fixtures.

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The National League 

Paired with Limerick, Westmeath, Laois, Antrim, Fermanagh, Longford and Wicklow, Harte knew it was going to be a highly competitive league. One where many of the sides would fancy their chances against a newly promoted Wee County.

After a tough pre-season, what all the players, management and supporters badly needed was a lift. Sadly, it was another defeat the greeted those braving the cold in Ardee, as the venue played host to Laois.

Shooting proved to be their Achilles heel, as eight wides and countless missed goal efforts allowed the O’Moore men to go away with the win, 3-9 to 1-10. That put huge pressure on their next game away to Longford, a side they already lost to this season.

Played in difficult conditions, going into added tie it looked as though the Men in Red were destined for another defeat. But with the final kick of the game, up stepped captain Sam Mulroy who blasted over a vital free to earn his side a point.

This ended up being a huge turning point, as from here Louth never looked back, with any thoughts of relegation all but terminated as Harte’s side began targeting back to back promotions.

Another tie played in torrential rain saw them put Limerick to the sword, before continuing to show battling qualities in wins over Westmeath, Fermanagh and Antrim to leave them within touching distance of Division Two.

That was sealed following a win away to Wicklow, while in the final, they blitzed their way past the Treaty County to land a national crown in Croker. Coupled with the win, Mulroy ended the year as the top scorer across all divisions. Suddenly, Louth was to an extent a National talking point.

The Championship 

The Louth Footballers had a swagger and confidence not seen for many years as they headed for Pairc Tailteann Navan for their Leinster Championship opener against Carlow.

It was a significant victory as it was the county’s first success in the province since a 2019 win over Wexford, while it also signalled Mickey Harte’s first championship success since arriving in Louth in December 2020.

But what really stood out was the emphatic nature of the victory. Conor Grimes, Ciaran Byrne, Sam Mulroy and Tommy Durnin all raised green flags, much to the delight of a large traveling support.

But being frank, the opposition were extremely poor. They were easily broken down at will and provided very little in the way of an attacking threat. Plenty of food for thought, but it was vital fans didn’t get too carried away.

A real test of this side’s mettle came when they faced Kildare, then a Division 1 team, in Tullamore. After going unbeaten in their last eight games, expectations were high that Louth could cause an upset. Sadly, this never look on as they were easily brushed aside, 2-22 to 0-12.

Louth found themselves trailing by seven points, playing catch up from that point onwards in this bruising encounter. Ben McCormack started lively for Kildare on the forty, as the hard running lilywhites swarmed and pressed and dominated James Califf’s kick outs on every occasion.

That meant a date with the first round of the All-Ireland Championship, their promotion to Division 2 meaning they avoided the Tailteann Cup. All Ireland champions and runners up Tyrone and Mayo were among the possible candidates in the draw.

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However, in the end it was a trip to Munster that they were given, the Wee County making a first trip to the redeveloped Pairc Ui Chaoimh. Not an easy task, but one that felt very achievable given the year they had to date. But it was always going to be tough to regroup after a big loss.

No better man for that job then one of the greatest managers in the history of the sport, and in Mickey Harte Louth had a voice who could rile up any team prior to battle.

From the off it was the hosts that started the stronger, the tactics we would see from both sides quickly becoming clear.

Cork, with the breeze in their favour managed to retain the ball for the majority of the opening two minutes, happily going from one sideline to the other, again and again.

Louth were defending in numbers, at least two lines of defenders always awaiting any man in a home shirt, as the majority of the team stayed behind the ball. They would always look at their most dangerous when forcing turnovers.

This more conservative approach was always possible, having shipped so much against Kildare and they did keep a talented Cork outfit very quiet.

Sadly, when it mattered most the Rebels found the net, Brian Hurley and Colm O’Callaghan bagging the goals to grab a 2-12 to 2-8 victory.

And with that, their season had come to an end, the promotion far from the minds of players who clearly hoped a longer Summer of Football was ahead.

The Louth Footballers had a swagger and confidence not seen for many years as they headed for Pairc Tailteann Navan for their Leinster Championship opener against Carlow.

It was a significant victory as it was the county’s first success in the province since a 2019 win over Wexford, while it also signalled Mickey Harte’s first championship success since arriving in Louth in December 2020.

But what really stood out was the emphatic nature of the victory. Conor Grimes, Ciaran Byrne, Sam Mulroy and Tommy Durnin all raised green flags, much to the delight of a large traveling support.

But being frank, the opposition were extremely poor. They were easily broken down at will and provided very little in the way of an attacking threat. Plenty to gaud over, but it was vital fans didn’t get too carried away.

A real test of this side’s mettle came when they faced Kildare, then a Division 1 team, in Tullamore. After going unbeaten in their last eight games, expectations were high that Louth could cause an upset. Sadly, this never look on as they were easily brushed aside, 2-22 to 0-12.

Louth found themselves trailing by seven points, playing catch up from that point onwards in the bruising encounter. Ben McCormack started lively for Kildare on the forty, as the hard running lily whites swarmed and pressed and dominated James Califf’s kick outs on every occasion.

That meant a date with the first round of the All-Ireland Championship, their promotion to Division 2 meaning they avoided the Tailteann Cup. All Ireland champions and runners up Tyrone and Mayo were among the possible candidates in the draw.

However, in the end it was a trip to Munster that they were given, the Wee County making a first trip to the redeveloped Pairc Ui Chaoimh. Not an easy task, but one that felt very achievable given the year they had to date. But it was always going to be tough to regroup after a big loss.

No better man for that job then one of the greatest managers in the history of the sport, and in Mickey Harte Louth had a voice who could rile up any team prior to battle.

From the off it was the hosts that started the stronger, the tactics we would see from both sides quickly becoming clear. Cork with the breeze in their favour managed to retain the ball for the majority of the opening two minutes, happily going from one sideline to the other, again and again.

Louth were defending in numbers, at least two lines of defenders always awaiting any man in a home shirt, as majority of the team stayed behind the ball. They would always look at their most dangerous when forcing turnovers.

This more conservative approach was always possible, having shipped so much against Kildare and they did keep a talented Cork outfit very quiet. Sadly, when it mattered most the Rebels found the net, Brian Hurley and Colm O’Callaghan bagging the goals to grab a 2-12 to 2-8 victory.

And with that, their season had come to an end, the promotion far from the minds of players who clearly hoped a longer Summer of Football maybe be ahead.

The Louth Footballers had a swagger and confidence not seen for many years as they headed for Pairc Tailteann Navan for their Leinster Championship opener against Carlow.

It was a significant victory as it was the county’s first success in the province since a 2019 win over Wexford, while it also signalled Mickey Harte’s first championship success since arriving in Louth in December 2020.

But what really stood out was the emphatic nature of the victory. Conor Grimes, Ciaran Byrne, Sam Mulroy and Tommy Durnin all raised green flags, much to the delight of a large traveling support.

But being frank, the opposition were extremely poor. They were easily broken down at will and provided very little in the way of an attacking threat. Plenty to gaud over, but it was vital fans didn’t get too carried away.

A real test of this side’s mettle came when they faced Kildare, then a Division 1 team, in Tullamore. After going unbeaten in their last eight games, expectations were high that Louth could cause an upset. Sadly, this never look on as they were easily brushed aside, 2-22 to 0-12.

Louth found themselves trailing by seven points, playing catch up from that point onwards in the bruising encounter. Ben McCormack started lively for Kildare on the forty, as the hard running lily whites swarmed and pressed and dominated James Califf’s kick outs on every occasion.

That meant a date with the first round of the All-Ireland Championship, their promotion to Division 2 meaning they avoided the Tailteann Cup. All Ireland champions and runners up Tyrone and Mayo were among the possible candidates in the draw.

However, in the end it was a trip to Munster that they were given, the Wee County making a first trip to the redeveloped Pairc Ui Chaoimh. Not an easy task, but one that felt very achievable given the year they had to date. But it was always going to be tough to regroup after a big loss.

No better man for that job then one of the greatest managers in the history of the sport, and in Mickey Harte Louth had a voice who could rile up any team prior to battle.

From the off it was the hosts that started the stronger, the tactics we would see from both sides quickly becoming clear. Cork with the breeze in their favour managed to retain the ball for the majority of the opening two minutes, happily going from one sideline to the other, again and again.

Louth were defending in numbers, at least two lines of defenders always awaiting any man in a home shirt, as majority of the team stayed behind the ball. They would always look at their most dangerous when forcing turnovers.

This more conservative approach was always possible, having shipped so much against Kildare and they did keep a talented Cork outfit very quiet. Sadly, when it mattered most the Rebels found the net, Brian Hurley and Colm O’Callaghan bagging the goals to grab a 2-12 to 2-8 victory.

And with that, their season had come to an end, the promotion far from the minds of players who clearly hoped a longer Summer of Football maybe be ahead.

Verdict

Overall, it was a strong year for the Louth Footballers. Of course, it started so low with a winless O'Byrne Cup, yet once they got their act together a memorable date in Croke Park awaited. One that saw national silverware return to the Wee County.

It wasn't to be come championship, but at least Mickey Harte got his first taste of success with a win over Carlow, and a loss to Cork saw them produce a decent showing.

Next year will his biggest task to date. Have Louth the firepower to compete with the likes of Dublin, Meath and Derry? Needless to say, they will need wins over Clare and Limerick to even stay competitive in a cutthroat Division Two.

Harte has had some great highs since landing here late in 2020. This season is the one which show has he really brought the standard up or was it a case of Louth being a big fish in small seas since his arrival. Here's hoping there is more to come from Boys in Red in 2023.