Louth GAA Year in Review: Mixed season ends on a high note for county hurlers

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

With their returns 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.

After already looking at the fortunes of the Louth Footballers (see below for the link if you missed it), let's take a look back on the season Paul McCormack had in charge of the hurlers.

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Pre Season

Paul McCormack’s troops were involved in two pre-season competitions last year, Ulster GAA’s McGurk Cup and Leinster’s Kehoe Shield.

In the McGurk Cup they took on Queens University Belfast, Armagh and Down. All were daunting prospects and sadly The Wee County failed to pick up a victory.

In the third tier of Leinster Hurling, the men in red were grouped alongside Longford and Wicklow and were far more competitive in this sphere.

At home to Longford in Darver, they had ten different scorers on the day, Conor Deane being their most impressive by bagging six, as they coasted to their first win in 2022, 2-23 to 0-13. That set up a date with Wicklow which had silverware on the line.

They Louth trailed by five points at half-time, 0-12 to 0-7, but came back very strongly in the third quarter to level the game at 0-12 each. Sadly, the home side finished the shaper as they lifted the trophy following a 1-19 to 0-15 victory.

The National League

McCormack lamented the lack of meaningful games his side got in bottom tier of hurling. In 2022, he certainly got plenty of meaningful competition.

All but one of their opponents, that being Monaghan, were playing at a higher championship level then Louth,  with Tyrone, Armagh, Roscommon and Warwickshire all sure to cause the Wee County problems.

Having put in a gallant performance away to the Orchard County, a tie that despite going into as massive underdogs they were extremely close to going away with a win, they knew the next two ties were massive. Back to back home ties against Roscommon and Monaghan.

They were far from their best when defeated by a Western side backed by some Galway hurling exiles, while against Monaghan, whom they would face again in Championship action, two goals in either half saw them slump to a third defeat in a row.

A trip across the Irish Sea to play Warwickshire in Birmingham was a chance to reignite their season, however once again things didn’t fully go to plan.

The Boys in Red had at one stage trailed by 10 points, but a superior second half showing saw them claw back the deficit and lead the tie going into injury time. However, a last gasp John Collins goal meant the teams shared the spoils. It would be the only picked up by either team.

Only one side was doomed to relegation and having put up another courageous performance at the hands of Tyrone, they had a far superior scoring difference compared to Warwickshire, meaning they saved their status. A tough campaign completed, but one which had Louth battle hardened for championship glory.

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The Championship

While the Footballers peaked for the league, ending it with the Division Three crown, those who chose the small ball seemed to find their form come the Summer and the start of the Lory Meagher Cup.

After the heartbreak of a narrow loss at the hands of Cavan in 2021, a late comeback denying them the opportunity to retain their national crown, McCormack’s troops didn’t need much motivation as they looked to win the trophy for a record third time.

Standing in their way of history was Longford, Leitrim, Monaghan, Lancashire and last year’s conquerors Cavan. This return of the English county, along with the relegated Longford saw the competition revert back to round robin, having had groups of two and three teams in 2021.

Against Lancashire, they struggled against the breeze, over playing the sliotar all too often as their short passing game broke down time and time again. A change of attitude and style of play was required in the second half and they duly delivered. 

No fewer than 12 different players contributed scores, as they coasted to their first win since the Kehoe Shield, winning by 20 points, 2-27 to 1-10. However, instead of pushing on from such a great win, they instead regressed with two big losses.

Monaghan made a second trip of the season to the Centre of Excellence in Darver. The visitors came out on top in feisty affair that had three penalties, a red card and eight goals, a 5-12 to 3-11 win leaving them looking nice in the group with two wins from too.

Despite accounting for them earlier in the year in the Kehoe Shield and having an extra man for much of the second half, they fell to a demoralising one point loss, ill-discipline again an issue, which left them fighting for their championship survival.

With the pressure on, Louth were at their free-flowing best as they brushed aside Cavan, gaining some revenge for last year’s loss with an empathic 2-26 to 1-8 win in Darver.

Then they hit the road and showed nerves of steal to account for Leitrim and book a place in the final.

Awaiting them was Longford. With the score for the year tied at 1-1, what better place to have a decider then in Croke Park, as the two sides battled it out for All Ireland glory.

It was the men from the Midlands that started the brighter, grabbing an early five point lead after just seven minutes. Louth could have been rattled by this setback, however from the off it was clear they were the more physical team.

And in reality, as the half drew on it was very clear that they had the more skilful hurlers. They showed a complete dominance around the centre of the park, turning over Longford time and time again from their own pucks outs.

Louth developed their own lead, one which they rarely looked like relinquishing as they coasted to another All Ireland title, 3-27 to 3-14.

Conclusion

Two big milestones were achieved in 2022, National League safety and an All Ireland crown. It means that Louth are now out of the bottom tier of the sport in both the league and championship.

It is never easy to compete when your a county with just three senior clubs, but under Paul McCormack they have continued to excel despite this setback.

There will be no hiding places next year, no easy games, but that is exactly what they need to progress further. Staying away from relegation in both competitions will be seen as a huge success next year. Anything more is a bonus. 

But under the watchful eye of the Armagh native, who knows how much more he could get out of his charges in 2023 and beyond.