Inside Track: Louth players have made their mark in other counties

County football championships throughout the county are at a crucial stage. Here in this county the intermediate final goes ahead next Sunday, and it’s the senior decider the week after that.

Looking beyond our borders we see there are Louth connections with other title races. In Dublin, for instance, Conor Early makes a bid to become the latest Louthman to win a winner’s medal there.

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The county player would have been in the Oliver Plunkets’ line-out for last Sunday’s junior championship final with Glyde Rangers had he continued with the Drogheda club.

Since moving to Dublin he has been a regular with Na Fianna, and has a crucial role to play for the Mobhi Road outfit in their joust with Ballyboden next Saturday.

If successful he’ll join a list from this county who’ve won Dublin senior titles. The most recent were Shane Lennon and Colm Judge, colleagues on the Louth team beaten in the 2010 Leinster final.

By then, they had helped UCD win the Dublin championship, the college boys getting the better of St Vincent’s, whose name sits at the top of the metropolitan leaderboard.

In charge of the UCD team was Dromintee-born Malachy O’Rourke, who led Dundalk Gaels to the Louth 2017 senior final, and for the past couple of years has been part of Kevin McKernan’s management team for the Rampart club’s intermediate championship and league successes.

In sideline opposition to O’Rourke in 2006 was Mickey Whelan, orchestrating a Vincent’s side that included Ger Brennan, who, like his boss that day, would progress to take charge of the Louth county team.

Former Dundalk Gaels and Louth player, Benny McArdle, also won a Dublin senior medal playing with another students’ team, Erin’s Hope.

The year was 1978, and following his club success, McArdle played on the county under-21 side beaten narrowly by a star-studded Kerry side in a memorable All-Ireland semi-final.

Earlier in the same decade, Benny Gaughran was twice a winner of the Dublin championship, playing on a UCD team laced with top county players from throughout the country.

After winning the county title for the second time, the students went on to win the All-Ireland, giving former Clan na Gael clubman Gaughran a special place among Louth footballers.

Seán McDermott’s, a club which many Louth players joined on their move to Dublin, won county titles in 1938 and 1947.

The teams aren’t available, but you’d have to think Eddie Boyle, one of the county and country’s greatest full-backs, was included for the second of those wins.

He played for Louth in the following year’s All-Ireland semi-final and National League final.

Kevin Beahan was in the McDermott’s ranks in 1957, and way before that, in 1943, Jimmy Coyle had the same club affiliation when he lined out at full-forward in Louth’s first senior championship win in 29 years.

Shane Lennon is making a big impression in management. He’s currently in charge of Crossmaglen Rangers, the club with an outstanding record not only in Armagh, but also at Ulster and national level.

A close associate of Oisín McConville, whose name is linked with all the successful Rangers teams of recent years and an All-Ireland winner with Armagh in 2002, Lennon certainly set himself a huge task in his first foray into club management.

The aforementioned Kevin McKernan was in his Down club Burren’s jersey just hours before overseeing Dundalk Gaels’ dramatic quarter-final win over St Fechin’s last Sunday week. No luck for him there – the once-powerful Mourne side were beaten by Carryduff in the semi-final.

On the same afternoon, Eire Óg won the Clare hurling championship. Good reason for Ennis-born Dundalk businessman, Eoin Doohan, to celebrate; but it would be better for Eoin if the same club added the Banner football title on Sunday last. (See the daily papers, or one of those devices carrying results.)