Inside Track: Cursing at the coursing as news came in from Drogheda

There was no review of Louth’s game with Cork in last week’s Inside Track. The explanation is simple: I wasn’t there. Instead, I was at the coursing in Clonmel for the 100th anniversary of the National Meeting.

But I was kept abreast with what was happening in Drogheda. Text messages were coming through with regularity – well, mostly early on. In addition, both Mickey Rooney and Peter McGrane were tuned in to the radio.

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Like me, both lads, deeply involved in the running of football clubs, Rooney with St Mary’s and McGrane with Wolfe Tones, would have been there to shout for Louth had they not been practising their trade, laying the odds at Powerstown Park.

The Louth result wasn’t good for them, and Clonmel’s neither was.

First call: Cork ahead by 1-5 to 0-3. That’s when the cursing started. It, the game, not the cursing, got worse before it got slightly better in the second half, Cork’s lead dropping from eight to five points.

That was the dividing margin at the finish, but calls from home after that said Louth were lucky not to be beaten by more. All of this, of course, would be known by all who were at the game.

I was back in Clonmel for the first time in about eight years. There was a time when I was a regular, first of all as a spectator and then clerking for bookmaker, Harry Barry.

I looked it up to see when I first visited – there was a dog, Country Cure, owned by a sibling, running in the Oaks. Evidence was there in black and white on the programme, 1971. Could I have those years back, please, or even some of them?

There was a Dundalk representative running in the Derby last week. Luchathimgo won his ticket at Dromiskin at Christmas, much to the delight of the With-A-Bit Of-Luck Syndicate, comprised by members of the Hoey, O’Donnell and O’Connor families.

All travelled last week with confidence, but there was nothing there for them; the big brindle bumped up against one that was better than him.

Still, it was a good experience for the travelling party, and the second year in succession that some of them had a runner.

Seán Muldoon, from Ardboe, Co Tyrone, well known to Dundalk racegoers, had a fancied one in the same competition. Unforgiveable was still standing on the last of the three days, well fancied to go the whole way.

But here he came a cropper, beaten by the eventual winner, Seven Barrows. Had Unforgiveable prevailed, he would have helped his owner achieve a fine feat.

Back in 1996, Muldoon was part of the syndicate that owned the Irish track Derby winner, Tina Marina.

The coursing was good, well-trained hares leading the chasers to a merry dance. And with the weather on the dry side, there was lots of outdoor movement for the huge crowd.

Not so good was the price of a hamburger. When I’d asked for two of them, the lassie doing the serving said €12. So I tendered a Score. “€12 each.”

A raised eyebrow, but nothing else. The girl was only doing her job.