Louth GAA club | Naomh Mairtin through to SFC final with victory over the Gaels

Naomh Mairtin made it through to their sixth Louth Senior Championship final in seven years, with this facile victory over the Dundalk Gaels in Darver on Monday night last.

In truth, this was a game that the Monasterboice side never looked like losing, having led by 0-6 to 0-1 by the end of the first quarter, as they patiently retained possession, and took control of proceedings from quite early on.

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Leading by 0-10 to 0-4 at the break, the Martins were firmly in the driving seat with talisman Sam Mulroy in imperious form, scoring 0-6 in that half, and finishing with 0-9 (including two 2 pointers) from eight shots at the target over the hour.

Last year’s finalists opened the scoring through the menacing Val Leddy in the first of a myriad of patient passages of play from the Martins, with Darragh Dorian influential in the build up.

At first, Dundalk Gaels did get some joy from the long kickout by Aaron Culligan, with James Stewart once again a useful outlet in the middle area, while Louth under 20 star Tony McDonnell was also a viable option on kickouts.

One fine fetch from Stewart led to forward Tom O’Connell levelling the sides up from play, seconds after Leddy’s point.

But that was as good as got for 2024 Intermediate champions, as the Martins got to grips with the Gaels kickout, and ultimately the game, with Dara McDonnell, Eoghan Callaghan and Darragh Dorian seeing plenty of the ball here.

One such kickout almost led to the opening goal for the Mairtins. After a Tom Gray long range effort fell short, Val Leddy got to the ball first before Culligan, only to see his effort fizz across goal and wide.

The Martins were also effective on their own kickout, with Darren Morgan’s restarts often leading to threatening Martins attacks. One such restart saw Sam Mulroy fire over a two pointer from play in the fifth minute.

After Eoghan Callaghan got his hand to a Gaels kickout, he combined with Sean Healy, before setting up Tom Gray to make it 0-4 to 0-1 in the Martins’ favour after 11 minutes.

The Martins once again got their hands to a Gaels kickout, with Wayne Campbell and Evan Whelan combining for Val Leddy to add his second score of the game, before Whelan and Dara McDonnell helped to tee up Sean Healy for a point, to leave the Martins with that five point lead by the end of the first quarter.

Sam Mulroy was close to flawless in front of the posts under the Darver lights, and the Louth captain grabbed his fifth point of the game on the back of neat build up play from Evan Whelan and Jack Murphy, stretching his side’s lead out to six by the 18^th minute.

Dundalk Gaels did at least bring an end to their 22 minute wait for a score, with a Dylan McKeown free following a foul on the hardworking Tony McDonnell.

A Sam Mulroy 45 traded points with Dylan McKeown (f), before Tom O’Connell from play closed the gap to four approaching half time.

The Martins once again came close to a goal, when Val Leddy fired wide from close range, but they had the last say of the first half thanks to a two pointed free from Mulroy to leave Mattie Rice’s side 0-10 to 0-4 ahead at the break.

Second Half:

The third quarter saw the Mairtins land three scores without reply giving them a nine point lead.

Sam Mulroy converted a free, before turning provider for corner back Cian Sands to slot over from close range. Another Mulroy free gave Naomh Mairtin that nine point lead at that juncture.

Mulroy added another 45, before the Gaels at least managed to end their latest scoring drought thanks to another Dylan McKeown free, which was their main outlet for scores.

Gaels went for broke, springing players like Tomas Kavanagh from the bench and into the full forward line, as they opted for a more direct approach, in the search for badly needed goals.

One such searching ball saw Tony McDonnell go close to finding the back of the net, but he was denied by Martins’ keeper Darren Morgan, who tipped his strike over the bar for the Gaels’ first score from play in that second half.

The Martins kept that control and managed the game impressively, with Dara McDonnell and Adam Booth combining for the excellent Eoghan Callaghan to add his name to the scoresheet.

Dara McDonnell then concluded the scoring for the Martins with a neatly taken point as the Martins added further gloss to the scoreline.

The Gaels landed a consolation score through Tom O’Connell, but the outcome had been decided a long time beforehand, as Naomh Mairtin booked their place in the Louth Senior Championship final, where they will face the Newtown Blues in repeat of the Joe Ward Cup finals from 2017 and 2018.

Naomh Mairtin: Darren Morgan; Cian Sands (0-1), Thomas Sullivan, Conor Healy; Evan Whelan, Eoghan Callaghan (0-1), Sean Healy (0-1); Adam Booth, Dara McDonnell (0-1); Wayne Campbell, Sam Mulroy (0-9) (2f) (two 45s), (1 x tpf), (1 x tp), Jack Murphy; Val Leddy (0-2), Tom Gray (0-1), Darragh Dorian.

Subs: Craig Callanan for Campbell (27), Ben Callanan for Gray (53), Shane Morgan for Dorian (60).

Dundalk Gaels: Aaron Culligan; James Lynch, James O’Connell, Padraic Tinnelly; Luke Murray, Sean Murray, Alan Jumbo; Jordan Keating, James Stewart; Cain Bromley, Chris Sweeney, Dylan McKeown (0-3) (3f); Tony McDonnell (0-1), Tom O’Connell (0-3), David McComish.

Subs: Shaun Duffy for Lynch (19), Jack Mullen for McComish (35), Kyle Rafferty for Keating (42), Tomas Kavanagh for Bromley (42), Sean Lambert for Sweeney (55).

Referee: Colm McCullough (Naomh Fionnbarra).