'We used to keep a training sheet but we stopped it because there was no point, there was nobody missing'

A triumphant Ardee, St. Mary's minor winning manager Tommy Kirk was over the moon when he spoke to the Dundalk Democrat after his team claimed the Fr. Larry Murray Cup yesterday afternoon.

“It feels tremendous,” he beamed.

"To wait so long for this, Ardee is a big town, the third biggest in the county. This first championship in thirty years is an awful long time to wait for a trophy. We've had good teams here before, good people over them, but didn't bring it home. This is an exceptionally talented bunch of lads.

"They have a terrific attitude towards football, towards training. They do everything right. We couldn't ask for any more. We used to keep a training sheet and we stopped it because there was no point, there was nobody missing and the commitments levels have paid off," he added.

The U16 final loss last week acted as an easy motivating factor for Kirk’s young troops.

“We seen tough men crying their eyes out after being beaten and I kept saying it to them, do you want to see that scene again? No, they showed it out there with the score they put up.

"We had five on the county minor team and Jonathon Commins is only 16-years-old, what did he score, 2-13! That's big scoring for a young fella to come out here in front of a crowd and do that, it's tremendous. Our full-back Philip Trainor was a terrific performer too.

“We've been waiting a long time even at senior level for a win like this. 22 years now since we won a senior and we're not winning enough seniors for the size of the town. These players should come through on to this senior team, that's what it is all about," said Kirk.