“We would like to right the wrongs” – Jamie Kelly hopes to make amends for Newtown Blues

Newtown Blues have bounced back from a difficult league campaign that saw them relegated to Louth GAA Sand and Gravel Division Two to book their place in another county final.

Forward Jamie Kelly, believes the squad has shown great character to turn its season around and is determined to make the most of another chance to lift the Joe Ward Cup.

For the experienced Blues player, Sunday's final also carries personal significance following the loss of his grandmother last year and his own struggles with injury.

He told the Dundalk Democrat, “I think I was trying not to dwell too much on it, like the league was the league; look, we had five lads in with the county, and we had two lads in with the U20s.

“I said to the lads, that’s a great representation for the club, but look, we suffered; we suffered as a small group, like you had 10, 12 lads, 15 lads at training there.

“Some lads were getting through, but it was just important that once the league was over, we would put that aside and we just made sure we got ourselves together as a group for the championship.”

Kelly praised new manager Johnny Clerkin for his calm approach since taking charge of the Blues.

“He's very good at man management; he's very cool, but it's his personality I think that comes with it, like he just, there's no roaring, there's no shouting, there's no getting up and getting to the pitch, you know what I mean.

“He just keeps everything at a level base, and I suppose he keeps the team level-headed too; there's no difficulty with it.”

Preparation

Kelly said video analysis and studying opponents are now an important part of preparing for games.

“That's the way it is now; you've got video analysis; you've got all these things involved now, you're working these with other things.

“Like the opposition and who you're going to be facing, and you do your homework, look, that's just how the game's gone really, you know.”

2025 final

Kelly admitted last year's county final defeat to Naomh Máirtín was difficult to accept.

“Yeah, look again, I think this has been the most open the Louth championship has been in previous years.

“Máirtíns are hell of a team; we didn't turn up in the final last year and look, it was a massive thing that we reflected on as a group, and it was very heartfelt.

“It was one thing we thought about coming into this year's championship: that we weren't going to let that happen again. I suffered injury in the first two years and then found it hard to get into third year, but I was involved in the squad and involved in the set-up.”

St Mochtas

Despite the Blues' greater county final experience, Kelly expects St Mochtas to be well prepared for Sunday's decider.

“No, look again, these teams, especially a team like the Mochtas, these real country teams, real village teams, it's a community for them.

“They're a small, nit-tight group; this will be a massive day out for them. They'll embrace it, they'll take it in their stride; I don't imagine they'll see a whole pile in it.

“They've won Cardinal O’Donnell there, they've been knocking at the door the last number of years, they're no strangers to this scene, so I think they'll be well prepared.”

No All-Star

Kelly believes St. Mochtas have shown their strength by reaching the final without injured All-Star Craig Lennon.

“It's like anything else; you kind of have to work with the group you have, you have to work with the players that you have.

“We were somewhat similar this year with injuries and stuff, with Ross Nally at the start of the year struggling with hamstrings and other players there that were struggling with injuries.

“You just have to work through and work with the group you have. You can't really focus on the players that aren't there. I'm sure Craig is helping out in the background with the set-up and stuff.”

Youth

Kelly is confident the Blues' younger players can handle the pressure of a senior county final.

“It would be something similar. A lot of these young lads have had success at underage; seniors are a massive step up, but again, this is new territory to ourselves.

“A lot of these young lads, it'll be a similar approach to what we've taken for the last number of years. We feel we deserve to be here. It'll be a motivating factor to push on and please God, get the win.”

Finding form

Kelly admitted his own performances have been mixed throughout the championship.

“Up and down. Some games there, you'll be getting the curly finger early on, and then you do just enough to get yourself over the line. I'm happy enough overall.”

Winning mentality

Kelly believes the Blues' tradition of competing in county finals is something players learn from a young age.

“You don't really want to look at it like that, but it's in us, it's just born and bred into us, and it's coached from a young age; it just comes naturally. You don't think any differently or any other way about it.

“Again, as I was saying, you just have to regroup as a unit. We suffered a lot this year. It's just a matter of putting it aside and looking forward. You can't really look too far back on performances and form and all that kind of stuff.

“You just have to take it week by week, try and get your blocks done, get your training done as a group and push on. Numbers are a massive thing. If you have 20, 25 plus, there out in the field, you can get a hell of a lot of work done. It goes a long way.”

Turnaround

Kelly does not believe there was one particular moment that turned the Blues' season around.

“Not really, because we had a couple of changes in management early on in the year. In fairness to Johnny, Johnny came in late on. He's done very, very well up until now.

“Nothing really has changed. Again, the couple of windows in between, the group stage games and stuff like that, it's important you get a block in between them to prepare.”

Make amends

Kelly is hoping the Blues can learn from the mistakes they made in last year's final defeat.

“Yes, absolutely. We would like to right the wrongs from last year. Not to look back on it. We made a lot of mistakes, a lot of errors.

“There was no real plan B. We let Monasterboice dictate the game on the day. It will be a massive regret looking back on it. Please God, we can win it.”

Personal

Winning Sunday's final would mean even more to Kelly following the loss of his grandmother last year.

“It would be a big one for me personally; this time last year I lost my granny. It would be a big one for me; I have had a couple of injuries throughout the year and stuff like that. From a personal point of view, it would be a sweet one, alright.”