"You'll never forget the day that a great injustice was done to Louth football". The words of former Wee County boss Peter Fitzpatrick after the controversial loss in the 2010 Leinster final against Meath.
"The GAA should have dealt with the matter, not Meath or the Leinster Council. Days had passed by and I think the GAA were hoping it would go away. Before we knew it, we were back in Croke Park playing the Dubs in the qualifiers.
"What could have been a glorious summer ended with our lads playing again giving their all. We lost, there was no shame in that, but I still feel let down by what happened in the Leinster final. Louth’s best team in half a century got a raw deal. It’s hard to put it to one side."
Louth certainly caught the eye with the football they played in that summer of 2010, with their demolition of Kildare in the Leinster quarter-final standing out. The Lilywhites would go on to reach the last four in the Sam Maguire race. A Louth side that had a bit of zip about them would not have been disgraced if they had reached the All-Ireland series.
Fourteen years on and that now must be a target for the side managed by Ger Brennan. This evening, the green jersey of Meath will again stand in their way as they look to make a winning start in Group 4 of the All-Ireland round-robin series. Games against Monaghan and Kerry will follow. With three of the quartet to advance, Louth will feel they can make more strides in a campaign where they already asked questions of Dublin for much of the Leinster final.
And while Louth are continuing to make strides on the pitch, plans for a new county ground on a greenfield site just outside Dundalk were stalled last July, this after the GAA's management committee raised concerns over the financial viability of the project. Negotiations between Louth and the GAA are ongoing, but that leaves the county without its own home for championship matches. Inniskeen Grattans' ground in Co Monaghan, with a capacity of close to 7,000, will play host to Meath.
Louth's proposed new stadium will have 14,000 seats, possibly rising to over 20,000 in time. Fitzpatrick, who subsequently went on to become Louth chairperson before stepping down from the position last autumn, lamented the fact that "for over 60 years we have been without a proper ground in Louth".
And while from the outside, people will look at the county and say soccer is the sport, given its prominence in the large towns of Drogheda and Dundalk, a GAA tradition is very much there. The county's footballers did win an All-Ireland in the second half of the last century. The year was 1957, when the team, captained by famed musician Dermot O'Brien, defeated Cork to take home Sam Maguire.
Louth's effectiveness in setting up against Dublin
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It was Louth's third All-Ireland success, placing them alongside Mayo and Offaly in the roll of honour. And while silverware won since has been scarce, the Wee County in the years after ’57, were always capable of taking a scalp or two.
The crop of 2024, whatever about taking out a bigger gun, will feel that they can dine near the top table.
Mickey Harte's arrival as coach in the autumn of 2020 certainly brought about an upturn in the county's fortunes. For Fitzpatrick, it was a case of getting a "top man" in. Subsequent league promotions followed, with Louth now residing in Division 2. The former chairperson also targeted Leinster final appearances, the county have appeared in the last two.
There was much disappointment when Harte left to take the Derry job, but in Ger Brennan, Louth have got an able successor. It's very much a case of building on Harte's three years, yes the side are still defensively sound but they now seem to be playing with a bit more adventure. In the recent Leinster final, they frustrated Dublin for large parts, forcing the All-Ireland champions to kick aimless balls over the top.
However, Louth also scored 1-10 off their restarts, with Tommy Durnin and Conor Grimes in midfield and Ciarán Downey, Craig Lennon, Sam Mulroy and Ciarán Keenan in attack, all leading the way in keeping the contest competitive.
As things stand, Louth are second best in Leinster, that much-maligned province. A lot of credit in the bank for that showing against the Dubs, but there is an opportunity to reap a greater harvest now. Brennan's men will fancy getting maximum points from their games against Meath and Monaghan, all before facing Kerry in their final game and a chance to erase the memory of a 25-point loss to the Kingdom at the same stage last year.
A return of two wins will guarantee Louth a preliminary All-Ireland quarter-final spot and with it another 'home' tie in Patrick Kavanagh country. The acclaimed poet wrote about 'The Great Hunger' and there no doubt is a desire for Louth to make their mark, even though the chance of winning silverware at senior level, for now, is remote.
That said, good work at underage in the county seem to be bearing fruit, with the Under-20s reaching this year's provincial final. Stats show that an average of seven players from every Louth minor team between 2007 and 2021 has gone on to play senior football for the county.
"If it comes off, great. If it doesn't, at least the ball's up there and we've enough time to get our defence set up."
There was a lot that Brennan got right in trying to plot the downfall of his native county a fortnight ago. The improvement from last year is clear to see.
And now there is a nice local derby to look forward to. The 'great injustice' from 14 years ago no doubt still rankles many of the Wee County faithful, but for the current management and players getting over Meath is just another step beyond being seen as the second best team in Leinster.
Louth will look to enjoy a few more days of championship sun and then cause a surprise or two along the way.
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