Louth fans celebrate as Wee County lifts Leinster title to end 68-year wait
Nearly 66,000 fans packed into Croke Park yesterday to watch Louth overcome arch rivals Meath to clinch their first Leinster Senior title in nearly seven decades.
In a pulsating match, the men from the Wee County came from behind to lift the Delaney Cup for the first time since 1957 when they went on to win the All-Ireland final after defeating Cork.
The win for Louth is more than a historic victory. It will also exorcise the ghost that has haunted the county since their controversial defeat to Meath 15 years ago.
It was third time lucky for Louth after two previous defeats in a row in the Leinster final.
Afterwards, manager Ger Brennan said winning the Leinster title with Louth is up there with any All-Ireland medal he pickedup with Dublin as a player.
Although there is fierce rivalry between the neighbouring North East counties both sets of fans mingled together on the terraces with many of them knowing each other.
Louth fan Eric Kelly from Drogheda said: 'It was some match and I thought Meath were going to do it again as they seemed to have the better of the play.
'But it was the goals that won it and it's such a relief after all those years of waiting. I'm with a load of Meath fans and it's all friendly rivalry but it's great that we're taking the cup back to Louth.
'This makes up for the disappointment when we thought we won it back in 2010 but that's another story.'
The clash was billed as the third Battle of the Boyne, the previous two being the one involving King Billy in 1690 and the even more controversial one at Croke Park in 2010.
Yesterday's encounter was a rerun of the infamous Leinster final when Meath beat Louth with that never-to-be-forgotten last minute goal that never was.
It was also the first time since that Joe Sheridan infamous goal 15 years ago a county that isn't Dublin lifted the Delaney Cup.
Both counties have suffered at the hands of the Dubs in subsequent years with Meath losing five finals since 2010 while the Wee County have been beaten in the last two Leinster finals.
Meath were brimming with confidence going into the clash after ending Dublin's 14-reign as provincial champions but Louth manager Ger Brennan had other ideas. 'Sixty-eight years is a long bloody time not to win a decent piece of silverware', he said after his side received the trophy.
He added: 'I'm delighted for the people of Louth… it was a wonderful effort for everyone involved in Louth GAA. I'm thrilled for everyone.'
The defeat to Meath in 2010 was so controversial it warranted a documentary with many Louth fans claiming it still haunted their everyday lives.
Former manager Peter Fitzpatrick recently said it was a match that changed his life as there wasn't a day since then that it 'doesn't cross my mind'. Before the match he said: 'So, in that regard it's important for Louth to try to put some of the ghosts from that match to rest.'
Alan Morris from Doneycarney, Co Meath, said he was disappointed to lose but happy for the Louth supporters.
He added: 'It was a great game and it's hard to take a defeat but I wish Louth well.
'I stayed on to see the trophy presented to the Louth players and some of the fans were in tears. That's why you couldn't begrudge them the win to them after all those years.'
The sun may have shone during the final but weather bosses said heavy downpours will batter Ireland before the good weather returns with temperatures to hit 21C in parts of the country tomorrow.
Elsewhere, RTE star Miriam O'Callaghan beamed in yellow as she hosted Breast Cancer Ireland's Race Day at Leopardstown yesterday.
The glamorous fundraising event saw almost 400 friends and supporters of the Breast Cancer Ireland community gather together for the annual racing event to help raise vital funding to support their critical research, education and awareness programmes.
Among the crowds, included Virgin Media host Elaine Crowley and influencer Georgie Crawford. Meanwhile, thousands of fitness and wellness enthusiasts descended on Kilmainham over the weekend for WellFest.
Elsewhere on Saturday, hundreds gathered for Celtic fire festival Bealtaine, marking the beginning of summer in Co Westmeath.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
32 minutes ago
- Irish Times
FAI Cup draw: Holders Drogheda United to open defence against Crumlin United
Drogheda United will begin the defence of their FAI Cup title at home to Crumlin United when the second round takes place next month. Drogheda claimed a second FAI Cup title last November with a 2-0 victory over Derry City at the Aviva Stadium. The Candystripes open this year's campaign away to Division One side Treaty City in Limerick. St Patrick's Athletic, champions in 2023, host UCC, while 25-times champions Shamrock Rovers open at home to First Division side Wexford. Bohemians face a trip across Dublin's northside to take on Killester Donnycarney of the Leinster Senior League, while Shelbourne travel to Limerick to take on Fairview Rangers. READ MORE In the women's FAI Cup first round, holders Shelbourne will host Galway United in the pick of ties. FAI Cup second round Bangor Celtic v Cobh Ramblers Bray Wanderers v Wayside Celtic Castlebar Celtic v Longford Town Cork City v Leicester Celtic Drogheda United v Crumlin United Dundalk v Sligo Rovers Fairview Rangers v Shelbourne Finn Harps v UCD Galway United v Tolka Rovers Kerry v Athlone Town Killester Donnycarney v Bohemians Salthill Devon v St Michael's Shamrock Rovers v Wexford St Patrick's Athletic v UCC Treaty United v Derry City Waterford v St Moctha's Ties will be played on the week ending July 20th Women's FAI Cup first round Athlone Town v Terence Rangers Cork City v Peamount United Newbridge Town v Whitehall Rangers Shamrock Rovers v Waterford Shelbourne v Galway United Sligo Rovers v DLR Waves Treaty United v Ferns United Wexford v Bohemians Ties will be played on the week ending June 29th
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Tadhg Beirne: ‘It had only been a year since I had been let go by Leinster. To be back there and to get that result with Scarlets was pretty special'
The Munster and Ireland player talks about the historic game that changed everything for him at 15, getting spotted to play for Leinster and embracing every opportunity I was lucky enough to go to the Ireland versus England game in the 2007 Six Nations. That sticks out to me as a massive moment growing up. I was not long playing rugby at school and was starting to take a real interest in it. That game made such an impact and was an eye-opener for me as a kid. It gave me a real itch to play the game. There was such a huge build-up with the match being played at Croke Park and England coming over. The anthems, ahead of the game, will always stay with me. There was respect for the English anthem, then this unbelievable noise for the Irish anthems. You could see how much it meant to the players there. Some were singing while others were crying. Some were doing both. Real goose bumps stuff. It showed you how much it meant to everyone. You just had this feeling that it was going to be a special game. Crazy atmosphere.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Aidan O'Brien trio bid to derail Desert Flower in Epsom Oaks
Aidan O'Brien has completed the Oaks-Derby double three times and will be triple-handed going into Friday's fillies' Classic at Epsom. The trio of Minnie Hauk, Giselle and Whirl fly the Ballydoyle flag in a race O'Brien has won 10 times. His son Joseph also throws his hat into the Oaks ring with Wemighttakedlongway. Father and son will also fly the Irish flag in Saturday's Derby, but if that bumper 19-runner field appears wide open then the Oaks looks to revolve around Godolphin's unbeaten 1,000 Guineas winner Desert Flower . Success for her will complete trainer Charlie Appleby's collection of English Classics and continue Godolphin's momentum after their sparkling Guineas double at Newmarket. READ MORE Since then, though, the Ballydoyle bandwagon has hit top-gear too. Henri Matisse and Camille Pissarro are French Classic winners, while Lake Victoria landed the Irish 1,000 Guineas . Friday's Group One action also features the Coronation Cup and another hot favourite in French star Calandagan. His owner, the late Aga Khan, who died in February, will be remembered in the Derby race title and his green colours will be carried by Midak. O'Brien pulled off the Epsom Classic double in 2001, 2012 and 2020. But in 2012 he also landed the Coronation Cup, a landmark hat-trick achieved through the trio of Was, St Nicholas Abbey and Camelot. His two hopes for the older-horse contest this time, the last two Leger winners Jan Brueghel and Continuous, try their luck against Calandagan, but another Classic victory will be the priority. If some uncertainty reigned about what Ryan Moore would ride in the Derby, before he opted for Delacroix, it always seemed a done deal that he would end up on Minnie Hauk in the Oaks. The Cheshire Oaks isn't normally Ballydoyle's preferred route to Epsom glory, but it has a proven pedigree of identifying future Epsom winners, most notably Enable in 2017. Minnie Hauk won smoothly at Chester, proving her versatility in terms of ground in the process, so Moore's selection is significant considering Giselle won by a wide margin at Lingfield and Whirl landed the Musidora at York. Those are the three major Oaks trials in Britain, although the Guineas winner represents another level of competition again. No less a judge than Kieren Fallon, a four-time Oaks winner himself, who now rides work for Appleby, has labelled the Oaks a foregone conclusion, even going so far as to suggest he would fancy Desert Flower if she lined up in the Derby. This will be a half-mile further than Desert Flower has run before. Although Appleby and Co are confident of her stamina, it is still a question mark about a filly that made most of the running in her Guineas success. Any such freewheeling instincts could prove costly over the trip, and a surface that's forecast to be no quicker than 'good' at best. Giselle managed to win impressively at Lingfield while doing plenty wrong. She presents Colin Keane with a shot at a first English Classic and a quandary as to how best to settle her. In contrast Minnie Hauk and Whirl (Wayne Lordan) looked professional in their trials, while Wemightakedlongway landed the Navan race won by last year's Oaks winner Ezeliya en route to Epsom. However, everything is likely to pivot around Desert Flower. 'We all know that the trip is going to be the question mark and we won't know whether she stays until we run her over it,' Appleby said. 'She looks like a filly who will get a mile-and-a-half and, as far as we are concerned, she has won the best trial for the race.' Any vulnerabilities, though, and the Ballydoyle team could set up another major Epsom success story.
