The Louth county football team represents

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

in men's

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

and is governed by

Louth GAA The Louth County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, Coiste Chontae an Lú) or Louth GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Louth. The co ...

, the

county board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...

of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

. The team competes in the three major annual inter-county competitions; the

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

, the

Leinster Senior Football Championship The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA ...

and the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. Louth's home ground is

Drogheda Park Drogheda Park ( ga, Páirc Dhroichead Átha) is a GAA stadium in Drogheda, County Louth, Ireland. It is the home of the Louth gaelic football team. The ground has a capacity of about 3,500. It is one of the smallest county GAA stadium in Irela ...

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

. The team's manager is

Mickey Harte Mickey Harte (born 1952) is an Irish Gaelic football manager and former player. He has been manager of the Louth county team since 2020. Harte managed the Tyrone county team from 2002 until his resignation in 2020, at which time he was the ...

. The team last won the Leinster Senior Championship in 1957, the All-Ireland Senior Championship in

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

and has never won the National League.

History

The earliest recorded inter-county football match took place in 1712 when Louth faced Meath at

Slane Slane () is a village in County Meath, in Ireland. The village stands on a steep hillside on the left bank of the River Boyne at the intersection of the N2 (Dublin to Monaghan road) and the N51 (Drogheda to Navan road). As of the 2016 census ...

. A fragment of a poem from 1806 records a football match between Louth and Fermanagh at Inniskeen, Co Monaghan. When Louth GAA sent the team into training in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

for the 1913 Croke Memorial replay under a soccer trainer from

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, the move caused more than a ripple through the Association. For thirty years full-time training in bursts of a week or so before a big match were common. After that the two or three times a week gatherings became more popular. Between 1945 and 1953 Louth and Meath met 13 times. The crowds got bigger and bigger each time as they played draw after draw in the Championship. The attendance of 42,858 at a thrilling 1951 replay remained a record for a provincial match other than a final for forty years the four match series between Meath and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

in 1991. The rivalry with Meath has never fizzled out, as witnessed by a stirring Leinster semi-final in 1998. Nor has controversy, as witnessed by

Graham Geraghty Graham Geraghty (born 17 May 1973), is a former Gaelic footballer who played at senior level for the Meath county team. While still an inter-county player, he stood for the Fine Gael political party at the 2007 Irish general election; he was ...

's "wide" 45th minute point. In 1957 showband star

Dermot O'Brien Dermot O'Brien (23 October 1932 – 22 May 2007) was an Irish céilí and showband musician and singer, as well as a Gaelic footballer who played as a centre-forward at senior level for the Louth senior football team. Gaelic football career ...

was late for the All-Ireland final and joined the team when the parade was completed. Prior to the game O'Brien had captained the side in the semi final success, when the regular captain Patsy Coleman had been injured. Both Ardee men tossed a coin to see who would captain the team. O'Brien won the toss. Coleman today still has the match ball. O'Brien played a key role as Louth beat

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

with the help of a goal from Sean Cunningham with five minutes to go. Dermot O'Brien died on 21 May 2007. As both Cork and Louth wear Red and White, on that day Louth wore the green of Leinster, while Cork wore the blue of Munster.

Eamonn McEneaney Eamon McEneaney is an Irish former Gaelic footballer and manager. As a player, he won the National Football League in 1985. He most recently managed the senior Monaghan county team. Playing career As a player with Monaghan, McEneaney won thr ...

was manager from 2006 to 2009 and guided them to their most recent success, the

O'Byrne Cup The Bord na Móna O'Byrne Cup is a Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster GAA and first staged in 1954. The competition is named after Matt Byrne, a former Wicklow GAA club and county officer. By virtue of a quirk in translation, ...

when they defeated DCU in the 2009 final played in the Gaelic Grounds in Drogheda. On 27 June 2010, Louth reached their first Leinster Senior Championship Final in 50 years. During the Leinster Final on 11 July that year, anger and controversy erupted when, during the 74th minute of the match against Meath, a goal was awarded by the

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

after brief consultation with only one of the match umpires (although close circuit camera evidence shown on the

RTÉ Two (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

coverage of the game proved that the ball was carried over the line by a Meath player). However, Meath received the 2010 Leinster Title and the cup. Louth have been represented by two players in the International Rules versus Australia in recent years, Paddy Keenan and Ciaran Byrne.

2010 Leinster Football Final

On 11 July 2010, Louth reached the Leinster Senior Football Championship Final where they took on neighbours Meath. Meath won what was a highly controversial match. Deep into injury time in the 74th minute of the match, the

awarded a highly contentious goal to Meath. He did so after a brief consultation with only one of the match umpires, although television coverage of the game showed that the ball had been carried over the line by Meath player Joe Sherdian. Prior to the referee's decision, Meath were trailing Louth by one point. The referee blew his whistle shortly afterwards. The "goal" proved to be the decisive score. Irate Louth fans stormed the pitch and commenced a process of chasing and physically assaulting the referee, who had to be led away by a Garda escort in scenes broadcast to a live television audience. Other scenes of violence saw bottles being hurled from a stand, one striking a steward who fell to the ground and Meath substitute Mark Ward was hit by a Louth fan. The situation led to much media debate in the days that followed, the violence was condemned and there were many calls in the national media for the game to be replayed (including from former Meath players Trevor Giles and

Bernard Flynn Bernard Flynn (born 26 June 1965) is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for the Meath county team. As a teenager he attended secondary school in St Mary's of Drogheda. He enjoyed success play inter-county football in the 1980s and ...

). GAA President

Christy Cooney Christy Cooney ( Irish: Críostóir Ó Cuana, born 1952 in Youghal, County Cork, Ireland) is a Gaelic games administrator, who served as the 36th president of the Gaelic Athletic Association. He was elected president at the annual GAA Congress o ...

said the events were a "watershed" and one where the "circumstances were bizarre. I have never seen circumstances like it as long as I have been a member of this Association". He promised life bans for those who assaulted the referee. The day after the match the GAA released a statement confirming that Sludden admitted he had made an error. The GAA also stated that the rules left it powerless to offer a replay and that this would be decided by Meath. Following a Meath County Board meeting it emerged that, in his match report, the referee had originally blown for a penalty for Meath but when the ball ended up in the net he decided to award the "goal" instead. The county board decided not to offer a replay and judged that that would be "the end of the matter". This decision was met in some quarters with mixed feelings and commented upon in one national newspaper, the ''

Evening Herald ''The Herald'' is a nationwide mid-market tabloid newspaper headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, and published by Independent News & Media who are a subsidiary of Mediahuis. It is published Monday–Saturday. The newspaper was known as the ''Ev ...

'', by three times All-Ireland winning manager

who said the Meath county board was even more culpable because their officers had time to form a considered opinion. In the statement, the Louth County Board spoke of the enormous sense of injustice which was being felt in Louth GAA. They also questioned the referee's official report saying it was contrary to Playing Rules where he indicated in his report that he blew the whistle for a penalty, but then changed his mind and awarded a goal instead. The referee also wrote that "he made a terrible mistake". Louth County board referred to Rule 6.41 Award //facts of game: The award of the game rests with the committee / council in charge acting on the referees report. In doing so the Louth County Board intimated that the committee/council in charge erred in leaving the matter to Meath County Board to offer a replay without seeking clarification from the referee in relation to his match report and his statement that "he made a terrible mistake". The debate concerning which team were official winners of the game is now over, with Meath recorded in the annals of history as the victors. However, numerous TV replays show that the Meath "goal" was indisputably a technical foul with regard to the Playing Rules of Gaelic football, as quoted below and as outlined in the GAA Official Guide. Also Paddy Keenan (St.Patricks) is the only Louth All-Star. - Part 2.

2010 All-Ireland Qualifiers

Louth exited the All-Ireland championship on 24 July when defeated fairly convincingly by Dublin in the last qualifier round by 2-14 to 0-13.

Since 2010

Fitzpatrick quit as Louth senior manager in 2012 after three years in the role. Aidan O'Rourke was appointed as Fitzpatrick's successor in October 2012. O'Rourke left the role in mid-2014. Former player

Colin Kelly Colin Purdie Kelly Jr. ( ; July 11, 1915 – December 10, 1941) was a World War II B-17 Flying Fortress pilot who flew bombing runs against the Japanese navy in the first days after the Pearl Harbor attack. He is remembered as one of the first ...

then managed Louth for three years. He led Louth to successive

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

s in the

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

and

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, though Louth did not make any championship impact during his time in charge. Louth appointed former minor manager Wayne Kierans as senior team manager on a two-year term in October 2018. Louth was relegated to Division 4 in 2020. Louth did not renew Kierans's contract. In November 2020,

was appointed manager for an expected three-year period. Gavin Devlin was appointed assistant.

Current panel

^INJ Player has had an injury which has affected recent involvement with the county team.
^RET Player has since retired from the county team.
^WD Player has since withdrawn from the county team due to a non-injury issue.

Current management team

*Manager:

*Assistant: Gavin Devlin *

Goalkeeping coach A sports coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''coach'' is that of a horse-drawn carriage, deriving ultimately from the Hun ...

: Steve Williams

Managerial history

Players

Notable players

All Stars

2010:

Paddy Keenan Paddy Keenan (born 30 January 1950) is an Irish player of the uilleann pipes who first gained fame as a founding member of The Bothy Band. Since that group's dissolution in the late 1970s, Keenan has released a number of solo and collaborati ...

Honours

National

** Winners (3): 1910,

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

** Runners-up (3):

1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Har ...

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Januar ...

, 1950 *

** Runners-up (1): 1948–49 * National Football League Division 3 ** Winners (2):

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* National Football League Division 4 ** Winners (1):

Tommy Murphy Cup The Tommy Murphy Cup was a Gaelic football competition, featuring senior county teams eliminated from the early stages of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and also Kilkenny when not fielding a team in the main All-Ireland. The seri ...

** Winners (1):

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All-Ireland Junior Football Championship The All-Ireland Junior Football Championship is a GAA competition involving four Junior Gaelic football inter-county teams. Prior to a change in competition structure in 2021, the competition was previously for all Junior Gaelic football inte ...

** Winners (4): 1925, 1932, 1934, 1961 *

All-Ireland Minor Football Championship The Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in Gaelic football played in Ireland. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it were replaced by an under ...

** Winners (2): 1936, 1940 ** Runners-up (2): 1931, 1941

Provincial

** Winners (9): 1909, 1910, 1912, 1943, 1948, 1950, 1953, 1957 ** Runners-up (14): 1889, 1892, 1900, 1905, 1913, 1914, 1918, 1934, 1935, 1937, 1952, 1958, 1960,

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** Winners (4): 1963, 1980, 1990,

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Leinster Junior Football Championship The Leinster Junior Football Championship is a junior "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in the province of Leinster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Leinster Council. The competition began in 1906, ...

** Winners (10): 1910, 1912, 1925, 1928, 1932, 1934, 1946, 1957, 1961, 2009, 2010 *

Leinster Under-21 Football Championship The Leinster GAA Football Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Leinster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highes ...

** Winners (3): 1970, 1978, 1981 ** Runners-up (4): 1979, 1983, 1996, 2012 *

Leinster Minor Football Championship The Leinster Minor Football Championship is the premier under-17 "knockout" competition in gaelic football played in the province of Leinster. 2017 was the final year of the minor under 18 football championship as it were replaced by an under 17 ...

** Winners (8): 1931, 1935, 1936, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1951, 1953 ** Runners-up (8): 1932, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1958, 1960, 1971, 2017 *Owen Treacy Cup ** Winners (1): 2006

References

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