Nov 27,2024
At the start of his career, St Mary's Ardee midfielder Robert Leavy played in a senior side that didn’t taste much success.
"We had relegation finals and play-offs," he says. "Two or three of us on the squad would have come through that period. Safe to say we’re enjoying it a lot more now that we are winning."
On Saturday evening, Ardee will become the first Louth club to contest a Leinster club football final in 22 years when they take on Dublin champions Cuala in the AIB Leinster senior football final at Croke Park.
It had been 2002 since a Louth team, in the shape of Mattock Rangers, reached a senior provincial final.
Meanwhile, no club from the Wee County has ever won the title.
In fact, Saturday’s final is only the fifth occasion that a club from Louth has reached this juncture.
And along with Kilkenny and Wexford, Louth are one of three Leinster counties whose champions have never won a Leinster senior club football crown.
But Leavy says they are approaching the final with a different mindset.
"We are off the back of three Louth titles in a row, having not won a championship in 25 years.
"And we hope to learn from last year's disappointment (narrow semi-final defeat to Kilmacud Crokes). We might have lost that day but it helped us realise we are not a million miles away.
"So this year was to try and win again in Louth and focus on Leinster. It has worked out well so far."
Two years ago, they lost to Westmeath side The Downs but last season they were much better prepared and unlucky in the second half not to get out on top.
This season they beat Rathvilly and last weekend accounted for St Loman’s by a point in Mullingar. No mean feat.
"We have slight differences in the team," he says. "Tadhg McDonell has really matured this year, Karl Faulkner and RJ Callaghan are back with us and you have to stay motoring forward.
"We had good belief going to play St Lomans; a bit of belief that if we played our style of football we could do well.
"We looked at them and knew they were dangerous, but we knew we could play too. It was a one-point game that could have gone either way."
A rising tide lifts all boats.
The progression of Louth football in general is a source of optimism for all – and St Mary’s are drawing from that well of positivity.
They beat Dublin in this year’s Leinster Under-20 championship and lost in the final in a great game against Cathal O’Bric’s Meath.
That was a landmark win; the first time in 28 years that a Louth side had beaten any Dublin championship team.
"Yes, you look at how Louth are doing and we take heart from that," Leavy, whose cousin Kian plays with St Patrick’s Athletic, says.
"We have some really good players too and a few players who are in with Louth teams.
"This is a young team, drawing from a fine minor team of 2017- 18 and the cohort from 2022 –'23 won a minor too, so that’s the majority of the team."
Ardee were underdogs last weekend and will be again in Croke Park.
But they are young and fast, and in players like Sean Callaghan and Donal McKenny, they will travel with huge belief.
It’s a journey Leavy may have imagined never might transpire.
Maybe he didn’t even dream of it.
As it stands they stand just 60 minutes away from the reality of another milestone win.
