Well done cousin!
December 30, 2010Long regarded as a Gaelic football superstar within his own county, Paddy Keenan is now finally getting the recognition he deserves at national level after his best-ever season in a Louth jersey.
The inspirational captain was the driving force behind Louth's march to a first Leinster football final in 50 years and this was reflected in his selection at midfield on the All-Stars team. In doing so, he became the Wee County's first ever All-Star winner in either code, meaning that Carlow, Longford, Waterford, Limerick, Kilkenny and London are now the only counties awaiting a first football All-Star award.
And while the award won't make up for the devastation of being denied a Leinster medal in the cruellest of circumstances last July, it's still a fantastic honour for the pride of Lordship.
"Everyone in the parish was delighted for Paddy. It was a huge honour for his club, county and especially for Paddy himself," his second cousin and former St. Patrick's team-mate John Keenan proudly states.
"We always knew he was one of the top footballers in the country, but he never got the chance to showcase his ability and talent until this year. A lot of people outside Louth had never heard of him before this year, but they know all about him now. He had a brilliant season and while I know he would have preferred a Leinster medal, the All-Star isn't a bad consolation prize!"
John, who soldiered alongside Paddy for many years, believes the All-Star accolade won't change him one bit.
"It would be easy for a fella to get a bit carried away, especially in a county like Louth where we had no All-Star winner up until now, but there is no danger of Paddy letting this go to his head. He's a very unassuming chap who isn't fazed by anything. He fits in with everyone else in the club and is a great role model for all the young players.
"I'm thrilled for him because he has put an awful lot into the game over the years. He has his All-Star now and also had the honour of representing his country in the International Rules series. He still has an awful lot of football left in him, so this might only be the start for him as far as his inter-county career is concerned."
John was delighted with the huge progress Louth made under Peter Fitzpatrick this year and expects them to remain on an upward trajectory in 2011.
"You have to hand it to Fitzer - he took the manager's job when nobody else wanted it and completely transformed Louth's fortunes. It's just a pity the way the Leinster final ended. For me, the hardest thing to accept wasn't the referee's failure to spot his mistake in awarding the Meath goal, but the timing of it.
"If it happened earlier, at least Louth would have had the opportunity to respond. But to make a massive mistake like that in the last second, when there was so much at stake, was very hard to take."
He continues: "But overall, it was a very good year for Louth and the way the draw has worked out, they have a great chance of getting back into the Leinster final next year. It's a great draw and a long overdue bit of luck for Louth."
A Louth SFC winner with St. Pat's in 2003 and '04, John retired after the 2006 county final defeat to St. Joseph's and thus wasn't part of St. Patrick's 2007 winning combination. The forward had experienced many disappointments with the Pat's before their maiden Joe Ward Cup success in '03, which was secured after a replay against St. Mary's. Fittingly, the long-awaited triumph coincided with the Lordship club's 50th anniversary celebrations.
"We had been building towards that breakthrough success for a number of years," he remembers.
"In 1999, we won the Cardinal O'Donnell Cup for the first time and we followed that up with an ACC Cup success. We also won junior and under 21 championships so the next logical step was to win the senior championship and it was an incredible feeling when we finally achieved that."
After claiming three Ward Cups in a five-year period, the Pairc Eamoin outfit have given way in the past couple of years to Mattock Rangers, who defeated them in this year's county semi-final. However, John is confident that it won't be too long before the Pat's rule the roost again.
"We're still one of the top teams in the county and with plenty of talent coming through, I think there is more championships in us in the coming years. Ray and Dessie Finnegan, Paddy Keenan, Sean Connor and Colin Goss still backbone the team and it's just a matter of the younger lads blending in with them at this stage. They'll be a year older and wiser next year and that can only strengthen the team," he says.
Married to Eilish, the couple recently celebrated the arrival of their first child, Molly. John is well known in local business circles, being a director in KTF (Keenan Timber Frame), which he set up along with his brothers Niall, Thomas and Jimmy 11 years ago. KTF are timber frame housing experts who operate from a 16,000 sq ft state-of-the-art premises in Ardee Business Park.
In an environment where construction has contracted by 80 per cent, KTF has managed to maintain good output by being innovative and proactive in seeing where the market is going and the type of product that will serve the customer best. This was proved when KTF launched 'Future Frame', the first semi-closed airtight panel to be factory produced in Ireland.
As a result of bringing 'Future Frame' to the market, KTF now has a wide selection of completed 'A' Rated projects in their portfolio. KTF prides itself on the quality of their product as well as their pre-sale and after-sales service.
"It's been a tough couple of years for the construction industry and like everyone else, we have been affected. But we have kept ourselves busy with energy efficient extensions now accounting for a large part of our business," John concludes. Tweet
