Mullen's - the name of good food
December 30, 2010The Leinster final may have ended in the most devastating of blows, but long after the dust settled on that day at Croke Park, many Louth men and women were just glad to have seen their boys back in the big time once again. The errors of referee Martin Sludden and his umpires will go down in history as one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in the history of the Gaelic games, denying the Wee County their rightful claim to a Leinster title for the first time in more than 50 years.
The record books will show that Meath were Leinster champions in 2010, but that year on that page will always be asterisked: this was the day of the ghost goal which will go down in the annals of time. It is small solace to the Gaels of the county. Moral victories usually lack the important element of actual victory. Time is a forgiving healer and while the heartache of that day will remain fresh for years to come, Louth supporters can reflect on a phenomenal year in which their side put the county back on the Gaelic football map.
Jason Mullen was one of the tens of thousands of Louth folk at Croke Park on the big day last July. One of several family members involved in the running of the renowned Mullen's takeaways strategically positioned right across Co Louth, he was sitting in the Hogan Stand alongside his father Ken, a staunch GAA follower for whom that day, for so long, looked like marking the end of a half-century yearning for another provincial title. Ken is 56, says Jason. He was a toddler the last time the Delaney Cup did the rounds of Dundalk and Ardee and Drogheda.
"I played with the schools and the colleges but my own GAA background was limited enough to be honest," says Jason. "Most of my time was spent working. I follow it very closely though, and we went to all the games this year. The way the Leinster final ended was hard to believe but to be honest I'll never forget the feeling at the end of the Leinster semi-final against Westmeath. When the ball went over the bar in the last few minutes of that one, and we knew we'd made it into the final for the first time in so long, I was pinching myself. I couldn't believe it. That was a great day.
"The Leinster final itself, like a lot of Louth people I'll never forget it. My Dad was with us, he's a great follower of the football and he was telling me the whole history of the last 50 years. We were foolish enough, though, to start celebrating before the game was over. With a minute or so to go we were starting to jump around, we thought it was in the bag at that stage. As we all know we deserved to win it, but unfortunately we didn't get the result and it wasn't to be in the end."
Jason is keen to pay tribute to the Louth lads for a huge effort, which saw them overwhelm a Kildare side who would prove themselves one of the top sides in the country, beat Meath everywhere but the referee's notebook and fall just short against a Dublin side that would go on to push eventual champions Cork all the way in the All-Ireland semi-final.
"You'd have to be proud of the lads," he says. "We know a good few of the players from around the county, they'd come into the shops the odd time. They were brilliant all year, every one of them, and they definitely made a lot of people very proud to be from Louth again."
With a presence in Co Louth stretching back almost 50 years, the Mullen's chain of takeaway food stores is synonymous in every way with life in Co Louth. It's hard to imagine the streetscape of any major town in the county without the reassuring presence of a Mullen's offering its produce. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since Jason Mullen's grandparents, Tommy and Marie, decided that they didn't fancy a future in the fruit and veg business and established a takeaway food outlet on Dundalk's Castletown Road.
The business continues to go from strength to strength, with seven stores in Ardee, Drogheda and Dundalk now split into two separate entities between Tommy and Marie's eldest sons, Thomas and Ken, with Jason and siblings Jonathan and Tara handling a lot of Ken's affairs these days. In the food services industry, where a bad name is just a substandard health check away, Mullen's has maintained a squeaky clean image all these years, all of which has contributed greatly to the success of the business. So how does Jason explain the ongoing success?
"What we do," he says, "is strive to bring in the freshest produce at the best possible price so that we can look after all our customers to the best of our ability with specials every day. Everything, all the food preparation, is hand-done by ourselves every morning. People know that we put the emphasis on the quality of the produce, they know they're getting the freshest food possible, so all that helps to keep everyone happy.
"We're also renowned for our cleanliness, and all that encourages people to come in. Things are going great, we all love it. It's hard work but it's a business that's steeped in history and it's a great family business to be involved in. The way the economy has been has affected us a little bit but overall it's nice and steady."
Mullen's also offers an on-site service through a mobile operation which has come on stream within the past couple of years. As with so many decisions, the GAA was central to that development.
"There were some big local football games on," says Jason, "a few big days in the Clans club around the corner from us here on the Castletown Road, and people were suggesting that we might do a bit of catering. We decided that the best thing to do, if there was a game on in the Clans or a fund-raiser for the club and there was going to be a lot of people there, was to bring a wagon there. We knew it would create a bit of atmosphere and supply a better service, so that was the best route for us.
"We cater for businesses, parties, we've got wagons out on the road. We have a spot in Oriel Park for some of the Dundalk soccer games. We cater at Dundalk Stadium too, for the greyhounds and horse-racing, so that side of the business is going well."
While the Clans are Jason's local club, his father Ken now lives in nearby Kilkerley and Mullen's have come on board as sponsor of the Emmets in recent years. "We try and help out as many people as we can, between the Gaelic and the soccer, we aim to help out all the local clubs and communities around us," says Jason. "We sponsor some jerseys for Kilkerley, and there's a soccer club on the Castletown Road too, Shamrocks, that we help out with a bit of advertising and footballs."
To put the history of Mullen's and Louth's success on the GAA fields in perspective, the Mullen's chain of takeaway food shops came into being in 1964. That 46-year history of the company, now spanning three generations of the Mullen family, has passed without a single Leinster title for the Wee County. For all but a handful of hardy veterans, few people have any connection or memory with the All-Ireland celebrations of 1957. That long thirst for more silverware should have been satisfied in 2010.
As with everyone in the GAA, though, hope springs eternal and Louth supporters will be looking to the New Year in the hope that the long wait for glory will finally come to an end.
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