It was a year of extraordinary firsts for the man generally regarded as Louth's best footballer of the past decade. St Patrick's clubman Paddy Keenan became Louth's first-ever All Star when he was honoured with a midfield berth on the elite team in October. During the same month, Paddy also became the first Louth footballer to take part in the International Rules series. He was also selected by his fellow players on the GPA Team of the Year. And let us not forget that on Sunday July 11th he should have become the first Louth man since 1957 to collect the Delaney Cup.

It was an unbelievable year for Louth and an astonishing season for the Wee County's magnificent captain Paddy Keenan. For years now, everybody in the county has known that the Pats clubman is one of the best midfielders not just in Leinster but in Ireland. Standing at just over the six-foot mark, he is an incredibly balanced and fair footballer, with a bit of everything in his game. But he hasn't always got the recognition he deserves, largely because Louth have tended to operate beneath the radar. He was nominated for an All Star back in 2007 but, by and large, Paddy's gargantuan efforts in the red jersey were going unnoticed. Until 2010, that is.
This year was different in many ways. First of all, Louth emerged from the shadows to qualify for a first Leinster final in half a century. Therein, they effectively 'beat' Meath but terrible refereeing conspired to hand the Delaney Cup to our Royal neighbours. It was a travesty but, either way, Louth had arrived. Under new manager Peter Fitzpatrick, they forced the nation to stand up and take notice, beating Longford, Kildare and Westmeath and standing toe-to-toe with Meath and Dublin on high-octane championship days in Croke Park. Paddy Keenan was at the heart of it all, playing every minute of every game.
The Lordship man was troubled by injury in the early part of the year but got himself fighting fit for the championship, duly delivering one awesome performance after another, covering every blade of grass, winning dirty ball, soaring to the skies, creating and finishing scores, defending deep when required. Heroic stuff. It's no coincidence that Paddy seemed to be in every action shot from Louth's matches during the year - he epitomised Louth's efforts and his work rate was such that at times there appeared to be two or three Paddy Keenans on the pitch. Having said that, it would be somewhat unfair to the man to wax too lyrical about his industry, commitment and endeavour as he is first and foremost an exceptionally strong, adept, courageous and skilful gaelic footballer.
Make no mistake: it was no sympathy vote from the All Star selectors when they decided to grant Louth's first-ever All Star award. Granted, it would have been the very least the Wee County deserved after the injustice of Leinster final day … but Paddy was selected simply because he was THE BEST midfielder in Ireland bar none during the summer, with his county partner Brian White not too far behind.
Recognition from Anthony Tohill and the International Rules selectors, when he was chosen as part of a 23-man Ireland squad, confirmed the high esteem in which the Pats man was now held. At Limerick's Gaelic Grounds on Saturday evening, October 23rd, Paddy made his 'international debut' during the 47 to 40 first-test defeat to the Aussies. Twenty-ten also saw the Louth captain named on The Sunday Game's Team of the Year.
Paddy was also named at midfield on the GPA Team of the Year - a massive accolade as the side is selected by the people who know most about football - the players themselves!
Paddy Keenan provided football in the county with a huge boost on Friday, October 15th when he collected his All Star award at the City West Hotel, surrounded by the best footballers in the land and accompanied by his proud parents Pat and Dympna. No doubt he will have been embarrassed by the fuss and attention (no more so than when he returned amid a fanfare to club action in a league game against the Blues. Typically, lining out at full forward, he bagged 1-6 in that match as the Pats booked a Cardinal O'Donnell Cup semi-final berth) as he's a modest and grounded individual, who always puts the team first. However, it was great nonetheless to see Paddy in the limelight getting the acclaim and recognition he deserves.
After receiving news that he would be getting the All Star award, Paddy was a little taken aback by the reaction, noting: "I have never seen the like of it. It has been mad since the word came out. There has been non-stop texts, phone calls and emails and I am just trying to get time to reply to people. There was a lot of speculation over the past number of weeks but you just never know until you get the call, so I am delighted with it. I only heard about two minutes before they were officially announced when I got calls at work from Paddy Oliver and Brian McEniff and ever since then it has been hectic. The celebrations were quiet enough as I just spent the evening with my parents and a few friends in Fitzpatricks, so it wasn't anything too wild."
St Patricks club chairman Pat Finnegan said: "We are all just thrilled at the news. I know people were saying he was favourite to get it but you never know with things like this until it is confirmed. It is a brilliant honour for Paddy, his family, St Patricks and Louth football. He totally deserves it for the way he conducts himself both on and off the pitch as he is a pure gentleman. This is a great day for our club and better than winning a championship."
And County Board chairman Padraig O'Connor joined the chorus of approval: "This really is the best news anybody could get and it will lift Louth out of the recession for at least a week. Everyone is delighted for Paddy and he certainly deserves this. It is a great day for Louth and St Patricks."
Having captained Valley Rangers to the county minor football championship in 2002, Paddy made his senior debut for Louth in an O'Byrne Cup clash with Westmeath at Drogheda on January 5th, 2003, coming off the bench and slotting a point. Since then, he has featured in an astonishing 29 of Louth's 30 championship matches, scoring 4-29 mostly from centrefield. He has also made 47 national football league appearances. At club level, he has been a prominent player on all three of St Patricks' SFC-winning teams in 2002, 2003 and 2007, captaining the latter team to Joe Ward Cup glory as well as winning two Cardinal O'Donnells. He has also played for Leinster in the Railway Cup.
In 84 appearances for Louth in all competitions, Paddy has scored 7-73 from play. Remarkably, he is still only 26 years old. Tweet

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