In the past number of years, St. Patrick's have established themselves as one of the top teams in the county, with a senior final appearance in 1995, followed by a Cardinal O'Donnell success four years later. Words by Eunan Whyte. Despite a slump in fortunes last season (2000), a number of observers felt that this could be the Lordship side's year. Louth player Darren Kirwan revealed that there was a sense of optimism around the club at the start of the campaign, but unfortunately things didn't work out as planned. Some good displays saw Pat's reach the semi-final of the championship, and the talk was that the Joe Ward Cup would be making its first ever visit to Lordship. However, all hopes were dashed when one of their poorest displays of the year saw Mattock Rangers emerge with a seven point win, a defeat that Kirwan and his colleagues still find very hard to take. "At the start of the year we did have a bit of a fancy for ourselves. We seemed to have a balanced team with a few young players coming through to join up with some more experienced members of the squad. "Although we didn't always play well during the championship run, we felt it was a good sign that we still made it to the semi-final. We felt that things would click for us, but it just didn't happen for us and we were bitterly disappointed. "Nobody can put their finger on what happened, but we just couldn't get going and lacked a leader. Jim Holland made a difference when he came in at midfield, but it was a case of too little too late. If we had played well and were beaten it wouldn't have been half as bad, but to know we didn't do ourselves justice is very difficult to accept. "Hopefully those painful memories will help us focus on the championship next year when we hope to give it another go. There are a few of us in our 30s, and it might be our last chance," he continued. Despite having bad memories from an individual perspective, Darren believes the new championship format has been a great success. "It really increases the competition because we won our first two games but still didn't qualify for the quarter-finals automatically, so it just shows that you have to win all your matches. It gives all teams a chance to improve - you just have to look at Mattock Rangers who surprised everyone by reaching the final. On the other hand, such as happened Cooley, if you have an off-day, you still have a chance to recover." While some in Louth weren't too sure about the change, Darren was always confident that it would succeed having seen it in operation in his native Meath. However, the down side of it is that there is less emphasis on the league, in which St. Patrick's do extremely well every year. "There is no doubt that there has been less emphasis on the league as teams have been concentrating on the big games. We did well in the O'Donnell Cup, but I was surprised at how easily we were winning some of the matches. Then you look at Newtown Blues and Mattock Rangers who were near their bottom of their respective divisions for most of the year. Overall, our good showing in the league was very poor consolation after missing out in the championship." It was also a season of mixed emotions for Darren on the county scene as Louth again enjoyed the highs as well as the lows. After success in the National League Division 2 last April, Darren was again part of the Louth squad that made their first assault on Division 1 in over 30 years. The campaign couldn't have got off to a better start was Louth scored an thrilling victory over All-Ireland champions, Kerry, at Killarney, but after that it was downhill for Louth. Things got worse after Longford put Louth out of the Leinster Championship at Navan, however, Darren was part of the squad that restored pride with victory over Offaly and a narrow defeat to Westmeath. Overall, it was the club season that most disappointed Kirwan, although St. Patrick's began their championship campaign with an impressive 1-16 to 1-8 victory over St. Mary's at Dowdallshill. A fine spell in the third quarter, during which they scored 1-7, ensured the Lordship side came out on top. At half-time it was 1-4 to 0-6 in favour of St. Mary's, with Niall Sharkey scoring the goal. However, Eamonn Breen replied for Pats after the break to help set up victory. Scorers: Ray Murphy (0-6, 5 frees), Eamonn Breen (1-2), Darren Kirwan (0-4), Johnny Keenan (0-2), Damien Connor and Michael Murphy 0-1 each. St. Patrick's followed up that win with a four point success over Clan na Gael, a victory that was inspired by a good defensive performance. At half-time Pats were leading by 0-8 to 0-3, and despite coming under a lot of pressure after the break, their defence held firm and the Lordship men emerged with victory. Scorers: D. Connor 0-6, S. White 0-2, C. Goss, D. Kirwan, C. Goss 0-1 each. As a result of that victory, the Lordship men went into their final group game against Mattock Rangers needing a point to qualify for the quarter-finals. However, with the Collon side needing a victory to remain in the competition, their hunger proved decisive as they scored a six point win - 3-10 to 2-7. Pat's never really got into this game and at the break were trailing by 1-6 to 0-4. Any hope of a comeback was dashed by a second goal eight minutes into the second half. Damien Connor and Diarmuid Murphy produced a goal apiece but it was too late to save the game. Scorers: Damien Connor (1-1), Diarmuid Murphy (1-0), Sean White (0-2), Raymond Finnegan, Adrian O'Donoghue, Padraig Devane and Johnny Keenan 0-1 each. The draw for the play-offs from Group C meant that sides had to face each other once again, and this time it was St. Patrick's who came out on top, but only just, on a scoreline of 1-11 to 1-10. St. Patrick's had the edge for much of the game, leading by 0-6 to 0-2 at the break, before a Damien Connor goal from a penalty had them in command. Despite a Mattock fightback in the final quarter, the peninsula side held out for victory. Scorers: Damien Connor (1-5, 2 frees, 1 pen), Padraic Devane (0-3), Darren Kirwan (0-2), Sean White (0-1). St. Patrick's then took on Naomh Mairtin in the quarter-final at Dromiskin prior to the Junior Championship Final, where they came away with a 1-12 to 1-7 victory. The Monasterboice men got off to a good start, but Pat's gradually found their rhythm and another Damien Connor penalty just before the break turned the game in their favour as they led 1-4 to 0-4 at the break. Naomh Mairtin rarely looked like threatening the lead in the second period and Pat's held on despite a late Niall Callaghan goal. Scorers: Damien Connor (1-3, 1 free, 1 pen), Ray Finnegan (0-4, 3 frees), Sean White (0-2), Padraic Devane, Adrian O'Donoghue and Johnny Keenan 0-1 each. That win set up a third meeting with Mattock Rangers, and on a very disappointing night for Pats, it was the Collon men who advanced on a 0-13 to 0-6 scoreline. Darrren Kirwan pointed in the first minute, but his side failed to find a spark for the remainder of the game as Mattock proved too strong. Although trailing by just 0-6 to 0-4 at the break, the Lordship men couldn't mount a serious challenge and even the introduction of Jim Holland wasn't enough to inspire them. In the closing stages Mattock pulled away for a deserved win. Scorers: Raymond Finnegan (0-4), Darren Kirwan and Karl White 0-1 each. Team: Sean O'Connor, Seamus Savage, Damien White, Johnny Holland, Paddy White, Colin Goss, Shane Hynes, Adrian O'Donoghue, James Hynes, Johnny Keenan, Ray Finnegan, Padraic Devane, Damien Connor, Darren Kirwan, Sean White. Subs: Jim Holland for J. Hynes (34 mins), Paddy Keenan for J. Keenan (40 mins), Eamon Breen for Kirwan (43 mins), Kevin Breen for P. White (45 mins), Karl White for Devane (52 mins). Pats ready to take next step In the league, St Patricks are virtually untouchable. Their manager of the past three years, James Fealy, feels the time is nigh to transmogrify this dominance into a first ever senior championship success. Everybody knows that St Patricks are as good as any side in Louth, yet a first ever senior football championship continues to elude the Lordship men. In 2001, they put together another remarkably consistent season, storming to a Cardinal O'Donnell Cup final meeting with Roche Emmets - a match which had yet to be played at the time of going to press - and making a big impression in the SFC before surprisingly bowing out at the hands of Mattock Rangers after a disappointing semi-final performance. The Pats are struggling to get the Joe Ward monkey off their back but James Fealy, who managed them for the past three seasons, is convinced that such a day is coming soon: "I have no doubt whatsoever that with the calibre of young player we have at the club at the moment a senior championship is only around the corner. It's just a matter of getting over that final hump that seems to be in our way in the championship, and actually winning one." What a weight that would be off their shoulders! The floodgates could well open thereafter. Originally from Carrickmacross and a man given his grounding in the national game at the famed St Macartan's College in Monaghan town, James now resides in Bellurgan and has been actively involved with the Pats for eight years. He took charge of both the seniors and under 21s in 2001, steering the former to a second Cardinal O'Donnell decider in three years (they won the senior league in 1999) and guiding the U21s to a second successive county final. (Again, that particular final had yet to be played when this baby was escourted off to the printers.) As team manager, James was ably assisted in '01 by selectors Pat McConnon (a former Louth player) and Peter Toner, both of whom wore the club colours with distinction. The Pats were outstanding all year long in the league and were equally impressive for most of their championship campaign - until they met Mattock for the third time in the competition! The wheels simply came off the wagon in the semi-final. No excuses needed - or offered: "For some reason the Pats have always got it really hard to enjoy the championship but this team is definitely good enough to win it, if we could relax the same way as we do for the league and if the players could avoid playing as if they're under so much pressure." Let's take a look at that league form which qualified the Lordship men for the Cardinal O'Donnell final as runaway Division 1A table-toppers. Playing all the top teams in the county (Stabannon, the Marys, the Joes, Roche, Cooley, the Blues and the Clans) on a home and away basis, the Pats accumulated a grand total of 22 points from a possible 28, losing only twice all year. Some going... "We led from start to finish and the only two defeats came against the Blues away - we returned the favour in the corresponding match at home - and Cooley Kickhams away. We had already qualified for the final when Cooley beat us but that's not to say we'd ever give them any easy points. We went out to win but they needed the points more than we did." Mmmmmm, the old peninsula rivalry . . .there's some history there. It's a fierce competitiveness, one James has dealt with on many occasions during his few years at the helm. "I originally took over an U16 team and I've more or less taken them up along the way," he notes. "This was my third year with the senior team. In my first season we won the Cardinal O'Donnell and beat Cooley in the senior championship for the first time ever. Cooley also provided the opposition in the league final and that was the first time outside of junior football that we'd ever beaten them in a league final. People around here care about those things. "In 2000, we were going nicely at the top of the league again until Cooley beat us in the first round of the championship. Things went pear-shaped thereafter and the only thing of note from the season was the under 21s getting to the county final against St Brides, whose U21 side was effectively the same as their senior one." Two-thousand-and-one was a massive improvement - a championship semi-final and a Cardinal O'Donnell final spot (at the very least). "Yeah, we got back on track," James concurs. "We've introduced a lot of new young players and have freshened the whole thing up. With the new format for the championship, we were drawn in what most people believed was the toughest group and made it through to the knock-out stages. "We then played Naomh Mairtin - the only unbeaten team left in the competition - in the quarter-final and beat them. A lot of people were of the opinion that it was going to be our year but we lost to Mattock Rangers in the semi-final, which was a massive disappointment." What went wrong that day? "It was the third time in the year that we'd played them in the championship. They beat us in the group and we then beat them in a play-off, so we were expecting a close game. But they just seemed to be more up for it on the day, while we froze and tightened up. "To give an indication of the extent of our difficulties on the day: five of our top forwards could only muster a point between them in 45 minutes. It was just a very poor off-day. They talk about doing it on the day . . . well we most certainly didn't! "The lads struggled from the start. "It's important that people give Mattock credit though because they disposed of both the Clans and ourselves. They have a very useful team with good, nippy forwards. They have two men on the county panel and two others who are county minors and will be Louth seniors, so they're a good side in their own right." What does James think of the new senior championship system? When I heard about it at first I wasn't really up for it because I felt it might detract from the cut and thrust of championship football. But it turned out well and there were some excellent matches. It's a good idea and well worth persevering with. The way the whole thing worked out, the last round of games in each group were particularly interesting." How frustrated are the league specialists becoming at their lack of championship success? "It is frustrating but we have to be patient and realise that if we continue to work towards a senior championship we'll win one. It's extremely important that this St Patricks side wins at least one senior championship. "I was talking to Peter Fitzpatrick one day and he told me that the great Clans team went through something similar, winning leagues and ACC Cups for years before they managed to win a championship, so we're not getting too despondent. "We went all out for it this year but it didn't happen. However, the players will all be a year more mature and craftier next season. We have no shortage of good young players and our time is coming. "The lads just need to be more confident in their ability to play good football on the day and not worry about the occasion or who they're playing. They have to learn to handle the pressure of championship football, perhaps even learn how to harness it and turn it to their advantage." Now, there's a frightening proposition for every other senior club in the Wee County! Tweet

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