St Patricks are the team of the moment. Not that long ago, the Lordship men hadn't won a senior trophy. All that has charged irrevocably, however. In 2004, the Pairc Eamoin outfit retained the Louth SFC, marking themselves out as one of the great Wee County teams of the modern era. As well as inspiring the Pats to a historic back-to-back championship win, young midfielder Paddy Keenan spent the summer months working for Diamond Shipping Ltd., a company that has always been very supportive of the St Patricks cause. The breakthrough exacted the previous summer, the Pats proved by winning a second consecutive SFC in 2004 that they are here to stay. The Green & Whites will be a force to be reckoned with on the Louth GAA landscape for many years to come and they are clearly capable of winning more championships. In '99, the Pats announced their intention emphatically by winning the Cardinal O'Donnell Cup for the first time. They also helped themselves to ACC Cup success, which meant that the SFC represented their final frontier. Incredibly, in 2003, to mark their 50th anniversary, the Lordship crew made the breakthrough, capturing the county championship for the fist time by beating St Marys after a replay. Could they do it again in 2004? You bet your bottom dollar they could! Though they struggled to find their rhythm at times over the course of the season, St Patricks were in an uncompromising mood in '04 and they duly claimed a second successive county crown. Even though the hunger may not have been as evident as it appeared in past years, the Pats demonstrated the hallmark of true champions by refusing to surrender the hard-earned spoils. St Patricks have developed the knack of winning while playing within themselves and that fact in itself is ominous for the rest of the Wee County's GAA fraternity. The Pats won every game they played in the 2004 senior championship - what more could we ask from our champions? In the group stage, they recorded victories over Clan na Gael, Naomh Mairtin and Roche Emmets. O'Connells were beaten at the quarter-final stage and the Clans were ousted in a difficult semi-final tie. The final was a repeat of the '03 semi-final - against fierce foes Cooley at Pairc Clan Na Gael on Sunday September 19. It was never going to be easy, but the Pats recorded a narrow 0-7 to 0-6 victory over their nearest neighbours to retain the Joe Ward Cup. St Patricks had not alone proven themselves (they ARE the best team in the county); they had also emulated St Marys, Cooley Kickhams, Clan na Gael, Newtown Blues, Wolfe Tones, St Fechins and Young Ireland by winning back-to-back senior championships. Paddy Keenan was the best footballer in the county in 2003. He was voted Man of the Match in the county final that year and was a driving force again in the '04 decider, showing exactly why he is so highly regarded with an industrious and intelligent contribution over the hour. After winning a second senior championship medal at the tender age of 20, the No.9 was as modest as ever: "We got there in the end, without ever playing that well." Of course, the Pats were thrilled to win another championship. And there were mitigating factors which prevented them from ever cutting loose and playing scintillating football. Why does Paddy think the champions seemed to play within themselves at times? "Two-thousand-and-three was a very long season and it seemed to drag on and on. [Pats won the league and championship double and also participated in the Leinster club championship.] We had a lot of injuries carried over and it was hard for us to get back into the swing of things. But we played through it, even though we didn't have a settled team, and we were able to win games on instinct." Nothing at all wrong with that… '03 was a dream year for Paddy. He played for Louth, was Man of the Match in the county final, and helped his club make history. He reflects: "It couldn't really have gone any better. It all came at once, but I can't complain about that! You play for the team and you just want to keep winning games, which is what we set out to do in 2004. That's much more important than any personal accolades you get." Paddy points out: "Most of the team would be around 25 or so. Five of us were playing minor football two years ago! So we're definitely hoping to win a few more senior championships. The teams that are remembered as great ones have all won three or four championships. We didn't want to be remembered as a one-off or an overnight sensation. We'd like to make a bigger impression. We want to prove we can do it consistently, and to go on and do better in Leinster." Regarding his experiences with the county seniors in 2004, the Pats midfielder admits he was somewhat disappointed: "Coming into the championship, expectations were low and we weren't expected to do anything, but we played well against Galway in the qualifiers and should have beaten them. Those are the kind of games you have to win, when you dominate for so long and go so close… "At the end of the day, results are far more important than performances and the trick is to learn how to close a game out." It's a knack St Patricks have mastered and hopefully Louth can follow suit. "There was a lot of change this year," Paddy continues, "A lot of injuries and defections and the team had very little experience. It was a new team, really, and it took a while for things to click. There was a lot of building to be done but it came good towards the end … the aim now is to build on that next year. "Val Andrews had to start from scratch. He had to assemble a panel from virtually nothing and he's doing his best with us. He's a good man and he has good ideas and there's every chance it'll still come good for Louth because we have some good young players." Paddy Keenan studies Transport & Logistics at DIT in Dublin. During 2004's summer months, he worked for Diamond Shipping, gaining vital work experience. Diamond Shipping is a local shipping company with a worldwide presence and four main bases - Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Rotterdam. Joe Finnegan, a director in the company, is a keen supporter of St Patricks. Paddy notes: "Joe's a big football man. He sponsored the senior team in 2003 when we won the senior championship and he's always willing to help the club out any way he can." All the help is being put to good use judging by St Patricks' dominance of football in Louth for the past two years. Tweet

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