Eunan Whyte looks back at how Sam Maguire was brought to the Wee County 50 years ago. Louth's historic campaign began on May 6 in Navan when Louth scored a 3-6 to 0-4 win over Carlow but without ever impressing . A Dermot O'Brien goal had Louth 1-3 to 0-3 up at the break and goals from O'Brien and Paddy Butterly sealed victory. Next up was Wexford in Croke Park on Sunday May 26 when a fine second half display helped them to a 1-12 to 0-9 win. Louth trailed by 0-7 to 0-2 at the break but a Stephen White goal helped seal the win. Leinster champions, Kildare, provided the opposition in the semi-final at Croke Park on Sunday June 16 but were no match for Louth who won by 5-8 to 1-9. Goals from Jim Roe and Jimmy McDonnell had Louth 2-7 to 0-5 up at the break. McDonnell added two more in the second half with Dermot O'Brien adding the fifth. Louth faced Dublin in the Leinster Final on July 14 and another fine display saw them score a 2-9 to 1-7 win. Jimmy McDonnell fisted Louth's first goal to send his team in level at 1-2 to 0-5 and added another at a crucial stage in the second half. Tyrone provided the opposition in the All-Ireland semi-final where they scored a 0-13 to 0-7 win at Croke Park on August 18. After a tight first half, Louth led 0-6 to 0-5, but took control after the break to score a comprehensive win. Then came the most famous day in Louth's GAA history as Cork were beaten in the final. Louth 3-6 Carlow 0-4 Louth were not among the favourites going into the 1957 Leinster Championship campaign and their opening round victory over Carlow at Navan on May 6 did little to make people change their minds. Louth eventually came out on top with a 3-6 to 0-4 victory but the performance did little to suggest the large crowd would be watching the eventual All-Ireland champions. Louth fielded without three players who were also selected in the junior team, Frank Lynch, Mick Gartlan and Jim "Blackie" Judge but managed to take the lead through a Dermot O'Brien point. Carlow equalised soon after but O'Brien gave his side a huge boost when he fired home the first goal of the game on 10 minutes. Kevin Beahan added two points in the second quarter but Carlow replied with two of their own to trail by just 1-3 to 0-3 at the interval. Louth added points from Beahan and Mickey Flood before Dermot O'Brien struck his second goal to put Louth 2-5 to 0-3 ahead. Carlow replied with their only point of the half but Louth had the final say with a point from Beahan followed by a Paddy Butterly goal near the end. Louth: Sean Og Flood, Ollie Reilly, Tom Carroll, Jim Meehan, Patsy Coleman, Jim McArdle, Stephen White, Kevin Beahan (0-4), Dan O'Neill, Noel Loughran, Dermot O'Brien (2-1), Alfie Monk, Bertie Dullaghan, Mickey Flood, Paddy Butterly. Subs: Paddy Cheshire for Meehan, Jim Roe for Monk. Louth 1-12 Wexford 0-9 Louth faced Wexford in the second round of the Leinster Championship on May 26 at Croke Park where a fine second half performance saw them secure a 1-12 to 0-9 victory. With the strong wind in their backs for the first half Wexford dominated the game and went into the break leading by 0-7 to 0-2. In a game that marked the return of Tom Conlon at full-back, Louth's only first half scores came from Kevin Beahan, while some brilliant defending by Ollie Reilly, Jim McArdle and Stephen White kept the Slaneysiders out. The Wee County made their intentions clear from the start of the second half and scored early points through Beahan (3) and Mickey Flood, to reduce the gap to 0-7 0-6. The game turned in Louth's favour when Stephen White came up from the back to punch home the only goal of the game. Louth were never in trouble after that and with Wexford only scoring two points in the second half, the red-and-whites clinched victory with points from Dermot O'Brien (2), Beahan (2), Monk and Seamus O'Donnell. Louth: Sean Og Flood, Ollie Reilly, Tom Conlon, Jim Meehan, Patsy Coleman, Jim McArdle, Stephen White (1-0), Kevin Beahan (0-7), Dan O'Neill, Paddy Butterly, Dermot O'Brien (0-2), Alfie Monk (0-1), Cormac Breslin, Mickey Flood (0-1), Seamus O'Donnell (0-1). Kildare 5-8 Kildare 1-9 There may have been little expected from Louth at the start of the championship but they really signalled their intentions in the Leinster semi-final with a stunning demolition of reigning champions, Kildare, at Croke Park on June 16. Undoubtedly, Jimmy McDonnell was the star of the show as he announced his return to inter-county football after a two year absence by scoring 3-3. However, it was Jim Roe, on his first championship start of the season who got the ball rolling when he opened the scoring with a fifth minute goal, with Kevin Beahan and Dermot O'Brien adding points. Roe replied to Kildare's opening point before McDonnell scored a goal and point in quick succession to put Louth firmly in control. Kildare enjoyed a brief spell of pressure but points from McDonnell and Sean Cunningham had their side leading by 2-7 to 0-5 at the break. Any hope of a comeback ended early in the second half when McDonnell fisted his second goal. In the closing ten minutes Louth were cruising and added a goal and point from McDonnell before O'Brien rounded off the scoring with a fifth goal. Louth: Sean Og Flood, Ollie Reilly, Tom Conlon, Tom Carroll, Patsy Coleman, Jim McArdle, Stephen White, Kevin Beahan (0-1), Dan O'Neill, Seamus O'Donnell, Dermot O'Brien (1-1), Alfie Monk, Sean Cunningham (0-1), Jimmy McDonnell (3-3), Jim Roe (1-2). Sub: Peadar Smith for Beahan. Louth 2-9 Dublin 1-7 Louth were crowned Leinster Football Champions on Sunday July 14 followed a brilliant 2-9 to 1-7 victory over the highly fancied Dublin after what proved to be a memorable game. Despite the wet conditions there was a full house in Croke Park to see Louth make their intentions clear from the start when Sean Cunningham found space to score the opening point of the afternoon. Dublin began to get on top but thanks to a great defensive display they managed to score just two points and Louth were given a massive boost when Jimmy McDonnell found the net after Jim Roe's effort had been saved. The Wee County lost star defender Ollie Reilly through a broken nose and although Dublin hit their third point, Dermot O'Brien made it 1-2 to 0-3 with a fine score. However, Dublin, with the wind in their backs had the better of the closing stages and added two points to go into the break on level terms at 0-5 to 1-2. Despite facing the elements, Dublin took the lead for the first time early in the second half. It wasn't looking good for Louth when Ferguson hit a goal to put Dublin 1-6 to 1-2 ahead. However, the Wee County's response was impressive three points from Kevin Beahan were followed by a superbly taken goal from Jimmy McDonnell to put his side 2-5 to 1-6 ahead. Dublin reduced the gap to one point soon after but Louth finished the stronger and scores from Jimmy McDonnell (2), Frank Lynch and Beahan secured the Leinster title for the Wee County. Louth: Sean Og Flood, Ollie Reilly, Tom Conlon, Tom Carroll, Peadar Smith, Jim McArdle, Stephen White, Kevin Beahan (0-4), Dan O'Neill, Seamus O'Donnell, Dermot O'Brien (0-1), Alfie Monk, Sean Cunningham (0-1), Jimmy McDonnell (2-2), Jim Roe. Sub: Barney McCoy for Reilly, Frank Lynch (0-1) for Monk. Louth 0-13 Tyrone 0-7 Louth qualified for the All-Ireland final thanks to a six point victory over Tyrone at Croke Park on Sunday August 18. In a game where Dan O'Neill starred at midfield, Louth once again were impressive in the second half and deservedly set up a meeting with Cork in the decider. In what proved to be a disappointing first half, it was Tyrone who started best and opened the scoring through a Frank Donnelly free and Jack Taggart. Dermot O'Brien pulled one back for Louth but it was Tyrone who were piling on the pressure and were unfortunate not to find the net on a couple of occasions. However, they did add two more points from Frank Donnelly frees. Jim Roe kept Louth in touch with a point from a free after ten minutes, but at the end of the first quarter, Donnelly added Tyrone's fifth. Kevin Beahan then converted from a 45m free and as Louth began to play with greater cohesion Sean Cunningham broke clear to kick two points in quick succession and level the game at 0-5 each. Just before the break, Dermot O'Brien kicked over to put Louth in front for the first time. Tyrone came out in determined fashion at the start of the second period and got back on level terms thanks to a Sean Donnelly point. Louth edged ahead soon after when Beahan kicked over a 55m free but his side missed a chance to take control when Stephen White fired a penalty wide. Boosted by this, Tyrone hit back to level the game at 0-7 apiece through Frank Donnelly, while Jack Taggart saw a great shot come back off the crossbar. However, that point proved to be the Ulster champions' last score of the game as Louth took control. Beahan was again on target from a free and in the final quarter points from Jim Roe (2), Dan O'Neill, Jimmy McDonnell and a Beahan '50' to completed the victory. Louth: Sean Og Flood, Ollie Reilly, Tom Conlon, Jim Meehan, Peadar Smith, Jim McArdle, Stephen White, Dan O'Neill (0-1), Kevin Beahan (0-4), Seamus O'Donnell, Dermot O'Brien (0-2), Frank Lynch, Sean Cunningham (0-2), Jimmy McDonnell (0-1), Jim Roe (0-3). Sub: Patsy Coleman for Smith. Louth 1-9 Cork 1-7 Magnificent Louth won the All-Ireland title for the first time since 1912 with a dramatic 1-9 to 1-7 victory over favourites Cork before 72,732 fans at Croke Park on Sunday September 22, 1957. Louth, wearing the green-and-white of Leinster, rather than the traditional red, looked out of the game early in the second half but a courageous comeback was completed when corner forward Sean Cunningham fisted home the decisive goal five minutes from time. Cork opened the scoring through an Eric Ryan free but Jim Roe levelled almost immediately. Neally Duggan put the Munster side back in front on five minutes, but again Roe levelled, this time from a free on 10 minutes. After 13 minutes Seamus O'Donnell put Louth ahead for the first time, but this time Cork hit back when Eric Ryan pointed to make it 0-3 apiece. Kevin Beahan then landed a free for Louth, and his side went 0-5 to 0-3 up when Dan O'Neill hit the target. However, Louth suffered a serious setback when Neally Duggan's speculative effort found its way into the net on 25 minutes. Cork went into the break with a two-point lead when Niall Fitzgerald landed the final point of the half to send his side in leading by 1-4 to 0-5. It was looking ominous for Louth as Cork dominated the opening minutes of the second half and a Denis "Toots" Kelleher effort put the Munster side three points up. Louth made a number of changes, bringing Seamus O'Donnell to midfield, Kevin Beahan to the right wing and Stephen White to centre-half back which helped turn the game in their favour. Two long range efforts from Beahan cut the gap to just one by the 18th minute, before Roe levelled matters from a close range free. Sean Cunningham then put the Wee County ahead when he fisted over the bar, but Cork hit back in impressive fashion when Kelleher kicked two quick points to put his side 1-7 to 0-9 in front with a little over five minutes remaining. However, Louth responded with a swift attack that resulted in a wild clearance from Driscoll going over the sideline. Kevin Beahan stepped up to take the kick and with his dangerous centre causing all sorts of confusion, Sean Cunningham reacted quickest to fist the ball to the back of the net. Cork threw everything they had at Louth in the closing stages but the superb defence held out to secure a thoroughly deserved win. As a result Dermot O'Brien had the honour of becoming the first Louth man to lift the Sam Maguire Cup and in the process sparked wild celebrations throughout the county. On a famous day for the Wee County, Louth had many candidates for the Man of the Match accolade. Among them were Stephen White who was outstanding at the back, particularly when he was switched to centre-half in the second period. He proved to be unbeatable and outplayed the impressive Niall Fitzgerald. In many people's eyes, Tom Conlon was the best performer with the Stabannon man a rock at full-back and cut out a series of dangerous Cork attacks. Seamus O'Donnell was also in contention as his move to midfield in the second half injected new life into the Louth performance and helped push the team forward. Undoubtedly it was a team performance that saw Louth through with each member of the team playing their part in a magnificent victory. The Louth team that lined out on that historic day was as follows: Sean Og Flood; Ollie Reilly, Tom Conlon, Jim "Red" Meehan; Patsy Coleman, Peadar Smyth, Stephen White; Kevin Beahan, Dan O'Neill; Seamus O'Donnell, Dermot O'Brien (captain), Frank Lynch; Sean Cunningham, Jimmy McDonnell, Jim Roe. Subs: Jim McArdle, Alfie Monk, Mickey Flood, Barney McCoy, Aidan Magennis, Jim "Blackie" Judge, Jackie Reynolds. Cork: L. Power; M. Gould, D. Bernard, D. Murray; P. Harrington, P. Driscoll, JJ Henchion; E. Ryan, S. Moore; J. O'Sullivan, N. Fitzgerald, T. Furlong; E. Goulding, C. Duggan, D. Kelleher. Sub: F. McAuliffe for O'Sullivan. Scorers: Louth: Sean Cunningham (1-1), Jim Roe (0-3), Kevin Beahan (0-3), Seamus O'Donnell, Dan O'Neill 0-1 each. Cork: Neally Duggan (1-1), Denis Kelleher (0-3), Eric Ryan (0-2), Niall Fitzgerald (0-1). Referee: Patsy Geraghty (Galway). The Louth team trainer was the legendary Jim "Sogger" Quigley, while selectors were, Brian Reynolds, Joe Burke, Mickey McKeon and JJ Matthews. Tweet

Most Read Stories