Luke’s gospel preaches patience for young Longford lions

LUKE DEMPSEY has always preferred to look beyond the confines of today to what tomorrow might bring.

In nine years with Westmeath he steered them from the wilderness to unimaginable heights, delivering All-Ireland minor and U21 titles in 1995 and ‘99 and taking the county seniors to within a whisker of a semi-final in 2001.

With his Longford team dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s in their preparations for Sunday’s Leinster Championship opener against Dublin, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think that the Carlow native is concentrating on the here and now for a spell instead.