Fitzpatrick: Happiest day of my life

JUBILIANT Louth boss Peter Fitzpatrick admitted it was the “happiest day of my life” during his 30 year association with the Wee County footballers.

“I’ve been involved with the Louth team since 1980,” revealed Fitzpatrick after his side clinched their first Leinster final appearance since 1960 following their win over Westmeath.

“And to be honest this is the happiest day of my life since then. In the past many Louth teams would have given up if they were six points up with just eight minutes left, and they suddenly found themselves only one point in front. But this is a true grit team, and I’ve never been so proud of a bunch of lads.

“The players can now enjoy the occasion, and take a lot of satisfaction that the county has qualified for a Leinster final after such a long wait,” he said.

And Fitzpatrick went on to pay special tribute to captain and midfielder Paddy Keenan and full-forward Shane Lennon, who has postponed an operation on a serious thumb injury in order to boost his county’s championship cause.

“I asked Paddy Keenan, as team captain, for a big game, and he turned in a fantastic performance,” said Fitzpatrick. “And what can you say about Shane Lennon. He has a tendon gone in his hand, but he’ll be delaying the operation until after the Leinster final.

“He’s only 24 years of age, but he’s already given fantastic service to Louth football. It’s great to have a big tall target man in there, and he caused Westmeath a lot of problems.”

Sub Derek Maguire also made a major contribution to the Louth success following his introduction on 52 minutes, setting up Colm Judge for his side’s goal just seven minutes later.

“Derek asked me to give him a chance, and his speed was a bit plus for us out there today,” he remarked.

Louth now face traditional rivals Meath in the Leinster final on July 11. But because of preparations for the clash with Westmeath, Fitzpatrick admitted that he didn’t seen even a minute of the earlier contest.

“I haven’t heard the final scoreline yet,” he disclosed. “All I know is that Meath won the game.

“I feel that like our games against Longford, Kildare and Westmeath the Leinster final is a 50-50 game, and I just hope that there is one more game left in our boys.

“We had great support from Louth people today, and hopefully we will have an even bigger following for the game against Meath.”