Toal targets Wee bit of history

THERE was a time in Louth football when history seemed to be something that happened to other counties.

Times and, more importantly, expectations are changing at a rapid pace in the Wee County, however.

A first Leinster senior final appearance in 50 years — and some would argue a first win in 53 — ensured that 2010 was a breakthrough season for the senior footballers.

A maiden All-Ireland colleges final place for the cream of the county’s second level players, who form the combined Dundalk Schools side, could yet be the climax of 2011.

Sure, history is stacked against the north-eastern students just like it was for Peter Fitzpatrick’s players last year. Dundalk Schools will be competing in just their second semi-final today while their opponents, St Colman’s of Newry, have won the competition seven times. In the other semi-final, St Jarlath’s of Tuam and Coláiste Chriost Rí, Cork possess 16 titles between them.

Reputation has counted for little so far in Dundalk’s eyes, however, with St Pat’s of Navan, the dominant force in Leinster colleges football in the last decade, dispatched in a thrilling provincial final.

And, if you believe in natural cycles, maybe it’s time for Dundalk to make their mark at this level.

When the combined outfit won their previous Leinster title in 2002 a 16-year-old Shane Lennon was the star forward while current All Star Paddy Keenan and Louth colleagues Neil Gallagher and Ronan Carroll also played. They did their county proud last summer and perhaps it’s time for a new wave of Louth student heroes to emerge.

“There’s a few of them that might push on all right,” said enthusiastic manager Leslie Toal, in charge for the 2002 provincial win just a year after four Dundalk colleges agreed to amalgamate.

“I presume we’ll be written off coming in against a side with a great tradition but sure Pat’s were 5/1 on to beat us in the Leinster final. So we might as well turn up and see can we do it again anyway.”

Between the four walls of their dressing room in Crossmaglen, there is unlikely to be any such lack of confidence. Charismatic Toal comes across as a chip off the old block as a club colleague of uber-confident Louth manager Fitzpatrick. He also details a simple but effective regime that has pulled together the very best players from all four colleges around Dundalk and, with the input of one selector from each, ensured training has run like clockwork.

“Declan Hynes is the man in Dundalk Grammar School, Pádraig Staunton, who is Steve’s brother, is in De La Salle, Donal Hegarty in the Marist College and John Boylan, a Cork man who works in Dundalk and lives in Tyrone, is with the Coláiste Rís lads.

“I’m not a teacher myself so I pop in and meet the four lads. We send a few texts out. It all works very smoothly.”

The input of Padraig Staunton is an intriguing one. But for the lure of soccer in a town with a rich tradition for the ‘garrison game’, sibling Steve may have developed a promising Gaelic football career.

It’s another area where tradition hasn’t been kind to people like Toal seeking to develop the next generation of Louth players.

Toal said: “There’s four lads playing youth football with Dundalk so we can’t use them, you’ve got to remember that Dundalk is a soccer town.”

Ultimately, Toal believes if he can unearth another Paddy Keenan or a Shane Lennon to send into the county minor set-up and, eventually, Fitzpatrick’s senior team, he’ll have done his job.

A bit of silverware to fly in the face of history and rock the established order wouldn’t go amiss either.

Picture: The Dundalk Colleges team celebrate victory in the Leinster Colleges Senior Football 'A' Championship Final on March 12 (INPHO)