Naomh Mairtin bury their demons and Blues to take Louth bragging rights 

STAY WINNING: Louth senior star Sam Mulroy can add county champion to his resume again. Pic: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile

Louth SFC Final: Naomh Mairtin 1-18 Newtown Blues 1-11

Six years on from losing two in a row to Newtown Blues at the very same venue, Naomh Mairtin buried that demon to win their third Louth Senior title in their history.

Since then, they have played in four more finals and won only two, painfully losing to Ardee St. Mary’s this past two seasons. So it was fair to say there was a lot of baggage since the Monasterboice outfit last won in 2021.

Possessing a player like Sam Mulroy may add extra pressure on the club to make hay when the sun shines. On this particular day, Mulroy and his able colleagues overwhelmed the most successful club in the county.

Mulroy could well have an All-star by the end of year but his brilliance on the day was his orchestrating of attacks and dovetailing with captain Eoghan Callaghan. With the duo in tandem and Dara McDonnell ruling the skies, Naomh Mairtin were worthy winners.

Manager Mattie Rice, who has worked with Davy Fitzgerald in the past, had to cope with the loss of coach Paddy Christie mid season and a tough league campaign. So going in under the radar suited them fine. In came Mark Ingle as coach and they never looked back.

They would have to overcome a slow start with county pair Conor Branigan and Andy McDonnell giving the Blues an early three-point lead. However the Drogheda-based side would rue their wasting of the wind.

Mairtin’s would steal the half against the conditions and, with that, put one hand on the Joe Ward Cup with a 1-8 to 0-6 lead at the interval.

A purple patch before half time laid the foundations, an unanswered run of 1-4 thanks to McDonnell shrugging off his counterparts to land a brace. Tom Gray also came alive with the first of his four points.

The goal came from the penalty spot. Sam Mulroy had lined up a score with the outside of his right boot only to slip and change the trajectory of the O’Neill’s. Wing back Sean Healy found himself up there and was fouled once he collected the ball.

Mulroy stepped up and made the signs ominous. Surely they could not let another final slip from their grasp. Mulroy lofted over an inspired two-pointer at the start of the second half after Jamie Kelly kicked the game's first free.

Andy McDonnell and Ciaran Downey combined to tee up Conor Moore to find the net and cut the gap to a more manageable four points but Naomh Mairtin’s composure shone like the autumn that burst out from the clouds.

Daragh Dorian landed a two-pointer after Mulroy split the posts with a ’45, amazingly his only placed point of the day. With that lead, they could soak up three scores in a row from Ciaran Downey.

With Blues running out of ideas and a constant supply of Mairtin's possession around the middle, the ‘Jock’s’ could enjoy the procession. Captain Eoghan Callaghan landed his side's final score before raising the rafters again with his speech.

Scorers for Naomh Mairtin: S Mulroy 1-4 (1-0pen, 1tp, 1'45), T Gray 0-4, D Dorian 0-3 (1tp), J Murphy 0-2 (1tp), D McDonnell, 0-2, E Callaghan 0-2, W Campbell, 0-1 each.

Scorers for Newtown Blues: C Downey 0-5 (1f) E McCoy 0-2, C Branigan 0-2 (1tp), A McDonnell and J Kelly (f) 0-1 each.

Naomh Mairtin: D Morgan; C Sands, T Sullivan, C Healy; E Whelan, E Callaghan, J Murphy; A Booth, D McDonnell; D Dorian, S Mulroy, W Campbell; T Gray, V Leddy, D Dorian. 

SUBS: J McGrane for Campbell (50), C Callanan for Leddy (58).

Newtown Blues: J McDonnell; A Connor, C Cluskey Kelly, D Nally; F Donohoe, E Carolan, A McDonnell; B Kermode, R Kelly; C Branigan, C Downey, C MacCriosta; J Kelly, C Moore, E McCoy. 

SUBS: N Devlin for Donohoe (ht), C Judge for Moore (49), I Farrell for Kermode (50), Ross Nally for MacCriosta (58), A O’Brien for McCoy (58).

Referee: Ultan McElroy (Kilkerley Emmets)