Perception of him may change, but All-Star won't alter Sam Mulroy

"It's an unbelievable honour and a privilege to win one but I won't be doing anything different. I still go to work, I still have to get up in the morning, I still have to go and train"

Wed, 26 Nov, 2025 - 06:00

Paul Keane

Louth captain Sam Mulroy has insisted that making history as the county's third ever All-Star won't change him or how he plays the game.

Attacker Mulroy skippered the Wee County to their first Leinster triumph since 1957 and was Man of the Match in the final against Meath.

He was also nominated for an All-Star in 2024 but missed out as team-mate Craig Lennon eventually made the Team of the Year.

Mulroy, Lennon and 2010 recipient Paddy Keenan are the only three Louth players to have won All-Stars in the history of the scheme.

Speaking at the launch of The Irish Blood Transfusion Service's 'Every Drop Counts' campaign, Mulroy said making history won't change anything about him.

"I don't think it affects me, it hasn't changed anything about me," said the Naomh Mairtin man. "It hasn't changed who I am and it hasn't changed how I play.

"Look, it's an unbelievable honour and a privilege to win one but I won't be doing anything different. I still go to work, I still have to get up in the morning, I still have to go and train so it doesn't change much for me.

"It's funny, I was talking to my mate, Conor Meyler, the other day about it and is it people's perception that changes maybe a little bit, but you don't change? I think it's one of those things where my life has stayed the same, I go on as normal and see it as a great thing that happened but I'm still going to play the game the same."

Mulroy also helped Naomh Mairtin to regain the Louth SFC title, capping an incredible year for him.

"It was magical to get a Leinster trophy after so long and then going back to the club, for it to work out as it did," he said.

"We were probably in a little bit of a transition period with the club. We were after losing a few boys to retirement and to Australia and we were young, so the way it worked out was sweet."

Mulroy will link up with new Louth boss Gavin Devlin, their former coach when Mickey Harte was in charge.

Improving on Louth's 2025 season means gaining promotion to Division 1 of the League, retaining the Leinster title and pushing on in the All-Ireland series. Are those realistic targets?

"You want to kick on and you want to progress and why not would be my answer to that," replied Mulroy. "But the competition is stiff and we're not silly enough to think that you can just go in and say, 'We'll do back-to-back' or 'We'll get promoted now'. We know there's still lots and lots of work to be done there."