Eight games across four groups this weekend and no such thing as a dead rubber. The conclusion to the All-Ireland senior football championship round-robin series also has two teams facing the prospect of leaving an unwanted mark on football history.
Leinster champions Louth and Connacht champions Galway are both playing for their survival. If one or both fail to progress, they would be the only provincial champions not to do so in the three years of the format.
That very format may be consigned to the dustbin of history after this year, but neither Louth nor Galway had ever envisaged leaving behind such a legacy.
Louth at least know exactly what is required for them to progress from Group 3 when they play Clare on Sunday (O’Moore Park, 2pm). Both teams lost to Monaghan and Down, but Louth’s superior scoring difference means a draw would still see them through to the preliminary quarter-finals.
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Galway’s fate in Group 4 is in their own hands when they play Armagh on Saturday evening (Breffni Park, 6.30pm). If the Tribesmen win, they’ll consign Dublin or Derry to the trapdoor.
Louth can point to the excuse of the hangover that accompanied the end of their provincial title famine. They were out against Monaghan in the first round of the All-Ireland series 13 days after winning their first Leinster football title in 68 years.
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When it came to playing Monaghan, Louth were clearly a little off the pace. They were always chasing the game and never got their noses in front. In the end, they were soundly beaten by six points.
Ger Brennan didn’t deny that lingering hangover afterwards. The Louth manager rated his team’s performance against Monaghan at four out of ten, adding “that is maybe down to the effects of winning the Leinster final and also to Monaghan, too”.
Whether they win or lose at the weekend, they’re always going to be legends
— Ger Brennan
A week later against Down, Louth were 10 points down early in the second half, before Sam Mulroy inspired what might have been a spectacular comeback. Mulroy finished with a dozen points, including four two-pointers. Tommy Durnin looked to be lining up a last-gasp equaliser just after the hooter when Adam Crimmins made a brilliant block for Down.
Now it’s win, draw or bust in Portlaoise. Clare are coming in off heavy defeats against Kerry in the Munster final and Down in the first round. However, they surprised many with their spirited performance against Monaghan when they led at half-time, 0-14 to 0-7. The Banner men eventually surrendered to Monaghan’s wind-aided second-half display, losing 1-25 to 1-16.
“Looking at their performance against Down, they would have been disappointed with how they started,” said Louth manager Brennan, who spoke to local media earlier this week. “Particularly in their own patch, they seemed to perform a lot better the last day against Monaghan, albeit Monaghan pulled away in the second half.
“And they will certainly fancy themselves against Louth this weekend. Three seasons ago, they beat a Louth team in the early rounds of Division 3, although Louth mobilised quite well and finished on eight points and won promotion themselves. So, they’re an excellent team . . . but I suppose we’re trying to think of our own group and trying to look at a bigger picture.”
With Mulroy still shooting the lights out, Louth should have enough firepower to get past Clare on Sunday, or certainly draw. For Brennan, however, it won’t define their 2025 season, which will go down in history.
“What this group of players have done for Louth GAA has been phenomenal,” says Brennan. “Whether we win or lose at the weekend, that will never change.
“The joy and the happiness that they’ve brought to people’s lives; that ending of a 68-year famine . . . these fellas, whether they win or lose at the weekend, they’re always going to be legends. For me, there’s no pressure on them.
“For me, they’re just a wonderful group of lads and they should have no fear of the outcome at the weekend. [They can] go out and have fun and express themselves because they have brought so much pride and given so much joy to the people of Louth.”
