Dundalk Young Irelands claimed Louth and AIB Leinster Junior Club glory in 2018.
By Cian O’Connell
For Dundalk Young Irelands it certainly was darkest before the dawn.
While 2018 brought silverware and success the previous campaign had been packed with despair and defeats.
The change, though, has been monumental and it is precisely why the Louth and AIB Leinster Junior Club champions head for O’Moore Park heartened on Sunday.
There is no disguising the challenge against Beaufort is daunting, but Adrian O’Donoghue’s sheer hard graft is being reflected by spirited performances from the proud Dundalk outfit.
“It has been fantastic, a wonderful campaign, no question about that,” O’Donoghue admits. “We started on January 3 last year and we went 52 weeks training consistently three nights a week so we are after doing more than 150 training sessions.
“They deserve to be where they are through the hard work that they have put in and the commitment. I suppose it is unprecedented in our club, to show that commitment really. So we are a small club with big ambitions and we have a wonderful group of players.”
O’Donoghue has been a central figure in the underage ranks with Dundalk Young Irelands, who bring a youthful panel to Portlaoise this weekend.
“A lot of the players I've been lucky enough to be involved with, I've always coached underage with the Islanders and we did very well two years ago at Under 16 level,” O’Donoghue explains.
Dundalk Young Irelands Cian O'Niaraigh pictured at a press event before the AIB Leinster Junior Club Final.
“We got to the Division One League and Championship finals, we were narrowly beaten in both. Then we won a Division One League four years ago and a lot of those lads are now playing with the adult team.
“About 13 of the players have came through the ranks in the last three years which for us is amazing. They are quality players, a lot of them are very talented and most of them at some point or other have played underage with Louth development squads.
“So we are blessed in that way, and I have been lucky to not just coach football ability, but also the mental strength part of it and the ambition part. This group are very ambitious men.”
Having endured a seriously demanding 2017 the Islanders are now viewed as a coming force in Louth considering the age profile of the panel.
“Absolutely, for us it has come at a really great time for us,” O’Donoghue says. “Unlike a lot of clubs in Dundalk and Louth we have youth on our side which gives us five, six or seven years headstart on teams.
“A lot of clubs in Dundalk have ageing teams, they peaked a few years ago and are on a downward curve. We were on a downward curve since 2013. We were relegated from Senior to Intermediate and obviously last year which makes what we have done more significant is that we were relegated from Intermediate in both League and Championship.
“We won one game out of 17 so it was a massive achievement. We have a nice balance of player, a nice balance of youth, this year alone we will have another four young men coming on to the panel, they will be eligible so we have a lot of youth coming through.
“Again when you look down the line again it could be Under 11 or 12s before we see any further coming through. We have got longevity in this team which is a rarity in County Louth.”
Louth footballer Derek Maguire is a key influence for Dundalk Young Irelands.
How the Islanders have responded to a harrowing spell is a source of pride and optimism for O’Donoghue. “We were relegated from Intermediate in League and Championship, but we have now gone 20 games unbeaten,” he adds. “We won the League outright and the Championship and the Leinster so it has been a fairytale run.
“It is down to a group of people who were underachieving, they knew they were better than they were showing. A great thing going back to the youth part is the fact that we were fairly successful for the past two or three years with our underage teams.
“That inspired the older lads, the 23, 25, and 27 year olds, that reinvigorated them. Now all of a sudden the young lads are battling them for their places, putting them to the pin of their collar for positions. It only motivated them.
“They could have reacted the other way by getting stubborn or arrogant about it, but they didn't. They encouraged it and they pushed themselves along, so it has been an amazing turnaround, a complete change of mental and physical strength to get to where we are. It has been an unbelievable transformation.”
Though several clubs are located in Dundalk O’Donoghue has been struck by the well wishes and goodwill from their neighbours since emerging from the Louth arena.
Dundalk Young Irelands’ journey shows what can be achieved. “It is great for Louth, not just our own club,” O’Donoghue acknowledges.
“We have been getting great support from the other clubs in Dundalk. I've relations playing for two or three other clubs in the town, in laws and different things, but they are all genuinely wishing us well.
“No Louth team has ever played in an All Ireland club final at any level bar us playing in the first ever All Ireland final, but it was a much different situation then. It maybe is a once in a lifetime thing, and we won't be easily beaten. We have our eyes firmly on Croke Park in a few weeks time.”
