By Cian O'Connell

Shane Callan has spent nearly two decades on the inter-county hurling beat with Louth.

Demanding defeats endured, splendid victories enjoyed, but Callan’s passion for the game remains undiminished.

Testing days have tested Callan and Louth’s resilience with four Nickey Rackard Cup finals causing pain, but pleasure was experienced at Croke Park four years ago.

Callan captained Louth to Lory Meagher Cup success and they contest the decider of that competition against Fermanagh at GAA headquarters on Saturday afternoon.

“In terms of the Rackard, bar '08 when Sligo beat us I think we probably came up against stronger opposition,” Callan reflects with admirable honesty.

“I don't know, an inferiority complex came against us when we played the likes of London and Armagh. I think we left the '08 one against Sligo behind us, we got a little bit of revenge in '16 in the Lory Meagher for that one.”

Being part of the Louth senior hurling story, though, matters deeply to Callan. “It is hard when you come from a so called weaker county,” Callan says. “In my earlier years I was playing club football as well as hurling. It is hard to juggle all of the balls in the air, I know a lot of our guys now are dual players, and more power to them. It is great.

“Sometimes when it comes to a choice, you will find, especially in a county like Louth that people tend to go towards the football.

“There is more of a clamour towards it, you have more teams. For me there is no comparison. Hurling is where it is at for me. We've done well, we want to compete at Nickey Rackard level, to go to the next step.

“Unfortunately we have taken a step back here, but hopefully we are on the right track. For me personally it has been a huge part of my life. It is hard to let it go. You just keep coming back wanting more. Given the year that is in it, for us it is just a privilege to be out there playing.”

It is why Callan was thrilled to remain involved when Armagh native Paul McCormack took charge for the 2019 campaign. A former Armagh footballer and hurler, McCormack brought a drive and desire which impressed Callan from the outset.

“I can't speak highly enough about Paul,” Callan replies. “I played against Paul, he was a hard man, hard and fair. I knew what we were getting when he came in. When you have played against someone it is different story than having them as your manager.

“He has tried to raise the game to another level, he has brought a professionalism. He expects certain standards and he goes about it the right way. Training has been excellent. There is no stone left unturned. He has played inter-county football and hurling.

“He would be well aware of the differences coming from Armagh where obviously football is strong too. So he is coming into Louth knowing he is up against it really from day one when you are competing. He has brought on young lads, he has trusted them, brought them in and integrated them well.”

Players retiring and others being unavailable has restricted Louth, but Callan is adamant about the manner in which McCormack is keen to make progress. “Unfortunately for him he had a huge turnover in his first year,” Callan adds. “With the age of the team lads had to move on, younger lads had to come in. It is difficult, there is no experience then. When you lose it then it becomes hard to start winning matches.

“He is trying to change the culture too. He isn't just about the Louth senior team, he is about the underage teams and is all for the clubs too. It is about raising the profile within the county. For someone who has no real loyalty to the county he is coming in as an outsider - that is great to see.

“We've had managers - I'm not going to talk down any managers we had in the past - but often when you get an outside manager come in for a year or two years it is about instant success.

“You can bring in three or five outside players bring them in for year at the expense of a young guy from Louth, who maybe won't come back.

“Paul isn't about that at all, he is just about raising standards in the county. Long may that continue. I hope he is still there for another couple of years because he has plenty to give.”

Callan does too. The importance of investing time and energy in underage structures is critical with Callan stressing the value of The Celtic Challenge in recent years for developing counties.

“I've seen it from both sides, when you come into the panel you are coming in as one of the youngest,” Callan remarks. “Club wise in Louth we have always floated around three, four or five club teams. We just haven't been able to push past that. My own club Pearse Og we are struggling at the minute with underage.

"The Celtic Challenge has really, really helped. I just see some of these young guys coming up, who have played loads and loads of hurling. I think that is the only thing for young players, just to play matches, matches, matches.

“Obviously training is great, but if you can't compete with the other sports getting guys matches and competing you are going to lose them to the other sports.

“Not just Gaelic Football, you have soccer and rugby, any sport will pull them in. If you aren't getting games lads are going to go away, but I have seen improvements in Louth in the last couple of years.

“You look at the likes of Sligo, who have won Lory Meagher and gone on to win Nickey Rackards, to be competing at Christy Ring level.

“That has all come from competition likes the Celtic Challenge, the younger lads coming through playing loads of hurling, bringing that into a senior team. It is great to see it and hopefully it continues.”

The manner in which Sligo and Donegal have carried out improvements reflected with Croke Park triumphs is a source of motivation and inspiration according to Callan. “I'm not saying we'd be envious”, Callan states, “but you'd look out and think if they can do it, why can't we do it? Our problem has been, especially when you look back to when we played Fermanagh a few weeks ago, is just finishing out those games.

“It is getting ourselves to the next level, performing over the duration of a match instead of for 50 or 60 minutes, then taking the eye off the ball maybe, just not getting over the line. When you see us get that consistency you will see us thrive and get to the next level hopefully.”

That remains the enduring challenge for Louth, maximising the resources available. “We have floated between the two lower tier competitions,” Callan acknowledges.

“When I started out we were competing at the top of the Nickey Rackard, getting to finals. I found with ourselves in Louth our League form often mirrored our Championship form. If we had a bad League we would have a bad Championship. There was no switch within the county that all of a sudden you will start performing come Championship after having a bad League.

“As I say that we obviously were relegated in the League this year, it is one of those stories where it is almost. We should have beaten Armagh, we should have beaten Donegal, who were excellent at the weekend.

“For them to beat a team like Mayo shows huge strides are being made in Donegal. That doesn't happen overnight, that comes from building through the underage and the momentum they've had winning a League earlier in the year and then winning the Nickey Rackard.”

There is always hope. That is precisely why Callan keeps coming back to wear the blood red and white Louth jersey. Another trip to the famous Jones Road theatre beckons, and few deserve it more.