Senior football music to Byrne’s ears
SENIOR football!
It’s a phrase Declan Byrne must have thought he’d never hear, but it’s a reality for St Mochta’s next season and he’s relishing the prospect already.
‘That sounds amazing. Sean O’Mahony’s won the Intermediate a few years ago and kicked on and we’re lucky enough to have a crew of young lads here and we have a minor team in a county final next weekend so we’ll get another influx from that team.
‘I want to play senior football and I’m sure all the lads are chomping at the bit now too.’
But for now the Villagers will enjoy basking in the sweet afterglow of Seamus Flood glory.
‘It’s everything we’ve dreamed of. I think everyone wrote us off after losing the first game to the Fechin’s. We knew we’d be up against it today, Bevan Duffy driving through the middle, his brother too and then we lost our fella and most people in the ground probably said that’s it, the Mochs are beat. But all year we’ve showed that battling spirit and that character and that’s what brought us through again.
‘I’m not one to get emotional, the lads think I’m made of stone, but it’s 37 years of blood, sweat and tears but it just didn’t happen for us.
‘But we’ve dug deep and fair play to Fechin’s today, I’d say for the neutral that was a fantastic advert for Louth football. It was real game of football, tit-for-tat and they pushed us the whole way.
‘I’ve great mates on the team, Bevan Duffy is a pure gentleman and he’s a fantastic footballer and he was bringing them back into it, catching ball left, right and centre.
‘We kept plugging away and we hit them on the break three or four times near the end.
‘We’re lucky we have the legs, it’s the young lads who have come in this year and they’re been a breath of fresh air.
‘They’re given us a kick up the ass and look at Eamonn O’Neill up and down the pitch kicking scores. You live for theses days.’
One sobering aspect of the day was his brother Ciaran’s injury with initial fears that he’d suffered a broken leg.
‘I saw his leg and it’s not good. It’s not what you want for him, back home and on such a big occasion. He came in and kicked a score straight away. He’s my brother and at least we’re bringing the cup down to see him tomorrow.
Next up is a Leinster showdown against their 2009 provincial conquerors Longwood, but the Saints have a more pressing engagement this weekend.
‘We’ll send Eamonn O’Neill off next week and enjoy that first. This is the Holy Grail and we got it thank God.’