‘Once Mary asked me to continue Micheál’s legacy I couldn’t say no’
Three months after the death of their manager, Louth ladies go to Croke Park on Sunday determined to honour his memory
WORDS like ‘tragedy’ and ‘heartbreak’ are often grossly misused about sport but, in the case of the Louth ladies footballers this year, they are sadly apt.
Reaching Sunday’s TG4 All-Ireland junior final against Limerick has brought them great joy but it has also come against a backdrop of deep sorrow after the death of their manager Micheál McKeown.
He suffered a brain haemorrhage on the morning of their Leinster semi-final and died two days later.
It rocked not only his family but united the GAA communities of Louth and his native Monaghan in grief.
McKeown was an extremely successful and popular club and intercounty coach in both counties and only took over the Louth women last autumn, but they immediately gelled with him and reached the Division 4 league final.
They have dedicated their progress since to his memory, and his replacement Darren Bishop (30) has revealed he was initially very reluctant
‘My father and Micheál were friends for 30 years, through work, life and football’
to take over “Micheál’s team” even though McKeown was a close family friend.
“My father and Micheál were friends for 30 years, through work, life and football. They coached against each other and with each other, and I’d have known Micheál since I was seven or eight.
“We weren’t related but he was like the uncle you wanted to have, because he was always such great craic and mad into football,” he explains.
At McKeown’s request, Bishop had taken two of Louth’s training sessions earlier this year so the county board approached him to take over.
The Castleblaney-based PE teacher was initially reluctant but “I went and spoke with Micheál’s wife Mary who said she’d be thrilled if I’d continue his legacy and see the year out. Once Mary asked, I was never going to say no.”
Mary herself has played an inspira- tional role for the team, continuing to support them and even bringing Micheál’s trademark hat to the Leinster final where they beat Carlow.
Controlling the players’ emotions has been a fine balancing act as they progressed past Antrim, Kilkenny and London to reach the All-Ireland semi-final against a Derry side they’d beaten well in the league.
But when Bishop needed inspiration most he had no hesitancy in evoking McKeown’s memory.
With just six minutes left Louth were two points down.
An accidental clash between two of their players yielded an injury-break of more than a half-hour, causing both teams to retreat to their dressing-rooms.
“I told the girls then if there was ever a time they needed Micheál, and when he would have needed them to come together, this was it,” Bishop reveals.
Less than a minute after the restart their famously cool-headed captain Kate Flood scored her second goal of the match and the Wee County’s young side were back in Croke Park.
“Derry were beaten in last year’s All-Ireland after a replay. People said we were very lucky to beat them but they cleared a ball from Rebecca Carr off the line in those six minutes too,” Bishop says.
“We know Limerick as well as they’d know us,” he adds.
“The girls beat them in this year’s league semi-final but league form is totally different and we know they’ve got two big additions since,” he noted of the return of veteran star Dympna O’Brien and camogie’s Rebecca Delee.
Sunday is Louth’s third All-Ireland junior final in eight years after 2010, 2012 and 2015. They won it three years ago but victory this time, you sense, would mean more than anyone can imagine.