Perseverance pays off for Moran as Leitrim step out of darkness

Times like these probably seem a world away for Leitrim from last year when they made the lonely trip back across the Atlantic after being sensationally dumped out of the Connacht SFC.

New York were the only story in town that weekend in early April after their first provincial victory following an epic penalty shoot-out with Leitrim, who found themselves on the wrong side of history.

Things went from bad to worse that summer as they limped out of the Tailteann Cup with three successive losses, but perseverance underpins progress in any field and that was not lacking.

Andy Moran swiftly moved to shake things up with Mickey Graham, the man behind historic successes in Mullinalaghta and Cavan, coming on board to replace the departing Mike Solan as assistant manager.

Expectations were not overly high from the outside heading into this year’s Division 4 campaign, and while Leitrim rode their luck along the way more than once, promotion was secured on a dramatic final day.

A dubious penalty call in round three against Wexford ultimately proved the difference for Leitrim, with the Model outfit thwarted in the battle for second in the fourth tier based on their head-tohead disadvantage with Moran’s men after both sides finished on ten points.

Those are the breaks that must be taken advantage of and Moran praised his squad for keeping the shoulder to the wheel when it was easy to jump ship.

“Covid was really hard on the smaller counties, they didn’t have the resources in terms of the strength and conditioning, physical work, and all that. (For) the last three years, we have been building.

“We lost to New York famously last year, which got a lot of headlines. The key thing is that the lads stuck at it and didn’t shy away from it. They kept up the work during last year’s club championship, kept lifting weights, (and) kept doing the strength and conditioning. It really has paid off for us,” Moran said.

To do so without the services of sharpshooter Keith Beirne, who cited burnout and niggling injuries as his reason to step away from the county fold this year, makes it all the more impressive.

Beirne was the highest scorer across the four divisions last year, but Darragh Rooney and Ryan O’Rourke, who accounted for all but two points of their 0-15 tally against Tipperary last weekend, have picked up the slack.

The glory days are few and far between in Leitrim, with eyes always cast back to their famous Connacht triumph 30 years ago, but Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada was a sea of green and gold after they booked their Division 3 place.

All roads now lead to Croke Park on Saturday with silverware on the line as they renew acquaintances with Laois, who they surprised by a point in round six, and Moran cannot wait for it.

“We’re going to Division 3 and I heard a lot of noise during the week about killing league finals. They can kill them all they want for Divisions 1 and 2, but they won’t be killing them for Divisions 3 and 4,” Moran, who also takes charge of the Leitrim U-20s, remarked.

“Croke Park is the best place in the world if you ask me and we can’t wait to go there. Croke Park is a different sport – I would say there are three different sports within the GAA. There is the club scene, the county scene and then there is Croke Park.”