Sam Mulroy of Louth during the Leinster GAA Football Senior Championship Semi Final match between Louth and Offaly at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
Sam Mulroy’s recall of the infamous 2010 Leinster SFC Final between Louth and Meath remain painfully crystal clear.
The 12-years old, he was in the Hogan Stand with his father and grandfather and living his best life when it looked like Louth were about to claim a historic victory.
But then Joe Sheridan scored that controversial winning goal and Mulroy's elation quickly curdled to agony.
“I was distraught, I was bawling my eyes out at the final whistle,” says Mulroy. “Absolutely devastated, is what springs to mind.
“For me it was such an incredible day. We beat Kildare in the quarter-final, Westmeath in the semi-final. JP Rooney scored the goal in the final, a club-mate of mine.
“That day was just so special, we had two club-men playing in Mick Fanning and JP Rooney. And obviously the super-star Paddy Keenan. As a Louth supporter it was such an exciting day and the way it ended was heart-breaking stuff.
“I've never seen my granddad as mad in all his life. Yeah, it was a shocking end to a great day.”
Fast-forward 13 years and Mulroy has another opportunity to be a part of a Leinster Final winning day, but this time as Louth’s captain rather than a supporter in the stand.
They’re going in as huge underdogs against a Dublin team aiming to win a 13th provincial title on the trot, but Mulroy dares to believe.
“You have to believe that you can or you won't,” he says. “There is that in our heads, absolutely. But we're not delusional either, we're coming up against a Dublin team that has won the last 12 Leinster titles in a row and some of them have eight or nine All-Ireland medals.
“It's going to be a massive, massive challenge but we're probably better equipped than we've ever been to put up a challenge to Dublin and hopefully we can come out on the right side of the result, that's the ultimate aim.
“We're going in to win it. If you're not, there's no point in taking part. It's going to be a massive, massive test.”
Louth footballer, Sam Mulroy, pictured as AIB announces a five-year extension to its sponsorships of the GAA All-Ireland Football Championship and the AIB Camogie and GAA All-Ireland Club Championships. AIB is extremely proud to be extending their support of #TheToughest championships, as well as the players and communities involved in Gaelic Games nationwide.
It’s a testament to Mulroy’s determination that he’s fit to take to the field for Louth on Sunday.
Back in March he suffered a serious hamstring injury and was told he wouldn’t play again for 12 weeks, but instead he returned to action after just seven and played a key role in Louth’s victories over Westmeath and Offaly on the way to Sunday’s Final, scoring 1-10 over the course of both games.
“It's been a tough few weeks,” says Mulroy. “Obviously I missed the latter end of the League and that was massive for us at the time so it's tough to sit out and watch and you're watching it from a different perspective then.
“I'm way ahead of schedule and there's been a lot of hard work put in. The physio team involved are absolutely incredible. Our doctor is incredible. A lot of credit goes to them.
“I run the risk of re-injury I suppose coming back this early and that's just the way it is. When they told me 12 weeks I always had it in my head that it was never going to be 12 weeks, that's just the way I'm wired. I've done everything I could to be back and thankfully at the minute I'm feeling good.”
At the age of 25 and in his sixth season of inter-county football, the prolific forward is very much at the peak of his powers.
He’s playing for one of best managers in the history of the game in Mickey Harte and alongside a very talented generation of team-mates, and he doesn’t mind admitting he’s very ambitious about what Louth can achieve in the coming years.
“Absolutely. At this stage in your career you zero in on what you want out of it because you're giving up so much time and effort to play with your county so you need to get to a place where you're like, this is for me and this is what I want to do.
“If you're only half in there's no point because you'll achieve very little. We haven't achieved anything major just yet but it feels worth it at the minute if that makes sense?
“The boys we have in charge are incredible, the team environment is class, the players we have involved are top-class. So, yeah, it's an exciting time.”
