Stoking the memories .... magical Louth memories from the 1950s
Writer Anne Carroll is very much looking forward to Saturday's All-Ireland semi-final between Louth and Mayo
By Anne Carroll
Waves of emotion continue to ripple through the generations in Louth. It’s a story filled with euphoria and wild enthusiasm. Tales of the day when a wee man from the biggest county met a big man from the smallest county. The David and Goliath story of 1957 - the battle of the biggest against the smallest. Cork versus Louth.
Sixty-nine long years have passed since the king of the accordion, Dermot O’Brien, captained the Louth ship through those stormy waters. Dermot was carrying an injury on that fateful day in 1957. On arriving in Dublin, he quickly made his way to a treatment clinic in the city for a painkilling injection.
When Dermot finally arrived back at the gates of Croke Park, he found them closed and locked. Despite his desperate pleas, the attendants at the gate did not recognise the Louth man. There were 72,000 people inside and thousands more waiting outside the gates.
Above the din of noise, the public address system in Croke Park was constantly appealing for the Louth captain to go to his dressing room immediately. Lucky for Dermot, a large contingent of Louth supporters outside the gate spotted him. They chanted loudly to let him in. With just ten minutes to spare, dripping in his own sweat, Dermot O’Brien ran into the Louth dressing room.
Echoes of the Artane Boys Band ‘Amhrán na bhFiann’ rippled across Croke Park as the Louth men tasted their greatest euphoria. Having beaten the strong Cork team, they held Sam Maguire high. Years of waiting and yearning tightened their grip. Against all the odds they had achieved what many had proclaimed impossible.
Gaelic football is a sport, which lies deeply embedded within the soul of the Irish. It brings out the best in our people. It drives them from one end of the country to the other. It winds its way from the babe in its fathers’ arms to limbs stiffened by old age sitting along the side line.
Former hero of 1957, Louth player Frank Lynch was the youngest on the Louth team that day. Frank has now lived through 87 years of summer sunsets. He stood in Croke Park a few short weeks ago watching his team play against Monaghan. Old emotions of yesteryears pumped through his aging veins as he willed them to dare to dream and to defy the odds.
The Louth team of 2026 responded, defending heroically. As the final whistle echoed, tired legs became the catalyst for unbelievable scenes of joy as the tears and cheers mingled. Frank Lynch is one of just four of the original Louth team now alive who played in 1957. The others have moved on to meet their maker.
Many of those deeply respected elderly heroes were carried high on men’s shoulders. Their coffins draped in the Louth flag which they proudly represented and carried with them until their last breath was drawn.
On Saturday July 11, both the Mayo and Louth teams will be knocking on the door of history. Mayo has waited a long 75 years to raise Sam towards the sky. Both teams have many years of deep frustration and disappointment behind them.
Magical memories
Many magical memories will be evoked of the far-off days of the 1950s.Visions from the past when a sea of flat peaked caps and topcoats draped across arms once made their way along Amiens Street towards Croke Park. Neither team knows how long it may take to climb their mountain.
Across the remote Cooley peninsula in Co Louth, a sea of red and white flags flutter in the off-shore breeze. Cars, tractors and bales of silage all sport the Louth colours. Aged men re-tell the old stories. They carry a quiet determination to keep those precious memories alive.
Scattered among the sea of red and white, pockets of the red and green of Mayo can be found. They represent the many little close connections which the two counties share.
Ironically, there were two Mayo men playing on the winning team for Louth when they hoisted Sam high back in 1957. Dan O’Neill and Seamus O’Donnell were two young Gardai stationed far from home in the border county of Louth.
Both teams are now sowing the seeds which will grow and find their own roots. Both teams carry a deeply embedded appreciation for Gaelic football. They continue to reap its rewards - savouring the goodness it delivers to the heart and soul. Only one team will linger amid the scenes of wild enthusiasm next Saturday evening.
Will it be Cu Chulainn’s warriors from Leinster dressed in red and white? Could it be the mighty Queen Meadhbh’s tribe from Connacht proudly sporting their Mayo colours of red and green? May every blessing travel and remain with both teams. They have carried an incredible rise in the making for many long years. May the best team enjoy the victory they richly deserve.
Anne Carroll is a proud Louth woman from the Cooley Peninsula who has a great love for Westport and Mayo. Mayo News journalist, Michael Commins, was asked by Anne to preside at the launch of her debut book, ‘Gold Dust In These Hills’, at a gala night in the Carlingford Hotel in Louth last October. The book celebrates a wonderful senior generation on the Cooley Peninsula.