A year when the championship formbook was torn to shreds

Louth and Kildare senior footballers were central to a quite extraordinary 2010 championship. The Leinster final, about which enough words to fill Encyclopaedia Britannica have been written – and continue to be written, mostly in this county – was only part of it.

On a wider scale, there was the complete failure of provincial finalists to make an impact in the All-Ireland series. None of them even made it to the semi-finals, and it was two teams that had been beaten early in their respective provincial series that contested the final.

A brief reminder of how Louth advanced. There was a 1-11 to 1-7 win over Longford in a first round match at Portlaoise, and then came the performance of the championship, the Paddy Keenan-inspired side beating Kildare in quarter-final at Navan.

Westmeath were taken care of in the semi-final at Croke Park, giving Louth a place in the final for the first time in 50 years.
The Reds were home for all money as the decider came to a close, supporters in the Croke Park crowd 48,000 revved up and getting ready to challenge stewards if they tried to stop them getting on to the hallowed turf.

But there was enough time left for referee, Martin Sludden, to intervene – Meath were given a free passage to the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

There wasn’t much of a turnaround leading to Louth’s Round 4 qualifier with Dublin – a deflated team fell to a 2-14 to 0-13 defeat. Showing rare sympathy for an opposing side, the crowd of Hill 16 broke into the chant: “Champione! Champione!” Thanks, but it’s not true.

Cooley’s Brian White, the team’s long-distance free-taker, scored in every round, bringing his total to 0-20, with six of his points coming in the Kildare epic.

Meanwhile, down in the south, Kerry beat Limerick in the final, with Cork among the also-rans. The Rebels were still in the All-Ireland race, however, thanks to the system in place at the time.

This gave all beaten teams a second chance, with places for four of them in the All-Ireland quarter-finals. Just two years earlier, Tyrone took this circuitous route to reach, and win, the All-Ireland.

Roscommon beat Sligo in the Connacht final, while in Ulster, Tyrone lifted the Anglo-Celt Cup with an easy win over Monaghan. If the underdogs, the teams that had come through the qualifiers, were feeling intimidated going into the All-Ireland quarter-finals, it didn’t show. Together they tore the formbook to shreds, each of them getting the better of a provincial champion.

Down maintained their fine tradition in All-Ireland matches with Kerry, winning by 1-16 to 1-10; Dublin beat Tyrone 1-15 to 0-13; Cork had nine points to spare over Roscommon, and an improving Kildare side had it easy against Meath, eight points separating the neighbouring Leinster counties.

The semi-finals were close. Down, with the help of a dubious late goal, beat Kildare 1-16 to 1-14. On the line for Kildare was Kieran McGeeney. In his stint with his natrive Armagh which followed, and is ongoing, the Mullaghbawn hasn’t enjoyed the best of luck. Penalty goals scuppered Armagh in last year’s quarter-final with Galway.

In the other semi-final, Cork had just one point to spare over Dublin. But having looked on as their great rivals, Kerry, collected yet another provincial title, Graham Canty’s men were through to play Down, who had won the previous meeting of the sides in 1994, 1-13 to 0-11, before going on to lift the Sam Maguire Cup.

There was a different result this time. Cork worked hard for a one-point win, leaving Down to rue the chance of forcing a draw by missing a scoreable free late on. The Mourne manager that day, James McCartan, is now helping to plot Louth’s course as one of Ger Brennan’s backroom team.

There hasn’t been a championship since, replicating the 2010 renewal. Each year the All-Ireland has been won by a provincial champion.