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Irish Times
02-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Malachy Clerkin: Ger Brennan's time with Louth will be remembered long after his shoes are filled
In a sense, Ger Brennan will never achieve more anywhere else than he already has with Louth . He will manage more teams, he will presumably win more trophies. But none of it will have the same impact as the shake, rattle and roll he gave Louth football this summer. Think about it. If he does become the Dublin manager, be it now or in the future, what can he do there that will compare? The next Dubs team to win a Leinster title will be met by little more than a shrug. The next All-Ireland will be hailed to the heavens, celebrated lustily in all parts of the city. But it won't be like a spaceship falling out of the sky in the way Louth's Leinster title was. [ Ger Brennan steps down as Louth football manager Opens in new window ] In the week after they beat Meath at the end of May, everyone you talked to in Louth kept falling back on the same mantra. The kids have something to latch on to now in the GAA, in a way no Louth people have had for generations. If you're a Dublin supporter under the age of 20, you've spent essentially your whole sentient life watching your team win All-Irelands. If you're a Louth supporter under the age of 75, all your memories have been bitter ones. Until now. Ger Brennan didn't change that all by himself but he'll be forever remembered as the man whose name was above the door when it happened. Given the players they have and the underage success the county has been racking up, maybe it looks from this vantage point like it was only a matter of time. But nobody was saying that when Mickey Harte skedaddled to the Derry job at the end of 2023. READ MORE Louth's Sam Mulroy lifts the Delaney Cup after their Leinster final win over Meath. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho This was not inevitable. Anything but, in fact. When Brennan came on board, Louth had been to a Leinster final earlier in the year but had been torched by Dublin to the tune of 5-21 to 0-15. It was a day out for their supporters – a first Leinster final in 13 years and only a second since 1960. But that's all it was. Or all it looked like, from the outside anyway. We all presumed that nobody was going to be taking Dublin's Leinster crown anytime soon. And that if anyone was going to, it would be when either Meath or Kildare got their house in order. Louth had been a decent league team under Harte, making it all the way up to finishing third in Division Two. But once he and Gavin Devlin left, that was surely going to be that for a while. We were wrong. All of us. Not only did we underestimate Brennan, we didn't give the players themselves the credit they deserved. These were serious intercounty players, not starry-eyed kids with a ponytail and a dream. They had been around long enough to take Harte's departure in a notably more grown-up fashion than a lot of the people who were outraged on their behalf. 'Look, it was never Mickey Harte's county,' Sam Mulroy told The Irish Times when Brennan took over. 'It's players who represent Louth on the pitch. Managers come and go. When they're there, they give it their all. There's a respect there between managers and players and you get on with it. It's as exciting having Ger in as it was having Mickey there. Sam Mulroy after scoring a goal for Louth in the Leinster final. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho 'It's a serious position to be in for a Louth footballer to be going playing under All-Ireland winners. Nothing has changed in that way. Life goes on. We've played under many managers before, we'll play under many in years to come. It is what it is. We do a job when we cross those white lines, we do it to the best of our ability every time. It's just a different message, a different voice every few years. That's the way GAA is.' And so they kicked on. They led Dublin at half-time in last year's Leinster final and finished second in their group behind Kerry before beating Cork to make the All-Ireland quarter-final. Craig Lennon won their first All Star since 2010. Brennan's first season was so much more than a consolidation of the Harte era and it gave them a sniff of more. Along the way, Brennan's management style turned out to be exactly what they needed, when they needed it. He is a deep believer in numbers and data and his time in UCD has certainly left him well acquainted with the more jargony end of the sports science world. He is no seller of pipe dreams. The Louth players always knew what was expected of them and what was achievable when they fulfilled those expectations. But on top of all that, there's a decency and an emotional intelligence to Brennan the manager that, let's just say, wasn't always visible in Brennan the player. He was able to relate to the younger members of the squad just as readily as the likes of Tommy Durnin, alongside whom he actually played for a summer in Boston back in the day. The Louth players responded and he took them beyond themselves. Ger Brennan and Dessie Farrell after last year's Leinster final. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho So what now? There had been rumours on the ground in Louth over the past while that Brennan would be moving on – and maybe Dessie Farrell's admission over the weekend that the Dublin County Board had known all year that he would be finishing up at the end of the 2025 championship bears that out. He's the obvious choice for the Dublin job, if for no other reason than the list of viable candidates is not overly long. With more departures likely and no underage success coming through to feed the next wave of Dublin teams, following Farrell, Jim Gavin and Pat Gilroy is no picnic. But then, neither was the Louth job when Brennan arrived. As for Louth, they will be fine. More than fine, in fact. They have the All-Ireland under-20 runners-up to start filtering into the senior ranks, as well as an excellent minor team that was just pipped in a thrilling Leinster final this year, many of whom are eligible again in 2026. They have a good age profile too – Mulroy, Lennon and Ryan Burns are all still in their mid-20s, with Durnin the only one of their main men over 30. Regardless of who takes over, they will be a force in what is suddenly a revitalised Leinster championship. One way or another, they are still rising. Brennan played a huge part in that and they will be forever intertwined.
BreakingNews.ie
01-07-2025
- Sport
- BreakingNews.ie
Ger Brennan steps down as Louth GAA manager
Louth GAA have confirmed that Ger Brennan is stepping down as manager of the senior footballers. The former Dublin defender took up the post in 2023 and guided the Wee County to their first Leinster senior title in 68 years this season. Advertisement In a statement, the county board thanked Brennan for his "extraordinary dedication, professionalism and inspiring leadership." A two-time All-Ireland winner with Dublin, Brennan took up the role ahead of this season following the departure of Mickey Harte. Louth also reached the preliminary quarter-finals of this year's Sam Maguire, losing to Donegal. The St Vincent's man's decision will intensify speculation he is going to take charge of his native Dublin following Dessie Farrell's decision to end his six-year reign as Dublin boss on Saturday. An All-Ireland SFC winner with Dublin in 2011 and '13, Brennan also won five Leinster medals as a player before retiring in 2015.
Irish Independent
01-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
A game changer for the wee county: Louth GAA Stadium gets green light
Sinn Féin spokesperson for sport Louth/East Meath TD Joanna Byrne has expressed her delight at the news that funding has been secured for a new GAA stadium, saying she was proud to have played a role in the project's progression. 'This good news been a long time coming. In my first term as a Louth County Councillor almost ten years ago I attended briefings on this project,' she said. 'I also voted to transfer land from Louth County Council to the GAA so this project could go ahead, at that time,' she Byrne. 'I am beyond happy that a new state of the art stadium will be build for the many Louth GAA fans to go to and enjoy matches.' The announcement comes on the heels of Louth's thrilling victory in the Leinster semi-final, Deputy Byrne added that 'it is a really great week for Louth GAA and the supporters.' Funding for the stadium has been secured through a combination of sources, including an agreed levy that will be contributed by local clubs. 'Everyone involved with Louth GAA can say they've contributed to this new stadium,' added Deputy Byrne. Looking ahead, the Sinn Féin TD is optimistic about Louth's future on the pitch. 'On May 11th Louth play Meath for the Delaney Cup in Croke Park. I am hoping that the Wee County can win the first Leinster Title since 1957. The future looks bright for Louth GAA.' Meanwhile, Local Fianna Fáil Senator Alison Comyn described the development as 'a game changer for Gaelic Games in Louth' and confirmed she would be working closely with Minister for Sport Charlie McConalogue to secure essential funding under the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund. "This is a fantastic opportunity to build on the rising success of the Louth football team and to give our players, supporters and young people a stadium they can call home. For too long, Louth has been without a proper county ground. Now we have a real opportunity to deliver a modern, fit-for-purpose stadium in Dundalk, a venue that will not only elevate games in the county but become a true hub for our community,' Senator Comyn said. Comyn also stressed the broader value of the project. "As Louth continues to grow in population and prominence, we need infrastructure that reflects our ambition. A county ground isn't just about sport, it's about opportunity and belonging. This stadium will inspire future generations of players, bring families and fans together and give the county a focal point we can all be proud of.'
