Latest news with #SamMulroy
The Irish Sun
03-07-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
‘Trying to keep up with the big man' – Top GAA talisman beams in pic with Man Utd star during warm weather training
SAM MULROY had a chance encounter with a Manchester United star as he embarked on post-season training in the Algarve. The Louth forward was being put through his paces at the same time as Red Devils striker Rasmus Hojlund. Advertisement 2 Sam Mulroy has been training in the off season Credit: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile 2 Sam Mulroy shared a photo of himself with Rasmus Hojlund And the Naomh Mairtin man took the chance to take a photo with the Dane. Mulroy said: "Trying to keep up with the Big Man @ 2025 proved to be a historic year for Mulroy and his Wee County teammates. The peak of their season came when they beat Meath to win the Leinster football championship for the first time since 1957. Advertisement Read More on GAA However, the county board will have a task on their hands to replicate that success in 2026 following the The former Dub stepped down on Tuesday after two years at the helm. He is odds-on to replace Brennan won All-Irelands with the Dubs in 2011 and 2013, but had to retire from inter-county football in 2015 due to an achilles injury. Advertisement Most read in GAA Football Comment Louth also won the Leinster under-20 title this summer , and were beaten in the minor provincial decider by And in a statement released on Tuesday, Brennan insisted the future is bright for the Wee County despite his exit. 'Lots of fight' - RTE GAA pundits react to Sean O'Shea's 'very interesting' interview after Kerry dethrone Armagh He said: 'On behalf of the Louth senior football team management and staff, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for what has been an extraordinary journey with this incredible organisation. 'I want to thank Chairperson Seán McClean for his unwavering support - always engaged, energetic, and available in his commitment to all things Louth GAA . Advertisement "His leadership and dedication have been instrumental in everything we achieved together. 'My sincere appreciation goes to the Louth County Board, the Louth Clubs, and all the staff at Darver for their tremendous support throughout these past two years. "The foundation of support you provided made our work possible. 'Most importantly, I want to express my profound gratitude to the Louth Senior Footballers. It has been an absolute privilege to be part of your journey these past two years. Advertisement 'What you have accomplished for the Gaels of County Louth will be remembered and celebrated for generations to come. Your dedication, heart, and commitment have made history . 'As you embark on the next chapter of your journey, I have complete confidence that fresh perspectives will bring new energy and insights to your honest and hardworking team. The future is bright for Louth football.'
The 42
21-06-2025
- Sport
- The 42
'For us, it's 68 years, so the people were allowed that' - Sam Mulroy loads up again
THE TROUBLE WITH Shangri-La, is eventually you have to go home and de-scale the kettle. While Sam Mulroy and the Louth team and management went bananas after bridging the 68-year gap back to their last Leinster title, it was fun and it was glorious. And for it to be Meath as the vanquished? Ah, stop! Too much! Too much! 'It was something that none of us, Louth or Meath, probably ever experienced as players. It was unbelievable. I think I was just saying to the few lads here today that like, I think All-Ireland final day has an awful lot of neutral people here,' says Mulroy now. 'Like, I'd be at All-Ireland final day, Louth are not involved, so whereas on Leister final day, it was Louth/Meath, and there were 60,000-plus people here shouting for either side. So yeah, it was noisy, it was electric, it was class.' But 13 days later, they went out in Newbridge against Monaghan and lost. However, they still had Down to come and felt good enough about themselves, right up to the point when they realised that their diesel was still a little dirty. They left themselves too much to do. Down deservedly won. Which left a final day out against Clare, who, let's face it, was their banker. The three point margin and flow of the game however, shows that it was far from comfortable. Bit of a hangover, then? 'Yeah, I think so,' admits Mulroy at the launch of the All-Ireland football series. 'I suppose winning Leinster has been the main goal over the last number of years for this group, so I suppose when you get there and you do it, maybe there is a case of coming down a little bit. 'There was obviously a lot of celebrating for a few days after, and you have to because, as I said, it took a long time to get there and you have to enjoy it and live in the moment for it. 'But yeah, our performances against Monaghan and then Down weren't up to scratch, and we knew then going into last weekend that, as you said, we have to win to stay in the Championship. Advertisement Sam Mulroy scores a penalty for Louth in the nip-and-tuck first half of the Leinster SFC final 📱 Updates - 📺 Watch - — The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 11, 2025 'I don't know if we played better that way, but we were backs against the wall a little bit sometimes, so maybe it was the best thing for us. So yeah, I thought at times last week we were good, so hopefully coming back to some sort of form.' They have the unenviable task of an away day in Ballybofey – not quite the fortress now that Tyrone tore up Jim McGuinness' unbeaten record in Pairc MacCumhaill – but intimidating nonetheless. Before we get to that yet, let's stay in the warm bath of the Leinster final before it turns tepid. 'For us, it's 68 years, so the people were allowed that, it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing for a lot of people, and hopefully it comes around, hopefully the gap's not as big the next time. But I suppose it's hard to get back on track, maybe, even just for people around the county and talking about it and not getting caught up in that as well. 'I think it was a short turnaround of our training on the Wednesday, obviously with a job to do and we knew we were going into a tough group. It was a case of maybe you didn't get to bask in it as much as you'd like, but we enjoyed the few days we did get.' Few deserved the few days quite like Mulroy. He had sent a series of shots wide earlier in the game, but stepped up with 1-7 in total and a critical two-point free towards the end. We're finding ourselves asking forwards about a lot of critical finishing scores in this brave new world of rules in 2025. How does Mulroy keep a clear head in those situations? After all, he is the championship's leading scorer with 4-34 from six games so far, and the top scorer in the round robin, with 3-20, despite losing two of those three games. 'Moments come and pass and it's trying to stay on track, not get too caught up in it, and by the time I took the last kick, I'd completely forgotten about the few before, the few I missed at the start of the second half. Sam Barnes / SPORTSFILE Sam Barnes / SPORTSFILE / SPORTSFILE 'I was actually only watching the clips back with the boys on the Wednesday of training that you're like, 'why did I take that shot?' Or 'what was I doing there?'' The next bit is really, really interesting. Read twice if necessary. 'You nearly forget about them, and I think that's an ability and a skill that you develop over the years of just not getting too high and not getting too low with your shots or your chances or whatever it is, because the game's so fast and there's no time. 'I suppose a younger Sam maybe would have dwelled on them and let it get to me and affect me, but I suppose now as I've grown as a player, I've definitely learned to just move on and forget about it. 'I probably expected myself to score one or two of them, and I snatched that one on the top of the arc. I was probably trying to force it a little bit. 'I know the shots I've taken, I think I can definitely score them, and then it's just a case of probably feeling the moment a little bit more, understanding when you need to take the shot or is there a better opportunity to just keep the ball.' The partying, the few sherbets, the music and craic and stories and yarns were priceless. But in time, that stuff fades. What remains is how the children of Louth were inspired by a group of men who have become instant heroes. Only at the start of this week, the former Louth great JP Rooney forwarded Mulroy a video. It was of Rooney's soon, previously a football agnostic who wasn't bothered either way, he would never have been out with a football on his own. Then his father took him to the Leinster final. 'It was very nice to see that yesterday, that you're inspiring the next generation of players to be involved in GAA and want to play for their club or their county,' Mulroy says. 'And then I suppose, maybe there was a glass ceiling in Louth that we could never get over the line and win anything, and I suppose getting that job done, and then obviously the 20s and the minors doing really, really well as well, you're just hoping that people coming through in Louth don't see that there's a ceiling on this thing, you can go as far as we like.' All of this seemed a long way off when Mickey Harte took over in the winter of 2020 and Louth were a division 4 team. It looked just slightly less unlikely when Harte left after the 2023 season, having left Louth as a division 2 side and having reached a Leinster final. The feeling was of a team that had emptied themselves in a few seasons under an All-Ireland winning coach, and gravity would soon ensue. 'When Mickey Harte left I kind of felt, no matter who comes in there, it's a case of next man up and we keep going on this journey, and Ger (Brennan) came in with this team, and we've done rightly,' deadpans Mulroy. Related Reads 'We back you no matter what' - Shane Walsh on backing of Galway team mates 'Just a special talent' - 20 years on from Galway's 'Terrible Twins' brilliance in All-Ireland final 'You are used to being on the road' - Shane O'Donnell makes light of Donegal controversy 'Yeah, look, I think the group is an experienced group. We learned a lot under Mickey and Gavin, but I think the group realised that we didn't want it to stop there, so, yeah, it's a case of just keeping it going no matter who comes in. It brings them to Donegal and a man Mulroy knows well. In 2020 and 2021, Jim McGuinness was in helping out with Mulroy's club, Naomh Mairtín, when they won their first and second Louth county titles. They've had a few brief meetings since, a few snatched words at Ballyshannon for a league meeting and after last year's All-Ireland quarter final defeat. It would be good to catch up, Mulroy says. But they have miles to go before all that. 'We're not going up to Ballybofey for the craic or to fulfill a fixture,' he states. 'We're in a prelim quarterfinal for the All-Ireland series and we played in a quarter-final here last year. so it's a case of let's try and go better again this year and try and progress as a team. As I said it won't be just to fulfill a fixture and just let Donegal go through into a quarter-final.' * Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
The Irish Sun
21-06-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Sam Mulroy doubles down on brave All-Ireland claim he ‘took a lot of slack for' after inspiring Louth to Leinster glory
SAM MULROY is determined to secure a second date with his silver namesake after a summer of love so far. The neighbours Meath in last month's 2 Louth footballer Sam Mulroy poses for a portrait at the national launch of the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Series Credit: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile 2 Louth footballer Sam Mulroy poses for a portrait with the Sam Maguire Cup at the national launch of the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Series Credit: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile On a day when the country fell back in love with the maligned provincial Championship , With Dublin aiming for a 15th Delaney Cup in a row, the public's relationship with the Leinster Championship had turned sour. But Louth's heroics — after Meath had Mulroy got his hands on Sam Maguire at the launch of the All-Ireland knockout series this week before a preliminary quarter-final trip to Read More on GAA And the confident hitman has reiterated his belief that the Wee County can take home the big prize for the first time since 1957, a claim he reveals he has copped flak for. He said: 'Absolutely, I took a little bit of slack for it before, which was fine but I suppose it was a case of putting it out there into the world and saying, 'Why could we not be in contention?' 'The group's gone about doing the work to put us in contention and to play in these games. Obviously last week Meath beat Kerry and they beat Dublin. 'They're results you wouldn't be calling maybe last year with the rule changes and the two-pointers and the expansive game. Most read in GAA Football 'So I don't think you can rule anything out going into the next few weeks.' Winning Leinster for just the ninth time in their history understandable took its toll. 'Just in time for Father's Day' - Dublin GAA legends welcome the birth of precious baby daughter The hangover carried into the All-Ireland group stages as back-to-back defeats against Monaghan and Down left their summer hanging by a thread. Ger Brennan's men did the business in the final round against Clare, but only just. They eventually banished the Banner 2-17 to 2-14 last weekend to advance in third. Mulroy said: 'Winning Leinster has been the main goal over the last number of years for this group. I suppose when you get there and you do it, maybe there is a case of coming down a little bit. 'There was obviously a lot of celebrating going on for a few days after but you have to, because it took a long time to get there and you have to enjoy it and live in the moment. 'But our performances against Monaghan and Down weren't up to scratch and we knew going into last weekend that we had to win to save the Championship. 'I don't know if we played better that way with our backs against the wall a little bit, but maybe it was the best thing for us. 'I thought at times last week we were good, so hopefully we're coming back to some sort of form. 'It's 68 years, so for the people of Louth it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing for a lot of people. 'Hopefully the gap is not as big the next time. I suppose it's hard to get back on track, maybe, even just for people around the county and talking about it and not getting caught up in that. 'We were back training on the Wednesday, obviously with a job to do and we knew we were going into a tough group. 'It was a case of maybe you didn't get to bask in it as much as you'd like, but we enjoyed the few days we got.' TOP MARKS Mulroy has the mindset of a top marksman as, despite firing a number of wides against the Royals, he still ran up a huge total. The Naomh Máirtín hotshot admits putting those off-target efforts behind him was key, allowing him to fire a two-point free in the 65th minute to move Louth ahead of their neighbours and put one hand on the Delaney Cup. The 27-year-old said: 'Moments come and pass and it's trying to stay on track and not get too caught up in it. 'By the time I took the last kick, I'd completely forgotten about the few before. 'The few I missed at the start of the second half, when you're watching the clips back with the boys at the Wednesday training, you're like, 'Why did I take that shot' or, 'What was I doing there?' 'You nearly forget about them and I think that's an ability and a skill that you develop over the years. 'Not getting too high and not getting too low with your shots or your chances or whatever it is because the game's so fast. 'There's no time. A younger Sam maybe would've dwelled on them and let it get to me and affect me. 'But I suppose now as I've grown as a player, I've definitely learned to just move on and forget about it.' Louth have a free shot tomorrow. And their star man is full of belief ahead of their trip to Ballybofey for a battle of the Ulster and Leinster champs. They are familiar foes too with Louth asking plenty of questions of Jim McGuinness' side in an All-Ireland quarter-final loss last year. Mulroy said: 'I will putting that message to the group that we're not going up to Ballybofey for the craic or to fulfil a fixture. 'We're in a preliminary quarter-final for the All-Ireland series and we played in a quarter-final at Croke Park last year, so it's a case of let's try and go better again this year and progress as a team. 'It won't be, 'Let Donegal go through into a quarter-final'. 'It was either Killarney, Croke Park against Dublin or Ballybofey against Donegal so the options weren't massively in our favour. 'It was always going to be a tough test no matter who we got, but you see there's an opportunity and you try to say how are we going to go about winning this game. 'That's the case now. so we'll do our best to prepare and hopefully we'll give it our all.'
RTÉ News
15-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Louth hold firm against Clare to make it into the hat for All-Ireland SFC knockouts
Louth booked their place in the Monday morning's All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter final draw with a sticky victory over Clare in the finish. Reviving their season and shaking off the Leinster hangover wasn't easy but a realignment win over the Banner will do the provincial champions the world of good ahead of next weekend. Despite the unenamoured finale to the Group 3 do-or-die affair, an away day was all both sides could play for and Louth gladly punched their ticket. Clare were in search of the first win in the All-Ireland series at their tenth attempt and it looked to change at various stages but they lacked the sustained quality to get over the line. When late replacement Emmet McMahon, Eoin Cleary and Mark McInerney hit three points in rapid fashion. Louth were flat and that purple patch came from a short Sam Mulroy effort. Dogged underdogs caught the perfect start that instilled belief. Curiously they were blown on numerous occasions for steps. The infringements however didn't hamper the Banner as they blitzed the beginning of the contest. Louth were over carrying themselves but not clinical - that was the early difference. Conor Grimes redeemed his team and himself with Louth's first, 12 minutes in, but the tone was set. Outnumbered Clare supporters were making their voices heard but Dara McDonnell and Tommy Durnin silenced them. Twin towers in the Leinster champions engine room ruled the skies as Ciaran Downey and Craig Lennon levelled. With the aerial prowess, Sam Mulroy gave Ger Brennan's side the lead with a free. Manus Doherty would be black-carded in the process and Louth smelt blood. Downey added another and Mulroy plundered home a goal. All-Star Craig Lennon very nearly had another goal of the season contender afterwards, but a slalomed run and trickled shot was saved off the line to save Peter Keane's side's blushes briefly. Switched to the forty, Downey was a revelation, he recaptured his form at the tail end of the Down game and brought it on even further in Laois. Louth's next score was a sublime run and finish from the Newtown Blues forward and that looked to be it. With the lead and renewed confidence Louth were able to control the game and led 2-08 to 0-06 going in at half time. Again, another effort at the Clare goal was thwarted and sprung the Munster men into action at the start of the half. Rory McMahon left his defensive duties and found himself in front of goals. The defender swung around and powered past Niall McDonnell who got a strong hand to the powerful shot. In truth, the goal was the shot Peter Keane's side needed, and the games. The early major gave the Banner belief and allowed them to stay in the game. Louth could not shake the Munster finalists off until the last kick. Leading by eight midway through the second period didn't deter Clare once they broke through Louth's rearguard. Mark McInerney chipped away at the deficit while Louth punched back with five points from talisman Sam Mulroy, four of those points, beyond the arc. Managing the contest was tough for Louth to get motivated and McDonnell controlled the airways but they needed impact from the bench. Conor Branigan and debutant Ryan Walsh provided it. Also, with a draw sufficient to get through at the back of Louth's minds, it allowed Clare to go for broke and the winners to stagnate. Eoin Cleary cut the gap in half single-handedly from eight to four with a goal and point and cue the frantic end. With Clare in the ascendancy, Louth lost goalkeeper McDonnell to injury and in came All-Ireland under 20 net-minder Tiernan Markey for his debut. Substitute Conor Branigan's second point would be crucial. A three-point gap, Clare pushed with two-pointers and Louth defended themselves into another week of championship football. Clare: Stephen Ryan (0-01, 0-01f): Manus Doherty, Ronan Lanigan, Rory McMahon (1-00); Cillian Rouine, Alan Sweeney, Ikem Ugwueru; Brian McNamara (0-01), Daniel Walsh; Dermot Coughlan Jnr, Emmet McMahon (0-02), Conor Meaney; Aaron Griffin (0-01), Eoin Cleary (1-02), Mark McInerney (0-06, 0-03f). Subs: Shane Griffin for Meaney (24), Brendan Rouine for Walsh (50), Jamie Stack for Sweeney (59), Keelan Sexton (0-01) for Cleary (64) Ciaran Downes for McMahon (67). Louth: Niall McDonnell; Donal McKenny, Emmet Carolan, Dan Corcoran; Conall McKeever, Peter Lynch, Daire Nally; Dara McDonnell, Tommy Durnin; Conor Grimes (0-01), Ciaran Downey (1-05, 1tp), Craig Lennon (0-01), Ciaran Keenan, Sam Mulroy (1-06, 0-02f, 1 tpf, 1tp), Ryan Burns (0-01).
Irish Examiner
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Louth edge winner-takes-all thriller against Clare to stay in Championship
All-Ireland SFC: Clare 2-14 (2-0-14) Louth 2-17 (2-1-15) Louth's summer adventure will kick on through to the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final stage after the Leinster champions just about got the better of Clare in a Group 3 shootout to decide who would go through and who would bow out. Neither county had a point to their name after the opening two rounds but Louth knew that a draw would be enough thanks to their superior points difference. This performance wasn't perfect, but it did the job against an opponent that never gave up. Clare galloped out of the traps with three quickfire points inside the first four minutes against a Louth side that has made an unfortunate habit of slow starts. Ger Brennan's men wouldn't trouble the scoreboard for 12 minutes themselves. The Munster side had a few good opportunities to add to that platform but squandered them before the game then settled into a period where the supposedly lost art of defending took centre stage at both ends. Louth had begun to settle by the time the tie was blown open, but the black card shown to Manus Doherty for a foul on Craig Lennon set the stage for a purple patch from the Leinster champions who scorched through the next ten minutes. They outscored their opponent 2-3 to 0-1 in that timeframe. Sam Mulroy claimed one of the goals, Ciaran Downey got the other, the latter of that pair adding four points to his tally in a phenomenal nine-minute burst. Clare went to pieces in this period. The concession of both goals was sloppy and only a goalline block from captain Eoin Cleary on Lennon prevented a third. By the time Doherty reappeared Clare were 2-7 to 0-4 in arrears. Losing All-Star Lennon to injury late in the first-half was a blow for the Wee County but the sense at that stage was that this game was nearly in the bag. It was 2-8 to 0-6 at the break, Downey firing over another to bring his first-half tally to 1-5, all from play. The same man dirtied his bib on the restart, coughing up the ball in his own third and paving the way for Shane Griffin to feed Rory McMahon whose shot was just about powerful enough to get past goalkeeper Niall McDonnell and make the net. The drama was only starting. Clare simply weren't giving up. They fought tooth and nail with that impetus and twice got it back to five points while Shane Griffin had a shot saved that would have brought it back to a one-score game with 17 minutes to go. A Sam Mulroy two-pointer soon after had the gap pushed out to eight but even then Clare wouldn't face away. Captain Cleary made another major intervention when claiming a poacher's goal and the point he added straight after left four between them. Louth were already looking edgy, no doubt feeling the tension coming from their support in the crowd. That didn't dissipate with the Banner twice bringing it back to three points but the chasers lacked composure in front of goal towards the end and fell just short. Scorers for Clare: M McInerney (0-5, 3f); E Cleary (1-2); R McMahon (1-0); E McMahon (0-2); B McNamara and A Griffin (both 0-1); S Ryan (0-1 '45'); Scorers for Louth: S Mulroy (1-6, 1f, 1 2-ptr); C Downey (1-5); C Branigan (0-2); C Lennon, C Grimes, R Burns, R Walsh and (all 0-1); Clare: S Ryan; R McMahon, R Lanigan, M Doherty; A Sweeney, C Rouine, I Ugwueru; B McNamara, D Walsh; E McMahon, D Coughlan, C Meaney; A Griffin, E Cleary, M McInerney. Subs: S Griffin for Meaney (24); B Rouine for Walsh (50); J Stack for Sweeney (59); K Sexton for Cleary (64); C Downes for McMahon (67); Louth: N McDonnell; D Nally, E Carolan, D McKenny; C McKeever, P Lynch, C Lennon; T Durnin, D McConnell; D Corcoran, C Downey, C Grimes; C Keenan, S Mulroy, R Burns. Subs: R Walsh for Lennon (32); D Campbell for Keenan and C Branigan for Grimes (both 53); A Williams for Burns (66); T Markey for McDonnell (66); K McArdle for Downey (68); Referee: B Tiernan (Dublin).
