WITH THE STANDS teeming and the joy pouring onto the pitch, the Leinster football championship felt like it had a significant adrenalin injection last Sunday as the Louth-Offaly semi-final went to extra-time and an eventual Louth win.

It’s their second final in 13 years, but you had to go back a full 50 years for the last time they competed in the final of the Delaney Cup.

Little wonder that Sam Mulroy is in favour of the provincial series right now, with a final against Dublin less than a fortnight away.

“I suppose you have the giants of Kerry and Dublin in Munster and Leinster. You can’t take them out of it and you can’t do anything about that,” he begins.

“But I have spoken about this before and it is up to everyone else to stop giving out about it and try to do something about it more so than shy away.

“In relation to the provincials, when you see how exciting they are in Ulster and Connacht, why would you change them?”

He continues, “The league is a credible competition and teams are playing at their own level and you can really see progress in teams who are moving up through the levels in their province.

“From my point of view, I love the way there is a group of 16 coming up and I suppose to play so many championship matches, everybody has to be happy.

“I think the key to the whole thing is playing championship matches to justify the amount of training you are doing.”

Back in 2010, he was a mere child swept up in the emotion of Peter Fitzpatrick’s team when they reached the final against Meath.

We don’t have to go into that. Not just yet.

“Back then I was living on the hype. You are reading everything, you are trying to get some insight and you have a different perspective. You want to talk to everyone or anyone about it,” recalls Mulroy.

“And now, it’s the opposite. You want to think the least as possible and you don’t want to talk about it.

“So I am in a completely different scenario than I was in 2010 obviously. But you do pick up on stuff.

“You live off it, like. It’s so exciting for people and in any sport. It’s been 13 years, but only two finals in 68 years. For that, it is just incredible and exciting times for Louth fans and I am really, really happy that we can bring that joy to them and there is more to come than the last time. But it is exciting.”

In year three of Mickey Harte’s managerial reign, Louth are feeding off the Tyrone man’s insatiable drive for success.

“I suppose I spoke about the changes made and the standards brought now that when Mickey will go, that Louth people will have to maintain those standards and that has to be the bare minimum,” Mulroy believes.

“In terms of that side of things, there’s definitely been improvements. And I think we have matched that on the pitch too – two promotions and we are going in the right trajectory.

“But I think the group of players that are there at the minute want to get success and believe they can do that. It’s been an incredible journey but it would be nice to get some medals.”

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