Louth left it late to confirm their place as the last of the eight All-Ireland SFC quarter-finalists – but history takes time.
For a championship that has motored along a largely predictable route towards the business end of things at Croke Park, the weekend at least provided a few twists and turns before the big show pitches its tent at the big house.
On Saturday, Roscommon beat Tyrone in the championship for the first time and on Sunday Louth booked a maiden appearance in the All-Ireland quarter-finals following a first triumph over Cork since the 1957 All-Ireland decider.
Derry are still alive in the championship while Galway remain standing too, but Monaghan’s summer petered out as the Farney now braces itself for the long goodbye to what has been a glorious period for the county’s footballers.
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And then there was Mayo. They fell to Derry after penalties in Castlebar on Saturday but perhaps the sight of Ciarán Kilkenny soaring through the sky from the previous weekend will be the image that haunts them most over the winter. That moment changed everything, it sent them down a different path.
When everything needed to be decided in Inniskeen on Sunday, Sam Mulroy chose the path Louth would travel. His 73rd-minute winner earned Louth a 1-9 to 1-8 preliminary quarter-final victory over Cork.
It sparked wild celebrations at Grattan Park and long after the final whistle the Louth players remained on the pitch signing autographs and posing for photographs. As Ger Brennan conducted post-match interviews he was surrounded by Louth fans looking for him to sign everything from hats and jerseys to footballs and match programmes.
He sent most of the smiling faces away with the same simple message, “We’ll see you in Croke Park next week”. It’s just a short trip down the M1 but a journey Louth fans have never before made on All-Ireland quarter-final weekend.
“I was chatting to Paddy Andrews and Michael Murphy afterwards (on GAAGo) and I was just saying, the three of us standing there with Gráinne, we’ve been fortunate to have had experiences as players.
“But the crowd and enthusiasm that’s here, to get to an All-Ireland quarter-final for the first time in the modern era is just a huge achievement.
“There are more people wearing Louth jerseys around the county as opposed to Drogheda and Dundalk, and it’s just a huge boost for everyone.
“You have to harness that energy if you are going to do anything. Armagh and Donegal have obviously had a good look at us today, they are the only two teams we can play.”
The draw for the All-Ireland quarter-finals will take place on Monday after the 8.30am news on RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland programme.
The four first-placed teams from the group stages (Dublin, Kerry, Donegal, Armagh) will be drawn against the four preliminary quarter-final winners (Derry, Roscommon, Galway, Louth).
However, the draw will be subject to the avoidance of repeat provincial finals and where possible avoidance of repeat pairings form the group stages of the All-Ireland series.
It means the following games will not be possible – Kerry v Louth, Dublin v Louth, Dublin v Roscommon, Armagh v Galway, Armagh v Derry. All four quarter-finals will take place next weekend, with double-headers to be fixed for Croke Park on Saturday and Sunday.
“When you get to this stage of the competition now, there’s no way you’ll sneak into the latter stages,” said Mickey Harte after watching his Derry side overcome Mayo.
“We’ll see on Monday morning what the nature of that task is.”
The All-Ireland senior hurling semi-final fixtures have been confirmed, with Kilkenny to face Clare at Croke Park on Saturday, July 7th at 3pm – and the early start is likely to generate kickback in those counties.
The second semi-final between Limerick and Cork will be played at Croke Park on the following afternoon, Sunday, July 8th at 4pm.
The possibility of an All-Ireland hurling and football double this year is gone now though as both the Dublin hurlers and Cork footballers bowed out at the weekend.
After his side’s defeat to Cork on Saturday, Dublin hurling manager Micheál Donoghue indicated he intended to remain at the helm with the capital hurlers for another season.
“That’s the plan anyway,” he remarked.
But Cork football manager John Cleary was non-committal after his side fell to Louth in Inniskeen.
“Anybody involved in a county team will tell you it’s tough going, it’s a full-time job. We’ll just mull on it now for a few days and see after that,” he said.
“The season will be defined a lot by the last game.”
For Louth, the weekend was defined by Mulroy’s last gasp free. Moments later he was down the other end of the field denying Cork the chance to force an equaliser.
“That’s leadership, pure desire,” added Brennan. “That’s a will to win and wanting to lead his team-mates.”
All the way to Croke Park, it turns out.
All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals
Armagh v Louth/Roscommon
Donegal v Galway/Derry/Louth/Roscommon
Dublin v Derry/Galway
Kerry v Derry/Galway/Roscommon
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