Louth stay strong in spite of Harte break
The departure of their iconic manager was a serious blow, but they have shown remarkable resilience
Ciaran Downey
In the space of 19 tumultuous weeks last year, Louth were trashed by 21 points in their first Leinster final appearance in 13 seasons; they endured a 28-point pummelling from Kerry in the All-Ireland series; Croke Park ordered preparatory groundwork on their new €25m 14,000-capacity stadium to be suspended and their high-profile manager Mickey Harte left to become Derry boss.
This quadruple whammy looked set to be just as traumatic as their infamous 2010 Leinster final loss to Meath. But to the immense credit of everyone involved in GAA in the county, they dusted themselves down and started again.
