Two decades into club career, Robert Leavy and Ardee could make history against Cuala

It was only when Leavy, now 38, turned 30 in 2016, the year that Ardee were beaten in the Louth senior final, that he sensed something actually stirring.

If he's really honest, it was whilst watching a brilliant bunch of Ardee minors win back-to-back Louth championships in 2017 and 2018 that he was really convinced the tide was turning.

Leavy's longevity paid off because in 2022, 18 years after his senior debut, St Mary's finally won a Louth senior title, their first since 1995. Three years on, they're three-in-a-row Louth champions and an hour now from AIB Leinster club SFC title success.

"By the time you were getting to around 30, you could see the good times were coming," said Leavy. "I think we got eight or nine lads off those minor teams which was massive."

That minor side which announced itself in such style in 2017, beating Geraldines 6-21 to 2-10 in the county final, contributed five starters to last weekend's Leinster senior semi-final lineup against St Loman's; Donal McKenny, Ciaran Keenan, Liam Jackson, Jonathan Commins (he hit 2-13 in the 2017 minor final, 2-8 from play) and Shane Matthews. Liam Jackson's brother and current Louth colleague, Tom, started the 2018 minor final.

Those players are all in their prime now and McKenny was nominated for an All-Star award in September.

Leavy realised he was going to be sidelined as he edged closer to 40 and is an impact sub these days, coming on against Loman's last Saturday along with former Louth midfielder Ronan Carroll who is a year older again.

Nobody would have held it against Leavy, a Detective Garda working in Meath, with three kids at home, if he'd simply passed on the baton but he has been richly rewarded for his service.

"I'm open to correction but I think this could be the first Louth club to play in Croke Park, ever," he said. "Bar teams that might have played back in the '40s or '50s, I'm not too sure going that far back. But the club has never played in Croke Park."

In contrast, the venue is a home from home for some of the opposing Cuala players, like Con O'Callaghan and Mick Fitzsimons. Partly because of that, and also because it is the Dublin representatives they're playing, Ardee are considerable underdogs but they know they have the quality to get it done.

They gave Kilmacud Crokes the runaround for a while last year, reeling off 1-5 without reply at one stage in the second-half of their Leinster semi-final. 'Kiki' Keenan was nearly unmarkable that day. The problem was, they had a nightmare first-half and had allowed Crokes to run up a 1-10 to 0-3 lead. Crokes eventually won by five points.

Around the club, the players were almost being congratulated for giving such a spirited display. The players themselves were devastated.

"We were disappointed," said Leavy. "The opportunity, we thought, was there to beat them in the second-half."

They've gone a step further this year, reaching the provincial final following wins over Abbeylara (Longford), Rathvilly (Carlow) and St Loman's (Westmeath). That's an achievement in itself because the last Louth club to get this far was Mattock Rangers in 2002. No Louth club has ever actually won the competition. Leavy stopped short of guaranteeing that that will change.

"Any side that comes out of Dublin automatically nearly becomes All-Ireland favourites so we know we're up against it," said Leavy. "Hopefully we can put in some sort of performance.

"We obviously know all about Con up front and he'll need some taking care of. But his brother did as much damage against Naas. We'll take some things from watching their games but we know really that we're going to have to put in our best performance of the year if we're going to get a win on Saturday."