He has truly backed up his words three years later
An interview with Sam Mulroy on The BBC’s The GAA Social podcast, in 2022, has resurfaced following Louth’s triumph over Meath in the Leinster final. It attracted criticism from GAA fans over Mulroy’s claims on Louth’s Leinster chances and himself as a player.
The Louth captain was the star of the show in the final, winning man of the match and scoring a 1-7, including the all decisive game-winning two-point free. His display led the red and whites to their first Leinster triumph in 68 years.
Not many could’ve seen Louth reach the heights that they did on Sunday, but Mulroy was one of the few that did back in 2022. On the GAA Social podcast, Mulroy claimed a “realistic goal” for Louth was to win a Leinster Championship, despite Dublin winning their 12th title in a row that same year.
He said: “I do think, in the next five or six years, there’s a serious chance of us winning a Leinster Championship.”
The Louth skipper was also insistent on him always wanting to be “the best in Louth or the best in Ireland”, something his S&C coach Graham Byrne inspired him to be.
Byrne told Mulroy: “You can whinge about being from Louth or you can go and be the best in Louth.”
The Wee County skipper added: “I went home and wrote that on my whiteboard in my room and it was ‘I am the best forward in Louth’. It’s there ever since. It hasn’t moved.
“Every day when I wake up it’s there and I have a look at it and even now when I wake up and people say, ‘You’re the best forward in Louth’ or ‘You’re top scorer in Ireland’, I know that and I know I am and I’ve known that the last five years, whether I was or I wasn’t.”
Mulroy’s words on the red and white’s future Leinster chances, and his own status as a player, were questioned around that time. He has risen above the noise and now has many people in his corner who would agree with his bold claims.
Oisin McConville reminisced on Mulroy’s appearance on the show, on this week’s edition of The GAA Social podcast.
He said: “He took a decent bit of a stick after that and that’s because people aren’t used to hearing lads talking like that. But he’s continued to back that up and the thing I liked about him today was that he shot a few wides but see in the big moments when you need someone to step up he stepped up.”
McConville felt Mulroy’s “ambition” back in 2022 aided him as he “couldn’t take that back”.
He said “…it probably drove him even harder to where he ended up today.”
