Pairc Mhuire in Ardee holds a special place in the heart of St Mary's veteran Darren Clarke.
The Drogheda Road venue in Louth, purchased for €1000 in the mid '40s, has played a central role in his sporting life.
It’s where he spent hours, weeks, months and years playing and practicing, perfecting the scoring capability that saw him become one of Louth’s key marksmen for over a decade.
It’s where he, as a starry-eyed 12-year-old, watched Ardee represent the Wee County in the 1995 Leinster Club Championship with the brilliance of goalkeeper Dessie Woods and a late fortunate goal from Ken Rooney – brother of current chairman Mickey, who also played that day – forcing a replay, that they would win, against Longford outfit Killoe.
It’s where he made he first played senior football as a 16-year-old back in 1999.
And it’s where he will finally realise one of his biggest dreams on Sunday as Ardee hosts a first St Mary’s provincial senior game since their Leinster quarter-final defeat to Wicklow side Roundwood 27 years ago, with Longford champions Colmcille set to visit.
That’s thanks to a dramatic Louth Senior final replay win over Newtown Blues, Cathal Murray’s side emerging with a 1-18 to 1-15 victory with a few late goal chances going a-begging for the losing outfit.
When Ardee won that title in 1995, few in the club would have imagined that they would have to wait 27 years to scale the summit. That was especially so with Clarke’s talented age-group winning plenty. On the Friday before that final, he helped the club to an under-12 title and four years later he joined the senior squad.
But the wait went on, and on – and on so much that Clarke thought his club career could be another hard luck story on that challenging sporting road.
He was part of the Louth squad in 2010 when Joe Sheridan’s famous goal denied the Wee County a first Leinster title since 1957. He lost county finals in 2003, 2016 and 2020 – none hurting as much as that first one against St Pat’s in '03.
Clarke, not long home from a summer in Chicago, grabbed three points and Niall Sharkey put in a masterclass as they led by four points with three minutes to play, but St Pat’s came back at them with a last-gasp goal from Shane Hynes forcing a replay won by the Lordship outfit.
More downs and ups, and with the retiring line in sight, a career without a Joe Ward Cup would be perhaps the hardest pill of all to swallow for Clarke, but salvation arrived in Dowdallshill, and sparked emotion from a mainly non-emotive person.
"Thank God we got the job done because you were getting to a stage where you were wondering would it ever happen.
"We had a good minor crop and won in 2000 and then we won the league in 2002 and got to the championship final the following year. We should have won it, but we lost the replay.
"We got over the line, 20 years later than we wanted to, but we got there. It was high time we did it.
"In your career you have a lot more disappointments than good days, a lot more lows than highs, but it is those rare highs that keep you motivated on those dark days," he continued. "You could have easily given in but a great crew from Ardee got there.
"I always look back to family, while it’s great to celebrate with the group and I was delighted for a lot of lads I soldiered with for so long, it was so nice to have the wife and kids and my mother and father and brother and that on the field.
"It gets emotional when you get over that line. I’m not an emotional fella, but it comes to a stage when there is so much going on in the background over the years, the sacrifices, the understanding from home, that you can’t help it."
Clarke came on in the 58th minute of both the drawn final and the replay. His minutes have been limited in the championship.
His competitive spirit still exists – proven by the sharp intake of breath when he’s asked if he is happy enough playing the role of ‘old head helping to see the team over the line’. There’s no doubting that he is hoping Murray gives him the nod earlier in the Leinster series.
"I was unlucky, I was going well in the league, playing all the games. I came on in the first game of the championship and then in the second game I got a freak kind of injury and that put me out for a while.
"It was the wrong time of year and that was disappointing, it meant I had to come back slowly and affected my input. I would have rather have played a bigger role but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be.
"It was still nice to play some part in the finals though."
Clarke will likely see game-time this afternoon, though how much remains to be seen.
Like 1995 it’s the Longford champions visiting, and like 1995 he expects Ardee to face another tough examination on their own turf.
"We really want to go out and put our front foot forward.
"The last number of years has been about trying to get over the Louth Championship so it has been about refocusing on this match now.
"It’s a great bonus to be on your own field, not too many teams can do that in a provincial championship.
"We realise that Colmcille are a really good side who beat a very good Mullinalaghta side, but we can’t wait for the game."
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