Dreadnots booked their return to Division One of the all-county league with a magnificent campaign that saw them crowned Division Two winners in 2010. The seasiders also got through to the MFC final, demonstrating that this progressive club has a bright future.

Dreadnots secured the 2010 Division One senior football league title with a fantastic 2-6 to 0-8 victory over IFC winners Young Irelands in the last round at Pairc Eire Og over the penultimate weekend of October. The result meant they finished top of the table, with 18 points from eleven outings, two points more than second-placed Na Piarsaigh, with a record of eight wins, two draws and just a solitary defeat.

The prize was automatic promotion to Division One.
The decisive match got off to a good start for Dreadnots when county star Paraic Smith opened the scoring with a tenth-minute goal and the Clogherhead men led by 1-1 to 0-3 at the end of a low-scoring first half. Smith added two points in as many minutes after the Irelands had levelled and the full forward's second major had them in command at the three-quarters stage. Cathal Lynch had the honour of closing the scoring before the silverware was collected.

The Dreadnots team that beat Dundalk Young Irelands in Round XI to claim the 2010 Louth Division Two FL title was: John Cunningham; Danny Sutherland, David O'Brien, Brian Gargan; Anthony Willians, Padraig Rath, Liam Shevlin; James Califf (0-2), Fergal McGuigan; Pat Lynch, Chris Mulroy, Anthony Lynch (0-1); Peter Kirwan, Paraic Smith (2-2), Conor McCaughey. Subs: Darren Malone, Cian McEvoy, Richard Kirwan, Cathal Lynch (0-1).
Dreadnots were always one of the favourites to win Division Two as they were a senior championship side facing mostly intermediate opposition. With James Califf and Pepe Smith doing most of the damage in attack, Dreadnots had led the way in Division Two for practically the entire year, opening their account with a 1-14 to 2-6 home win over St Marys in late April, with Califf (0-8), Anthony Lynch (1-2) and Smith getting all the scores between them. A 2-13 to 0-7 win in Courtbane followed as the Dreadnots hit the ground running and they were the only unbeaten team left in the division after beating Geraldines by 0-16 to 0-6 in Round Three. County junior star James Califf was on target eleven times in that game, including nine frees.
The first point was dropped in a 0-8 apiece draw at Na Piarsaigh and the clash with St Mochtas at Louth village also finished level, 0-10 to 1-7. But Dreadnots went back to the top of the table when beating Sean McDermotts by 1-8 to 1-6 in Round Seven at Clogherhead in early July. However, O'Raghallaighs drew level at the top of the section with a 2-5 to 0-10 success in the Gaelic Grounds three weeks later. After the championships were completed, 1-12 to 1-7 was the winning margin against Roche as Dreadnots pushed on and Dundalk Gaels were beaten by 0-11 to 0-10 in a thriller at Clogherhead on Friday September 24th.
By winning the Division Two crown, Dreadnots finished the year in style, establishing themselves as a genuine senior force for 2011. They had started the 2010 season indifferently, with inconsistent form in Group A of the Sheelan Cup, finishing fifth in a section also containing Roche Emmets, St Brides, Oliver Plunketts, Kilkerley Emmets and St Mochtas. They were drawn in Group D of the SFC, against Dundalk Gaels and Glyde Rangers.
Dreadnots opened their SFC account against Dundalk Gaels at The Grove on Thursday, July 15th, falling to an unlucky 3-7 to 1-12 defeat after leading all the way only to be pipped by a Derek Crilly goal with the last kick of the game. That result left the seasiders staring at the possibility of a relegation play-off but they turned their championship campaign around with a superb 3-11 to 1-5 dismantling of Glyde in their second group outing, which saw them advance to the quarter-finals as group runners-up. The team that beat Glyde was: Niall Levins; Danny Sutherland, Derek Shevlin, Brian Gargan; David O'Brien, Padraig Rath, Liam Shevlin; James Califf (0-5), Fergal McGuigan; Cathal Lynch (1-1), Chris Mulroy, Richard Kirwan; Conor McCaughey (1-1), Paraic Smith (1-4), Peter Kirwan.
St Patricks provided the opposition on quarter-

final day and Dreadnots picked the worst possible day to produce one of their most listless displays of the year, losing by 1-14 to 0-6 at Haggardstown on Sunday, September 5th. Paraic Smith got their only first-half point and James Califf registered five times after the break. It was a disappointing end to the championship for Dreadnots but their kept plugging away in the league to claim promotion and some welcome silverware.
In the MFC, Dreadnots - who had Cian McEvoy and Anthony Williams in Louth's full-back line for the Leinster championship clashes with Laois and Dublin (while Peter Kirwan came on as a sub against the Dubs) - were drawn against Geraldines at the quarter-final stage of an eight-team 'A' competition. Dreadnots made the most of home advantage on Wednesday, September 1st as they stormed to a 4-7 to 3-4 victory, having led by 3-3 to 1-2 at the break. Cian McEvoy, Conor Campbell, Ronan Fitzpatrick and Ciaran Cunningham fired the goals.
At the semi-final stage, Dreadnots beat St Marys by 3-12 to 2-14 after extra time in a real thriller. Goals from Glen Darling and Ronan Fitzpatrick established a 2-5 to 0-6 interval advantage and Peter Kirwan's major had them four ahead in the closing stages. Ardee levelled and actually led by two points at half time in extra time but Dreadnots dug deep to book their place in the 2010 Louth MFC final.
The decider took place at The Gaelic Grounds in Drogheda on Sunday October 3rd and Dreadnots were unfortunate to lose out to St Josephs, 3-9 to 1-11. The Clogherhead lads played the better football for most of the hour and led by 1-9 to 2-4 after 50 minutes, but the holders got on top in the closing ten minutes to retain the Cup. Peter Kirwan got the Dreadnots goal after 16 minutes and a run of points from Ronan Califf, Barry Faulkner and Barry Campbell had them ahead by 1-5 to 1-2 after 20 minutes. Ciaran Cunningham's free stretched the gap to four a minute shy of the break, but all the good work was undone when the Joes were awarded a very contentious goal ahead of the short whistle.

The Dreadnots team in the 2010 Louth MFC final was: Sean Kelleher; John Kirk, Dermot Campbell, James Kirk; Dylan Kirwan, Anthony Williams, Anthony Lynch; Cian McEvoy, Glen Darling; Barry Faulkner (0-1), Conor Campbell (0-2), Ronan Fitzpatrick; Peter Kirwan (1-3), Ciaran Cunningham (0-4), Ronan Califf (0-1). Tweet

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