For Eamonn McAuley, 2010 was an unbelievable introduction to senior intercounty football. Called into the Louth team mere weeks before the start of the championship, the Na Piarsaigh clubman subsequently produced a series of superb displays in the Wee County shirt and was voted Man of the Match in the Leinster final. While the incompetence of a certain referee placed a real dampener on things, Eamonn can reflect back with tremendous pride on his debut season with Louth - a year which ended with a call-up to the International Rules series trials. 

Louth were absolutely brilliant in 2010 and deserved to be crowned Leinster senior football champions. Peter Fitzpatrick's team qualified for a first provincial final in 50 years and delivered an outstanding performance against Meath at Croke Park, no one more so than corner back Eamonn McAuley, who was selected as Man of the Match by the hard-pleased Sunday Game panel. It completed a meteoric rise for the Dundalk man, who didn't even feature in the league but kept plugging away in the hope that his chance would come. When it did, he grasped it with both hands…
Would it be fair to say that his first year on the senior intercounty stage exceeded all expectations? "Well, I was happy enough just to get called up in the first place and to be part of the team. I didn't really expect to get a place in the team so quickly and then to get to play in Croke Park and to be a part of history."
While Louth were dreadfully unlucky to be denied the Delaney Cup by one of the worst officiating decisions in GAA history, Na Piarsaigh clubman McAuley admits that he was fortunate just to be involved in what was still the Wee County's best campaign in five decades: "I didn't expect it to be so good and I didn't expect Louth to do so well. But it was our best campaign in years and we should have won the Leinster championship and I was glad to be involved."
Having taken part in trails earlier in the year, Eamonn was told that his services would not be required for the national football league. However, he persevered and was rewarded with a call-up for an intercounty challenge to mark the official opening of the facilities at Ballybailie. The rest, as they say, is history. "When I didn't get picked at the initial trials at the start of the year, I just kept doing my own thing and kept training on my own. I was then called up for the SF challenge against Down and I thought I was a bit shaky in that one but after that it just got better and better. We were all given jobs to do and I was so focussed on what I was doing that I didn't get much chance to think about what was happening. It's only now that I can look back on it and enjoy the whole thing and realise how special it was."
But surely there's a huge difference in the level of fitness required at club level and that needed for intercounty football? How was Eamonn able to slip so seamlessly into the Louth championship team and play all five of their SFC matches, seemingly with a bottomless reserve of energy? "A lot of people ask me about that and the answer is I've always looked after myself. I drink my two litres of water and eat the right foods and go to the gym or train every day. I had been called up for trials a couple of times before and the way I looked at it was that this could have been my last chance, so I decided to give it everything I had in the hope that it would pay off - and it did.
"Even the training with the club would be very good and that would keep you in good condition. After I come home from work I either go to the gym or go out on the bike or go to training. I do something every single day and I suppose I'm lucky in that I really enjoy it. Some people don't like training but I love it."
The injustice suffered by Louth on Leinster final day will go down in GAA history as one of the darkest days of all. Just how disappointed was Eamonn to see victory snatched away in such a cruel fashion? "My ambition was always to play in Croke Park but once you get there your ambitions start to open up a bit more and you look for more. At the end of the Leinster final, when the goal was awarded to Meath, we just couldn't get over it, why he made that decision … it was unbelievable. When I was named as Man of the Match it didn't mean anything to me and I didn't want to do the interview. I had lost two finals before but nothing had ever come close to the disappointment of this. With Louth not having been there for such a long time and then to see it taken away like that, it was hard. Even now when I watch it on the Sky+, I find myself going to the end of the game and looking at that goal and I still can't believe it was given."
The challenge facing Louth now is to somehow put the disappointment of 2010 behind them and prove that their unexpected run was no flash in the pan. Can they do this? What is a realistic goal for 2011? "I think we can take confidence from the fact that we did so well. I didn't expect Louth to be so close, but we will learn from playing in the Leinster final and in the Qualifier against Dublin in Croke Park. The lads are already talking about next year and looking forward to it, so I'm sure we'll be able to put the disappointment behind us. Obviously there will be a bit more pressure on us next year because the surprise element is gone, but I don't see any reason why we can't do the same job again."
Having beaten Kildare in their second outing in Leinster, how did it feel looking on as the Lilywhites marched through to an All-Ireland semi-final? "It was hard to take and the reality is that it could have been us. If the Leinster final had been given to us, then who knows where we could have ended up? We played Down in a challenge in my first game at the John Mitchels pitch and they didn't look like world beaters or anything. I don't think Louth are too far off the pace at all and next year will be even more exciting for both the players and the fans."
As Na Piarsaigh captain for the year, Eamonn was disappointed to miss out on club league games but he made a point of going to the pitch the morning of every match. He believes that the club always comes first and is at the backbone of everything and it's his dream to one day play senior football with Na Piarsaigh, who have been knocking on the door for a few years now. He is extremely proud of being the first Na Piarsaigh clubman to play at championship level for Louth and dedicates this achievement to everybody in the club.
As for being called up to the International Rules trials (along with Paddy Keenan) by Anthony Tohill and Kevin O'Brien in late August / early September, the 25-year-old Na Piarsaigh and Louth back hopes to put the experience to good use at both club and county levels: "It's a great experience to go up there and play with the likes of Sean Cavanagh and Stevie McDonnell. I would hope to learn a lot from those fellas and to bring it back to the club and county."
This desire to constantly learn and improve himself lies at the heart of Eamonn McAuley's extraordinary achievements in 2010. Tweet

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