When and where it all Started

In early January 1953, a meeting took place in Mullen’s loft in Mountpleasent. Representatives of Valley Rangers, Mountpleasent Plunketts and a former Cooley league side St Patrick’s were among those present. A new club was formed under the chairmanship of Fr Hardy and it was called St Patrick’s.

The first committee was as follows;

Chairman; Fr Hardy, Vice chairman Tom Mullen, Secretary Sean Mc Dermott, Treasurer Tony Mc Dermott, Pete Mullen, Paddy Roddy, Danny Ferguson, Mick Fagan, Paudge Coleman and Kevin English.

The Mullen family gave St Patrick’s the use of their field in Mountpleasent called the Sandpit field and there was also a field in Lordship.

Players were the next thing.

The players were pulled from the main Dundalk Newry Road north of Ballymascanlon, Ravensdale, Bellurgan, Lordship and the Mullaghbouy NS. Some had already been from the area and had played in the local county competitions with teams like Bellurgan Gladstonians (1888), Ravensdale (1903,04), Bellurgan Shamrocks (1903,04) who had amalgamated with Cooley Emmets to form Cooley Kickhams in 1905,Mountpleasent/Lodge Rovers/Plunketts (1904 up until 1950), Valley Rangers (1914-16,20,21,26,41,48,49), Ravensdale Blues (1930,31), Ravensdale Rangers (1940) and Kevin Barry’s (1944-46).

Others had transferred from different Clubs and were originally from the area. The following transferred to the Pats in 1953:
Jim Burns Noel Tasker and Michael Burns all from the Sean O Mahonys,
Felix Traynor, Michael Fagan and Gerry Burns all from Roche Emmetts,
Charles Mc Keown, Gerry Mc Intyre, Peter Brennan, Frank Fagan, Thomas Connor and Joseph Finnegan all from Clan na Gael,
James and Thomas Roddy, Seamus Sheelan, Thomas J Connor, Joseph Mc Eneaney and Seamus Mc Ardle all from Cooley Kickhams.

Club Colours for the adult team was black and amber (former Mountpleasent Plunketts Colours) and the minors wore Maroon and White (former St Brigids colours).

St Patrick’s were drawn against Monasterboice O Tooles in the division 2 C/ship. Their first game of football was against Carlingford 29th March 1953. The minors played on the 15th March against Clan Na Gael in the Championship and were beaten by 4.4 to 0.0.The Clans went on to win the C/ship that year.

We won our first C/ship in 1960 in the junior when we were victorious over the Parnells from Drogheda by a score of 3-11 to 0-2. The list of success is listed below.

Other stats are President John White played on the Louth under 18 Leinster C/ship winning team of 1942 Gus Sheelan (Capt.), Jim Clifford, Henry Donnelly, Jimmy Sheelan and Paddy Jordan played on the victorious Louth junior team of 1961. Eugene Sheelan, Paddy Oliver, Gerard Carroll and Pat Murphy played on the Louth under 21 team that beat Offally in the 1970 Leinster final.

This was followed by a challenge match between Louth and Armagh.

In 1998 GAA president Seamus Mc Donagh opened the clubs new stand and floodlight system. Louth and Meath played a challenge match to celebrate the opening.

The senior side played its first competitive match under lights against Stabannon Parnells in the Cardinal O Donnell cup which Pats won 0:11 to 0:07.