'Everything is possible' for Devlin and Louth
Gavin Devlin's Louth side reached the All-Ireland semi-final for the first time in 69 years
- Published
In just two weeks, Louth will contest in an All-Ireland SFC semi-final for the first time in 69 years.
The last time they reached the final four, in 1957, they went on to beat Tyrone before lifting the Sam Maguire.
Fast forward to now and, fittingly, it is Tyrone man Gavin Devlin who has helped guide the Wee County back to that stage.
Louth defied an early red card to stun neighbours Monaghan with an epic 0-27 to 2-18 win at Croke Park and they'll now meet Mayo for a place in the showpiece decider at the end of July.
"I think everything's possible. Particularly when you come from where these boys have come from," Devlin told BBC Sport NI.
"The last six years when Mickey (Harte) came in and led a march with these boys, from the place they began to what you're seeing out there today. They had to jump obstacles one after the other.
"It's par for the course with these boys. They've got nothing handed to them and they have to work so hard for everything they get."
'Sometimes it's not just a perfect script'
In a fortnight, many from the county of Louth will make the trip once again to Croke Park.
An All-Ireland final place is now a genuine possibility, something that would have seemed beyond even the wildest dreams supporters in recent years.
"You don't know how long it's going to take to go up the mountain. You don't know whether we've gotten to our peak this season or not and is there just a bit more? Devlin continued.
"We were ranked outsiders. We're now in the last four, we can't take it for granted we'll be last four again. Everyone will want us in the semi-final and that's OK.
"We can live with that. It's just reality. We'll just worry about ourselves."
In the quarter-finals, Sean Callaghan's early red card threatened to derail Louth's hopes of moving one step closer to making history before they had truly begun.
However, months of preparation at their Darver training base had instilled the resilience and belief needed to overcome the setback, traits that Devlin will be hoping his side can show against Mayo if needed.
"We look at different situations on the training field, playing with a player extra and playing with one player down. Then pressure on the clock, pressure on the scoreboard," he added.
"We look at different things at different times. I think the key is having your own principles and how you want to play the game. Your own skill sets.
"We bounce off each other, sometimes it's not just a perfect script. Sometimes you've got to adapt to what's in front of you and bounce off each other"
