“McArdle and Murphy Era Begins as Louth Test Themselves Against Down”
Conor McGurk Cup Quarter Final
Louth 1-13 Down 3-14
At PPFS Darver
Louth Senior Hurlers began their 2026 season with a seven-point defeat to Down at PPFS Darver on Thursday evening. The contest brought together two sides operating at very different levels, with Down coming into the game as Division 2 League champions from 2025, while Louth lifted the Division 4 title in the same campaign.
Despite the result, the newly installed management duo of Paddy McArdle and Diarmuid Murphy will be more than satisfied with the outing as preparations continue to ramp up ahead of the Division 3 league campaign, which gets underway in the coming weeks.
Established figures such as Darren Geoghegan, Sean Flynn and Peter Fortune all featured and performed well, while valuable game time was also afforded to a number of players eager to cement their place in the panel for the year ahead. There was also a debut in the Louth jersey for Ciaran McKelvey, who has recently transferred to Naomh Moninne, and he looks set to be a welcome addition.
Joint-manager Diarmuid “Dee” Murphy also provided a positive update on star player Leon Fox, who is expected to be close to returning in time for Round 1 of the league.
With the Armagh fixture fast approaching, Louth will continue their preparations as they aim to make a strong start to the national league campaign.
Louth Hurling Team v Down:
Conor Clancy; Sean Hodgins, John Casey, Stephen Kettle; Peter Fortune, Ciaran McKelvey, Aaron McGuinness; Darren Geoghegan (0-10, 8f & 1’65’), Michael O’Shea; Conor Murphy (1-1), Sean Flynn (0-2), Sean Magill; Fionn Cumiskey, Seaghan Conneely, Sam Phelan.
Subs: James Murphy for Sean Magill (HT), Kyle Rafferty for Sam Phelan (HT), Mark Gahan for Fionn Cumiskey (HT), Cathal Ryan for Aaron McGuinness (43 Mins).
