THE PERSON ON the other end of the line lists out all of his horror injuries without breaking stride.
“A ruptured spleen…. a ruptured liver… broken ribs… a lot of nerve damage…”And that’s not the end of the list of his casualties. His left shoulder absorbed much of the trauma too, leaving him hospitalised for 14 nights. There’s an ease in his voice that is admirable, almost to the point of unnerving. There should be some struggle involved in detailing such physical harm. And yet, he’s speaking freely. Nothing catching his voice.
“It could be worse,” he reasons.
Mickey Rooney, the chairman of the Ardee St Mary’s club in Louth, is recalling the events of the morning of 14 September.
He was coming to the end of his walk, heading back to his car, when he was accidentally struck by another vehicle. Today, on the week that his club is preparing to welcome Dublin giants Kilmacud Crokes to town for a Leinster club semi-final, he’s back on form. His injuries are healing well. He was released from hospital in time to watch Ardee become back-to-back Louth SFC champions, and now an even bigger prize is coming into view for them.
“I was conscious for the whole thing,” he recalls to The 42 about the morning of the accident. I’m getting there and I’m back walking again.”
Rooney has been part of the Ardee St Mary’s fabric all his life. His family’s association started with his mother. One generation often follows another in GAA. She poured tea and prepared sandwiches throughout a dutiful service to the club. And then, in 1995, Mickey was joined by his twin brother Alan, and other siblings Ken and Gerry as they helped Ardee ended a 20-year-wait for a senior county title.
Former Finn Harps player Alan Doherty was also a driving force in that campaign, managing to balance his time between both teams in an era where that was possible. No such crossover could exist today.
Mickey played inter-county football too, and when his playing days were over, he converted from player to committee member with Ardee. He served as vice-chairman for some 15 years, and for much of the last decade, he has been the club chairman. These are encouraging days for the club.
Along along with their senior success, Ardee have also excelled at the minor grade in Louth, and are back-to-back champions there too. Their home grounds in Páirc Mhuire has also hosted inter-county games in recent seasons. In 2021, it was nominated as the venue to stage Louth’s home matches while the work continues to build a new stadium outside Dundalk.
The Wee County have enjoyed significant wins there, including league victories over Limerick, Kildare and Cork. The land where Páirc Mhuire is situated was originally purchased for £1,000 back in the 1940s, and the volunteers have certainly added value to that figure over the years.
Today, Páirc Mhuire is a land of 18 acres comprising two full-sized football pitches, an all-weather pitch and a juvenile pitch.
Louth are in an era of prosperity too. They’ve progressed rapidly from Division 4 to Division 2 football in recent seasons. This year, they also reached the Leinster SFC final this year under Mickey Harte before he departed the role in acrimonious circumstances. Ardee had eight members in that county panel. Donal McKenny, Daire McConnon and Liam Jackson all started for Louth in Leinster final against Dublin.
Rooney prefers not to award too much credit to Harte for hitting those milestones though, and considers the manner of his exit to be “poor form”.
The Rooney family is well represented on the current Ardee team too. Mickey’s brothers Alan and Ken are part of the management teams for both the minor and senior outfits, while his son Ryan is a forward on the team.
Ryan has spent time in the trenches too. At 17, he accepted a soccer scholarship in America after completing his Leaving Cert in 2017. He was enjoying his time there, becoming the top scorer in his college’s league when he suffered a serious leg injury. He broke his tibia and fibula following a bad collision with a goalkeeper which consigned him to an extended period of recovery on the sidelines.
“He had a few offers from England,” his father Mickey explains taking up the story, “but anyway, he decided he was going to go and do his education.
“He did a really bad job on the leg and he’s done really well to be back playing. He was out for about two and a half years; it was a really bad accident. He’s doing really well for us but the competition for places is great and that’s what’s keeping the panel strong.”
Rooney waited 20 years for his first taste of senior county glory. He waited another 27 years to experience that high a second time. Now that Ardee have won two championships on the bounce, he’s hopeful that the times of drought are over.
The theory that bad times put sport into perspective seems a bit short-sighted in ways. It assumes that people didn’t have that perspective all along, and that only a tragedy can reset their understanding. Rooney didn’t need a road accident to remind him how much he cherishes his club, but there was certainly a heavier emotion in the air when he watched his boys retain their county crown.
A favourable result later this afternoon [throw-in, 1.30pm] would bring Ardee to within an hour of making history in the Leinster championship.
Ardee and Kilmacud Crokes have some familiarity, after facing each other in a challenge match last year. Crokes, who are going for a provincial three-in-a-row this year, won that game but Rooney recalls it as a “decent match” where the Stillorgan outfit got a flavour for what Ardee are capable of.
“It’s an opportunity for a small club to put themselves on the stage,” Rooney says with that easy tone still flowing down the phone line. “We know Kilmacud are an exceptional team but we’re looking forward to the challenge.
“We’re big outsiders, there’s no doubt about that.”
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