They haven’t beaten Meath in SFC combat for 49 years. Ten encounters, ten defeats. None more painful than the twin traumas of a 2002 qualifier in Navan and that Leinster final in 2010.
Campbell attended both games and remembers how it felt afterwards. But now in the novel Monaghan setting of Inniskeen tomorrow, he hopes to be part of the first Louth squad since 1975 to take the Royals’ championship scalp.
The Dreadnots defender returned as a second-half sub in Louth’s recent Leinster final defeat to Dublin, having sat out the semi-final against Kildare with a hamstring twinge.
Fourteen years previously, he had gone out of his way to make another notorious provincial decider, the 2010 showpiece against Meath forever associated with Joe Sheridan’s wrongly awarded goal at the death.
“I was in the Ghaeltacht in Connemara and was on the train back to Galway that night. I was 16 at the time, I think. Jesus, all those players were my idols and we were so close to winning that final. And, yeah, what happened towards the end was pandemonium,” he recalls.
“But I’d often look back at that game and, without criticising anyone, Louth had chances to close that out – and probably should have shown more composure towards the end in terms of there was a ball hoofed away, we won it in the backs and it came back to a Meath man.
“It was a heartbreaking moment, especially as a teenager. But it’s not something we will be discussing or will be entering our circle of thought. And the same as the Meath lads. There’s no one even involved any more, from either team … but yeah, I’ll never forget that.”
Eight years previously came that ’02 qualifier at a jammed Páirc Tailteann. Same sucker-punch outcome, with Meath striking two late goals – from Richie Kealy on 70 minutes and then Graham Geraghty in the fourth minute of injury-time after three had been signalled – to snatch victory.
Campbell can still picture the “late disappointment and the drama. You know, it was probably a theme of those games,” he admits. “So look, Meath have had the upper hand, no doubt, against Louth in championship games. As a supporter back then, it was tough. But we’re just focussing on ourselves,” he stresses. “It’s just about we’re trying to build on what happened [against Dublin in the Leinster final] and we have to be on our A-game because Meath have beaten us twice already [in this year’s O’Byrne Cup and league].
“I’m sure Colm O’Rourke and their management team will have been gunning for us and analysing us for the last couple of weeks.
“Because most people around the country, I’d say nobody gave us a prayer against Dublin. I’d say every other county that thought they could be coming up against us will have been analysing us instead. So, we’ll be up against it, but we’re looking forward to it.”
Local geography, as much as history, has fuelled the rivalry.
“You’re bordering three Ulster counties, really … I mean, none of our lads have ever played against Monaghan,” Campbell points out. Then you’d have Dublin reasonably close by – but Dublin have been streets ahead of us in recent years and there hasn’t been any real rivalry there. I’m teaching here in Ardee, so there’d be plenty of students from Meath and the slagging is good. Look, it’s all in good jest … they would be our biggest rivals, no doubt.”
Still, as Campbell clarifies, the local derby debate is “probably more for the fans” and the media to talk up. “It’s going to be a dogfight,” he predicts. “
