It was mentioned here last week how unlucky Pat Markey was not to have won an All-Ireland medal with Louth in 1957. The St Mary’s clubman wasn’t the only one to miss out on football’s biggest award – Mickey Brady was another.

Markey made his county team debut in 1947, playing at centrefield in the league defeat by Longford at Dundalk’s Athletic Grounds. He was at No 5 for the following game’s draw with Dublin at Croke Park, and after that was slotted in at centre-half.

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This would be his role for many years after that, playing with a mixture of strength and elan. He was a stylist, but could also handle himself if the going got tough.

Louth got a fine run in the 1948/’49 league, winning their section and then beating Cavan in a group lay-off. Down were accounted for in the semi-final, played in Newcastle, qualifying Louth for a first-ever league final.

The game with Mayo was a Croke Park sell-out, with Pat Markey at centre-half, surrounded by St Mary’s colleagues, Jack Bell and Johnny Malone in the full-back, and Paddy McArdle and Nicky Roe at wing-half. Sean Boyle was on the injured list.

Mayo won by 1-8 to 1-6 – a result that would be repeated less than 18 months later when the sides met once again, this time in the 1950 All-Ireland final.

The Leinster final win of three years later gave Pat Markey his third provincial award, the first having come in 1948. He was ever-present at centre-half until playing in the 1956 championship defeat by Kildare.

Mickey Brady, a key member of the emerging Roche Emmets, made his county team debut in that same year’s O’Byrne Cup.

He was at full-forward for the defeat by Meath, and was at No 12 in the following championship match, which saw Markey bowing out.

Come 1957, and Cavan-born Brady was in a more central role, playing at midfield in Louth’s promising start to the league. He took in the successive defeats of Laois, Wicklow and Roscommon, the loss to Galway which followed, and then another win, this one away to Offaly.

He was partnered in most of those games by Kevin Beahan.

He was a man in position as the championship loomed large, but, unexpectedly, he declared for his native county soon after the Offaly match. Dan O’Neill took over from him.

While continuing to play with Roche, Brady would surely have had regrets as Louth gathered strength in the Leinster championship, piecing together a winning run which ended with a defeat of Dublin in the final. And there was even better to come, with wins in the All-Ireland series over Tyrone and Cork.

Compensation came Brady’s way when he captained Roche to win the 1958 county final, and then four years later played on the Ulster Championship-winning Cavan team.

He had Louth All-Ireland goalkeeper, Sean óg Flood, as a teammate for the win that ended Down’s bid for a third successive All-Ireland title. Both also lined out for the Breffni at Wembley in the annual match which took place on the Whit weekend.

It may have been injury that caused Pat Markey to miss the county team’s winning 1957 campaign. There was no sign of him making a comeback for the following league and Louth’s first outing in their defence of the provincial title.

But with the semi-final with Offaly coming up, the selectors must have felt there was need to sort out the full-back position. Dublin Fingallians player, Peter Curran, had played there in the first round defeat of Westmeath, but with the midlanders claiming three goals in that match, action was required.

Jim McArdle was shifted to No 3, but who would fill the Roche player’s place at centre-half? No-one else but Pat Markey.

His return was marked by a 4-3 to 1-5 defeat of Offaly, and he was retained for the final with Dublin. No luck in this one, however.

Dublin gained revenge for the previous year’s defeat, winning by 1-11 to 1-6, and after that added the All-Ireland title with a defeat of Jim McKeever’s Derry in the final.

That was Markey’s last outing in the county colours, coming 11 years after he had made his debut. He had a wonderful career, for in addition to his three Leinster wins, he collected five Louth championship medals.