Across the Four Lakes Podcast: Recent Episodes
Presenter Kieran Murphy a freelance sports writer
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Young Clonmore footballer, Oisin Doyle, may be the holder of junior and intermediate football championship medals but he has had injuries which have kept him out of important club and intercounty games.
Back to full fitness now he and Clonmore are looking forward to competing at senior level for the first time in over 20 years.
They meet the holders, Éire Og in their opening game in what is the toughest of groups. Yet these are exciting times for players and supporters and the first match cannot come around quickly enough
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On Sunday Carlow had their hopes of All-Ireland football glory ended by Louth in Parnell Park. It was a bitter pill to swallow.
Here, Sara Doyle talks about the disappointment but says it has been a good year for the county where they gained promotion from Division 4 and in the process won the league final. She says the Carlow team enjoyed a close bond and continue to remain positive.
She took up football when she was quite young and was encouraged by family members. In her early twenties, the St Brigids club footballer has enjoyed a tremendous career where she has been selected on the Team of the Year in consecutive seasons while at one stage during the 2024 season she led the Zucar Golden Boot Award.
Photo: Pat Ahern Photography
Photo: Pat Ahern Photography
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In Parnell Park, despite having a narrow advantage on 45 minutes Carlow were eventually beaten by Louth who go on to play Fermanagh in the All-Ireland JFC final in Croke Park.
Back home the senior hurling championship is one game away from the semi-final stage. Pat Ahern was at the fourth round games and was in Dublin on Sunday to witness Carlow's disappointing day.
Pat Ahern Photography
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Éire Og player, Megan Townsend, has broken into the Carlow senior football panel this year and has featured in all their league and championship games.
On Sunday they travel to Parnell Park to play Louth in the All-Ireland JFC semi-final. Carlow are hungry for success. They have lost four semi-finals in a row and are determined to take that final step to Croke Park this weekend.
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Tinryland's Mark Mullen has experienced the disappointment of losing a senior football county final. So near and yet so far against Palatine two years ago.
He captained the SETU Carlow Freshers Football team this year that contested an All-Ireland final this while he went on to play for Carlow in the Leinster under 20 football championship.
He was called into the Carlow senior football set-up for the Tailteann Cup and while he didn't get game time, he enjoyed the experience and took a lot of positives from it.
Tinryland may have come in for criticism for their style of play over the last two years but Mark does not agree.
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Marc Carpenter was only 17 years of age when he was invited to join the Carlow senior football panel. He enjoyed a long career with the county and was a key figure of the great O'Hanrahans team of the early 2000s.
He is still playing and is determined to help put structures in place which will help his club get back into senior ranks.
It is all go for Marc who runs the well known Carpenter Undertakers while Carpenters Pub on Barrack Street continues to do well.
He is very much a family man with his three children all involved in sport.
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On Saturday in Netwatch Cullen Park, Carlow came from six points down in the second half to beat Dublin and get their All-Ireland camogie intermediate championship aspirations back on track.
Sisters Rachel and Anna Breen played in the number 3 and 6 positions respecitvely as they anchored a defence who only conceded one point in the second half.
Carlow face Kildare, Kerry and Antrim in consecutive weeks with a place in the knock-out stages at stake.
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Down the pecking order at the start of the season, Aaron Power was called into the Carlow senior football panel before the Tailteann Cup game against Wicklow. He was a little nervous but was made feel at home by the players and the management team.
He didn't get any game time but he loved the experience.
The O'Hanrahan net minder played with the Carlow under 20 footballers this year and is hopeful he can hold on to the position for next year when the fight for places will be intense.
He featured with the Freshers footballers in SETU Carlow in the league and championship this year but there was disappointment for him when they lost the final narrowly to Mary Immaculate from Limerick.
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Brothers, Adam and Ben McCarron, are ideally placed to talk about penalty shoot-outs. While Adam has missed a penalty in a shoot-out he has never been on a losing team when the game has gone to penalties.
His brother, Ben, is the goal-keeper and very much the fall guy when it comes to penalty shoot-outs. It is down to second-guessing and doing the sums if the keeper is to have any chance at all.
Living in Killeshin, they were never tempted to change clubs and leave their beloved Éire Og whom they have been playing with for as long as they can remember.
Both are useful soccer players and are currently playing with Hanover Harps.
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Carlow Town are in the semi-final of the Kilkenny junior league. Recently, Kildavin-Clonegal were too good for them in the Bolger Shield final. Small steps, admittedly, but the club is determined to get back hurling at senior level.
Former Carlow senior hurler, Shaun McMahon, is training the intermediate team and with many of the players who have enjoyed success at underage level, these young men could back-bone the club's ambition.
He didn't nominate anyone to come on the podcast next week just yet but watch this space for further information.
Pat Ahern was a top inter-county senior hurling referee officiating at games in all four provinces. Leo McGough was, for him, a late starter to travelling to Northern Ireland. While it was years apart, both had experiences about what it must have been like to play hurling in the North where carrying a hurl defined what your religious and political beliefs may have been.
Sean Buggy is a dual-status underage sports man who plays for Palatine GFC and Carlow Town Hurling Club.
He has had disappointment of losing an under 20 football final with Palatine against Éire Og but there was joy earlier in 2023 when he featured on the Carlow Town hurling team which clinched the under 20 B championship.
During Covid, he was part of a small group of young good-humoured GAA followers, calling themselves the Carlow Ultras, who built a platform outside Netwatch Cullen Park so that they see above the wall and cheer on the county teams.
The young teenagers also hired a bus and went to see the Carlow footballers play in Tullamore where they prevailed on a kindly steward to let them in free of charge.
In the middle of studying for the Leaving Cert Now, life is all in front of him and Sean is happy to be mixing his studies with his love of GAA games.
Askea GFC teenager, John Phiri, has been on the Carlow senior football panel since the start of the year where he made O'Byrne Cup and NFL 4 debuts this season.
He loves his sport and plays with a smile on his face.
When Carlow came from eight points down to draw with Laois in the first round of the Tailteann Cup, John came into the action in the final quarter. In this interview, he says he never doubted that Carlow could get back into the game.
On or off the field, he is instantly recognisable because of his dreadlocks and here he gives a brief history as to how they came about. He has loads to say and has nominated his choice of guest for next week's podcast.
For the first time in a senior hurling championship game, Carlow avoided defeat to the mighty Kilkenny when Marty Kavanagh fired over a 75th minute equaliser. Listen to what Pat Ahern of Pat Ahern Photography has to say. From his vantage point on the pitch, he sees and hears a lot more than the person in the stand.
Also, a normally cool Hurling Hobo (Leo McGough) becomes emotional as he looks back at the game where Carlow fought to the end and reflects on the work in the clubs which made all this possible.
Photo: Pat Ahern Photography
Grange footballer, Tom Dillon with Alex Delaney, was joint captain of the Carlow under 20 football team this year. They played some great football in the Leinster championship but results didn't go their way.
Only eighteen years of age, he already has a vision for underage football in the county. He says the under 20 football championship must be played off a lot sooner if Carlow is to get the full benefit of some good footballers who are coming through.
Last year he was part of the management team which helped Grange win an underage 13s title. Club stalwarts, John Doyle and John Murphy, are the players Tom looked up to as he came through into the intermediate side. Now, he wants to be role models for young teenagers who play their football in Grange.
The podcast is taking a different direction this week and Tom nominates who he would like to see being interviewed next week.
Photographs: Pat Ahern Photography
A GAA man? A soccer man?
Bernard Mullen is Chairperson of Tinryland GFC and vice-Chairperson of the Carlow Soccer League. He gives his all to both.
From Westmeath he won two All-Ireland senior football college titles with Carmelite College in Athlone. He went on to play underage football with Westmeath and with the support and blessing of his parents, who would have been traditional GAA stock, he also dabbled with League of Ireland soccer in Athlone Town.
He married a Carlow girl but before he eventually settled on Barrowside they spent eight years in Australia where his love of all things GAA was nourished and maintained.
Former Tinryland manager, Stephen O'Meara, may have come in for some criticism in relation to the style of play in Tinryland but Bernard says this was unfair. The club made it to two county senior finals in a row and this should never be forgotten.
This and much more on the latest episode of the Across the Four Lakes Podcast
Two try hero, Grace Kelly, against Queens University talks about the historic season which will see Tullow play in the All-Ireland League next year.
The Paul Flood Cup final defeat the previous week threatened to undermine their bid but they came back in tremendous style to make their own bit of history.
Grace Kelly, who actually won a Paul Flood Cup alongside her mother, Maggie, is not letting the grass grow under her feet and she is already gearing up for the 2024-25 season.
It has been a disappointing last couple of months for all Carlow inter-county hurling and football teams both at underage and senior level. No-one can say that the work is not being put in by both the coaching staff but also by the players.
On the Across the Four Lakes Podcast Pat Ahern looks back on what has happened so far and looks at how Carlow can turn hard work and commitment into results.
Pat Ahern Photography
Manager, Maurice Logue, looks back on Tullow's third Provincial Towns Cup success where they also joined a small group of elite clubs who have retained their title.
The club experienced the tragic loss of player, Conor Duffy, during the season while life-time member, John Browne, also passed away.
Maurice says the influence of Sean O'Brien has been immeasurable. This year, the Tullow Tank achieved a life-long ambition of winning a Towns Cup medal with the club where he first started to play rugby before going on to play for Leinster, Ireland and The Lions.
Irish international rugby players, Dannah O'Brien and Katie Corrigan talk about the win over Wales at the weekend where they scored 16 points between them. It was a second try in consecutive games for the teenager while the out-half, who is in her second Six Nations campaign, kicked 11 points.
Both players played their underage rugby with Tullow RFC and are now attached to the Old Belvedere club in Dublin.
Carlow footballer, Niamh Forde, looks back on an historic weekend where the second smallest county won a national football league division 4 title by beating Limerick in the final in Birr.
Promotion had been achieved so this was the icing on the cake. More challenges lie ahead now and they are hoping to do well in the Leinster junior championship where Carlow will be in a group with Longford, Louth and Kilkenny.
After that, the dream is to play in Croke Park on All-Ireland final day but a lot more has to be done if this is to happen.
Carlow golf club member, Eamonn Delaney, has been a member of the Dolmen Golf Society for many years now. The society is one of the oldest in the region. Now in his eighties, Eamonn looks back on the early days of the society and what it meant to him and its members.
A former single handicap golfer, he was in Carnoustie when Padraig Harrington won his first British Open. A proud Tipperary man who loves his hurling, he likes nothing better than when the Premier County put one over on The Cats.
Leo McGough's analysis of the weekend where Carlow won a first under 20 hurling championship game since 2019 which was followed by a poor performance and a defeat the next day in the National Hurling League 2A final against Laois.
Photograph: Pat Ahern Photography
On Saturday, Carlow play Limerick in the NFL Division 4 final. Captain, Ruth Bermingham looks forward to a trip to Birr and reflects on the drama surrounding their semi-final win over Fermanagh.
"Such a proud moment," she said but in her own words it was the longest ten minutes of her life when she was sin-binned in the second half. It all ended well and she is enjoying the build-up to one of the biggest matches of her footballing career.
Photo: Pat Ahern Photography
Paul Coady was on the Carlow teams which contested the NHL 2A finals in 2017 and 2018. The county won Christy Ring and Joe McDonagh Cups in the same years and the Mount Leinster Rangers man played in all four games.
He says he tries to park hurling while he is abroad but admits he doesn't do it very successfully. Passionate about the game, he does his own training and looks forward to coming back to Carlow later in the year where he will resume his career.
He says Carlow have had great managers in recent years and Tom Mullally is a great motivator and coach who knows how to get the best out of his players.
Carlow footballer, Edel Hayden, looks back on her side's dramatic win over Fermanagh as they clinched promotion to Division 3 of the National Football League for next season.
Outsiders at the start of the campaign, Carlow now meet, Limerick, another unfancied side, in the Division 4 league final in Birr on April 6th.
He once played with County Carlow FC and Maurice Logue reveals he could very well have gone to manage his former club before the Wexford man was persuaded to go to Tullow. Now, having led The Slaneysiders to two Towns Cup successes and promotion to Leinster League Division 1A he has to plot the downfall of the club he won two Leinster Senior Cup medals with.
Here he talks about his time in Tullow and the great relationships he has formed with people such as Sean O'Brien and Joe Waters.
"The game is about opportunities. If you get yours and you take them you will win the game," he says
On Sunday, Carlow travelled to Cill Dara RFC knowing that a win would clinch promotion to Division 1A. They were shocked early on when the home side scored a try. Unfazed, they regrouped and in the end won 36-22 to achieve their goal.
Captain, Dan Crotty, looks back on the weekend, the league season and reflects on the family atmosphere in the club which helped create the momentum to drive on the way they did.
A hand on the heart interview with Padraig Amond who played underage soccer with Shamrock Rovers at the age of ten. He looks back on heady days where he scored against Tottenham Hotspur in an FA Cup game while the following year with Newport County, he netted the winning penalty against Leicester City in a third round cup tie .
Those were wonderful times but there were lows too where he details the reasons which took him away from Hartlepool United.
He has always made scoring goals look easy so it was no surprise when Waterford FC heard he wanted to come home, they approached him and he agreed to sign for them.
Four matches in, Waterford FC are third in the table and Padraig has scored four goals .
An in-depth analysis from Pat Ahern and Leo McGough of a huge weekend for Carlow GAA where the hurlers produced a superb performance to beat Laois while a late goal against Leitrim opened up the NFL 4 League table.
Whether it is with club or county, Mount Leinster Rangers and Carlow hurler is an automatic starter while he admits he can only remember getting the "curly finger" once.
2023 was a spectacular year for Kevin where Carlow won the Joe McDonagh Cup and Rangers regained the Carlow senior hurling championship at the expense of old rivals, St Mullins.
All that is behind him now and having been appointed Carlow captain for 2024 he is looking forward to a good league campaign in preparation for the Leinster senior hurling championship
2023 dual status player, Eleanor Treacy, looks back on a hectic season which brought joy and disappointment for the Carlow camogie and football teams.
She has committed to camogie this season and she talks about the difficulties of trying to commit to two sports.
Tommy Dwyer won two senior football championship titles with Tinryland. He went on to play for the Carlow senior footballers, Leinster in the Railway Cup and represented Ireland in the International Rules series against Australia in Ireland where he played alongside some of the greatest footballers in the sport.
He still goes to games and will be in Portlaoise on Saturday when his native county take on Laois.
He knows football has evolved since he last put on a Carlow senior jersey and has nothing but the greatest respect for the current crop of footballers.
On Saturday in Netwatch Cullen Park, Carlow enjoyed a comprehensive win over Waterford to make it two wins out of two in division 4 of the national football league. Less than 24 hours later, the hurlers beat Kerry in Austin Stack Park as they opened their NHL 2A campaign.
Pat Ahern was at both games while Leo McGough was in Tralee on Sunday. On this episode, the two review the wins and talk about what it means for Carlow.
Carlow senior footballer, Roisin Bailey, looks at the changing fortunes of the squad who are unbeaten in the league after three games. Down 2-10 against Fermanagh and conceding a first minute goal against Longford at home, the Barrowsiders roared back into the game and came away with two draws.
They are playing some great football and are within touching distance of a NFL 4 semi-final spot.
Carlow senior footballer, Conor Crowley, scored a vital goal against Tipperary in their opening game in the National Football League Division 4. Here he looks back on a thrilling victory and hopes this is the platform to have a good league campaign.
Photo: Conor Crowley in action last season against Wicklow
Pat Ahern Photography
Carlow footballer, Josh Moore, looks forward to a new season as his county bid for promotion from division 4 of the National Football League. It is all to play for on Saturday against Tipperary where a win for either side would be a huge momentum builder.
It is that time of the year. 2023 is coming to an end. Before the new GAA season starts Nuala Mohan the Tinryland-Bennekerry footballer and former Carlow captain reflects on her sporting highlights of the year.
"I would have idolised those players." Padraig Brennan reflects on his career which saw him come out of underage rugby to take his place among his heroes whom he idolised. He went on to win two Provincial Towns Cup medals and played with Carlow as they went through the divisions to earn a place in the top tier of the All-Ireland league.
On Friday in their clubhouse in Oak Park, Carlow Rugby Club launched the book, County Carlow Football Club 1873-2023. It was a fabulous occasion and brought back many happy memories of Carlow's five Provincial Towns Cup wins in the 1990s while they went on to play in Division 1 of the All-Ireland League.
Kim Thurbon was senior manager when the club went from AIL Division 3 to AIL Division 1 .
Here he looks back on what was a fascinating number of years for him and for the players he managed while he was in Carlow.
Former Éire Óg and Carlow great, Anthony (Muckle) Keating looks back to the glory years for the club where, in the nineties, they won five Leinster titles and featured in three (one a replay) All-Ireland club finals.
Two years ago, Clonmore played Éire Óg in a third round IFC game. All four teams in the group had a chance to make the knock-out stages with the fourth placed team relegated to the JFC A.
In an unlikely set of results, Clonmore were the odd ones out and made the drop.
Last year, the won a JFC A and C double. Just over two weeks ago, their rehabilitation was complete when they won the intermediate title.
They are back in senior football now after a gap of 18 years. Club Chairman, James Doyle, looks back at what has been a rewarding two years for all in Hacketstown.
Photo: Pat Ahern Photography
Winning manager Brendan Hayden assesses Myshall 24th senior camogie title in a row as they took on and beat Naomh Bríd with a superb performance.
"It is something we have been working on all year," he says.
Even with low numbers at early training sessions because of players committed to county teams Myshall never lost their focus and by the time it came around to the championship they were prepared and ready to go.
After some disappointing defeats in semi-finals and finals, Burren Rangers finally cast of the bridesmaid tag. This weekend, they did it on the double with the minor team winning an A hurling title while the ladies won a first every adult camogie cup for the club when winning the junior championship.
Club chairman, Ciaran Bolger, looks back on those history making moments.
Éire Óg, Clonmore, St Mullins and Asca won their respective Senior, Intermediate, Junior A and Junior B finals in Carlow over the weekend. Fenagh lost their senior status with Palatine edging them in a close game. Kilbride also slipped down to the junior A.
GAA Photographer, Pat Ahern, looks back on the events of the last four days.
Photograph: Pat Ahern Photography
Naomh Bríd camogie player, Emma Brennan, looks forward to the senior camogie final against the holders, Myshall, on Sunday where they will be trying to halt the holder's quest for 24 titles in a row.
Myshall and camogie player, Breege Nolan, says that just because you have been in 23 county titles in a row, it doesn't mean you are going to win one this year.
Her club, Myshall, are going for their 24th consecutive senior camogie title. Here she reviews her own career, the highlights and the players she played with and against. She looks forward to the county final and expects a tough challenge from Naomh Bríd whom they narrowly beat in 2022.
Éire Og coach, Simon Rea, looks back on the amazing penalty shoot-out against Rathvilly which saw his side emerge to meet Tinryland in the county final.
He has been involved in 11 finals either as a player or a member of the management team.
He has huge respect for both Rathvilly and Tinryland and says the final will be close. "A moment of brilliance" could decide it he suggests.
It has been an absorbing and fascinating weekend of semi-final action across the the SFC, IFC, JFC "A" and JFC "B" competitions.
Carlow GAA Photographer, Pat Ahern, drops in for a discussion on what he saw and reveals who he thinks will have emerged victorious by Sunday evening.
Photo: Pat Ahern Photography
He became aware of Tinryland through his involvement with the Carlow senior footballers. Initially, Stephen O'Meara liked what he saw in the attitude of Tinryland players such as Shane Redmond, Paul Broderick, Diarmaid Walshe and Cian Lawlor.
When he was asked to manage the club it didn't take him too long to agree to do so.
Now Tinryland are within sixty minutes of a coveted senior title.
In 2021, Old Leighlin, lost their SFC crown when old rivals, Bennekerry-Tinryland, beat them. Last year, the title changed hands once again when Old Leighlin prevailed. Now the holders are determined that history will not be repeated.
Old Leighlin dual player, Niamh Forde, looks back on this great rivalry while she is also hoping that she can help Naomh Bríd to beat the long term champions, Myshall, in the camogie final.
Éire Óg senior football manager, Turlough O'Brien, has brought his team safely through what was acknowledged to be the group of death. Now, they face Rathvilly in the semi-final in what Turlough considers to have been a good championship so far.
His side have been improving with every game but this is the biggest test Éire Óg have faced all year. They are not the only ones. Tinryland and Bagenalstown Gaels come face to face too.
Éire Óg are also in the intermediate and junior B semi-finals. Turlough has a quick look at what this means for all clubs who are still in contention for championship honours.
In less than two weeks time, Bennekerry-Tinryland, will play Old Leighlin in the Carlow senior football final. The rivalry goes back many years and Old Leighlin, the holders, had a comprehensive win in the group stages.
Bennekerry-Tinryland star, Cliodhna Ní Shé looks forward to the game and looks back at the group stages. She speaks about the total respect she has for the older players in the team who have inspired many of the young players, including herself, who have come through the underage structure in the club.
Video analysis with Sean O'Brien, Alison Miller wonders where Ireland could be vulnerable and a certain Mr Jackman confesses to putting petrol into a diesel car. All this and much more with an excellent presenter, Paddy Browne, and an enthusiastic and knowledgeable Tullow Rugby Club audience.
In 2013, Bloodstock Agent, Mick Kelly had a good horse in his yard. He had resisted several offer to sell but on the advise of the late Dessie Hughes, the Ballymurphy man held off before getting a really good offer which he could not refuse. He has never looked back.
Some years earlier he had given up the drink which, Mick says, was one of the best things he ever did.
He has a chequered cross country athletics career and has represented his country on seven occasion.
He dedicates this podcast to the late Marian Byrne who passed away last Saturday.
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There are six teams left now. Bagenalstown Gaels football selector, Murt O'Mara, looks forward to what he describes as the most open senior football championship in a long time. At Netwatch Cullen Park on Sunday, the Barrowsiders take on parish neighbours, Old Leighlin, in one of two quarter-finals. Murt says he is expecting a close encounter against a side who were written off by many before a ball had even been thrown in.
He describes the Bagenalstown players as super and honest who, when they are asked to do something, they will do it. More than ever, there is a desire to win a senior hurling or football title in the club and it cannot be too long before these ambitions are fulfilled.
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The third and final group games of the Carlow senior football championships will be played off this weekend. Holders, Palatine, need to win to avoid a relegation play-off. Rathvilly are already through and joint-manager, Kevin Byrne, would gladly take a place in the semi-final but feels his side could do with another game before the semi-finals.
It is all to play for with seven sides all in with a chance of making the last eight at least.
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"We are giving full priority to the football," says Paul O'Brien, the Mount Leinster Rangers manager. They are already assured of a place in the quarter-finals so the focus is on getting a performance in the final group game against Bagenalstown Gaels this weekend.
They have parked their hurls and sliotars for the duration of the football championship and hurling has taken a back seat.
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It was beyond her wildest dreams but it all came right for Carlow rower, Sadhbh Scully, at the 2023 National Rowing Championships in Cork in July where she was part of the University of Limerick ladies rowing team which clinched an historic senior eight ladies title, intermediate eight and senior quad golds.
The following week she won her first senior cap for her country when she rowed for Ireland in the Home International Rowing Regatta in Leitrim.
It has been an interesting journey for Sadhbh and here she talks about the ups and downs which propelled her towards that historic weekend at the National Rowing Centre, Farran Wood in Cork.
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Paul Broderick talks about Tinryland's quest for a long awaited senior football championship. He would love to be able to help the team bring back a long-awaited championship to the club and repay the hard work so many people do behind the scenes.
The former All-Star football nominee looks back at an amazing first round match against Mount Leinster Rangers where the Tinryland keeper kicked the ball over his own crossbar. In the end the game was drawn when Fiachra Fitzpatrick's last ditch 45 was deflected over for a deserved Mount Leinster Ranger's equaliser.
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Maurice Browne previews all the football championship action which is set to throw in this week. The former Carlow under 20 manager, who is on the Fighting Cocks management team, is not ruling a return to Carlow championship football for Irish and Lions player, Sean O'Brien.
Maurice makes his predictions and is looking forward to what we all hope will be high quality football championship action.
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Mount Leinster Rangers, St Mullins and Kildavin-Clonegal are the senior, intermediate and junior hurling champions for 2023. There was satisfaction for Naomh Bríd who won the Junior Shield.
Pat Ahern and Leo McGough review the weekend's action and discuss some of the talking points of a fascinating weekend of hurling.
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Carlow GAA photographer, Pat Ahern, and Leo McGough GAA stats man discuss the events of last Sunday where four red cards each were handed out to Ballinkillen and Bagenalstown Gaels teams in the senior hurling semi-finals.
Leo and Pat also make a case for bringing senior championship group games out to the clubs where, they say, the atmosphere would far exceed what is presently on offer in Netwatch Cullen Park.
In their own inimitable style, the two lads preview the finals and give their verdicts.
Photograph: Pat Ahern Photography
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"You worry all the time" says Ohla as she recalls being away from her husband while he was back in Ukraine fighting for his country against the Russians.
Olha has been living in Carlow with her two children for over a year now but has since been joined by her husband. He will almost certainly return to his native country while they will continually assess how safe it is for her to return to join him. They face an uncertain future.
In this third and final episode, Ohla speaks about moving to Carlow, putting her children into school and doing her best to give them a normal life. She has joined Carlow Tennis Club which has given her a social outlet which she and her children have been able to enjoy
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Carlow GAA photographer, Pat Ahern, reviews last weekend's hurling action in Carlow and looks forward to semi-final weekend.
There is also analysis on Carlow's great under 16 camogie win in Birr.
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From the first match that referee, Paud O'Dwyer took up the whistle, umpire, John Kelly, has been by his side. Here is a marvellous story of five members of the same Palatine club starting at the very bottom and going on to officiate at the top games in the best grounds all over Ireland.
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She describes it as the most terrible moment of her life. The day Russia invaded Ukraine. Having bought an apartment in Lviv, life had been looking good. Now she and her husband, Alex, made the decision that Olha and their two children would go to Poland while he would stay behind to fight the Russians.
"You have everything to work with but you cannot focus," she recalled.
In this moving episode, Olha looks back on those awful days and describes what it was like when war separated her from her husband and the father of their children.
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The joy of junior hurling and Michael Kehoe's versatility. The unpredictability of the intermediate hurling championship. St Mullins look very good. Is there a kick in Rangers still? Bagenalstown working on their discipline. Ballinkillen an unknown quantity. A youthful Naomh Eoin can be a force in two years. It will take Naomh Bríd a little more time to gel before they get to where they want to be.
The All-Ireland ladies junior football semi-final clashing with the All-Ireland senior hurling final on Sunday. Carlow ladies can make it to Croke Park.
All this with Pat Ahern of Pat Ahern Photography
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Coming up to Christmas 2022, David Hickey had so much to look forward to. He was back refereeing after a hip replacement. As Chairman of Fenagh, the club was in the middle of an extensive development while he was also enjoying working with the juveniles.
Early on Christmas morning, he was in the middle of opening presents with his wife, Sandra, and daughter, Molly, when he got a phone call telling him to get over to his mother's house immediately. His mother, Mary (Moll) Hickey, had taken ill. Sadly she passed away that day.
In this extensive interview, David talks about a range of topics involving refereeing, club, county, family and pays tribute to his mother whom the entire Hickey family still miss so much.
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In this first of a three part series, Olha tells her story about life in Ukraine before the Russians invaded her country. It wasn't the first time she had experienced the might of the Russians who had previously annexed Crimea when she lived there with her parents, her husband and her daughter.
In the second part of her story, she tells of the logistics which she and her husband decided on when she left the country with their two children while he stayed to fight for their country.
In the third part , Ohla explains how she is settling in Carlow now with her two children. After being wounded in a land-mine explosion her husband was allowed to leave Ukraine to join his wife in Ireland.
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Should senior hurling championship games be played at The Training Centre?
Leo McGough reviews the first round games and previews what is on offer over the next few days. We also discuss a range of topics which came up during the week involving issues both in the men's and ladies games.
Photo: Pat Ahern
In the last two years, Conor has experienced the high of winning a SFC medal with his club, Palatine, while this year he was full-back on the Carlow team that won the Joe McDonagh Cup in Croke Park.
He is probably one of the last dual inter-county players in Carlow and he recalls those days where he made the transition coming off the successful Carlow football teams of 2017 and 2018 and into the present Carlow senior hurling team where he played a huge role in their success in 2023.
"I always wanted to represent my country at something,"
So said New Ross ultra keen sportsman, Eoin Bailey, who is now living in Carlow. After a tough introduction to cycling, Eoin has progressed into the sport of duathlon and has represented Ireland in World and European events.
When the going gets tough he does admit second thoughts come into his mind but he banishes them as quickly as he can.
He is also a noted rugby schools coach and has enjoyed considerable success with Scoil Chonglais, Temple Carrig and more recently Presentation College in Carlow.
In this episode, European Tour Golf member, Damien McGrane, discusses the merger between the USPGA, LIV golf and the DP Tour.
"It will make the big boys bigger. This is business," he says.
"This is not golf."
In his county's third round Tailteann Cup game against Longford, Darragh Foley broke the senior inter county football scoring record for a Carlow man. Here he talks about the victory and his own individual achievement.
Paul Doyle, captain of the Joe McDonagh Cup Carlow winning team reflects on an amazing season which saw the team come back from the dead more than once during a superb championship campaign.
There was an unforgettable homecoming reception for the hurlers on their arrival back in Carlow and one which the victorious team thoroughly enjoyed.
The celebrations continue but the team is determined to give Dublin a real rattle when they meet in the preliminary quarter-final of the All-Ireland senior hurling championship.
The Wexford senior football assistant manager, Aine Kinsella, discusses the role of statistical and performance analysis in the GAA world.
From Carlow, Aine was on Colm Bonnar's management team where they led the county to historical Christy Ring and Joe McDonagh Cup successes. She went on to serve under Davy Fitzgerald in Wexford and has enjoyed success with the Shelmalier footballers in Wexford.
"I thought he loved me. I thought he loved Eoghan and Ruairi."
It is almost ten years since Kathleen Chada lost her two sons, Eoghan and Ruairi, when they were murdered by her husband, Sanjeev, the father of the two boys.
Her book, Everything, was recently launched in The Lord Bagenal Inn in Leighlinbridge.
Here she reflects on her reason for writing the book and how she chose to honour the memory of her two sons by getting on with her life.
The camogie team started the ball rolling on Saturday in Dunlavin when they beat Wicklow in the Leinster intermediate semi-final to qualify for a showdown with Kilkenny.
Later that day, it was the turn of the senior hurlers as they comprehensively beat Offaly to qualify for the Joe McDonagh Cup final.
On Sunday, the senior footballers came out of Aughrim with a sensational Tailteann Cup first round victory over Wicklow.
Listen here to camogie goalkeeper, Catherine Kavanagh while Damien McMahon and Pat Coady review the feats of the footballers and the hurlers.
Mattie Kehoe, the former Carlow goalkeeper reviews the win over Down and recalls travelling to the north during the troubles. He assesses his county's chance of qualifying for the Joe McDonagh cup final while he has a thing or two to say about the new structure for televising matches and being unable to buy a ticket at a GAA ground.
Photo: Pat Ahern
Former Carlow minor and under 20 football manager, Ber Horohan, previews the Tailteann Cup and looks forward to working on the Graiguecullen management team under their new manager, Jason Ryan.
Last Saturday, Tullow ladies won the Paul Flood Cup for the second time in a row. While that match was in progress the Carlow senior hurlers came back from seven points down in the second half to force a draw with Laois in the Joe McDonagh Cup in what was a thrilling encounter.
The following day, Tullow won the Provincial Towns Cup for the second time in their history.
All three games had supporters of both sides on the edge of their seats with a nail-biting end to all matches.
A Towns Cup winner himself, William Cas O'Brien, discusses the Tullow achievement while Carlow GAA Photographer, Pat Ahern, confirms that, for him, this was a vintage performance from the Barrowside hurlers.
"It was a quiet enough journey."
So said top hurling referee, Paud O'Dwyer, when he reflected on the long trip home to Carlow from Cork after he didn't send off Aaron Gillane in the 2021 Munster final. Not dismissing the player could very well have cost him and his team of umpires the All-Ireland senior hurling final later in the year. Everyone in the car knew it that day too. It is the only major hurling inter-county game that Paud has not refereed.
Here he discusses his philosophies and lists some of the highs and lows of being a top GAA referee.
Carlow squash player, Ciara Moloney, will captain the Irish ladies squash team in the European Team Championships at the end of April.
Here she reflects on a year which brought her to the attention of the selectors which culminated in her being chosen to travel to Finland.
The mother of two also pays tribute to those who helped her in the past and to those who are closest to her now.
"The real thing that has impressed me is the spirit of the squad," says Carlow camogie manager, Peter Chap Cleere as he looks forward to his team's league final in Darver on Saturday.
Over the season, the respective Carlow football and hurling managers, Niall Carew and Tom Mullally, have also expressed similar sentiments about their squads. Here, Adrian Corcoran and Willie Quinlan preview the challenges which the Joe McDonagh and Leinster SFC ties provide.
"You never work a day in your life when you love what you are doing." So says the SETU Carlow rugby team manager, Johnny Tobin, as he reflects on a great year for the Carlow university.
From Tullow, he is delighted with the success they have achieved this year and looks forward to a Provincial Towns Cup derby semi-final between Tullow and County Carlow FC.
Ballinkillen man, Joe Nolan, loves all sports. Yet, despite the Six Nations rugby game between Ireland and England on TV clashing with the Carlow v Sligo NFL 4 sixth round tie he still found himself in Netwatch Cullen Park on Saturday at 5.00pm.
The GAA is very much part of his life. Here he talks about the positive influence captain, Darragh Foley, has had with the Carlow footballers while he is hopeful the hurlers will enjoy a good Joe McDonagh Cup campaign.
He points out that PRO, Ger Doyle, has embraced the digital age and Carlow is reaching out to GAA people in the county more than it has ever done.
Robert Sansom, the Carlow GAA Games Development Manager, is one of a small number of people who have played senior inter-county football for two counties. The Louth man transferred to Ballinabranna in the last decade and went on to play in goal for Carlow but with his club he wore the number 14 jersey.
He won two intermediate championship medals but more recently took up the position of Games Development Manager.
Here he talks about his role in Carlow and the great work volunteers and the Games Development team carry out in the county.
He also has his views on whether minor should go back to under-18, the split season and the joy of playing his club football with Ballinabranna.
More recently athletes all over the country have been flexing their muscles indoors and a new outdoor season is just around the corner. Already Mark Smyth, the Raheny Shamrock AC sprinter has thrown down the gauntlet setting a new 200m indoor record in the Leinster championships to go with the gold he took in the nationals a few weeks earlier.
Tokyo Olympian, Marcus Lawler, has had to settle for silver both times. Here he looks forward to the challenge set down by his rivals and discusses his career as an Irish full-time athlete.
In Carlow's third round NHL 2A game against Down, Marty Mouse Kavanagh scored 0-13 to bring his total for Carlow senior hurling teams to 29 goals and 600 points from 106 games. In the process he passed out his St Mullins clubman, Pat Coady, who had annexed 14-634 in 128 games.
Here we talk to Marty and renowned stats man, Leo McGough, who compiled the figures.
In 2022 Muckalee man, Pado Flynn led Palatine to a Carlow senior football title. He is back in charge again but he has another string to his bow and is a member of the Closutton Racing Club. The mare, Shewearsitwell, owned by the syndicate and trained by Willie Mullins, is entered into the Mare's Hurdle on the first day of the Cheltenham Festival.
She goes in with a fighting chance and Pado explains here how he got involved with the mare and the syndicate.
"Look! It was tough," says Borris VS coach, Orla Bambury, as she refers to yet another test on their run to the junior All-Ireland B camogie final. They played three group matches, came through three knock-out games in Leinster and then travelled to County Limerick emerging with a glorious victory over Hazelwod College. Now, they are 60 minutes away from All-Ireland glory.
"Tactically they (Laois) were always very good," says former Carlow footballer, Shane Redmond who came out on the wrong end of the result far too often when the two counties met towards the end of the last decade.
He is hopeful Carlow can win when the sides clash this weekend.
"The game they are playing now is much different," he says of the current Carlow players compared to the squad he played with.
In 2002 O'Hanrahan's and Carlow footballer, Andrew Corden was only in his mid-twenties when he lost his life in a freak accident. Three months earlier he had captained Carlow to a unique O'Byrne Cup final victory while two years before that he was a member of the O'Hanrahan's team which won an historic Leinster senior football club final in Portlaoise.
Here his sisters, Fiona and Catherine, look back on a short life packed with excitement, fun, achievement and adventure.
Last year, the Corden family had the honour of presenting the Andrew Corden Cup to the Carlow under 20 footballers for the very first time when they beat Wexford in the final. This weekend, Carlow play Wicklow in the first round of the competition with Wexford and Waterford also in the same group.
Gearoid Dunbar is in his fourth season as a rugby coach in the United States. After three years in New Mexico he has moved to Washington where he is Director of Rugby at the University of Mary Washington. He is also coaching a pro team in DC where he looks after the academy under 19 and 23 sides.
He is also a superb lacrosse player and with his brother, Ruairi, is poised to represent Ireland in the world cup in San Diego in the summer
Almost four years ago, Kibride' s James Foley, decided to mix playing football with being a referee. It has gone well for him and after taking charge of a number of underage and adult county finals in Carlow last year, he refereed his first senior competitive inter-county game when Wexford played Kildare in the 2023 O'Byrne Cup.
Here he talks about his experiences so far as a referee while he reflects on his role as Chairman of his beloved Kilbride club where his entire family are involved in some way or another.
Mick Kehoe "blazes a trail" as he recalls some of the sporting stories involving, among others, Shane O'Neill, David Clifford, Rachael Blackmore, Éire Og, Var/TMO, Roy Keane, Harry Bradshaw, Kellie Harrington, Tommy Payne, Rory Blackmore, St Mullins, Billy Walshe, John Treacy, Steve Ovett, Gearoid Hegarty, Jack McCaffrey, Hannah Kehoe, Philip Walton.
The recently appointed Carlow minor football manager reviews 2022 but also dips further back into the past and comes up with some wonderful memories.
This year, Billy O'Loughlin managed Longford senior footballers who retained their division 3 NFL status. In a winner take all, the Midlanders beat O'Loughlin's native Laois in the final game relegating the O'Moore County to division four.
Here, in an extensive interview which includes Billy's memories of that day , the recently appointed SETU Carlow senior football manager recalls great times when Mick O'Dwyer managed Laois to a Leinster senior football title.
"The hurling field is the central point of the community, " says St Mullins hurler, Seamus Murphy who has featured on successful Carlow Christy Ring and Joe McDonagh Cup winning teams in Croke Park.
John Doran has six county medals with the club winning his first in 2010 but has never played at the famous stadium.
Here the two St Mullins men look back on an amazing season which has seen the club emerge as champions from Carlow. They are in with a fighting chance of qualifying for a Leinster senior hurling club final when they take on Kilmacud Crokes in the semi-final on Sunday.
Photo by Pat Ahern
On Sunday in Clane, Myshall take on James Stephens in the Leinster intermediate club camogie final. Here the Myshall manager, Brendan Hayden, looks forward to the decider.
After a hugely successful underage career where she was capped for Ireland under 17 and 19 teams, she went on to enjoy, and is still enjoying, a stellar club career with Wexford Youths. Injury meant she got limited game time this year where Wexford contended for league and cup honours right to the end of the season. Now, she is fit and ready for the 2023 season.
As a teenager, she roomed with Amber Barrett and was thrilled when the Donegal player scored that historic winner against Scotland which propelled Ireland into the World Cup finals next year.
In this interview, Lauren, among other things, discusses the fall-out which arose after the Scottish game when Ireland's celebrations went viral.
After Clonmore beat Straffan in the Leinster junior club championship, vice-captain, Luke Connolly, spoke highly of Darragh Kelly, a teacher in Colaiste Eoin in Hacketstown.
Darragh is a Meath man who has been teaching in Colaiste Eoin for 20 years. He has coached football teams in the school for many years now but more than anything else, he enjoys a wonderful relationship with pupils and players who respond positively to him.
"It is very hard for people to understand it and to see how good Footgolf is just from hearing about it but you talk to anyone who has played it, it is great fun," says Stan Brennan.
The Carlow man has been capped for his country in what is the relatively new game of Footgolf. Here, he talks about his passion for the game and says, that the sport is a test of skill and nerve just as much as golf and soccer are.
'It is part of what I am."
So says Pat Ahern who, in all aspects of his life, has been connected to the GAA in some form or another. As a player, referee, husband, parent, teacher, mentor and club official, the GAA is very important to him.
Carlow senior football manager, Niall Carew, saw almost every match in the county's senior football championship and went to as many junior and intermediate games as time would allow him.
From this, he has assembled a squad of nearly 50 players. He is optimistic about what 2023 will bring . He says he and the players have learned from 2022 and will bring new ideas and a fresh approach into the O'Byrne Cup, the league and the championship.
As a manager, Joe Murphy has helped three different clubs to win county senior football championship titles. Two in Carlow and one in Kildare.
Old Leighlin, Eire Og and Naas. Here are a few words Joe used to summarise each club and in this interview he talks about his experiences with all these championship winners.
Old Leighlin- "Salt of the earth with a teak toughness."
Éire Og- "it was always an ambition to train them at some stage."
Naas- "A huge challenge to go outside Carlow."
"Hooks, blocks, work-rate-that is what gets you there."
So says Carlow and Myshall camogie star forward, Ciara Quirke as she looks forward to yet another county final on Sunday.
She and her sister, Niamh, had the distinction of playing with their mother, Nuala in previous county deciders.
Myshall have been the dominant club force in Carlow for many years now and Ciara is determined this is going to continue on Sunday.
On Sunday, Palatine won their 7th Carlow SFC title. Jason Kane and Jack Brennan were joint captains. Here, Jason Kane reflects on what has been an amazing year for the club.
They were emotional times as well. A number of much loved and revered club members went to their eternal reward and it was Billy Kane's third anniversary on the Sunday that his son lifted the cup.
Jason talks about this and the many factors which brought the win which few people within the county predicted.
"They are phenomenal" says Naomh Bríd's Rachel Sawyer.
She is referring to Myshall who are going for a 23rd senior camogie final in a row. That respect will be put aside on Sunday when Naomh Bríd try to end that magnificent run.
This year, Rachel opted to play with the Carlow senior footballers and didn't play camogie with the county. She talks about the difficulties for dual-status players.
She was also selected on the All-Ireland junior football team of the year and while Carlow were beaten by Antrim in the All-Ireland semi-final, she says it was a very enjoyable year.
Linda has given part of her life to the development of camogie in Leinster, Ireland but particularly in her native Carlow. When Carlow and Myshall won their respective junior premier and intermediate all-Ireland titles at Croke Park in 2016 and 2017, she may not have been on the pitch but her work in promoting and developing the game in Carlow had a huge part in those unforgettable days.
Here she reflects on many aspects of the development of the game in Carlow and looks forward to a time when all strands of GAA comes together as one big family.
Benny Kavanagh has had a glorious and long career with club and county. He was part of the Éire Og four-in-a-row team of 2017-20 but Rathvilly deprived them in their drive for five. Now, the Wicklow border side has knocked out the YIs in the quarter-finals this year. Two weeks on, Benny admits this still hurts as he looks back on what went wrong.
He also shoots the breeze on a range of other issues and confesses some of the rules such as the mark and the black card still perplex him.
On Saturday 20th August, Tullow rugby player, Dannah O'Brien made her debut in the two match test series against Japan in Tokyo. She scored 18 points that day as Ireland came away with a famous win. The out-half went on to win a second cap the following week.
Here, the 19 year old reflects on what has been an amazing experience for her but she is taking nothing for granted as she sets goals for herself. Dannah is going into first year in DCU and has already made her debut for Old Belvedere in the All-Ireland League.
Moling Morrissey, Cyril Hughes, Tommy Dwyer, Paddy Quirke and Paul Broderick are all household GAA names in Carlow.
In the Barrowside edition of Game of My Life, John Kelly collects the stories of 30 Carlow greats and in a fascinating book allows them to share their memories of their experiences in the Carlow jersey.
There are also memories of times off the pitch as one former Carlow footballer relates.
"Who were the other bunch, only Roy Evans and Kenny Dalglish and a host of other Liverpool people who were also out there for a few days. Well, they all joined in with the drinking and the singing and they had a great night as well."
I spoke to John at the book launch last Thursday.
Separate interviews with former Old Leighlin manager, Barry Hayes, and Eamonn Byrne who looks back on 29 years since Bennekerry-Tinryland was founded. Both clubs have built up an intense but friendly rivalry over the last seven years and predicting a winner is not easy.
With the third round of the football championships just over a week away, I sat down with St Patricks manager, Mick Kehoe, to discuss what is going to be a tense and exciting week for his club and the rest of the teams in the county.
The Tinryland man, who was recently appointed manager of the Carlow minor footballers, is articulate, easy to talk to and he was happy to discuss some of the issues which affect the local and national GAA scene.
Among other things, he points out the way forward for clubs who have underachieved and says the might of the likes of Éire Og and Rathvilly can be taken on and defeated. He says the culture of verbal abuse of referees must stop and cannot be tolerated any longer.
Robbie Foley won his last senior hurling championship with Naomh Eoin in 2005. If someone had told him then that the Myshall club would not win another title in the following 17 years, Robbie would surely have thought they were fantasising.
Yet the balance of power changed and Robbie looks at this while reflecting on his Christy Ring Cup successes while he explains why he supported Mount Leinster Rangers when they played Oulart-the-Ballagh in the Leinster senior club final.
He is adamant that the balance of power will change eventually and he looks forward to when that happens.
Robbie is also the nephew of the great Tom Foley who trained Cheltenham winner, Danoli, and has a keen interest in horses himself.
Having captained the Carlow senior hurling team to a Christy Ring Cup victory and then going on and managing the Carlow camogie team to a junior premier title, Mark Brennan is no stranger to big days in Croke Park.
More recently, as a coach to the Meath ladies senior football team, he has been part of one of the great GAA success stories of all time. In this interview he shares the memories of these heady times, outlines his philosophy as a coach and how the Meath players took ownership of their own situation and went on to win back-to-back All-Ireland senior titles.
Turlough O'Brien grew up in a GAA environment and strangely enough this is where his love for cycling came from as he delivered letters to county board members which his late father, Jim, had written.
His love intensified for two wheel travelling . Turlough has travelled around Europe on the bike and has been accompanied on many of his adventures by Mary, his wife. As each of this three children left primary school, Turlough brought them cycling on the continent for holidays they will never forget.
He recalls arriving to a town in Spain without a place to stay to find a festival in full swing and all hostels and hotels fully booked. With one of his children, it was back on their bikes and on to the next town. There was no room at the inn there either but they coped.
He also paid a surprise visit to his sister in New York where he landed on the doorstep wet to the skin having flown over from Dublin where he bought a bike after he had got off the plane.
There is a little bit of football chat too but this podcast is all about human interests and cycling.
In 1976, Pat Walker left Carlow to play for Gillingham in England. When he went on tour to Majorca with his club, he met his wife, Annette, who hails from Sweden.
It was a significant introduction and Pat eventually ended up in the Scandinavian country while he also played in Norway.
When he retired he went into management in both these countries enjoying considerable success.
He is still involved in soccer management but not on the same scale. He believes passionately that if Irish soccer is to get the best out of itself, the moves have to come from within and he expresses this during our interview.
Current chairman, Pat Deering, was only a chap when Rathvilly won their first every senior football championship title when they beat Éire Og in the 1983 final. Two years later they won again and in 2021 they secured a ninth senior crown and deprived their great Éire Og rivals of five-in-a-row titles.
There have been great days for the Wicklow border club and Pat looks back at the careers of some of the great Rathvilly players who have pulled on a Carlow jersey.
When asked would he run for The Dail again, he says, "Never say Never." He also reflects on working alongside great politicians such as Leo Varadkar, Phil Hogan and Michael Ring.
American basketballer, Nate Shafer, came over to Ireland on a Victory Scholarship in 2020. Covid meant he was unable to take up the scholarship but he reapplied the following year and was accepted. He played with IT Carlow. He had some great days but there were disappointments as well. For him, it was all part of the "fun".
In the National League, some of his colleagues were married with children and he says he was humbled to stand beside players who gave up their time away from families to play the game they loved.
American basketball might be superior but Nate says Irish basketballers play with their instincts and a sense of impromptu which can allow the game to flow.
He has not ruled out coming back to Ireland again.
Damien McGrane, talks about the greatness of Padraig Harrington.
The Carlow Golf Professional opines that the "bizarre format" of the LIV tour will only attract players who are in the twilight of their career and who are out to make easy money.
He says Rory McIlroy can be infuriating at times and has the talent to win more majors.
Finally, he talks briefly about the memory of winning in China 2008 and while it is behind him now he still is reminded of it by members and visitors alike.
Since retiring from inter-county football, Paul Broderick has helped New Oak Boys to an historic four titles in the one season including the Premier League where they went through the season unbeaten.
Barring injury, Paul could have played 40 soccer games in the season. Unlike the local GAA matches, the soccer fixture list is all but set in stone. Paul says he would love to play more games with Tinryland. He suggests GAA clubs have to come together and produce a Master's Fixture List which is set in stone and which suits both the footballers and the hurlers.
After Carlow's final Joe McDonagh Cup game against Westmeath in 2021, David English stepped down from inter-county hurling. He admits it was a tough decision but now he concentrates on club hurling.
He has won Christy Ring and Joe McDonagh Cup finals in Croke Park with Carlow and has pocketed minor and under 21 medals with Ballinkillen. He covets a senior title with Ballinkillen. Here, he reflects on his hurling career with club and county.
It was their one and only senior hurling championship win. Palatine's success in 1972. Offaly man, Willie O'Rourke, played at centre-back. He was one of only two players who wore a helmet at the time.
He recalls the people who made it happen. Players like JJ Canavan, Sean Treacy, Fran Mullins. Then there was what is now known as the management team. Tom Neville, Sean Hickson, Mick McAssey, Dick Gladney and many, many more.
Willie pitted his wits against the great Carlow players including Moling Morrissey, Cyril Hughes, Paddy Quirke and Terry Byrne.
In later years, he went on to become captain of Carlow Golf Club. That is a story in itself.
Yet hurling will always be his first love.
"If I try to tell you about a round of golf, you will probably fall asleep after three holes. You can listen to a whole game of hurling or football over a pint," he says.
One night, you are sitting at home watching television. A knock comes to the door. The caller informs you that one of your family members has a drug debt and that it has not been paid. You are told the debt is now yours.
Your life is shattered. This is only one aspect of the abuse of drugs in society.
Carlow GAA clubs are taking steps to remind their members and particularly young people about the dangers of taking drugs and where that path can lead to.
Here Peter McConnon, a member of the Crime Prevention Unit, in Carlow and Kilkenny and Carlow County Board Chairman, Jim Bolger, explain what the new Drugs Ruin Lives initiative is and what part committee members can play to spread the message in their own clubs.
As Marty Kavanagh closes in as Carlow's leading inter county scorer of all time , Pat Coady, who currently holds the record says he is proud to be able to hand over to his own club man.
Coady also speaks about his club's arch rivals, Mt Leinster Rangers, who have set the bar high not just in club hurling in the county but at national level too.
"We know the level of hurling Rangers are capable of."
Coady recalls a golf game where another St Mullins club man, the great Liamy Walsh, wouldn't talk to him because of his refusal to take on a risk and reward shot.
Pat is a man who has been at the coalface in difficult times for club and county but who has also been there for the glory years as well.
In the picture to go with this publication Coady is on the right as he and Pat Murphy chair Marty Mouse Kavanagh off the pitch after the 2019 senior hurling county final.
Shane Redmond enjoyed a long career at underage and senior inter-county football with Carlow. Before the start of the 2022 season he announced that he was retiring but would continue to play football with his club, Tinryland.
There are many aspects of playing with Carlow that he continues to miss but the sacrifices he made and the sacrifices his family, his girlfriend and friends made to support him he is glad that is behind him.
He recently attended a wedding in Mexico and was able to go without the worry of his obligations to the county team.
With the Tailteann Cup draw to be made in a few days time, he says the competition is a good idea but is not so sure it will work in its current format. He suggests a structure which, he says, would be acceptable to the players and which might further motivate them.
He says his club, Tinryland, have the potential to break the stranglehold Rathvilly and Éire Og have on club senior football in the county.
Recently, Des Kavanagh, the President of the Irish Football Union, was back in his home club in Carlow where he had thrill of presenting his own grandson, Rian, with the under 14 Players Player of the Year. It was a moment to savour.
Here, Des talks about some of the highs of his tenure in office. The triple crown in 2021, the emergence of ladies rugby in Ireland, the joy of getting to an Irish international rugby game when it looked, at one stage, as if he might be the only President of the organisation who would not get to see a game live because of the pandemic.
Then there is the Leinster Academy which is churning out quality players every season. There were lows too particularly when there were controversies in relation to the facilities for a ladies interprovincial fixture. The disappointment of coming so near to a men's Grand Slam coming so near but then so far.
After recent heavy defeats for the minor, under 20 and senior Carlow footballers in the Leinster championship, former inter-county player, legendary Éire Og footballer and now a radio analyst, Willie Quinlan discusses what now for Carlow football.
Going forward, he says a review on how underage squads are prepared and trained is a must if Carlow is to close the gap which is developing between them and other counties.
As a parent he discusses how he parks his disappointment when selection issues go against his sons and how he continues in his role as an unbiased radio analyst.
Deirdre Tomlinson may have retired from inter-county football but she continues to play at club level where she helped Bennekerry-Tinryland regain the 2021 club title which Old Leighlin had held for the previous three years.
Recently she took the Most Valuable Player award when Midland Warriors won the Insuremyhouse.ie Masters Basketball National title at the Basketball Arena in Tallaght.
Here she covers a range of topics as she recalls a journey to Derry with only 13 players for a football league game but stresses this could never happen now. She describes her cycling mad father as phenomenal who, like a good wine, only gets better with age.
She and Richard Coady, the Carlow and Mount Leinster Rangers hurler have been an item for many years now and she admits neither of them would be behind the bush when it comes to discussing each others sporting performances.
She looks forward to the amalgamation of the GAA, the LGFA and the camogie board but says there is still a long way to go with many pitfalls to be ironed out first.
"He has the strength of his father and the kindness of his mother."
Sean O'Brien announces his retirement and members of his beloved Tullow RFC pay tributes to The Tullow Tank
Cyclist, Con Scully, is heading to Europe this summer. Here, he reflects on his recent good performance in the junior Gent Wevelgem in Belgium. He has another event next week in Belgium. Once his Leaving Certificate is done the Carlow teenager is heading back to the continent.
These are exciting times for the 18 year old Carlow cyclist who is hoping to repay the faith, his sponsor, Liam McLoughlin of McLoughlin Architecture has shown in him
This is Darragh Foley's 13 year playing with the Carlow senior footballers. He has no medals to show for it but he has the memories-both good and not so good. Here he talks about the introduction of the Tailteann Cup, and what it means to play for one of the weaker counties. He airs his views on the GPA, the proposed amalgamation of the different strands of the GAA bodies, club, family and why Jamie Clarke of Bagenalstown Gaels has impressed him so much this year.
Patrick Salt Murphy talks about his love for refereeing, the lack of respect for referees which is driving new recruits away from the sport, the community aspect of referees and gives his views on whether the GAA will have to consider giving referees more than just their travel and meal expenses.
He has only missed two county finals since 1971. He actually scored the winning goal in one. Leo McGough, Carlow's Memory Man, is passionate about his hurling and has been at hurling county finals in 28 counties. Here he talks about his love for the ancient game and his Clare background.
For him, Marty Mouse Kavanagh is the greatest of all Carlow hurlers. He explains why he feels Setanta and Carlow Town must join together for the good of the game. He talks about a range of subjects including synchronicity, Davy Fitzgerald, Mount Leinster Rangers and why he gave up the demon drink.
Maria Kinsella, co-chairperson of the Gaelic Players Association, talks about the moves to unify the GAA, the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA), the Camogie Association and other strands of the GAA into one organisation.
She has been described as the best ever club player to have played in the National League. Kylie Murphy reflects on the positive changes which have taken place in Irish women's club soccer over the last ten years. She is also confident the Irish ladies soccer team can qualify for their first major championship.
His job is his hobby. His hobby is his job. Carlow GAA Games Development Manager, Sean Gannon, discusses the problems small counties face as they try to compete against the bigger counties with superior playing numbers. The Carlow inter-county player explains why the national football league is the most important competition for him. He captained Éire Og to five senior crowns out of seven but reflects on his disappointment of not achieving five-in-a-row county titles with the club in 2021.
Martin talks about his love for the game of basketball, his respect for the players in what is a minority sport in Ireland, his relationship with referees, assesses what the American basketballers have brought to the game in Ireland and discusses the strong link that exists between the game of basketball and gaelic football.
Greyhound trainer, Maurice Lawler, reflects on a wonderful success story at the recent National Coursing Championships where rank outsider, Tactical, was runner-up in the Oaks Final in what was described as a race for the ages. He also defends the sport and says the bad press which coursing sometimes get is undeserved.
Today I talk to Kilkenny man, Pado Flynn. Pado has joined Palatine GFC and will coach their senior footballers this year. We discuss his reason for joining the club while we also hear his views on the national GAA competition structure, his relationship with referees and other topics.