Irish: Ceatharlach Nickname(s): The Barrowsiders Dominant sport: Dual County | Province: Leinster County colours: Red, Gold, Green | |
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Ground(s): Dr. Cullen Park, Carlow | ||
The Carlow County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (Irish: Cumann Luthchleas Gael Coiste Ceatharlach) or Carlow GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Carlow and the Carlow inter-county teams.
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The Carlow Senior footballers compete in the Leinster Senior Football Championship and in Division 4 of the Allianz Football League. The Carlow Senior hurling team compete in the Christy Ring Cup having been relegated from the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship as of 2016. Carlow's senior hurlers also compete in Division 2A of the National Hurling League.
Gaelic football
Carlow have claimed very few honours at senior level. A Leinster title was won back in 1944. The final was played in Athy due to the war and Carlow beat Dublin by 2-6 to 1-6. Carlow also lost Leinster finals in 1941 and 1942 to the same opposition. Kerry fisherman-publican Paddy "Bawn" Brosnan kept Carlow from reaching an All-Ireland final in 1944. His second half goal put Carlow out of the All-Ireland semi-final by 3-3 to 0-10.
Ten years later Carlow reached the National League final with a famous 1-10 to 1-7 win over Armagh, but were well beaten by Mayo in the final.
Carlow won a 'B' All-Ireland in 1994, and an O'Byrne Cup in 2002. They beat Wicklow 2-10 to 0-8.
Other significant performances include reaching the Leinster Minor Football Championship final in 2007, when they lost to Laois. The Carlow Vocational Schools team won the VEC All Ireland Championship in 1973, while Carlow CBS won a B All Ireland in Croke Park in 2015. An Under-21 team that came within a point of beating Dublin in 1984.
In the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship Carlow teams have been much more successful. Éire Óg have five Leinster titles while O'Hanrahans claim one to their credit. Éire Óg were deprived of the All Ireland club title in 1993 by Cork's O'Donovan Rossa of Skibereen. They were defeated by 1-7 to 0-8 after a replay in Limerick, after being controversially denied a winning goal in injury time. The team had to make do with immortality of a different kind, you will see them togged out in 1920-style kit, posing as the Tipperary Bloody Sunday team in Neil Jordan's film "Michael Collins" against a Kilmacud Crokes team filling in as Dublin.
In the 1980-81 National League Carlow once fielded a one-club selection so that Éire Óg could prepare for their first Leinster Club final. Tommy Dwyer, at 6'7, was one of the tallest midfielders in GAA history.
Honours
Hurling
Carlow have won two Christy Ring Championships. After losing the 2006 final to Antrim at Croke Park, they beat Westmeath in a classic final (after extra time) by 3-22 to 4-16 in 2008. This was their first "Division 2" win since 1992 and their first in the re-arranged All-Ireland structure which sees four divisions in hurling since 2009.
They repeated the trick the following year, defeating Down at Croke Park to win a two in a row and earn automatic promotion to tier one for 2010. They have played at this level ever since.
Carlow's last appearance in a Leinster championship semi final was in 1993, when they were beaten by Kilkenny by 18 points.
In 2013, Mount Leinster Rangers shocked the hurling world by winning the Leinster Club Hurling Championship, beating Ballyboden St Endas of Dublin in the semi-final and Oulart the Ballagh of Wexford in the final. The following February, they beat 2012 champions Loughgiel Shamrocks to reach the All Ireland final. They were eventually beaten by Portuma.
Honours
Famous players
Camogie
Carlow won the Máire Ní Chinnéide Cup in camogie in 2007 and in 2012. They won the Nancy Murray Cup in 2015. They won both the All Ireland Minor C championship and Under-16 C championship in 2010. Naomh Moling won Division 3 at the Féile na nGael in 1991 and Kildavin Division 5 in 1995.
Under Camogie's National Development Plan 2010-2015, "Our Game, Our Passion," Carlow, Cavan, Laois, Louth and Roscommon are to get a total of 17 new clubs by 2015.