Carlow County Footballers Article

[SLIGONIAN]

From independant.ie

Carlow footballers kickstart their summer against Louth this afternoon, but they will take to the field more in hope than expectation.

Even though Louth are hardly one of the big names of the Leinster championship, a win for Carlow would be a shock start to the campaign.

Success, after all, is usually based on sound foundations and Carlow GAA lacks those. For much of this decade they have been split on several issues, their clubs have displayed a general apathy towards county teams while factions exist in almost every aspect of their set-up.

And things surely hit rock bottom in March 2007 when football manager Andy Shorthall was forced out and the board were pressurised into hunting for a sixth manager in six years. The players felt Shorthall was too low-profile, they kicked up a fuss and eventually he walked.

Maybe it was the players who needed to have a good look at themselves. Before and after Shorthall's tenure, scarcely a manager left the camp without criticising their commitment. But as is the case in most counties, the players' wishes prevailed.

Shorthall's departure didn't sort matters, though. Subsequently, there were many heated disputes between county board members and a group of supporters over attracting that high-profile name. The backers felt success would only follow if such a figure was appointed but the board insisted it wouldn't stand by while a chequebook was waved in the air to entice a new manager.

On the playing fields, things weren't much better. And that hasn't improved. This year, for example, they played Kildare in the Leinster U21 football quarter-final and were destroyed 4-13 to 0-6. After just 59 seconds, they trailed 2-0 to 0-0. Another spectacular failure.

At senior level, Luke Dempsey has had to plan without 10 of his best players in 2009, including the influential Thomas Walsh. Little wonder they only finished above Kilkenny and London in Division 4 of the league.

In hurling, although things are a little healthier, there are still problems. Last year, Jim Greene led them to the Christy Ring title, but even he left on bad terms, accusing the county board of lacking leadership.

Although they won four All-Ireland minor B hurling championships and reached the provincial final proper in 2006, they still failed to fulfill their quarter-final fixture against Dublin in last year's Leinster campaign.

Hurling continues to have its ups and downs. League results show that senior manager Kevin Ryan is continuing Greene's good work and he also doubles up as U21 boss. Earlier this year, he contacted 47 players for U21 trials. Only 18 showed up. Many of those asked had won minor medals just a short time ago but still they weren't interested in attending.

True, there has been the occasional high points in Carlow GAA -- winning that Christy Ring title, beating Offaly in the football championship and toppling Antrim in the hurling league this year -- but by and large they have been left behind in the province by the likes of Wicklow, Westmeath, Kildare and Laois.

And yet, hope still springs that they can finally achieve some steadiness and work on changing the psyche of young players -- starting in Parnell Park this afternoon.

County board chairman Pat Deering, who has one of the most difficult jobs in the GAA, feels they're finally finding their feet after a multitude of disputes and controversies.

Currently in his third year at the helm, Deering has been on the county's executive for nine years and is standing for Fine Gael in the forthcoming local elections. He is hopeful that the tide is turning in Carlow.

"We've had tough times, no doubt about that," he agreed. "But I feel things have stabilised a lot. The hand of friendship has been passed around and now we've some fruitful relationships that were not as healthy in the past.

"When you are winning Christy Ring titles and doing well in hurling, it takes a lot of pressure off. In hurling, the work that's gone into underage level here has been impressive. Our aim is to get to the Leinster senior championship some day soon. Kevin Ryan is doing a great job but what about the U21 lads who didn't bother turning up? Where do you go with the likes of them?"

In that regard, Deering warns that Carlow quickly need a change of mindset if they are to make any progress. Especially in football.

"There's actually not a great pool of footballing talent here and yet people still go on about our thriving club teams. I don't agree. Take Eire óg out of the equation in the 1990s and O'Hanrahans in more recent years and we've had no dominance really. And no disrespect, but that Eire óg team would be far superior to any of the teams around at the moment.

"And still we had players looking for a high-profile manager. They got their way a few years back when we were forced to get rid of Andy Shorthall because they wanted a big name. For a while, managers were coming and going but maybe the right people weren't looking at themselves. Now we have Luke in. He's here for the long haul. His squad are tight and unified."

What about the 10 players who didn't make themselves available to Dempsey?

"They just don't want to put in the commitment that's required," Deering says. "Maybe they want to play soccer or go out on a Saturday night but certainly that's the main problem here. We need everyone. But if you have to beg a player to play for his county . . . "

Carlow are hopeful that the arrival of the highly-regarded Mick Dempsey into a full-time role in the county will reap rewards. In conjunction with Carlow IT, Dempsey will work as a Games Manager for the county. He is well known in Carlow, having guided O'Hanrahan's to three senior football titles and a Leinster club title during his four-year tenure there.

"Mick will be in charge of underage progress, games structures and development squads and will co-ordinate all aspects of our performance," Deering says. "There's still a lot of apathy among clubs towards the county scene, Too many of them are little islands and isolated, but if people can't react to the appointment of someone like Michael Dempsey, then we're at nothing. There is a mindset in Carlow that we shouldn't worry about the county team. Gradually, we will change that."

In the meantime, they will continue to pump the resources in. A 40-acre GAA site in Fenagh is targeted for a Centre of Excellence, while Deering rejects any suggestion that the board don't look after its players and points out that last year they spent €750,000 on running the show. "We look after players as well as anyone else, maybe even better," he suggests. "But we realise that spending so much is simply not sustainable and we'll have to cut back substantially."

Significantly, the board's once-strained relationship with supporters' group, Friends of Carlow, is stronger too.

"They contributed €100,000 to our accounts last year but again they'll have to reduce that this year with the recession. This year their remit is to focus on helping the juvenile scene and our development work."

But a win today is unlikely. They're 4/1 to beat Louth. "We have nothing to lose and everything to gain," Deering says. "I think we can get some good results in this year's championship and our hurlers are on the up too. If we can get to the next generation quickly and educate them the way we want, then maybe we can see some real progress in the years ahead. It will take time but we're in it for the long haul."


My thoughts:
I never really understood why Carlow club scene thrived while there county scene capitulated year in year out, Ive always been curious as to why this is the case, Club rivalry ok every county has that but at the detriment of the county why? Commitment why would carlows 10 best players not want to represent there county, play in croke, isnt that better than playing soccer or going out on sat night? Its a no brainer.

I wouldnt be Luke Dempsey biggest fan but id love to see Carlow unite themselves and do well. As for the lad Walsh its beyond words what I think of what he did but sure weve similiar traitors in Sligo so id have alot of sympathy for Carlow there.