Brian Carroll retires from Offaly hurling

[AZOffaly]

Bad times for Offaly hurling, gan dabht, but it's still notable that one of our great servants, Brian Carroll, retired from inter county. He has been one of the better Offaly forwards for at least 10 years now, but unfortunately for him, his era came just after Offaly started falling away badly from the top table. In some recent shellackings, he was the one bright light, his performace against Kilkenny below in Nowlan Park on Sky Sports being one such occasion.He had some success with Coolderry, which at least gave him some reward for his career at club level.

Of course his father (Pat, RIP) was a great player, and won All Irelands for the family, and Brian had a lot of Pat's attributes in terms of skill and wristiness.

Best of luck to him in the retirement, and thanks for all the hard yards he put in.

[seafoid]

Bad times for Offaly hurling, gan dabht, but it's still notable that one of our great servants, Brian Carroll, retired from inter county. He has been one of the better Offaly forwards for at least 10 years now, but unfortunately for him, his era came just after Offaly started falling away badly from the top table. In some recent shellackings, he was the one bright light, his performace against Kilkenny below in Nowlan Park on Sky Sports being one such occasion.He had some success with Coolderry, which at least gave him some reward for his career at club level.

Of course his father (Pat, RIP) was a great player, and won All Irelands for the family, and Brian had a lot of Pat's attributes in terms of skill and wristiness.

Best of luck to him in the retirement, and thanks for all the hard yards he put in.

a great hurling family. Just goes to show it is not all about all Ireland medals. Some of the best players never got near them.

[orangeman]

Joe Dooley had a great tweet to acknowledge the family service :



Best wishes @BrianCarroll13 on your retirement.You gave your all for the faithful cause like your father before you. @Offaly_GAA

[Bord na Mona man]

Unfortunately Brian is another stalwart whose career happened to coincide with a bleak time in Offaly hurling. Nonetheless his efforts are no less appreciated. He put in several big performances over the years. There were times where Offaly could have been subjected to a few more shocks had he not kept the scoreboard ticking over.

Even on dark days he kept plugging away. In Nowlan Park in 2014 when Offaly were shot down in flames he was one of the few players giving Kilkenny any trouble.

In some ways it's a disappointing he has quit now. In recent years he has alluded to the commitment of a lot of players not being up to scratch. Perhaps with the new management, this is about to improve.

[seafoid]

Bleak House

FT in Hawkfield:@kildarehurling 2-20 @Offaly_GAA 2-22

[Thewildcat]

2 point win does the job of 20.