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So I know it's just the o Byrne cup but when was the last time we beat laois?
CarlowJuniorB (Clare) - Posts: 74 - 10/01/2026 15:38:44
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Replying To carlowman: "Agree that Hulton has added a different dimension by taking on his man at every oppprtunity. He did the same against Offaly and not afraid to shoot either for the 2 pointers !
Sean Murphy was decent coming firward and is strong on the ball. Hopefully.with more fitness in his legs he can attack more often than Wednesday night when he was in and out of the game. But when he is playing well, he adds a lot to the team.
Midfield however.remains a problem as we still are not reaching parity in the possession stakes even off our own kick outs. This was clear all last year and against Offaly also. We can blame goalkepeers but the buck stops with yhe players. Getting the right combination is a real challenge for management for no 8 and 9." Our midfield and kick outs are our biggest issues. We need another big man beside Conor Doyle and it absolutely kills us unfortunately
CarlowJuniorB (Clare) - Posts: 74 - 10/01/2026 15:49:33
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Replying To CarlowJuniorB: "So I know it's just the o Byrne cup but when was the last time we beat laois?" I would say 2002. Same competition in Portarlington. Not great but hey ho. Skeagh Kelly kicked the winner that day. All under the nose of the Odlum Owl.
Passer_By (Carlow) - Posts: 544 - 10/01/2026 16:01:55
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Replying To CarlowJuniorB: "So I know it's just the o Byrne cup but when was the last time we beat laois?" 2002
Bimb (Carlow) - Posts: 562 - 10/01/2026 16:09:54
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Replying To CarlowJuniorB: "Our midfield and kick outs are our biggest issues. We need another big man beside Conor Doyle and it absolutely kills us unfortunately" Totally, huge problem and getting worse. Need to be better on breaks also
Bimb (Carlow) - Posts: 562 - 10/01/2026 16:10:56
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Replying To CarlowJuniorB: "So I know it's just the o Byrne cup but when was the last time we beat laois?" 2002 O Byrne Cup, 1988 Championship... great to beat the noisey neighbours even if it's only an O Byrne shield match. Some lads playing their first game today or first season on Carlow Panel & get to beat Laois. Many a great Carlow player played his whole career & never got one over Leix. Really think something is building here & we have a decent panel coming together.
carlo (Carlow) - Posts: 295 - 10/01/2026 16:53:38
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Replying To Bimb: "2002" I remember that. And then a few weeks later, they beat us by seven or eight points in a league game. Also in Portarlington. And later that year they also beat us in the championship, in tragic circumstances. A week or two after the death of our full back, Andrew Corden.
I am happy the lads got one over on Laois today, but I wouldn't be reading too much into the O'Byrne Cup. The Antrim game will us a better indication of where we stand.
And the same for the hurlers when they play Down.
CARPS (Carlow) - Posts: 1015 - 10/01/2026 18:24:17
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Fully deserved win today although with 5 mins to go it looked like a typical Carlow defeat from the jaws of victory. But in fairness there is something developing within this group as they don't throw in the towel, they keep their discipline (in total contrast to Leix) and we have match winners all over the pitch and you feel even when behind late on that any one of them could step up. Today it was Colm Hulton who is rejuvenated this season. Let's hope it continues, there's great competition for places in the forwards this year.
It has to be accepted Leix were poor and weren't able to handle Carlow when we ran at them. They had one fully deserved red card and definitely should have had another earlier. They were very reliant on the Tinryland man they had at the top of the left who kept them in it.
Our own kick outs continue to be a disaster zone though. I don't mind too much not winning opposition kick outs but we must be losing 75% of our own.
Final is v Wicklow next Friday night. Good to get another semi-competitive game before the league but I'd be surprised if either Joe Murphy or McConville will be too worried about winning with the same two teams playing again two weeks later in a league match that will matter an awful lot more. I wouldn't be surprised to see two shadow teams starting at least.
Well done to Rathvilly for very good organisation of today's match. Dozens of stewards placed all over the village even down as far as the cemetery directing car parking. Great club (but not mine!). If we are home in the final it would be good to see it played again in a club ground. I think it's a great to bring these matches around the county (even though I know it's only happened because of the work being done in the county grounds).
Onion Breath (Carlow) - Posts: 1730 - 10/01/2026 19:18:20
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Replying To Passer_By: "I would say 2002. Same competition in Portarlington. Not great but hey ho. Skeagh Kelly kicked the winner that day. All under the nose of the Odlum Owl." I remember that but was it not a last minute goal from Thomas Walsh that won it for us?
Onion Breath (Carlow) - Posts: 1730 - 10/01/2026 19:19:58
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Replying To CARPS: "I remember that. And then a few weeks later, they beat us by seven or eight points in a league game. Also in Portarlington. And later that year they also beat us in the championship, in tragic circumstances. A week or two after the death of our full back, Andrew Corden.
I am happy the lads got one over on Laois today, but I wouldn't be reading too much into the O'Byrne Cup. The Antrim game will us a better indication of where we stand.
And the same for the hurlers when they play Down." I don't think anyone is reading too much into it but there is a good feeling with a squad picked of lads you would never think would play for Carlow, then add in the fact we beat a local rival we have never beaten in the last 20 years. A sign of a good development and Joe getting a good tick from the side.
CarlowJuniorB (Clare) - Posts: 74 - 10/01/2026 19:26:41
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My observations so far.......... Some very fast attacking moves with loads of different scoring options........ Backs well able get involved........ Remains to be seen how defense holds up under pressure.......... Mid field a disaster. Im gonna guess john murphy and niall hickey will end up there....... Kick outs not great but then again options limited for kick outs........ Hulton rejuvinated........ Conor doyle class act and a real leader.......... Team will be fit but mid field a huge headache
Bimb (Carlow) - Posts: 562 - 10/01/2026 20:00:57
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Replying To Onion Breath: "I remember that but was it not a last minute goal from Thomas Walsh that won it for us?" I don't think so Onion. Brian Kelly kicked a lovely point from near enough the sideline to win her. I remember playing Laois there a year or two later and Thomas Walshe scoring a goal with his fist, also in Portarlington? We were well beaten that day though. There's a lot of water under the bridge since then. Memories are Quare things, but that's my recollection of it. Anyways, as the Govt would say 'Looking forward'….
Passer_By (Carlow) - Posts: 544 - 10/01/2026 20:49:47
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Replying To Passer_By: "I don't think so Onion. Brian Kelly kicked a lovely point from near enough the sideline to win her. I remember playing Laois there a year or two later and Thomas Walshe scoring a goal with his fist, also in Portarlington? We were well beaten that day though. There's a lot of water under the bridge since then. Memories are Quare things, but that's my recollection of it. Anyways, as the Govt would say 'Looking forward'…." Walsh - OnionBreath - an unintended 'e' there. No docked marks for spelling!
Passer_By (Carlow) - Posts: 544 - 10/01/2026 23:41:16
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Good to get the win and another competitive outing. However that Leix side looked to have a lot of panel players.
Bainisteoir (National) - Posts: 594 - 11/01/2026 09:29:13
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Replying To Passer_By: "Walsh - OnionBreath - an unintended 'e' there. No docked marks for spelling!" Whatever way you want to spell it it's pronounced Welsh around our way anyway :)
Onion Breath (Carlow) - Posts: 1730 - 11/01/2026 13:42:06
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Replying To Onion Breath: "Whatever way you want to spell it it's pronounced Welsh around our way anyway :)" Same down here!
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 17961 - 11/01/2026 15:00:42
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Great performance from the lads yesterday, dominated most the game and it was brilliant to see us starting fast building an early lead. Laois might not have had their best side out but you can only beat what's put in front of you - so good to finally shake off the 23-year hoodoo with a win over our noisy neighbours.
Hulton and Conor Doyle were excellent again they will be huge players for us this season. Amongst the new comers both Tadgh Roche and Pádraig Bolger have impressed. Next Fridays game should be a good opportunity to get more game time for the likes of Mikey Bambrick, John Murphy, Niall Hickey, Niall Roche and Aaron Amond.
The Wicklow game sets the tone for the season ahead, firmly identifying them as our main rivals in 2026, with three crucial derby clashes against The Garden county on the horizon. Next Friday presents our first opportunity to win silverware since 2002. The league encounter will be pivotal in determining promotion, while the Championship meeting offers a chance to secure our first Championship victory since 2018. Wicklow also provide the ideal benchmark, as both sides will rightly fancy their chances of promotion from div 4.
After putting an end to some long standing negative streaks with wins over Wexford and Laois, Carlow now have the opportunity to win 3 games in a row for the first time in 8 years (2018 National League - 6 consecutive wins). These might sound like small wins but they are exactly what we need to turn the tide of Carlow football slowly but surely. If we could beat Wicklow 2 out of 3 times this year I believe it will lead to a successful season overall.
As much as it would be magnificent to lift the O'Byrne Shield, the priority for Carlow footballers is very much the league. After 3 games in 8 days and now another big one Friday, I just hope we haven't over leveraged ourselves before the league. A prime example of this being Longford winning back to back O'byrne cups under Paddy Christie in 2023 and 2024 only to be relegated in div 3 of the league in 2023 and finish midtable in div 4 in 2024.
Antrim Watch: From the outside looking in, our preparations for our opening league game v Antrim look to be going well in comparison to theirs. The Saffrons are now off the back of two heavy losses albeit to top opposition. Most notably they are struggling In the scoring stakes, in the 2nd half v Derry they scored zero, just 3pts in the 1st half v Donegal and 4pts in the 2nd half. Meanwhile, We are starting to score more freely with 1-8 in the 2nd half v Wex, 1-8 in the first half V Laois and 1-7 in the 2nd half.
In Joe we trust.
Carlowrising (Carlow) - Posts: 184 - 11/01/2026 15:07:52
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Replying To Onion Breath: "Whatever way you want to spell it it's pronounced Welsh around our way anyway :)" And that's 100% correct too. Breathnach quite literally means Welsh from Bhreatain Bheag/Wales.
Passer_By (Carlow) - Posts: 544 - 11/01/2026 17:30:33
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Replying To Viking66: "Same down here!" Was always Welsh around here for most of my life, but lately I'm hearing Walsh.
Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 2005 - 11/01/2026 20:27:02
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Replying To Carlowrising: "Great performance from the lads yesterday, dominated most the game and it was brilliant to see us starting fast building an early lead. Laois might not have had their best side out but you can only beat what's put in front of you - so good to finally shake off the 23-year hoodoo with a win over our noisy neighbours.
Hulton and Conor Doyle were excellent again they will be huge players for us this season. Amongst the new comers both Tadgh Roche and Pádraig Bolger have impressed. Next Fridays game should be a good opportunity to get more game time for the likes of Mikey Bambrick, John Murphy, Niall Hickey, Niall Roche and Aaron Amond.
The Wicklow game sets the tone for the season ahead, firmly identifying them as our main rivals in 2026, with three crucial derby clashes against The Garden county on the horizon. Next Friday presents our first opportunity to win silverware since 2002. The league encounter will be pivotal in determining promotion, while the Championship meeting offers a chance to secure our first Championship victory since 2018. Wicklow also provide the ideal benchmark, as both sides will rightly fancy their chances of promotion from div 4.
After putting an end to some long standing negative streaks with wins over Wexford and Laois, Carlow now have the opportunity to win 3 games in a row for the first time in 8 years (2018 National League - 6 consecutive wins). These might sound like small wins but they are exactly what we need to turn the tide of Carlow football slowly but surely. If we could beat Wicklow 2 out of 3 times this year I believe it will lead to a successful season overall.
As much as it would be magnificent to lift the O'Byrne Shield, the priority for Carlow footballers is very much the league. After 3 games in 8 days and now another big one Friday, I just hope we haven't over leveraged ourselves before the league. A prime example of this being Longford winning back to back O'byrne cups under Paddy Christie in 2023 and 2024 only to be relegated in div 3 of the league in 2023 and finish midtable in div 4 in 2024.
Antrim Watch: From the outside looking in, our preparations for our opening league game v Antrim look to be going well in comparison to theirs. The Saffrons are now off the back of two heavy losses albeit to top opposition. Most notably they are struggling In the scoring stakes, in the 2nd half v Derry they scored zero, just 3pts in the 1st half v Donegal and 4pts in the 2nd half. Meanwhile, We are starting to score more freely with 1-8 in the 2nd half v Wex, 1-8 in the first half V Laois and 1-7 in the 2nd half.
In Joe we trust." Very good overview , particularly the football item. And yes, the league game will determine which county will finish in the top 2, in my opinion. This may sound presumptuous or dismissive of the other counties and Leitrim might leave me with egg on my face after the first game, just like London did last year. Anyway, good luck to Carlow and may the best team win each time - hopefully it's Wicklow.
Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 2005 - 11/01/2026 20:32:59
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