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Carlow hurling has given us some unbelievable days in the last 20 years. I'll never forget beating Wexford in leinster minor Q/t final in 2006 & Offaly in semi.
Winning back to back Christy ring cups in 2008 & 2009
Christy ring again in 2017
Joe Mac against Westmeath in 2018
Drawing with Galway in league in 2019
Beating Offaly in relegation final in 2019
Beating Offaly in Joe Mac final in 2023
Drawing with Kilkenny in Leinster Championship in 2024
Beating Waterford in league in 2025
I was lucky to be at all of the above & them lads have given us unreal service. I'm not here to write them off as I firmly believe if we get all our players fit & out on duty we will give the Joe Mac as massive cut this year. But but eventually all good things come to an end & we are not producing the same calibre of player to replace these lads so when they gone we will realise how good we had it for a time. Heads up lads & give the Joe Mac an almighty push. You owe us nothing
carlo (Carlow) - Posts: 315 - 08/03/2026 21:49:49
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I mentioned how bad days were ahead for Carlow hurlers last year to which I recieved a bit of hate and people saying lets revisit this in a few months and that I would be wrong - well here we are. As I said at the time it shouldnt be viewed terribly negatively as we should be so grateful for how good our team was and how much it punched above its weight. We were blessed with a golden generation but much like any county its cyclical and rebuilds happen.
I just think at inter county level to achieve what we have achieved with the playing population and tiny number of successful clubs of recent has been excellent.
A lot of backlash this year for hurlers and management which can also be put down to the fact we have set ourselves a high ceiling and expect better but thats because we have been so good. I know its a harsh reality but we are blooding in new lads and dont have the same quality that we once did so obviously results and performances will suffer and continue to suffer. Just think we should acknowledge that and realize bad days are ahead thats not being pessimistic just realistic.
I would have been alot more and am alot more critical of the footballers than the hurlers as the hurling has been and is quite literally David and Goliath stuff
FearCeatharlach (Carlow) - Posts: 54 - 09/03/2026 01:25:49
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Replying To FearCeatharlach: "I mentioned how bad days were ahead for Carlow hurlers last year to which I recieved a bit of hate and people saying lets revisit this in a few months and that I would be wrong - well here we are. As I said at the time it shouldnt be viewed terribly negatively as we should be so grateful for how good our team was and how much it punched above its weight. We were blessed with a golden generation but much like any county its cyclical and rebuilds happen.
I just think at inter county level to achieve what we have achieved with the playing population and tiny number of successful clubs of recent has been excellent.
A lot of backlash this year for hurlers and management which can also be put down to the fact we have set ourselves a high ceiling and expect better but thats because we have been so good. I know its a harsh reality but we are blooding in new lads and dont have the same quality that we once did so obviously results and performances will suffer and continue to suffer. Just think we should acknowledge that and realize bad days are ahead thats not being pessimistic just realistic.
I would have been alot more and am alot more critical of the footballers than the hurlers as the hurling has been and is quite literally David and Goliath stuff" Good man, make sure to keep criticising our county teams that will really bring out the best of them. Your doing gods work.
Carlowrising (Carlow) - Posts: 196 - 09/03/2026 08:20:15
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I wouldn't be too hard on the lads playing yesterday. If you look at the 17 players who played against Laois in Joe McDonagh last year, we were missing Paul Doyle, Dion Wall, Tony Lawlor, Evan Kealy, Jack McCullagh, Ciaran Whelan, James Doyle and Conor Kehoe for one reason or another. Marty and Paddy Boland probably carrying knocks as well.
They could have totally crumbled after going 17 points down but dug in even playing the guts of 20 minutes with 14 men after Marty was harshly sent off.
The three lads playing in the full back line are very unlikely to be playing in the full back line for their clubs in the club championship so it was a difficult task for them yesterday.
I'm still not a fan of easily conceding the puck out especially against teams who like to work it through the lines like Kildare. It also put our inexperienced full back line under pressure as it allowed Kildare to deliver good ball into their forwards. The Kildare wing back was putting over points for fun because he had no one to mark! We pushed up before Marty got sent off and got a bit of joy from it.
While it has been a disappointing campaign, a number of players have got game time at a higher level which should benefit them for the Joe McDonagh and likely Division 2 of the league next year.
ACarlowGael (Carlow) - Posts: 38 - 09/03/2026 09:25:52
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People here say we swing back and forth massively with the footballers but you'd swear we were division 4 hurling with the comments here. Are things bad? Yeah but it's not the ending of it all. Noted we were down a few regulars yesterday and if we can get lads back for Joe Mc we can give it a proper go.
Think there's a bit too much of a focus on underage teams performing here. Outside of the minor side that made the final, before and after we rarely achieve much. We don't make u20 finals, we don't push in minor and are all dominated by the biggest counties. Going back as far as the mid 00s we win at best 1 match a year in u20. Minor isn't a whole lot better either. The football side is the same, we don't produce great underage sides at all. Not fair to use them as a barometer of where we are going or are given historic results.
Anyway, enough of the doom and gloom, look forward to the Joe Mc and push on.
CarlowJuniorB (Clare) - Posts: 120 - 09/03/2026 09:52:23
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Replying To CarlowJuniorB: "People here say we swing back and forth massively with the footballers but you'd swear we were division 4 hurling with the comments here. Are things bad? Yeah but it's not the ending of it all. Noted we were down a few regulars yesterday and if we can get lads back for Joe Mc we can give it a proper go.
Think there's a bit too much of a focus on underage teams performing here. Outside of the minor side that made the final, before and after we rarely achieve much. We don't make u20 finals, we don't push in minor and are all dominated by the biggest counties. Going back as far as the mid 00s we win at best 1 match a year in u20. Minor isn't a whole lot better either. The football side is the same, we don't produce great underage sides at all. Not fair to use them as a barometer of where we are going or are given historic results.
Anyway, enough of the doom and gloom, look forward to the Joe Mc and push on." Before the minor side made a Leinster final, we had completely dominated the old All Ireland minor B for years. We won four-in-row from 2002 to 2005. Now we are back at the level of the teams we used to beat in that tournament. Lost by 12 points to Westmeath in 2023 and by 11 in 2025. In 2024, we didn't even get out the qualifying group.
We are no longer competing with the Wexford's and Dublin's at underage. This is the whole point. It was competing with them which drove the progress. Hurling is a skills based game. It's not like some other field sports where just getting a team fit and organised can make all the difference.
Also, I don't get why you're constantly comparing to the status of football.
I'm primarily a hurling person, but I'm not so blind that I can't see that tier 3 hurling equates to tier 4 football, given the number of counties who take each code seriously.
Thus, bar a total meltdown over the next two games, it's almost certain that the footballers will be playing at a higher relative level than the hurlers in next years league.
For the first time in a very long time.
CARPS (Carlow) - Posts: 1052 - 09/03/2026 10:41:40
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Some of the comments on here about the hurlers is horrible. They are missing seven starters from last year. With two more being able to play 10 minutes.
Yes it would have been great to stay in 1b but I'm sure that is not there end goal. With everyone back for Joe Mac I can see them 100 percent being favourite's to win it.
Any county in the country would struggle missing them numbers and carlow definitely can't be missing them. Looks like they are going to get relegated but so what we got loads of experience into players which is more important in the long run because they definitely will be straight back up next year.
Ceatharlach7000 (Carlow) - Posts: 31 - 09/03/2026 11:22:27
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Replying To CARPS: "Before the minor side made a Leinster final, we had completely dominated the old All Ireland minor B for years. We won four-in-row from 2002 to 2005. Now we are back at the level of the teams we used to beat in that tournament. Lost by 12 points to Westmeath in 2023 and by 11 in 2025. In 2024, we didn't even get out the qualifying group.
We are no longer competing with the Wexford's and Dublin's at underage. This is the whole point. It was competing with them which drove the progress. Hurling is a skills based game. It's not like some other field sports where just getting a team fit and organised can make all the difference.
Also, I don't get why you're constantly comparing to the status of football.
I'm primarily a hurling person, but I'm not so blind that I can't see that tier 3 hurling equates to tier 4 football, given the number of counties who take each code seriously.
Thus, bar a total meltdown over the next two games, it's almost certain that the footballers will be playing at a higher relative level than the hurlers in next years league.
For the first time in a very long time." In fairness to Westmeath they have made huge strides at underage over the last 20 years. Put a huge effort in.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 18717 - 09/03/2026 13:03:34
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Replying To Ceatharlach7000: "Some of the comments on here about the hurlers is horrible. They are missing seven starters from last year. With two more being able to play 10 minutes.
Yes it would have been great to stay in 1b but I'm sure that is not there end goal. With everyone back for Joe Mac I can see them 100 percent being favourite's to win it.
Any county in the country would struggle missing them numbers and carlow definitely can't be missing them. Looks like they are going to get relegated but so what we got loads of experience into players which is more important in the long run because they definitely will be straight back up next year." I agree with some of that but no way are we favourites for McDonagh, with or without the missing players. We're joint third favourites in my opinion, joint with Westmeath. Leix have their top players back this year and are way stronger than they were last year and are my favourites. Then Antrim second favourites in my view. We have to go away to Antrim (again!) in McDonagh this year. We always struggle up there even when at full strength. Leix at home in the first game is huge.
Onion Breath (Carlow) - Posts: 1793 - 09/03/2026 13:11:55
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Replying To CARPS: "Before the minor side made a Leinster final, we had completely dominated the old All Ireland minor B for years. We won four-in-row from 2002 to 2005. Now we are back at the level of the teams we used to beat in that tournament. Lost by 12 points to Westmeath in 2023 and by 11 in 2025. In 2024, we didn't even get out the qualifying group.
We are no longer competing with the Wexford's and Dublin's at underage. This is the whole point. It was competing with them which drove the progress. Hurling is a skills based game. It's not like some other field sports where just getting a team fit and organised can make all the difference.
Also, I don't get why you're constantly comparing to the status of football.
I'm primarily a hurling person, but I'm not so blind that I can't see that tier 3 hurling equates to tier 4 football, given the number of counties who take each code seriously.
Thus, bar a total meltdown over the next two games, it's almost certain that the footballers will be playing at a higher relative level than the hurlers in next years league.
For the first time in a very long time." Where in your opinion has the poor under age results came from Carps, and what should we be doing to rectify it?
I do agree the Westmeaths and Kildares are far ahead of us now at under age levels and that's going right to u14s.
Skippy2 (Carlow) - Posts: 80 - 09/03/2026 13:22:24
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I agree with a lot of what has been said above regarding the players and the successes of previous years. We've had some incredible servants over the last number of seasons and probably the best hurling team we've ever put out. I have huge admiration for that group and what they've achieved.
That said, this has been a very tough league campaign and, even with the players we have at our disposal, it has been hugely disappointing. Antrim, Down and Kildare are teams I would expect us to beat or at least compete strongly with nine times out of ten.
Antrim are currently at a low point and that was a game we should have won. All credit to Kildare - they are flying at the moment. Hopefully they can sustain that level of performance for their Leinster campaign and into next year. It would be great to see them pushing on and adding to the competitiveness of the Leinster Championship.
Wexford are also at a low point. There was a huge opportunity there to beat them. Yes, we stayed with them for large parts of the game, but in reality it was still a poor performance against a woeful Wexford team.
Looking more broadly, I see what's happening in other counties: the work being done at underage level, the structures in place, and the standards of training being brought to adult teams. Granted I'm not at the coalface, but I simply don't see that same level being applied in Carlow.
The old adage that "we train every bit as hard as the top teams" does not really apply! This isn't a criticism of the players - players do what they're asked to do and I would never question their commitment. But the supports and structures around them are not there!
I would also have serious concerns about our management and backroom team selections at adult level. There is genuine talent within the county in terms of modern, up-to-date hurling coaches and S&C coaches, yet I don't see any of them involved with our county teams.
On a positive note, I was delighted to see a homegrown management team appointed for the minors. Hopefully they are given the space and the supports needed to develop and build something long term.
sportingplay (Kilkenny) - Posts: 14 - 09/03/2026 13:58:26
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Replying To CARPS: "Before the minor side made a Leinster final, we had completely dominated the old All Ireland minor B for years. We won four-in-row from 2002 to 2005. Now we are back at the level of the teams we used to beat in that tournament. Lost by 12 points to Westmeath in 2023 and by 11 in 2025. In 2024, we didn't even get out the qualifying group.
We are no longer competing with the Wexford's and Dublin's at underage. This is the whole point. It was competing with them which drove the progress. Hurling is a skills based game. It's not like some other field sports where just getting a team fit and organised can make all the difference.
Also, I don't get why you're constantly comparing to the status of football.
I'm primarily a hurling person, but I'm not so blind that I can't see that tier 3 hurling equates to tier 4 football, given the number of counties who take each code seriously.
Thus, bar a total meltdown over the next two games, it's almost certain that the footballers will be playing at a higher relative level than the hurlers in next years league.
For the first time in a very long time." Where's the comparison to football? It was an exaggerated reference to division 4 hurling with some of the mental stuff thats being said here and the reference of underage football was the fact it's a Carlow gaa problem that our development in both codes is terrible. Last provincial finals is nearly 20 years. We're falling further behind like you point out in the sides we're competing with now.
CarlowJuniorB (Clare) - Posts: 120 - 09/03/2026 16:05:22
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