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Absolutely delighted to see the team getting the promotion to Div 3 today. Well done to team and management and looking forward to where this team can go.

iacob (Carlow) - Posts: 70 - 22/03/2026 22:25:55    2662384

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Replying To sponger:  "I am going to hold you to that supersub15.

Good luck to ye tomorrow."
I'm still scratching my head I couldn't believe it.
Commiserationns.

supersub15 (Carlow) - Posts: 3385 - 22/03/2026 23:17:51    2662394

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Replying To old yellar:  "A fantastic win for the footballers today and well deserved promotion for the group. A great weekend ahead in Croke Park for the county and hopefully we travel up in big numbers to support them. Saturday night lights and pints! Some serious performances today and the depth of the panel is certainly a lot deeper than other years in terms of real options and game changers. Hopefully a big year ahead in the Leinster and Tailtean too.
Minor hurlers - I think you're being a bit disingenuous when you say we d have fancied beating them years ago like it was a yearly thing- I think we only beat them once at the grade in my memory and it's 20 years ago this year. So it's not an everyday thing! Prior to the sending off we were down by 4/5 at the 20 minute mark - we wouldn't have beat them but the margin would have been significantly less. Speaking to a member of their backroom team after the game, we are in a similar position to them last year - a significant portion of the panel are u16 (last year they were beaten by 31 PTS by Laois whom had beaten us by 13 in the group) So it is what it is. Minor is a development grade and placing significant stock in results is a waste of time in terms of doom and gloom. I hope the group bounce back for next week's game as there's certainly more there than they produced today."
Absolutely agree on the minor hurlers. I remember a minor team that had plenty of lads who went on to play senior with Carlow including Marty Kavanagh, James Doyle, Dion Wall and Diarmuis Byrne get hammered by Dublin and only scored 3 points. We're always going to struggle at underage grades due to numbers. Minor and U20 teams in bigger counties will produce plenty of players who can fill numbers 16 to 40 on a senior panel but if we can stay producing enough gems to break into the first team then we'll be ok.

hurlingguru (Carlow) - Posts: 1853 - 23/03/2026 10:17:44    2662446

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What a performance yesterday, fantastic to watch. Well done to all. Carlow footballers lifting silverware in croke park would be brilliant, let's hope for the best.

Collio (Carlow) - Posts: 92 - 23/03/2026 10:53:08    2662461

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Saw article on Leitrim Observer
Poacher was gutted yesterday
Admitted he thought his Leitrim could upset Carlow yesterday.
Mentioned he obviously knew a lot of people in NCP but could not talk to them he was so disappointed

He left Carlow citing one reason to that there was not much coming through !!!!
And he described some of Carlow team as having flashy players who were good when things are going well but not so great when put under pressure ... Remains to me seen if he has a point
Would like to know who he deemed as flashy

Blackbog (Carlow) - Posts: 802 - 23/03/2026 15:44:22    2662594

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Really is some turn around in one year. Around this time last year, Curran was stepping down as Carlow manager while throwing players under the bus. Carlow players statement was the 28th March, what a way to come full circle by possibly winning Division 4 on Saturday, a year to the day of that statement.

CarlowJuniorB (Clare) - Posts: 131 - 23/03/2026 22:41:31    2662720

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Replying To hurlingguru:  "Absolutely agree on the minor hurlers. I remember a minor team that had plenty of lads who went on to play senior with Carlow including Marty Kavanagh, James Doyle, Dion Wall and Diarmuis Byrne get hammered by Dublin and only scored 3 points. We're always going to struggle at underage grades due to numbers. Minor and U20 teams in bigger counties will produce plenty of players who can fill numbers 16 to 40 on a senior panel but if we can stay producing enough gems to break into the first team then we'll be ok."
Yes I remember that game. It was a freak result. Then much the same group turned it around the following year and beat Dublin the under 20.

Do you honestly think this will happen this time?

Hurling is a skills based sport and you can predict a lot of future senior success from patterns at minor and u20. Our improvement at senior was clearly grounded in a major improvement at underage which started in the early 2000s.

CARPS (Carlow) - Posts: 1061 - 24/03/2026 10:08:03    2662759

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Replying To old yellar:  "A fantastic win for the footballers today and well deserved promotion for the group. A great weekend ahead in Croke Park for the county and hopefully we travel up in big numbers to support them. Saturday night lights and pints! Some serious performances today and the depth of the panel is certainly a lot deeper than other years in terms of real options and game changers. Hopefully a big year ahead in the Leinster and Tailtean too.
Minor hurlers - I think you're being a bit disingenuous when you say we d have fancied beating them years ago like it was a yearly thing- I think we only beat them once at the grade in my memory and it's 20 years ago this year. So it's not an everyday thing! Prior to the sending off we were down by 4/5 at the 20 minute mark - we wouldn't have beat them but the margin would have been significantly less. Speaking to a member of their backroom team after the game, we are in a similar position to them last year - a significant portion of the panel are u16 (last year they were beaten by 31 PTS by Laois whom had beaten us by 13 in the group) So it is what it is. Minor is a development grade and placing significant stock in results is a waste of time in terms of doom and gloom. I hope the group bounce back for next week's game as there's certainly more there than they produced today."
I'm being disingenuous?

Here are all Carlow results against Offaly in the minor Leinster since we returned to the A grade in 2005.

2006 - Offaly 1-9 Carlow 1-8
2006 - Carlow 2-15 Offaly 0-16
2008 - Carlow 2-13 Offaly 1-9
2011 - Offaly 3-15 Carlow 1-10
2013 - Offaly 5-23 Carlow 2-10
2014 - Offaly 1-16 Carlow 1-8
2015 - Offaly 1-19 Carlow 0-10
2026 - Offaly 5-26 Carlow 0-8

The pattern is clear.

CARPS (Carlow) - Posts: 1061 - 24/03/2026 10:18:39    2662764

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Replying To Blackbog:  "Saw article on Leitrim Observer
Poacher was gutted yesterday
Admitted he thought his Leitrim could upset Carlow yesterday.
Mentioned he obviously knew a lot of people in NCP but could not talk to them he was so disappointed

He left Carlow citing one reason to that there was not much coming through !!!!
And he described some of Carlow team as having flashy players who were good when things are going well but not so great when put under pressure ... Remains to me seen if he has a point
Would like to know who he deemed as flashy"
He may have a point.

The current crop of players had the skill and the ability to top div.4 to win promotion with max points, it's my believe they bring with them into some games a fixed mind set, i.e. the fear of losing, they brought it into the Longford game and most certainly into the London game.

I've said it before Carlow has a habit of losing games that is easier to win, so for historic reasons I'm pencilling them in for a draw result, however I'm hoping against hope they can go the full distance and win it.

supersub15 (Carlow) - Posts: 3385 - 24/03/2026 17:07:26    2662916

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Replying To CARPS:  "I'm being disingenuous?

Here are all Carlow results against Offaly in the minor Leinster since we returned to the A grade in 2005.

2006 - Offaly 1-9 Carlow 1-8
2006 - Carlow 2-15 Offaly 0-16
2008 - Carlow 2-13 Offaly 1-9
2011 - Offaly 3-15 Carlow 1-10
2013 - Offaly 5-23 Carlow 2-10
2014 - Offaly 1-16 Carlow 1-8
2015 - Offaly 1-19 Carlow 0-10
2026 - Offaly 5-26 Carlow 0-8

The pattern is clear."
The last previous meeting was 11 years ago. So yeah, I d say not really relevant! In that time Offaly have contested a minor all Ireland (same group winning a 20s), and within 3 years have been beaten by 31 points by Laois. Their seniors have went from Liam McCarthy back to Christy ring and back up again. So what are we judging what on?? A lot changes and you can really put little stock into a counties fate based on minor performances in the main. Bar the 2006/08 teams 8 points is as close we have come to beating them so 2 victories in 8 games over 20 years would hardly show we fancied beating them on a regular basis or that it's doom and gloom.

old yellar (None) - Posts: 2644 - 24/03/2026 17:17:31    2662922

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Replying To supersub15:  "He may have a point.

The current crop of players had the skill and the ability to top div.4 to win promotion with max points, it's my believe they bring with them into some games a fixed mind set, i.e. the fear of losing, they brought it into the Longford game and most certainly into the London game.

I've said it before Carlow has a habit of losing games that is easier to win, so for historic reasons I'm pencilling them in for a draw result, however I'm hoping against hope they can go the full distance and win it."
It's not so much weakness but as I said last week a near generational trauma issue. For years we have been conditioned to losing and things going wrong. It's the toughest job that Joe has on his hands is the mental barriers the side faces. The matches against laois are a perfect example, we just can't beat them in the league or championship.

This year in the O'Byrne cup was the first in 20 odd years wasn't it since we last beat them in the O'Byrne cup? And we can't say that they have been world beaters in that space of time.

CarlowJuniorB (Clare) - Posts: 131 - 24/03/2026 18:43:16    2662942

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