Replying To LongfordgaaAbú: "Seamus Flynn who was a legend of the 1960's for Longford and Clonguish was from Bornacoola. The late great Bertie Allen was responsible for getting him and his brothers across the divide to play their football in Longford."
Interesting insight. I think Annaduff and StMarys have a few lads from "across the bridge" from their respective parish boundaries, as do Ballinaglera from the Cavan side. Shoter travel to training and games, where you went to school etc. can factor where you play. if you came up through the underage system, noones business really
Replying To CARPS: "Laois won a Leinster SFC in 1937 with five players from county Carlow on the starting 15: Martin Farrell, Jim Slater, Tommy Murphy, Mick Haughney and Jack McDarby.
The reason they were playing in Laois was that Carlow had suspended their club- Graiguecullen-eleven years earlier after a man was killed during a county final against Milford.
Ironically, Carlow had won the Leinster Junior in 1923, with six Graiguecullen players on the starting team. Including the captain Barney Hennessy (who had also won it in 1913). In those days there were only six senior teams in Leinster, so the junior was a sort of partial early version of the Tailteann Cup.
Tommy Murphy's grandson (Jody Morrissey) and great-grandson (Jordan Morrissey) would go on to be important players for Carlow. But they played for Eire Og, not Graiguecullen."
I do remember reading about the Graiguecullen - Milford brawl in the 1926 Carlow county final. Nobody was killed but Graiguecullen thereafter played in Laois - away from that rough crowd in Carlow.
The river Barrow runs through Carlow town. Graiguecullen is west of the river in County Laois.
Graiguecullen is part of Carlow town but not part of County Carlow. Similarly Gracefield is part of Portarlington town but it is in County Offaly, not Laois.