Across the Four Lakes Podcast

Send us a Text Message.Young Clonmore footballer, Oisin Doyle,  may be the holder of junior and intermediate football championship medals but he has had injuries which have kept him out of important club and intercounty games. Back to full fitness now he and Clonmore are looking forward to competing at senior level for the first time in over 20 years. They meet the holders, Éire Og in their opening game in what is the toughest of groups. Yet  these are exciting times for players and supporters and the first match cannot come around quickly enough

Send us a Text Message.On Sunday Carlow had their hopes of All-Ireland football glory ended by Louth in Parnell Park. It was a bitter pill to swallow. Here, Sara Doyle talks about the disappointment but says it has been a good year for the county where they gained promotion from Division 4 and in the process won the league final. She says the Carlow team enjoyed a close bond and continue to remain positive. She took up football when she was quite young and was encouraged by family members. In her early twenties,  the St Brigids club footballer has enjoyed a tremendous career where she has been selected on the Team of the Year in consecutive seasons while at one stage during the 2024 season she led the Zucar Golden Boot Award.Photo: Pat Ahern PhotographyPhoto: Pat Ahern Photography

Send us a Text Message.In Parnell Park, despite having a narrow advantage on 45 minutes Carlow were eventually beaten by Louth who go on to play Fermanagh in the All-Ireland JFC final in Croke Park. Back home the senior hurling championship is one game away from the semi-final stage. Pat Ahern was at the fourth round games and was in Dublin on Sunday to witness Carlow's disappointing day. Pat Ahern PhotographyPhoto: Pat Ahern Photography

Send us a Text Message.Éire Og player, Megan Townsend, has broken into the Carlow senior football panel this year and has featured in all their league and championship games. On Sunday they travel to Parnell Park to play Louth in the All-Ireland JFC semi-final. Carlow are hungry for success. They have lost four semi-finals in a row and are determined to take that final step to Croke Park this weekend. 

Send us a Text Message.In recent years, Carlow have suffered heartbreak at the penultimate stage and dreams of playing in Croke Park on All-Ireland ladies football Sunday have been dashed. They face Louth  in the All-Ireland Junior Football semi-final in two weeks time. Both sides have beaten each other already this season so there is nothing between them. Clíodhna Ní Shé looks back on a poor show last time out against Fermanagh and is hopeful they have learned enough and will produce a performance which will see Carlow take their place in the final in the Field of Dreams. 

Send us a Text Message.Tinryland's Mark Mullen has experienced the disappointment of losing a senior football county final. So near and yet so far against Palatine two years ago.  He captained the SETU Carlow Freshers Football  team this year that contested an All-Ireland final this   while he went on to play for Carlow in the Leinster under 20 football championship. He was called into the Carlow senior football set-up for the Tailteann Cup and while he didn't get game time,  he enjoyed the experience and took a lot of positives from it. Tinryland may have come in for criticism for their style of play over the last two years but Mark does not agree. 

Send us a Text Message.Marc Carpenter was only 17 years of age when he was invited to join the Carlow senior football panel. He enjoyed a long career with the county and was a key figure of the great O'Hanrahans team of the early 2000s.He is still playing and is determined to help put structures in place which will help his club get back into senior ranks. It is all go for Marc who runs the well known Carpenter Undertakers while Carpenters Pub on Barrack Street continues to do well. He is very much a family man with his three children all involved in sport. 

Send us a Text Message.On Saturday in Netwatch Cullen Park, Carlow came from six points down in the second half to beat Dublin and get their All-Ireland camogie intermediate championship aspirations back on track. Sisters Rachel and Anna  Breen  played in the number 3 and 6 positions respecitvely as they anchored  a defence who only conceded one point in the second half.Carlow face Kildare, Kerry and Antrim in consecutive weeks with a place in the knock-out stages at stake. 

Send us a Text Message.Down the pecking order at the start of the season,  Aaron Power was called into the Carlow senior football panel before the Tailteann Cup game against Wicklow. He was a little nervous but was made feel at home by the players and the management team. He didn't get any game time but he loved the experience. The O'Hanrahan net minder played with the Carlow under 20 footballers this year and is hopeful he can hold on to the position for next year when the fight for places will be intense. He featured with  the Freshers footballers in SETU Carlow in the league and championship this year but there was disappointment for him when they lost the final narrowly to Mary Immaculate from Limerick.  

Send us a Text Message.Brothers, Adam and Ben McCarron, are ideally placed to talk about penalty shoot-outs. While Adam has missed a penalty in a shoot-out he has never been on a losing team when the game has gone to penalties. His brother, Ben, is the goal-keeper and very much the fall guy when it comes to penalty shoot-outs. It is down to second-guessing and doing the sums if the keeper is to have any chance at all. Living in Killeshin, they were never tempted to change clubs and leave their beloved Éire Og whom they have been playing with for as long as they can remember. Both are useful soccer players and are currently playing with Hanover Harps. 

Send us a Text Message.Carlow Town are in the semi-final of the Kilkenny junior league. Recently, Kildavin-Clonegal were too good for them in the Bolger Shield final. Small steps, admittedly, but the club is determined to get back hurling at senior level. Former Carlow senior hurler, Shaun McMahon, is training the intermediate team and with many of the players who have enjoyed success at underage level, these young men could back-bone the club's ambition.He didn't nominate anyone to come on the podcast next week just yet but watch this space for further information.  

Send us a Text Message.Pat Ahern was a top inter-county senior hurling referee officiating at games in all four provinces. Leo McGough was, for him, a late starter to travelling to Northern Ireland. While it was years apart, both had experiences about what it must have been like to play hurling in the North where carrying a hurl defined what your religious and political beliefs may have been. Pat Ahern Photography

Send us a Text Message.Sean Buggy is a dual-status underage sports man who plays for Palatine GFC and Carlow Town Hurling Club. He has had disappointment of losing an under 20 football final  with Palatine against Éire Og but there was joy earlier in 2023 when he featured on the Carlow Town hurling team which clinched the under 20 B championship. During Covid, he was part of a small group of young good-humoured GAA followers,   calling themselves the Carlow Ultras,  who built  a platform outside Netwatch Cullen Park so that they see above the wall and  cheer on the county teams. The young teenagers also hired a bus and went to see the Carlow footballers play in Tullamore where they prevailed on a kindly steward to let them in free of charge. In the middle of studying for the Leaving Cert Now, life is all in front of him and Sean is happy to be  mixing his studies with his love of GAA games.

Send us a Text Message.Askea GFC teenager, John Phiri, has been on the Carlow senior football panel since the start of the year where he made O'Byrne Cup and NFL 4 debuts this season. He loves his sport and plays with a smile on his face. When Carlow came from eight points down to draw with Laois in the first round of the Tailteann Cup,  John came into the action in the final quarter. In this interview, he says he never doubted that Carlow could get back into the game. On or off the field, he is instantly recognisable  because of his dreadlocks and here he gives a brief history as to how they came about. He has loads to say and has nominated his choice of guest for next week's podcast. 

Send us a Text Message.For the first time in a senior hurling championship game, Carlow avoided defeat to the mighty Kilkenny when Marty Kavanagh fired over a 75th minute equaliser. Listen to what Pat Ahern of Pat Ahern Photography has to say.  From his vantage point on the pitch, he sees and hears a lot more than the person in the stand. Also,  a normally cool Hurling Hobo (Leo McGough) becomes emotional as he looks back at the game where Carlow fought to the end and reflects on the work in the clubs which made all this possible. Photo: Pat Ahern Photography

Send us a Text Message.Grange footballer, Tom Dillon with Alex Delaney, was joint captain of the Carlow under 20 football  team this year.  They played some great football in the Leinster championship but results didn't go their way. Only eighteen years of age, he already has a vision for underage football in the county.  He says the under 20 football championship must be played off a lot sooner if Carlow is to get the full benefit of some good footballers who are coming through. Last year he was part of the management team which helped Grange win an underage 13s title. Club stalwarts, John Doyle and John Murphy, are the players Tom looked up to as he came through into the intermediate side. Now, he wants to be role models for young teenagers who play their football in Grange. The podcast is taking a different direction this week and Tom nominates who he would like to see being interviewed next week. Photographs: Pat Ahern Photography

A GAA man? A soccer man? Bernard Mullen is Chairperson of Tinryland GFC and vice-Chairperson of the Carlow Soccer League. He gives his all to both.From Westmeath he won two All-Ireland senior football college titles with Carmelite College in Athlone. He went on to play underage football with Westmeath and with the support and blessing of his parents, who would have been traditional GAA stock,  he also dabbled with League of Ireland soccer in Athlone Town.He married a Carlow girl but before he eventually settled on Barrowside they spent eight years in Australia where his love of all things GAA was nourished and maintained. Former Tinryland manager, Stephen O'Meara, may have come in for some criticism in relation to the style of play in Tinryland but Bernard says this was unfair. The club made it to two county senior finals in a row and this should never be forgotten. This and much more on the latest episode of the Across the Four Lakes Podcast

Two try hero, Grace Kelly, against Queens University talks about the historic season which will see Tullow play in the All-Ireland League next year. The Paul Flood Cup final defeat the previous week threatened to undermine their bid but they came back in tremendous style to make their own bit of history. Grace Kelly,  who actually won a Paul Flood Cup alongside her mother, Maggie, is not letting the grass grow under her feet and she is already gearing up for the 2024-25 season.

It has been a disappointing last couple of months for all Carlow inter-county hurling and football teams both at underage and senior level. No-one can say that the work is not being put in by both the coaching staff but also by the players. On the Across the Four Lakes Podcast Pat Ahern looks back on what has happened so far and looks at how Carlow can turn hard work and commitment into results.Pat Ahern Photography

Manager, Maurice Logue, looks back on Tullow's third Provincial Towns Cup success where they also joined a small group  of elite clubs who have retained their title. The club experienced the tragic loss of player, Conor Duffy, during the season while life-time member, John Browne, also passed away. Maurice says the influence of Sean O'Brien has been immeasurable.   This year, the Tullow Tank achieved a life-long ambition of winning a Towns Cup medal with the club where he first started to play rugby before going on to play for Leinster, Ireland and The Lions.

Irish international rugby players, Dannah O'Brien and Katie Corrigan talk about the win over Wales at the weekend where they scored 16 points between them. It was a second try in consecutive games  for the teenager while the out-half, who is in her second Six Nations campaign,  kicked 11 points. Both players played their underage rugby with Tullow RFC and are now attached to the Old Belvedere club in Dublin.

Carlow footballer, Niamh Forde, looks back on an historic weekend  where the second smallest county won a national football league division 4 title by beating Limerick in the final in Birr. Promotion had been achieved so this was the icing on the cake. More challenges lie ahead now and they are hoping to do well in the Leinster junior championship where Carlow will be in a group with Longford, Louth and Kilkenny. After that, the dream is to play in Croke Park on All-Ireland final day but a lot more has to be done if this is to happen. 

Carlow golf club member, Eamonn Delaney, has been a member of the Dolmen Golf  Society  for many years now. The society is one of the oldest in the region. Now in his eighties, Eamonn looks back on the early days of the society and what it meant to him and its members.A former single handicap golfer, he was in Carnoustie when Padraig Harrington won his first British Open. A proud Tipperary man who loves his hurling, he likes nothing better than when the Premier County put one over on The Cats.  

Leo McGough's analysis of the weekend where Carlow won a first under 20 hurling championship game since 2019 which was followed by a poor performance and a defeat the next day in the National Hurling League 2A final against Laois.Photograph: Pat Ahern Photography

On Saturday, Carlow play Limerick in the NFL Division 4 final. Captain, Ruth Bermingham looks forward to a trip to Birr and reflects on the drama surrounding their semi-final win over Fermanagh. "Such a proud moment," she said but in her own words it was the longest ten minutes of her life when she was sin-binned in the second half.  It all ended well and she is enjoying the build-up to one of the biggest matches of her footballing career. Photo: Pat Ahern Photography

Paul Coady was on the Carlow teams which contested the NHL 2A finals in 2017 and 2018. The county won Christy Ring and Joe McDonagh Cups in the same years and the Mount Leinster Rangers man played in all four games. He says he tries to park hurling while he is abroad but admits he doesn't do it very successfully. Passionate about the game, he does his own training  and looks forward to coming back to Carlow later in the year where he will resume his career. He says Carlow have had great managers in recent years and  Tom Mullally is a great motivator and coach who knows how to get the best out of his players. 

Carlow footballer, Edel Hayden, looks back on her side's dramatic win over Fermanagh as they clinched promotion to Division 3 of the National Football League for next season. Outsiders at the start of the campaign, Carlow now meet, Limerick,  another unfancied side, in the Division 4 league final in Birr on April 6th. 

He once played with County Carlow FC and Maurice Logue reveals he could very well have gone to manage  his former club before the Wexford man was persuaded to go to Tullow.  Now,  having led The Slaneysiders to two Towns Cup successes and promotion to Leinster League Division 1A he has to plot the downfall of the club he won two Leinster Senior Cup medals with. Here he talks about his time in Tullow and the great relationships he has formed with people such as Sean O'Brien and Joe Waters. "The game is about opportunities. If you get yours and you take them you will win the game," he says

On Sunday, Carlow travelled to Cill Dara RFC knowing that a win would clinch promotion to Division 1A.  They were shocked early on when the home side scored a try. Unfazed, they regrouped and in the end won 36-22 to achieve their goal. Captain, Dan Crotty, looks back on the weekend, the league season and reflects on the family atmosphere in the club which helped  create the momentum to drive on the way they did. 

A hand on the heart interview with Padraig Amond who played underage soccer with Shamrock Rovers at the age of ten. He looks back on heady days where he scored against Tottenham Hotspur in an FA Cup game while the following year with Newport County, he netted the winning  penalty against Leicester City in a third round cup tie . Those were wonderful times but there were lows too where he details the reasons which took him away from Hartlepool United. He has always made scoring goals look easy so it was no surprise when Waterford FC heard he wanted to come home, they approached him and he agreed to sign for them. Four matches in, Waterford FC are third in the table and Padraig has scored four goals . 

An in-depth analysis from Pat Ahern and Leo McGough  of a huge weekend for Carlow GAA where the hurlers produced a superb performance to beat Laois while a late goal against Leitrim opened up the NFL 4 League table. 

Whether it is with club or county, Mount Leinster Rangers and Carlow hurler is an automatic starter while he admits he can only remember getting the "curly finger" once. 2023 was a spectacular year for Kevin where Carlow won the Joe McDonagh Cup and Rangers regained the Carlow senior hurling championship at the expense of old rivals, St Mullins. All that is behind him now and having been appointed Carlow captain for 2024 he is looking forward to a good league campaign in preparation for the Leinster senior hurling championship

2023 dual status player, Eleanor Treacy, looks back on a hectic season which brought joy and disappointment for the Carlow camogie and football teams. She has committed to camogie this season and she talks about the difficulties of trying to commit to two sports. 

Tommy Dwyer won two senior football championship titles with Tinryland. He went on to play for the Carlow senior footballers,  Leinster in the Railway Cup and represented Ireland in the International Rules series against Australia in Ireland where he played alongside some of the greatest footballers in the sport.He still goes to games and will be in Portlaoise on Saturday when his native county take on Laois. He knows football has evolved since he last put on a Carlow senior jersey and has nothing but the greatest respect for the current crop of footballers. 

On Saturday in Netwatch Cullen Park, Carlow enjoyed a comprehensive win over Waterford to make it two wins out of two in division 4 of the national football league. Less than 24 hours later, the hurlers beat Kerry in Austin Stack Park as they opened their NHL 2A campaign. Pat Ahern was at both games while Leo McGough was in Tralee on Sunday.  On this episode, the two review the wins and talk about what it means for Carlow.

Carlow senior footballer, Roisin Bailey, looks at the changing fortunes of the squad who are unbeaten in the league after three games. Down 2-10 against Fermanagh and conceding a first minute goal against Longford at home, the Barrowsiders roared back into the game and came away with two draws. They are playing some great football and are within touching distance of a NFL 4 semi-final spot. 

Carlow senior footballer, Conor Crowley, scored a vital goal against Tipperary in their opening game in the National Football League Division 4.  Here he looks back on a thrilling victory and hopes this is the platform to have a good league campaign.Photo: Conor Crowley in action last season against WicklowPat Ahern Photography

Carlow footballer, Josh Moore, looks forward to a new season as his county bid for promotion from division 4 of the National Football League. It is all to play for on Saturday against Tipperary where a win for either side would be a huge momentum builder.

It is that time of the year.  2023 is coming to an end. Before the new GAA season starts Nuala Mohan the Tinryland-Bennekerry footballer and former Carlow captain reflects on her sporting highlights of the year. 

"I would have idolised those players." Padraig Brennan reflects on his career which saw him come out of underage rugby to take his place among his heroes whom he idolised. He went on to win two Provincial Towns Cup medals and played with Carlow as they went through the divisions to earn a place in the top tier of the All-Ireland league. 

On Friday in their clubhouse in Oak Park, Carlow Rugby Club launched the book, County Carlow Football Club 1873-2023. It was a fabulous occasion and brought back many happy memories of Carlow's five Provincial Towns Cup wins in the 1990s while they went on to play in Division 1 of the All-Ireland League. Kim Thurbon was senior manager when the club went from  AIL Division 3 to AIL Division 1 . Here he looks back on what was a fascinating number of years for him and for the players he managed while he was in Carlow.

Former Éire Óg and Carlow great, Anthony (Muckle) Keating looks back to the glory years for the club where, in the nineties,  they won five Leinster titles and featured in three (one a replay) All-Ireland club finals. 

Two years ago, Clonmore played Éire Óg in a third round IFC game. All four teams in the group had a chance to make the knock-out stages with the fourth placed team relegated to the JFC A. In an unlikely set of results, Clonmore were the odd ones out and made the drop. Last year, the won a JFC A and C double. Just over two weeks ago, their rehabilitation was complete when they won the intermediate title. They are back in senior football now after a gap of 18 years. Club Chairman, James Doyle, looks back at what has been a rewarding two years for all in Hacketstown. Photo: Pat Ahern Photography

Winning manager Brendan Hayden assesses Myshall 24th senior camogie title in a row as they took on and beat Naomh Bríd with a superb performance. "It is something we have been working on all year," he says. Even with low numbers at early training sessions because of players committed to county teams Myshall never lost their focus and by the time it came around to the championship they were prepared and ready to go. 

After some disappointing defeats in semi-finals and finals, Burren Rangers finally cast of the bridesmaid tag. This weekend, they did it on the double with the minor team winning an A hurling title while the ladies won a first every adult camogie cup for the club when winning the junior championship. Club chairman, Ciaran Bolger, looks back on those history making moments. 

Éire Óg, Clonmore, St Mullins and Asca won their respective Senior, Intermediate, Junior A and Junior B finals in Carlow over the weekend. Fenagh lost their senior status with Palatine edging them in a close game. Kilbride also slipped down to the junior A.GAA Photographer, Pat Ahern, looks back on the events of the last four days. Photograph: Pat Ahern Photography

Naomh Bríd camogie player, Emma Brennan, looks forward to the senior camogie final against the holders, Myshall, on Sunday where they will be trying to halt the holder's quest for 24 titles in a row.

Myshall and camogie player, Breege Nolan, says that just because you have been in 23 county titles in a row, it doesn't mean you are going to win one this year. Her club, Myshall, are going for their 24th consecutive senior camogie title. Here she reviews her own career, the highlights and the players she played with and against. She looks forward to the county final and expects a tough challenge from Naomh Bríd whom they narrowly beat in 2022.

Éire Og coach, Simon Rea, looks back on the amazing penalty shoot-out against Rathvilly which saw his side emerge to meet Tinryland in the county final. He has been involved in 11 finals either as a player or a member of the management team. He has huge respect for both Rathvilly and Tinryland and says the final will be close. "A moment of brilliance" could decide it he suggests.

It has been an absorbing and fascinating weekend of semi-final action across the the SFC, IFC, JFC "A" and JFC "B" competitions. Carlow GAA Photographer, Pat Ahern, drops in for a discussion on what he saw and reveals who he thinks will have emerged victorious by Sunday evening. Photo: Pat Ahern Photography

He became aware of Tinryland through his involvement with the Carlow senior footballers. Initially, Stephen O'Meara liked what he saw in the attitude of Tinryland players such as Shane Redmond,  Paul Broderick, Diarmaid Walshe and Cian Lawlor. When he was asked to manage the club it didn't take him too long to agree to do so.Now Tinryland are within sixty minutes of a coveted senior title.