New dawn for Carbury

TO Stephen Darby, Carbury always represented class.

“The tradition of football in the village has been a great one,” says the club manager and Rhode native.

“They were the Kerry of Kildare football in my years playing. Those days are long gone but so far this year we have been lucky enough to deliver and we’re one step away from the promised land.”

Darby is too diplomatic and polite to say Carbury, as a football force, fell into ruin but it’s 26 years since they won the last of their 11 county titles which once had them at the top of the pile in the county. Their semi-final win over Celbridge last month bridged a 23-year gap to their last final appearance when they went down to Johnstownbridge.

The team he took over two seasons ago was one with potential but lacking belief.

“I wouldn’t have known much about them. I knew all about them when I was playing but up to recently I wouldn’t have been aware of much except for the O’Flahertys (Morgan and Eoghan) who were playing inter-county football.

“They were a group of player who needed to get their heads right to feel they were capable of expressing themselves. There was talent there but we had to tap into it.”

Naturally, the O’Flahertys are two of the marquee names but Darby believes his players are all on a similar footing.

“That’s the good and the bad about them,” he says. “They’re all more or less of equal talent. They’re good workers which is vital. I don’t like singling out players but full-back Colm Kearney has been a man of immense stature for us. Terry Rossiter, who was on the Kildare team during Mick O’Dwyer’s time, has been great in the forwards.

“We’ve a good bench too with players who all have the ability to make an impact.”

Darby got the opportunity to try a lot of players out during the summer, especially as the O’Flahertys were kept busy with Kildare. The unavailability of inter-county players to their clubs upset some bosses but not the 1982 All-Ireland winner.

“No, we were happy to allow the O’Flahertys stay with the county; we had no problem with that. It gave us a chance to look at everybody. When they came back it was a great boost but it was never an issue.”

Tomorrow’s opponents Athy are themselves in relatively unchartered territory as they make their first final appearance since 1995. But having beaten Carbury during their unbeaten championship run this year, Athy are understandably favourites, something Darby has no notion of disputing.

“They beat us by six points earlier in the championship and they’re the team on everybody’s lips in Kildare.

“In fairness, what they’re achieving now is the just reward for all that they’ve done at minor level.

“They won three championships in a row at that level and this is the natural stepping stone.”

Darby is not discounting Carbury’s chances either but understands why they’re not being spoken of as highly as Athy.

“We have made steady progress. We have improved ever so little with each game that we’ve played.

“We’ve stumbled in some game and shown consistency in others. We played poorly in the first-half against Celbridge where in other games it was vice-versa.”

Doing his bit to revive a sleeping giant, Darby, who is the running for the vacant Offaly job, has found the short drives across the border even shorter these past couple of weeks.

“When you go through the village of Carbury and see all the bunting and flags and hear people talking about the final it makes you realise just how great the GAA really is.

“It’s so strong in parishes across the country and has been a real unifying force in places like Carbury. It just gives everybody a lift, young and old. It’s added years onto their lives and the boys and girls are imitating the club players, wanting to be the O’Flahertys. If getting to the final has done something it has created a breeding ground for players in the parish.”

Kildare SFC final (Tomorrow): Athy v Carbury, Newbridge, 3.30.