Ireland hero O’Brien backs Carlow’s cause

Ireland and Leinster rugby star Sean O’Brien volunteered his training nous to the Carlow senior footballers after watching them lose out to Longford in the O’Byrne Cup.

The Tullow Tank, who played underage football with Carlow and lined out in a few senior games for the Fighting Cocks, approached Carlow manager Anthony Rainbow about getting involved in the side at the start of the month.

“Sean came in for the first time on Wednesday night when we were playing Athlone IT. He was at the game last Sunday and he expressed an interest,” said former Kildare player Rainbow. “On the Monday he gave us a call and said ‘I’m out for a couple of months and I’d love to get involved in the team’ in any way he can.

“We have yet to sit down to see exactly what his role is but his presence along in the dressing room was uplifting to the players and it is great to have a person of his calibre involved with Carlow GAA. He is an inspirational figure in Carlow and if the players can get something out of it, all the better.”

O’Brien is a regular spectator at Carlow football and hurling games in Dr Cullen Park and helped out the footballers previously when Luke Dempsey was in charge. Although Carlow were beaten by Kildare on Sunday, Rainbow is hopeful of improvement prior to the start of the Allianz Football League.

“We worked a lot harder today than we did over the last two games. I was happy with that aspect. Our fitness levels are not as good as I’d probably like them to be but we have two or three weeks before the first round of the league to work on it.”