Paul Doyle is keen to keep Carlow ‘punching above their weight’

The third smallest county on the island of Ireland with a population of just over 60,000, Doyle acknowledges that Carlow are maxing out their meagre resources as it is

Sat, 27 May, 2023 - 07:20

Paul Keane

Paul Doyle wasn't in Carlow town last week for the Leinster U-20 hurling final but he heard about the traffic and the tailbacks.

The game had to be pushed back by 15 minutes to accommodate all the Offaly fans. Inside the stadium, whenever Offaly scored, the noise was like a giant street party kicking off.

It felt like Offaly fans outnumbered Wexford supporters by three or four to one.

"Some of the lads who went up said it was more like eight or nine to one," said Carlow captain Doyle.

Carlow senior supporters will probably be outnumbered in much the same way on Saturday at Croke Park when the counties face off in the Joe McDonagh Cup final.

The yearning for a return to the glory days in Offaly is strong. It was only in 2000 that they were All-Ireland finalists. Two years earlier they were champions. Carlow have never had that sort of success.

They've never made it to a Leinster final, nor a National League decider. The third smallest county on the island of Ireland with a population of just over 60,000 - three quarters of Croke Park - Doyle acknowledges that they're maxing out their meagre resources as it is.

"With the player pool that we have, we probably are punching above our weight," said Doyle, noting that there are just six senior clubs in the county.

"There are two other clubs feeding into it, Carlow Town and Burren Rangers so you're looking at eight teams feeding into it overall. Carlow Town would be intermediate and Burren Rangers are junior level.

"Burren Rangers was started up maybe 15, 20 years ago and progressed as a juvenile club up to adult level."

Sandwiched between Wexford and Kilkenny, Carlow exist in hurling heartland but have always been the poor relation. Even Laois to their west have had enviable successes over the years.

"The two biggest towns in Carlow are Carlow Town itself and Tullow," said St Mullins clubman Doyle.

"I know I mentioned Carlow Town as intermediate but they have such big numbers there you'd be thinking, fingers crossed, that they'll be able to get their playing numbers up. Tullow I think put out junior teams the last few years but if you're looking at your two biggest areas, you'd be hoping there would be strong hurling in those areas, if you're looking at success and moving things forward."

A McDonagh Cup win would provide a welcome shot in the arm for the local evangelists. Even just playing live on TV brings welcome exposure.

"That's going to be massive for us because we're never showcased on the TV," said Doyle. "We won the first McDonagh Cup in 2018 but I don't know if that was on the telly, to be honest. I don't think it was even covered."

The finalists are no strangers to each other. Carlow hammered Offaly by 1-29 to 0-14 only a fortnight ago. The background to that Round 5 group game was that Offaly had already qualified for the final so rested key players while Carlow needed the win. Still, it's surprising that Offaly are such strong favourites for the rematch.

Whatever the outcome, both teams will advance to the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals where they will take on the team that finished third in either the Munster or Leinster group. The way things are shaping up, that could mean Carlow facing Limerick, a potential repeat of their 2018 engagement.

"That game was six days later in 2018," said Doyle, nothing the three-week gap this time. "Look, Offaly is the only team in our eyeline at the moment. We'll worry about that (Limerick) curveball when we get there."

What's certain is that Carlow will be up against it from here on.

"With our small playing numbers, it might be difficult for us but we'll keep punching above our weight as best we can," said Doyle.