Carlow bridging the divide and already tracking to the future

"On Saturday evening, we will have a fair idea where Carlow are at for 2023 and more importantly 2024,” says Joe McDonagh Cup-winning keeper Brian Tracey

Sat, 17 Jun, 2023 - 06:30

Maurica Brosnan

Last time it took six days of head-in-the-clouds euphoria before they came crashing back to earth with a bump. In 2018, Carlow were Joe McDonagh Cup champions and set to play Munster’s third-placed team. The All-Ireland champions in waiting.

Limerick were coming to town. Little did they know what the green machine would become. The result was a 24-point defeat. This time is different. After overcoming Offaly in an extra-time blockbuster final last month, Carlow had three weeks before the preliminary quarter-final. They welcome Dublin to Netwatch Cullen Park at 5.00pm today.

"It was a great week,” says goalkeeper Brian Tracey. “We got a proper chance to celebrate it and to be fair we did; we gave it a proper celebration and it was well earned. That was our championship. That was our goal from the start of the year. It was great that you have three weeks to the next game. Every other year there was a six-day turnaround.”

Victory in Croke Park was their target for 2023 and they revelled in reaching it. The cup has since been on a busy schedule around local clubs and schools. They arrived back in Carlow after the final at 10.30pm to find the square at Town Hall wedged.

Rising all over again. Tracey has ridden this wave before. He was first called into the senior setup in 2012 under Kevin Ryan. That season they won a Division 2 title. John Meyler came in and kept them competitive. After that the current pulled them under and for a few years it was a struggle to stay afloat. Usual stuff, certain players not committing and all those aches. A county like Carlow can’t afford that.

In 2018 they only had four senior clubs. The tide is turning now.

“(We’re) pulling from only six senior clubs. There was four then, two have come back up. Bagenalstown Gaels, they won their intermediate and are very strong at senior level and have four or five guys on the senior hurling panel which is fantastic and Naomh Brid have come back up to senior level in the last couple of years.

“In a bigger picture at underage there is a lot of hard work going on in Carlow. A couple of new clubs are after starting at underage level and hopefully in the next five to 10 years you would hope to see them at adult level. It would be a huge help if you could get to seven or eight senior clubs and a good level of hurling.”

All the clubs have a connection with the Kilkenny leagues, an effective preseason to their championship.

“They are brilliant games to get,” explains Tracey. “We haven’t far to travel. They are great to accommodate us. We can’t thank them enough. They really brought on Carlow to a new level when we first went into those competitions.”

In the immediate aftermath of their extra-time success, manager Tom Mullally took a moment to peer into the future. He saw a stiff test ahead with Micheál Donoghue’s Dublin coming down the tracks. But it was an important step. A chance to check where they are at now and most importantly, where they need to go to ahead of next year’s Leinster championship.

Tracey feels the exact same way about this weekend. The only way forward is such exposure. Sink or swim.

“We still talk about in 2018 when we won the Joe McDonagh and six days later, we welcomed Limerick to our front park. To say that we played that team is kind of a buzz in itself. It is definitely a reward. It is a huge reward, to get to go toe-to-toe with the very best and see where you are at," he said.

“You have the three weeks, so you have the chance to celebrate and also the chance to set yourself up for the preliminary quarter-final against Dublin on Saturday evening. We are under no illusions. Dublin have had a very good league campaign.

“They are a very, very good team. They went toe to toe with Kilkenny and Galway in the championship, beat Wexford. They are well able to match the top teams in the country.

“Physically, hurling-wise, speed-wise, they are at a higher level. That is where we are trying to get to. I suppose we have to figure out a way. See where we are at. On Saturday evening at 7 o’clock, we will have a fair idea where Carlow are at for 2023 and more importantly 2024.”