GAA.ie hears from players and management involved in this Saturday's Louth vs Carlow game in the 2016 Leinster Senior Football Championship - both Adrian Reid and Louth bainisteoir Colin Kelly discuss their preparations leading into the game, while Carlow's Kieran Nolan discusses the challenge ahead in facing the reigning Allianz Leagues Division IV champions in Portlaoise on Saturday (May 15) Tickets are available for purchase in selected SuperValu and Centra stores nationwide, as well as from Portlaoise on matchday.
By John Harrington
Carlow defender Kieran Nolan can be proud of the dedication he has shown to the county’s football cause.
In an era when results have been poor and the annual turnover of players in the county panel detrimentally high, Nolan has stayed the course.
The tigerish defender recently turned 30 and on Saturday will embark on his 10th successive championship campaign for Carlow when they play Louth in the first round of the Leinster SFC. That length of unbroken service is highly unusual for a Carlow footballer, and Nolan admits the reluctance of some of the county’s best footballers to commit to the team has been damaging in recent years.
“It has beeen a huge problem with Carlow football, a lot of counties struggle with it,” he said. “The levels of training are so high. What you are looking for from guys, and what you are asking them to give up, is huge. When lads don't get an immediate reward sometimes they find it hard to justify it to themselves and those around them.
“It would have been frustrating last year because I felt we had a very good group last year. I thought that last year coming into the qualifiers we were starting to get things right after we were beaten by Laois in the first round of the Leinster Championship. We had a positive enough performance against Longford even though we didn't get a result.
“I thought if that group of players stayed together, we could have got promotion this year in the league. Then we lost six or seven players that were in and around the team so you are looking to rebuild again with new lads. You are starting from scratch again. You have 15-20 lads there for a few years, and then you have a new crop trying to get up to the standard, and you may lose some again which continues to happen.
“That is a problem not just with Carlow, but in a lot of counties. When you are in Division Four you see the same with Leitrim, Louth, Waterford, and Wicklow. It is tough, but I take a lot of pride from it. I love it and it is something I really want to do. If you don't have that underlying passion it probably is tough for lads to do more than a year or two.”
Turlough
A pure love for the game and a stubborn belief that there can be better days ahead is what keeps Nolan going. There have been times when it looked like the team was about to turn a corner, but then some combination of bad luck, narrow defeat, or defections from the panel would see them end up in a cul de sac again.
Last year’s League campaign was a case in point. They were in the hunt for promotion from Division 4 when they won two and drew two of their first four matches, but then lost to Offaly by a point in controversial circumstances when Offaly were awarded a point that was clearly wide. Carlow never recovered from that defeat, whereas Offaly went on to win promotion.
“We had a feel good factor last year with Turlough taking over in his first year,” said Nolan. “If we had won against Offaly, we could have pushed on. Five or six years ago under Luke Dempsey we could have got promoted against Longford. If you got one break where you got up for a year I think it could lift Carlow football. People might buy into it more even at underage level at under 21 and minor. That is the battle every small county is facing, not just us.”
This year’s Division League campaign was up and down as they finished fourth in the table but lost four of their seven matches. The worst defeat of all was a 13-point reverse to Saturday’s opponents Louth who went on to win the Division 4 title, but Nolan insists they will have no fear of the Wee County this weekend.
“No, definitely not,” he said. “We beat them the last time we played them in the Championship. They beat us in the league, but we beat them in the O'Byrne Cup last year. I don't think anyone on the Carlow panel will have fear, we will definitely be going in looking to win that game.
“We won't be going in with fear, we will be trying to get our own plan right. The thought of playing the first Championship match of the Summer is what keeps you going. When you go back training in October or November this is the reason you are doing it is for the two week build up into a Championship game. You are going to play on a nice pitch with a big crowd, that is basically the attraction to it. You are always hoping for that victory, that is what you are preparing for.”
