By Cian O'Connell

The AIB Leinster Club Championship carries real importance for Éire Óg.

Five provincial titles were gleaned in the 90s during a special era for the proud Carlow outfit.

As a child Seán Gannon remembers the matches and memories remain etched in his mind as the current generation prepare for Sunday's encounter against Ballyboden St Enda's at MW Hire O'Moore Park.

"In '98 I was 10, I just remember going on the buses and the excitement of it," Gannon recalls. "I probably didn't really appreciate it at the time, I was young. My mother used to bring me, I just remember goals - they used to always score goals and the roar, it was different to the points. 

"I didn't really know what was going on I suppose but I remember travelling to Newbridge so often. You'd go down to Newbridge nearly every weekend, with replays and everything. I've fond memories of it, I was a bit young for a lot of them."

Ultimately, though, it meant that a Leinster club medal was always craved. "Yeah because what you wanted to do was win a Leinster, that was with your club," Gannon replies. 

"It's mad and obviously winning one with Carlow would be great, but there's just that expectation in Éire Óg that we want to get back there, we've been trying to get back there for so long and it just hasn't happened. 

"Sure we've a better chance than anyone else in Leinster bar Ballyboden."

Inter-county wise it has been an interesting stint for Carlow under the well regarded Turlough O'Brien. "Yeah, it has," Gannon admits. "It's been different. There were some bad years. You're going out and getting beaten in the Championship and qualifiers.

"That was it, done; a bad League - the League might have been over after three games, two games sometimes.

"I was asked earlier on if the style we're playing is enjoyable. I'll tell you, it's a lot more enjoyable playing that way and winning than what we used to do. We used to go out and play 15 on 15`, genuinely. It was horrible stuff."

Stephen Poacher's depature from O'Brien's backroom team is a blow according to Gannon. "I've got great time for Steven," Gannon states. "I'm doing a little bit of coaching myself and he's been a huge help, just robbing his ideas and that kind of stuff.

"No, I said it earlier, Steven, he brought such a positive, like he was so positive when he came in. "He brings such a buzz with him and he genuinely instilled a bit of belief that we don't care who we are playing, we are going to go up and give this a good rattle and I supposed that has kind of transformed Eire Og players too coming back."

Suddenly Carlow footballers started to believe in themselves that progress was possible. "Like, we've no issues rubbing shoulders with the big guns and he has instilled that in an awful lot of us," Gannon adds.

"Again, your next question probably is about the system he has played, it's been fantastic for us. Maybe, it doesn't look like we're very attacking compared to other counties because other counties are better at it than us. But when he took over we were the second worse defence in all of Ireland.

"So, he had to sort that first and he did, I think we ended up going third or fourth-best in all of Ireland so he sorted that.

"He was clear about his process. All we did in training was attacking stuff. It was deadly, his training was excellent that way. You could see it that the plan was that we have that sorted now, let's improve, improve, improve.

"He just got a bit of bad stick on national media outlets and that just forms everyone elses opinion's then sometimes and it just steam-rolled a bit. He's going to be a massive loss but again, Turlough will get someone else in.

"There's such a group of lads around the same age, 29/30/31, we talked about player-led earlier, this is going to have to be player-led because the next person in, it'll be unlikely that he has a personality like Poacher.

"Because if he does, I haven't met him yet, I don't think there is one. He'll have a tough job, but it's up to us to make sure that it runs seamlessly because we don't have too many years left playing together."

Before returning to Carlow duty, though, Gannon is ready, willing, and able to produce for Éire Óg, who enjoyed a commanding win over Portlaoise at the penultimate stage in Leinster.

"It was brilliant," Gannon accepts. "I suppose coming in we were expecting to put it up to Portlaoise, but I suppose never getting to a final before with this generation of players you'd be kind of going, 'Jesus, can we do it?'

"But once we got over the line it was a sense of relief more than anything. The tears of joy in people's faces that I've known for 20-odd years and I've never seen them get emotional. After the game it was mad scenes, it was fantastic."

A winning culture and tradition has long been established in Éire Óg. "It wasn't that long ago and a lot of us grew up watching the guys from the 90s," Gannon remarks. "A huge amount of us would and a lot of them have fathers that were on that team and that kind of stuff. So it's always been there.

"And whatever if is about the Leinster Championship, in Éire Óg it means probably a little bit more because we have the tradition obviously, but it would be nice to quieten a few of the older lads as well.

"The older guys don't talk about it, but it would be in our heads. In the way that it would be nice to get up to those heights if possible."

Following all those bus trips to Newbridge, the dream remains the same.