Bennett ready to quickly get to work
Pat Bennett is keen to get to work with the Carlow squad
Just six days after the news broke that Tom Mullally had stepped down the announcement of Waterford man, Pat Bennett, as the new manager of the Carlow senior hurling team has been confirmed.
Last Friday, the County Board, revealed that Mullally had departed but in what has been a frantic week, late last night (Wednesday) the news came that a replacement had been found. Rumours were circulating that Bennett was likely to be appointed but the County Board remained silent. Now all is revealed and he will be joined by coach, Shane Briggs, and Strength and Conditioning coach, Craig Coffey. Work is now ongoing to fill the rest of the backroom team.
Bennett says that while it may have been a quick decision to appoint him, both he and the Carlow Officers had a lot of conversations before any decision was made.
“I have been talking to the County Board. I met them three times and they have been working very hard,” he confided, while adding that he didn’t take the Carlow job with his eyes closed.
“I spoke to Tom (Mullally). He has been unbelievable there. Once things settle, I am going to meet up with him as well. I will sit down with him, pick his brain and talk things through.”
Looking forward, Bennett will take the first training session with the players on Friday. He is looking forward to that but says he must know many of them already.
“I have been watching loads of DVDs. Having watched them against Kerry and Antrim I would have known a lot of the lads. I do know them but when I see their faces rather than their helmets it will be a lot different.”
From Ballysaggart in Waterford, Bennett would not be a familiar face in Carlow but he led Ferns-St Aidans to a Wexford senior hurling county title in 2022. He also managed Cork side, St Catherine’s, to a Premier Intermediate Club Hurling Championship in 2004. He has also been involved with county and clubs teams in Kerry, Clare and his native Waterford. More recently he had been a member of the Antrim Senior Hurling Management team alongside Davy Fitzgerald. He was in Netwatch Cullen Park last year when a Gerard Walsh goal saw the Northerners steal a draw with the last puck of the game.
“We robbed them. We got out of jail,’ admitted Bennett as he reflected on that Division 1B league encounter.
