Murphy appointed interim manager of Carlow football team 

In a stunning move, Joe Murphy has been announced as the interim manager of the Carlow senior football team for the 2025 Championship season, starting with the Leinster Championship Round 1 tie against Meath in Pairc Tailteann on Sunday.

The Éire Óg club man enjoyed a hugely decorated career as a player and carried that into his management career. He won two Carlow senior football titles with Old Leighlin before going within one game of a famous five-in-a-row with his own club. He also led Éire Óg to a Leinster final in 2019.

He took over Kildare side Naas ahead of the 2022 season and helped them to retain the SFC title, and added further titles in 2023 and 2024, including one in Carlow's Netwatch Cullen Park while Kildare's county grounds were being redeveloped. He also led Naas to a Leinster final in 2023.

The current Carlow hurling manager, Tom Mullally, has been a long serving manager for the Naas hurlers and has enjoyed similar success but any thoughts of such an agreement with Murphy on the football side of things were quickly quashed when Naas GAA confirmed on social media that he had left the club after his hugely successful three years there.

In a statement released by Carlow GAA, team captain Mikey Bambrick, on behalf of the panel, ‘welcomed the appointment and said that the players were looking forward to working with Murphy over the coming months’.

Although Murphy has precious little time to work with the team ahead of the daunting prospect of facing a Meath side who came very close to promotion from Division 2, the appointment of such a serial winner will surely reinvigorate supporters.

It brings to an end a tumultuous few days for Carlow GAA following the departure of Shane Curran after just seven league games and the focus will now solely be on putting in the best display possible against a Meath side who have had their own problems with managerial team departures over the weekend.