Murphy has big plans for Carlow

Carlow senior football manager, Joe Murphy, has confirmed that no stone will be left unturned as his all Carlow management team gear themselves up for the start of a new intercounty season.

A new season is just around the corner. In 2024 GAA delegates had voted to remove the O’Byrne Cup competition for one year with the option of reinstating it twelve months later. That time has expired now and it was deemed appropriate to reinstate these early pre-season tournament games.

The draw has been kind to Carlow and they host Offaly on January 3rd. The winners will play the winners of the Wicklow and Meath game four days later. There is also a Shield Competition for the first round losers.

The league will start late January/early February. Time will surely fly.

Joe is delighted with the management team which has been put in place.

“Christy Bolger had The Nire in the Waterford County Final last week. Mick Kehoe has loads of work with underage in the county. James Clarke is our goalkeeping coach. John Nolan is an analyst and Tara Geoghegan our physio. Jim McDonnell is our Liaison Officer.

“You cannot get more Carlow than that. It was important to do that. I don’t believe we have to go out searching for other bodies in other counties. I think we have enough talent base here to make a difference.

“It is important for me and something we strive to was getting a full Carlow management team. People who are willing to invest in the county and who have worked with underage down through the years with the different colts and foals.” 

So far this group have watched as many championship fixtures that was humanely possible to see. Whether it is senior, intermediate or junior, all players are being given a chance to play for their county.

“We have watched every match in all grades. Just to look and see what players are there. See if we could spot a potential (intercounty) player whether they are playing senior, intermediate or junior. We have picked a number of players from that whom we are trialling at the moment.”

The training moratorium lifts on November 21st. In the meantime, Murphy was allowed to talk to players and he asked them to carry out specific tasks.

“We gave them different exercises to see how they react to it. We want to get an idea of the skill base and the potential. Just see what lads are interested in,” explained the Carlow manager, who came in when Shane Curran departed after the 2025 league campaign.

“We are looking at lads outside the group of 32-34 that were there initially. We want to come up with a panel who are committed to Carlow and have the talent, the ability and the ambition to strive to maybe do something special for the county,” says Murphy.

Under the previous management a number of players opted to leave the panel. Murphy is aware of this but says every player who wants to play for his county will be trialled and given a chance to state their case for inclusion in the panel.

“Maybe there are some new faces and guys who have stepped away for one reason or another. We want to see if they want to be back involved. Do they want to add to the structure of what is already there? It is an interesting period. It is like the calm before the storm and we want to utilise that time as productively as we possibly can,” he says.

The Carlow manager says it is not just the players who should learn from year to year. He stresses that he himself might have to adapt and feels that the short period he had with the players in last year’s championship and Tailteann Cup has helped.

“You just cannot walk in to an intercounty managers job and think you know it all. Every experience on every day is a learning experience. That was an invaluable period to have that behind us. It was an introduction into what was required and what was necessary. It is a massive job. Hopefully it will help us to hit the ground running. The majority of guys were in there as well. It was a good learning experience for us all. Hopefully we can bring that forward into the national league campaign. Maybe it was a step forward we had?” 

He maintains the Carlow senior championship was unpredictable which was good for the players.

“On any given day any one team could have beaten the other. Bagenalstown started slowly and improved as it went on. Fenagh started well but then struggled a bit. Two draws for Éire Óg and they ended up in a relegation battle. Tinryland couldn’t get themselves going when they needed to but could have beaten Éire Óg. Except for ten minutes in that second half (the senior relegation play-off) there was little between the teams.

“Maybe there would not have been too many at the start of the championship who would have predicted that Old Leighlin would win it. That is good. That shows there is good competitiveness in the county. Teams that might have rolled over before have young guys who believe in their own abilities.” 

 So is the management team in a position to reveal who has impressed so far?

“Any of the players who stood out have been in with us already or have been contacted. You don’t know through a training block with Carlow who will shine even further or who might not suit. We are really going through with a blank canvas. Get the best organised and the best structured Carlow team that we possibly can. You don’t know who is going to rise. It is all about levels. Levels of potential and it is our job to get the best out of these guys,” he says.

Murphy is also looking at a bigger picture. He doesn’t expect any one-day wonders. If he was to be successful in his first full year that is fine but he wants to build a structure which will serve Carlow well for years to come. He says it could take time to achieve what he wants to which would be for the betterment of Carlow football. According to him, it will take a collective effort from many people.

“My personal target is to play my part in improving Carlow football. That is from under 14s, through the grades and up to senior. We met the parents the other night at SETU. It is important to be part of that where we can, have a Carlow way to play football and coach it from an early age. The vision is straightforward enough. I would go as far to say that the foals, the colts, the minors, the under 21s are all training under the same blue print that the seniors are training with. That is the objective. I am not looking for a one-hit wonder. I want to see Carlow progression through the grades up to senior."

He suggests that people shouldn’t panic if results are not forthcoming immediately.

“We want to interact and have a connectivity with the Carlow coaches. I would say we should meet at least once a month, maybe every two weeks so that all the coaches of the different grades would sit down and assist each other. See where they are running into problems and seek clarification on anything which we are trying to do. Make sure they have that back-up, have security of numbers and know that we are all in this together with the objective of making Carlow a stronger county.

He accepts that the full benefits of this might be after his time of involvement with Carlow football has expired. He wants people to be steadfast in their beliefs as to how Carlow would develop. He believes the county will reap the rewards if the work is put in and people remain patient.

“I strive to get the best out of Carlow in my time here. I am secure in myself that I don’t feel a pressure for the requirement of success. I am coming in and am not just in for two years in and out which has happened too often in the past. We need to construct a viable and productive development in Carlow which involves everyone. Everyone from the county Chairman, down through the club delegate and down through the different management teams to the players. The onus is on us. No-one is going to do it for us.” 

Winning five Leinster club titles with Éire Óg in the nineties, Murphy has had first-hand experience of how the public respond when Carlow GAA teams do well. He also remembers going to matches with his late father, Willie “Weeshie” Murphy.

“My Dad always said that if Carlow people had anything to get behind they are the best supporters in the country.

“I remember going up to the (Under 21) Leinster final (in 1984) between Carlow and Dublin. I was only a kid, myself and my Dad, and you could see a procession of cars. It was bumper to bumper the whole way. I will never forget the crowd, the atmosphere that day.

“We want to give Carlow people something to be proud of, something to get behind. We know that if we go about our business and create an environment that we will get great support. We are a full Carlow team from top to bottom.” 

He implores Carlow GAA people to buy into the bigger picture.

“Get behind us, give us that bit of trust, that little bit of support and encouragement. If we get that, we will see what we can achieve then,” he says.

As part of his new plan, Murphy will have a standing brief with the under 20 football squad and their management team. Damien Farrell is their manager. Both will be singing from the same hymn sheet.

Initially, they have six to eight weeks of an internship period before they get into full gear. The players are getting ready for a return and their fitness and commitment are being monitored. It is not quite all systems go but the ground work has already started. Murphy is excited. Again he emphatically states that he firmly believes in Carlow football.

“When we earn the reward for that, time will tell but if we are doing the right things, have the right attitude with the right energy, the right ambition I don’t believe a Wicklow man, a Kildare man, a Laois man or a Wexford man is better than a Carlow man. All we have to do is give them (Carlow) the right direction and it will all fall into place,” he predicts.