Pat Bennett appointed new Carlow Senior Hurling Manager after shock Mullaly departure

The appointment of Pat Bennett heralds the arrival of someone who lives, breathes and eats hurling.

From Ballysaggart in County Waterford, Bennett would not be a familiar face in Carlow but he led Ferns-St Aidans to a Wexford senior hurling 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 teams and clubs in Kerry, Clare and his native Waterford. More recently he was a member of the Antrim Senior Hurling Management team alongside Davy Fitzgerald and 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.

“Ballysaggart is my club,” the new Carlow manager confirmed.

“I have been with Ferns/St Aidans in Wexford for the last seven years going in as a coach for the first two years and taking over as manager after that.

I have coached in Bruree in Limerick and coached in Cork winning a senior B hurling title with St Catherine’s in the early 2000s, coached in Sixmilebridge Won a couple of juniors with Ballysaggart in Waterford and with Geraldine’s in Waterford,” he added.

He has four sons with three of them on the Waterford senior hurling team this year. He points out that they “are still going strong”.

“Kieran, Stephen and Shane. Since they were able to walk, they held a hurley in their hands. They love it so much,” says Bennett while he is fiercely proud that Stephen was an All-Star nominee this year.

It was logistical reasons for Bennett when he decided to step away from his position with the Antrim panel for 2026.

“We commuted. Five hours up, five hours down. There are brilliant guys up there but the driving was killing me. Everything is brilliant but it is so far away,” he said.

It does have to be a worry that Bennett did not see any of the Carlow club championship season. While he accepts that could be a disadvantage, he has already been taking steps to come up to speed on what he has to work with.

“I have been watching loads of DVDs. Having watched Carlow 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,” he points out.

Last week six days after it was announced Tom Mullally was stepping down, Carlow had his replacement in place. Shane Briggs and Craig Coffey who were on the Carlow backroom team last season have remained. After that, more positions will have to be filled. It is surely a good sign that his predecessor is willing to give Bennett some guidelines.

“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. He has offered to help me any way he can and that is brilliant. In the last week, he has been very good to me and has given me a few pointers.

“I am really looking forward to it. Getting up and getting at it. It is a matter of getting a panel together,” the new Carlow manager stresses