The hidden history of Carlow’s pioneering women of ‘88
The Carlow ladies team of 1988
If, as the song says, a picture paints a thousand words, then the picture accompanying this week’s column had to do just that 38 years ago?!
The blurred but historic photograph, complete with caption, appeared in ‘The Nationalist’ in 1988, the only photograph known to exist of Carlow’s first ever Ladies Football team, and, courtesy of Pixella, has been converted to a coloured line drawing. It was taken on Sunday, May 8, in Éire Óg’s Páirc Uí Bhríain when Carlow hosted Cork’s second string in the closing round of the county’s maiden voyage in the National Junior League.
But that, dear reader, was about the size of the coverage afforded the ‘gals of the gael’ in this newspaper. However, your scribe, in an effort to uncover the hidden history behind those pioneering women of ’88 ahead of Ceatharlach’s historic Croke Park All-Ireland final appearance next Sunday dug deep into the archives of every other provincial newspaper in the country in search of any mention of Carlow. Glad to report that while the jigsaw is not complete we have sufficient copy to ‘paint’ a thousand words.
We read in Wednesday’s ‘Evening Herald’ that the Dublin’s juniors, who were training in Fairview Park, had an away National Junior League fixture against Carlow the following Sunday. Alas, the game, Carlow’s first ever competitive outing, may as well have been played behind closed doors as not a single line, not even a scoreline, appeared anywhere afterwards though it’s safe to assume that the City girls, who contested the Division 2 final, won the game which, we suspect, was played in Páirc Uí Bhríain.
Currow, County Kerry, all of 150 miles from Carlow, the home village of famous rugby internationals Mick Doyle, Moss Keane and Mick Galwey, was the scene of Carlow’s first away fixture. The Kingdom in the Kingdom, a daunting task. However a good report in the ‘Kerryman’ tells us that Carlow were very unlucky, a controversial last second goal gifting the home side victory.
Carlow, we learn, travelled to the game with over 60 supporters and having played with the wind in the first half led Kerry’s second string 0-2 to 0-1 at half-time. Martina Brennan and Elaine Timmons kicked the visitors points. Kerry had inched 0-3 to 0-2 in front before, with nine minutes remaining, Margaret Brennan finished off a great Carlow move with a goal.
Kerry then brought Beaufort’s Nora Hallissey, a former All-Star full-back, to mid-field to mark Martina Brennan, Carlow’s best player. The green and gold reduced the leeway to a single point before Mary Ellen Cronin was fouled sending over the levelling point. But Kerry referee Mick Fitzgerald called back the play and as luck would have it Nora Hallissey sent the resultant free kick to the roof of the net to leave Kerry winners 1-4 to 1-2.
Carlow had a number of good players, such as Eileen O’Gorman (“their goalie who is English born and only playing gaelic football for six months”), Martina Brennan, Anne O’Sullivan and Katherine Williamson. Alas, the Kingdom newspaper, while giving the Kerry line-out does not furnish the Carlow details. The Currow Ladies Club provided tea and refreshments for both teams and supporters after the game.
Drumreilly, Co Leitrim, on the shore of Garadice Lough, 135 miles distant from Carlow, played host to Carlow’s third round league game and while the journey home may have been a chastening one following a 1-15 to 0-0 defeat, that double duck egg came against the eventual All-Ireland junior champions, Leitrim beating London 2-8 to 0-5 in Croke Park. Their captain Lizzie Hargaden scored the lone goal against Carlow.
Our photo game, Carlow hosting Cork’s second string in Pairc Ui Bhrian but, as with the previous home game, not even a scoreline made it to the media. Again, as Cork won the Division 2 league title that year, it is fairly certain the Rebels won in Éire Óg too. However, thanks to the fact that that ‘Nationalist’ pic carried a caption we can put names to the Carlow faces that look out at you this Tuesday morning. Back row (l to r): M Rogers, M Hayden, A O’Sullivan (Capt), O Hutton, E Byrne, L Quigley, N Bowes, M Doyle, M Brennan. Front (l to r): C Williamson, M Sheehy, A Eyre, B Bolger, J Lawler, M Nolan, J Doyle, P Dunne.
Played 5, Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 5 were the figures behind Carlow’s name after the closing round of their inaugural National League campaign, the ladies travelling to Wexford Park, just 47 miles down the road, to play Wexford’s second string, the purple and gold winning 8-9 to 0-1, Carlow’s only score coming midway through first half. The ‘Wexford People’ also reveals their women kicked 19 wides while veteran camogie star Margaret Leacy, winner of three All-Ireland medals, scored 3-5.
And so to Carlow’s first ever championship match, a first round meeting with neighbours, Wicklow, also new comers to the competitive code. The ‘Wicklow People’ only gives Carlow as the venue but with captain Ann O’Sullivan of Éire Óg – who was selected on the Leinster team that year and also honoured as Carlow’s first Lady Footballer of the Year - active in organising things we’d be safe to again site the game in Páirc Uí Bhríain. Carlow, having played with the wind, led 1-3 to 0-0 at half-time and were still four points up with three minutes to go when an Audrey Carr goal gave Wicklow a life-line and in the dying seconds Mary Doran kicked an equaliser, bringing the game to extra-time. Wicklow had the wind in the first fifteen minutes of extra-time and established a 3-7 to 2-4 advantage but Carlow fought back and in nail-biting finish the home side were awarded a penalty and a chance to once again level the game. Alas, the shot from the penalty went wide.
That penalty miss was the first of many Carlow championship heartbreaks including the cruelty of All-Ireland semi-final defeats when just one game away from Croke Park. There have been many great days too but Sunday, August 22, 2026 is a real green-yellow-and-red-letter day.
We wish the ladies and their management team the very best of luck on the field of dreams while above on the level lawns of God such stalwarts of the ladies game as Ann O’Sullivan, Kathleen Mullins and Niamh Dobbs will be looking down with pride on how their legacy has been honoured.
