Hometown hero Brennan raring to go as footgolf returns to Carlow
Carlow man Stephen Brennan (right) representing Ireland at the 2026 FootGolf Four Nations.
Carlow man Stephen Brennan has become a sensation in the emerging new sport of footgolf, and he will be front and centre this coming Sunday, July 19th, as the hometown favourite at the Carlow Footgolf Open at Quinagh House Golf Course.
This will be the first ever Carlow Open, a major step forward for footgolf in the county. The tournament comes just one month out for a huge milestone in Carlow footgolf, with the 2026 Irish Open set to take place in August at Gowran Park Golf Club.
Football and golf are two of the most popular sports – both globally and in Ireland – with footgolf merging the skills of the two games. The new sport is gaining popularity, with Cleary taking the game by storm.
The sport of footgolf was created in the Netherlands in 2008, based loosely on a training game popularised at Tottenham Hotspur. Governing body FIFG (Federation for International FootGolf) run a World Tour, a World Cup, a World Club Trophy, as well as regional continental tours.
The FGAI (FootGolf Association of Ireland) have run the game here since 2014 and operate the Irish FootGolf Tour each year – the tour where Stephen Brennan made a name for himself.
42-year-old Brennan grew up playing with New Oak FC and Éire Óg GAA before taking up footgolf in 2017. What began as a fun, new pastime soon became an obsession for the Carlow man, who reached the pinnacle of his time of FGAI Irish FootGolf Tour in 2022 with a second-place finish overall.
Brennan has become a regular on the international stage as well, representing Ireland at two World Cup as well as several Four Nations. He made his World Cup debut in 2019 in Marrakech, Morocco, and qualified to represent team Ireland for a second World Cup in 2023 in Orlando, USA.
Brennan has played at numerous Four Nations Championships - a competition between Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales – helping Ireland to the win the inaugural title in Kilkenny as well as picking up second place at this year’s event held in Celtic Minor, Wales.
