The Nationalist's Quarterly Sports Awards winners
The Nationalist Sports Star Awards
“Fenagh stun the league champions.” So said the headline as last year’s intermediate champions beat Tinryland by two points in the opening round of the Carlow senior football championship. It was a result which blew open the Group 2 table and in the end, it meant Fenagh would remain in the senior championship for another season.
It was up front where the groundwork for the victory was laid. This quarterly award winner scored 1-3 in that first round game. Fenagh led 1-6 to 0-8 at half-time having played against the wind. It was tight in the second half. The game hung on fine margins.
With the clock ticking down, Fenagh surprised their opponents with some quick off-loads down at the tunnel end of the ground. The Tinryland defence was opened and Padraig Hynes was on hand to score what was a vital goal for his side in the championship this year. His subsequent total of 1-16 in three group games and one quarter-final included several three two-pointers from play. Padraig has indeed made his mark and now with confidence surging through him and the Fenagh team, they will surely build from what was a good senior football championship for the Moll Bennetts in 2025.
It is probably fair to say that this quarterly award winner plies his trade in the shadow of his brother, Chris. The reason is very simple. Jon Nolan has a defensive and midfield role in the engine room of the Mount Leinster Rangers and Carlow teams whom he plays with. Yet in eleven league and Joe McDonagh Cup appearances for Carlow this year he scored 0-17.
So when the club season came around he was an automatic selection. Mount Leinster Rangers felt they left the senior hurling championship behind them last year when they lost a replayed final.
They were determined to right a perceived wrong. In hindsight now, nothing was allowed to get in their way. Again the forwards did the business up front and again, Chris Nolan got a deserved Man of the Match in the county final. But when it came to working at the coal-face by winning possession and putting in the hard graft back in the half-back line it can be argued that none do it better than Jon Nolan. He is the steel in the Rangers team and when the going gets tough, the tough get going. That should not distract from his skill, his vision and ability to turn defence into attack with an accurate pass or a long delivery.
Without him and what he does in the engine room, Rangers may not have been crowned County Champions.
Spirit, self-belief and a promise that they would go to the end. These were just some of the facets which saw Muinebheag seal an Intermediate Camogie Championship final win over Burren Rangers at the end of September at The Training Centre in Fenagh. In the end, it was 2-9 to 2-4.
Katie Tunstead is a dual player who featured for the Carlow footballers this year. She showed her class in the camogie final with a performance which saw the right-half back receive the Player of the Match Award.
On one occasion, she dropped her stick but throwing caution to the wind, she chased and harried her opponent, making a complete nuisance of herself in that particular moment of the game. It was this spirit which saw her side fight it out for a great win. It is upwards and onwards for the Bagenalstown club and even more importantly sees the players playing senior camogie next season. That was definitely something worth fighting tooth and nail for.
For all club players the dream is surely to score the winning goal in a county final for their native club.
Then again maybe captaining your club to win in the county final is the pinnacle? For sure a Player of the Match award is something special to take away too.
Incredibly, Caoimhe O’Neill, accomplished all three feats when Old Leighlin usurped the All-Ireland intermediate champions, Bennekerry-Tinryland, at SETU Carlow at the end of the month.
The county final between the two sides was always going to be close. At half-time, the reigning champions led 1-3 to 0-4. A Gemma Carpenter goal had the challengers believing. Then towards the end, a player who has given Old Leighlin plenty of grief, Clíodhna Ní Shé scored what looked like the winning three-pointer.
Old Leighlin continued to belief and with time ebbing away, Caoimhe took possession on the edge of the small square. She held her head and stroking the ball into the net, she had the Old Leighlin faithful in raptures.
There was still time for Bennekerry-Tinryland. They came in search of a goal which would surely have won them the game. The Old Leighlin defence stood firm. There was no way through. Fortune favoured the brave. Yes it is a team game but this quarterly award winner will surely treasure this day forever and ever. A glorious treble.
The youngster from Ballinabranna has become part of an exclusive club a few weeks ago as he got the chance to represent his country when he got called up to play for the Ireland U16’s team.
Lowry was rewarded for some great form with Waterford U15’s where he is captain. He was called into Jason Donohue’s squad for the two international friendlies against Poland last month.
In the first game, he came on as a sub for the final half an hour before starting the second game and getting 60 minutes. He was just one of four players playing outside of Dublin to be selected in the squad, with two of them playing in England, and one of only two playing in Tier 2 to be selected.
The former New Oak player’s impressive performances with Waterford have seen him get called into the U17’s squad at Waterford. Lowry is likely to play a big part for Waterford’s U15’s in the backend of the season as they seem likely to qualify for the knockout stages of the league.
It’s clear that Cormac has a big future on both the national and international front.
Lelia Colfer from St Laurence O’Tooles has had an exceptional season. On the back of consistent racing and her podium finish at the national u20 track and field, she got picked to be on the 4x100m Relay team for the Under 20 European Championships in Finland.
The team of Precious Apke-Moses, Molly Daly, Fatima Amusan and Leila Colfer finished second in their heat, with an automatic qualification to Sunday’s final. This was welcome news for Team Ireland as the relays up to then had not gone quiet as planned. Drawn in Heat 1, the team completed the one lap race in 45.27 behind winners Switzerland. Colfer had a good leg and contributed well to the team’s overall performance. The girls stepped on the track the next day for the final.
Their goal of reaching this level was already accomplished. Apke-Moses closing fast took the girls to 45.19, a quicker one lap than the previous day.
A delighted Colfer stated afterwards “Our goal was to get to the final and we did. I was so happy with that.” The St Laurence O’Toole sprinter has every reason to be happy with her run. She split 11.19 which is faster than her personal best of 11.89.
Carlow sports stars, Deirdre and Gráinne Tomlinson, who play their club basketball with the Portlaoise Panthers featured with the Irish Federation of Masters Basketball Team (FIMBA) which took part in the Maxibasketball World Championships in Ticino, Switzerland in July.
Before they were selected, the twin sisters had to undergo a series of trial games. Putting in the hard work, they made the cut to the last 20 players before the final selection of 12 was announced. It was a joyous occasion for the twins when they were informed they were going to Europe.
It was an amazing experience for all the players. They came through the group games winning two out of three games. Ireland knocked Switzerland out at the quarter-final stage and progressed to the final after a 78-73 victory over Brazil. Germany A proved too good for them in the decider as Ireland settled for the silver medal position. It was indeed a special occasion for the Portlaoise club in that they were represented by four of their players including the Tinryland twins. They are not finished yet.
Next year is Athens for the Europeans and the year after it is Brazil for the Worlds. If I have two legs, I will give it a go,” says Deirdre.
The Irish Champions Festival at The Curragh in September is one of the feature events of the Flat Racing Calendar. To even have a runner at the meeting is an achievement in itself.
Yet on Day 2 of the Festival, Carlow trainer, Pat Foley saddled Tango Flare to land the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Bold Lad Sprint Handicap. Relatively unfancied with odds of 50/1 the eventual winner was friendless in the market in a field of 23.
The form looked to be rubber stamped when over the six furlong distance, the eventual winner was initially lagging at the rear of the field.
Under jockey, Luke McAteer, Tango Flare made up ground to lead inside the final furlong. Holding on strongly the outsider emerged a half-length winner to take first prize of €88,500 as they defied the Charles O’Brien trained Big Gossey who had to settle for second The Foley stable outside Bagenalstown is small and has only a few flat race horses. The weather forecast predicted wet weather so the conditions wouldn’t suit. The trainer and the owner, Jim McSharry discussed the situation.
With the ground getting softer coming into the depths of winter, there would be limited chances for Tango Flare to race again. The pair decided to take their chances. The rest is history.
Foley is a son of the late Tom Foley who enjoyed legendary status with Danoli and its owner, Danny O’Neill.
“We only have a handful of Flat horses. We’re known as a National Hunt yard but I’d love to be busier in the summer and this won’t do us any harm,” suggested Pat.
It was the perfect birthday present for this Carlow sportsman. Golfer, Peter Murphy, bridged a 45 year gap when he won the Carlow Junior Scratch Cup in July. It might have been a surprise to many but to Peter himself he knew he was in good form. Not long retired from the Carlow Nationalist he put the extra time he had to good use honing his short game in particular. Playing off a handicap of 3.8 the 69 year old he registered a score of 37 over the tricky front nine and came home strongly shooting 36 for an aggregate score of 73.
In difficult conditions the groundwork for his success was laid as he played solidly throughout. The long par 16th hole asked a question of him but he holed a 20 footer to maintain his momentum. A 20 yard bunker shot on the penultimate hole was not easy but he stiffed it to a foot. He felt he might need a birdie on the last to win but as it turned out he won by two. He still had a 50 foot putt which is always three-putt country. Yet again, he left his approach dead and confidently holed out to take the win.
“I am still keen to improve. It goes against the grain not to. You lose a bit of distance. Not much. I am still competitive,” he said when reflecting on this success.
Despite her tender years, Naoise Byrne’s stock in the world of cycling continues to grow. Competing under the banner of TC Racing, one of the biggest cycling teams in the country, she already has six National Titles to her name and continues to go from strength to strength. I n 2025 alone, Naoise has been going from strength to strength, winning title after title, winning the Dungarvan Stage race, the Newcastlewest Stage race, Sliabh Luachra stage race, the Orwell Stage race. Naoise also managed to get top spot in the Carlow Road Race stage in May and Silver in the Time Trial as part of Bike Week 2025. She travelled over to Holland and Belgium earlier in the year to get some valuable experience competing against some of the best young riders in the world, holding her own against riders a lot older than her.
On her return, she got third place at the National Road Race Championships and went on to represent Leinster at the UK Inter-regionals Track races in Glasgow. She also won the U16 race at the National Hill Climb Championships just last weekend.
Whether it’s on the track or the road, Naoise is proving to be a huge threat on the bike.
Palatine GFC and Setanta Camogie and Hurling Club Cormac Nolan, fulfilled an ambition when the Carlow teenager played for Leinster in the Wheelchair Interprovincial Hurling Championships which took place in SETU Carlow at the start of October.
Aged fourteen and a second year student in Presentation College, Cormac loves sport and has never allowed his disability to interfere with his enjoyment. He also plays basketball, athletics and golf.
The Interprovincial competition threw in at 11.00am. The All-Ireland Wheelchair Finals involves all the four provinces and has been going on for a number of years now.
The Nolan family only became aware of it this year when their Setanta Club was asked to do the guard of honour in 2024. When it was all over, the Nolan family asked that their son, Cormac, take part and the teenager has never looked back since.
He trained in Mountmellick or Rosenallis depending on which hall was available. Cormac played in a number of league matches during the year where he travelled to venues in all the four provinces.
The interprovincial series was a round robin stand-alone competition in Carlow. Leinster lost the interprovincial final to Munster in a thrilling game but it was a brilliant occasion for all.
Unbowed, Cormac is also involved with the Golf for All Programme but is not sure which sport he prefers the most.
“Probably the hurling or the basketball,” he says.
Carlow Rowing Club's Michael Duke struck gold in the Home International Rowing Regatta on Saturday when he was part of the successful Ireland Junior Men’s Quad team at Dorney Lake in England. Alongside team-mates Art Thornbury, Seán Harte and Rory Keeley, Duke put in a superb performance as the Irish team made a storming start and then held off the strong finishing English runners-up team.
“You could see that even when we were up, England were definitely not out of contention, but all I was thinking of was that they were in a lot of pain. We just had to refuse to lose and we were delighted to get across the line and win it," said a delighted Duke after the win.
Putting in such an effort to win was all the more remarkable given that the race came just an hour after he finished third in the singles event. As happy as he was to finish third in that race, it was something that spurred him on to make sure sure he got his hands on a gold medal later that day.
It was another strong performance in an Irish vest after taking a silver and bronze in the previous year's event in Scotland and he's a young rower with a big future ahead of him.
Leah Ryan is both a Leinster and All-Ireland champion After beating Kildare and Meath en route to the Leinster final, Leah went on to beat Wexford in the Ladies Junior B Leinster final on a scoreline of 15-21, 21-7, 11-10.
She then went on to win the Junior B All-Ireland final beating her Wexford opponent. Leah dominated the first game with some great serves and volley shots winning 21-4. The second game was a closer game with Wexford's serve improving but Leah held her nerve to be crowned All Ireland champion on a 21-4, 21-15 scoreline.
Leah had a great 60x30 campaign beating Kilkenny, two Wexford opponents, Offaly and Meath and she continues to represent her club and county with distinction on the national stage.
There was double success for Bagenalstown Pitch and Putt Club at the All-Ireland Juvenile Championships held at McGrath Park recently. The Carlow county team of Reece Power, Jason Kelly, Brad Meehan, Hugh O’Brien and Kenneth Hickey (non playing captain) were crowned All-Ireland Team Champions whilst there was also individual success for Jason Kelly as he brought home the U16’s Individual title.
This was a rare feat of winning not just one but two All-Irelands in the same day. They became the only Carlow team to ever win an All-Ireland in Pitch and Putt. The same team were also crowned Leinster champions at the Leinster Championships in Westmeath just a few weeks beforehand, adding to their achievement. Carlow is a one club county which adds to the achievement with Cork and Dublin who finished second and third respectively being able to pull from up to 20 different clubs.
The juvenile section in the club only started two years ago which also adds to the achievement. The future is certainly bright for Bagenalstown Pitch and Putt club which has seen extraordinary success this season already with Paul Core being crowned Leinster Junior Champion and their adult team winning the regional league for the first time in nine years.
