Leinster vs Edinburgh

12 Counties, One Club
in
Focus
Founded: 1873
Ground: Oak Park. Carlow
Web: www.carlowrugby.ie
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @carlowrugby
County
Carlow
Football
Club is one
of the oldest
clubs in
Ireland, set
to celebrate
its 150th
anniversary
in 2023.
County
Carlow
It has a long and proud
tradition underpinned by many
achievements in Junior and Senior
rugby.
The early-to-mid 1990s was a golden
age in the history of the club, winning five
Provincial Towns Cups from 1992-1997.
They were promoted into the AIL in 1997
and joined the chase for greater glory
around the rugby fields on the island.
This halcyon period produced five
consecutive seasons in Divisions 4 to
Division 1 from 1998 to 2003 and backto-back
Leinster Senior Cups in 2003 and
2004.
That was then. This is now. Currently,
County Carlow is fighting the good fight
in Division 1B of the Leinster League.
“Overall, our goal is to get back to
winning Towns Cups again on our way
into All-Ireland League rugby,” says
committee member Melvin Elmes.
“We are a long way from that at the
moment. These are different times. We
will have to make it back to the AIL with
players that come up through our Minis
and Youth system.
“In those years, the same as every other
club in the country, we made no bones
about it, we had to bring in outside
players to maintain our momentum.”
That top-down strategy of bringing in
players to lift the standards of those
already there worked for many years.
But, it came with unsustainable costs.
County Carlow started to drop through
Co Carlow From Left Aurlene
Browne & Muireann Brennan
Co Carlow Club
President Tom Crotty
& Edel Gibbons
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