Carlow captain admits tension was brewing under Shane Curran ‘for a few weeks' before his acrimonious exit
MIKEY BAMBRICK has lauded new boss Joe Murphy as a passionate Carlow man who would 'die for the jersey'.
Murphy stepped in to pick up the pieces after
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Alongside Liam Coleman of Wexford at Tuesday's Tailteann Cup launch in Croke Park
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First-year boss Curran irritated players with the content of his resignation statement
Curran walked because of 'player-related issues which he believed were beyond the scope of the management team'.
The ex-Roscommon goalkeeper went into specifics when he said some squad members 'failed to return home with the team' after their league game in London.
That prompted
They moved on under Murphy who took charge of Carlow for their Leinster SFC loss to Meath.
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And with five weeks of training behind them, they will hit Sunday's Tailteann Cup opener against Fermanagh with fresh enthusiasm.
Captain Bambrick praised Murphy.
He said: 'You can see his enthusiasm, he was just itching to get into it. It's great to see that and it's great to have a Carlow man of the highest coaching standard coming in and taking us over. It's brilliant.
'You see managers going out to different counties and, yeah, they're passionate and they want to win. But it's a different level when you're from the county that you're coaching.
'It's the same if you've a club man taking over their club, you know they'd die for the jersey and die for a win.'
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Bambrick said it was difficult being plunged into a media storm just as they were preparing for the Championship. But he admitted he felt it coming as tensions brewed in the camp.
He said: 'It was building for a few weeks, it wasn't really out of the blue.
Owen Mulligan teases Lee Keegan over hilarious contrast in how their inter-county GAA careers ended
"There was stuff building there, we were having conversations with the county board for a few weeks. It wasn't a surprise.
'As players we wanted to move on as quickly as we could and it was only when the statement came out from Shane that we felt we had to set things right as players.
'We never really wanted any of that. It's not what we wanted to be doing, talking to the media. We just wanted to be playing football so it is what it is.
'We've moved on now. That's all stuff in the past. We've moved on to a lot better things with Joe and the set-up we have now.'
Carlow were wiped out by half-time against Meath in their Leinster opener, trailing by 0-22 to 0-5. But they won the second half when they shot five two-pointers.
Bambrick is upbeat about what they can do in the Tailteann Cup, particularly on the back of five weeks of Murphy's guidance.
The versatile forward said: 'If you look at the individual match-ups from that game, you can say there wasn't a whole pile between a lot of them.
"They're a well-drilled team, physically they can compete with anyone in the country.
'But we would still feel that if we were to face them again, we could give them a rattle. That's the standard you want to get to.
'That's where we want to get to and those are the teams you want to play against.'
But this weekend's trip to Fermanagh is likely to be tough. Bambrick said: 'They're coming off a very competitive game against Down so they're probably in a better place.'
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The 42
24 minutes ago
- The 42
The shock of the weekend? Let us make an argument for Down topping their group
THOSE CASTING AROUND for a little value over the weekend could do worse than turn a discerning eye to the meeting of Down and Monaghan, in Armagh this Sunday. At the time of writing, Down were 13/5 to get the win that would give them a quarter-final spot and a crucial week's rest. Long odds that are hard to justify once you get under the skin of this game. It wouldn't take much to build a case for such long odds around Down. Relegated to division 3 after just one season in division 2, they are in the Sam Maguire competition by virtue of having won the Tailteann Cup last year, one year on from losing the final against Meath in a game that showed up the deficiencies in their physical profile. Off to the championship they went and an away tie against Fermanagh. With eight minutes left on the clock, they trailed by seven points, 0-21 to 0-14. They then ran in a series of scores to snatch a victory. Daniel Guinness followed a two-pointer with a goal. Pat Havern scored twice and Ryan McEvoy grabbed a late goal. Ryan McEvoy nets a late goal against Fermanagh. Lorcan Doherty / INPHO Lorcan Doherty / INPHO / INPHO 'Somebody said Dick Turpin wore a mask,' the Wildean Down selector Mickey Donnelly bon motted to reporters afterwards. That win took them through to an Ulster semi-final, where it felt that they were being held – Scrappy-Doo fashion – at arm's length against a vastly more mature Donegal, even though the margin was just six points in the end. Onto the group stages. They opened with a 17-point win over Clare in Ennis and received exactly zero credit for it. Advertisement For their home game, they beat Louth. It took a last-gasp block from Adam Crimmins on Tommy Durnin who looked set to kick the two-pointer that would have snatched the win for Louth. Adam Crimmins gets a late block on Tommy Durnin. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO Still and all, still no credit. A Louth defeat put down to a Leinster final win hangover. Once you finish up doing Down down, there they sit, on top of Group 3. Two wins from two. A points difference of +18. Their relegation? It happened despite them winning three games, finishing level with Louth but losing out on the head-to-head rule. Three years into his spell in charge, Conor Laverty has made Down as competitive as they have been since James McCartan was in charge. It hasn't been straightforward, but the management have shown impressive agility in getting a little bit more out of the players they have. With the addition of Ciaran Meenagh to the backroom, you can see how the efficiency of the Down attacks mirrors that of the Derry team that he coached in 2022 and 2023. There have been setbacks. Liam Kerr did not return for this season after looking like the sharpest forward they had in the first two seasons. Anthony Morgan has gone travelling. Instead of booting a ball in Pairc Esler, Charlie Smyth instead is booting one around Caesar's Superdome as a kicker for the New Orleans Saints. The goalkeeper position is a neat place to start. The need for a mobile goalkeeper to come out the field left Niall Kane unsuitable to modern requirements. For a while John O'Hare of Glen filled the position but his passing was more likely to be a lay-off handpass rather than getting his head up to ping the ball 50 metres. For a time, they tinkered with the notion of present coach and 2010 All-Star Marty Clarke restarting his county career as a goalkeeper and he had done some work with goalkeeping coach John Devine. Ronan Burns of Drumgath has filled the void. Just 19-years-old, he is the youngest intercounty goalkeeper on the circuit and his potential is huge. What the bare scoreline against Fermanagh doesn't tell you was Burns' four goal chances saved. Some seasoned players have found their way into serious form. Odhran Murdock has found a new level. Danny Magill is scoring for fun. Daniel Guinness was a player who only looked comfortable while fisting points over the bar and is taking far more risks now. One element of adopting to the new rules is how Down, who had been big-game hunters and prolific goal-scorers in the mould of Kilcoo under Laverty, have switched focus entirely to concentrate on two-pointers, like a stadium rock band introducing an element of drum 'n' bass to keep things fresh. Pat Havern has emerged as a leading proponent of the art and craft. And he's relocated from being a frustrated inside-forward starved of possession, to a floating attacker around the middle third, awaiting the chance to strike. Again, sensible measures tailored to maximising the effect of their weaponry. It's a hard tag to shake off and perhaps it goes back to the Tailteann Cup defeat against Meath, but they aren't the tallest crew around. Fermanagh strung a series of big men such as Joe McDade, Conor McGee, Brandon Horan and Darragh McGurn across the middle and made hay on the Down kickout. In fact, the Down comeback only began after Fermanagh took off McGee in the 58th minute. Donegal don't miss when it comes to exploiting well-signposted weaknesses among the opposition, but they have been using their skyscrapers like this for years. With a cast of Michael Langan, Hugh McFadden, Michael Murphy, Ciaran Thompson, Caolan McGonagle and Jason McGee they are well-staffed in that regard and again, they put Down under stress. The question is, can Monaghan do the same? The half-back line as named of Ryan O'Toole, Dessie Ward and Conor McCarthy are not particularly tall. Neither is the half-forward line of Stephen O'Hanlon, Micheál Bannigan and Ryan McAnespie. Michael McCarville and Gavin McPhillips have been named to start here. But don't be surprised if Darren Hughes and Killian Lavelle are late replacements to add a bit of heft to the middle third. Related Reads As Derry seek to kick losing habit in Dublin game, kickouts and attacking role are key A summer's evening among the Mayo faithful is one well spent Calculators out: The final permutations for the All-Ireland football group stages Elsewhere, Down have markers. In the past, Ceilum Doherty has played well up against Monaghan's key man Conor McCarthy when they met in Kilcoo and Scotstown colours in the Ulster club. Miceál Rooney would appear the right fit for Stephen O'Hanlon for agility and pace, while Peter Fegan could get the job of spending an evening with Jack McCarron. Finally, finally, finally. In 2012, these two met in the same venue, the last time they played in Armagh. Monaghan built up a heavy lead in the first half, but Down unleashed an absolute onslaught on them in the second half. The most memorable thing about the whole game is the way in which the former Monaghan manager Vinny Corey, couldn't lay a glove on the extremely elusive Conor Laverty that day. Conor Laverty after Down defeated Monaghan in Armagh, 2012. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO Omens everywhere. I'll be having a nibble anyway. * Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
The Irish Sun
28 minutes ago
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Inside Leinster's boozy celebrations as stars dance on team bus while leaving Croke Park as URC champs
LEINSTER'S players got to bask in a job well done as they partied into the evening following their victory over Bulls in the URC Grand Final. The Blues Advertisement 7 Players got to don eyewear to protest themselves from all over the champagne that was being sprayed around the dressing room Credit: @joetmmcc 7 French international Rabah Slimani captioned this snap with Andrew Porter 'Champions mon frere' Credit: @slim_rab 7 He then led them in a French sing-song on the team bus Credit: @slim_rab 7 They partied into the night at the RDS Credit: @leinsterrugby A forward-inspired victory was largely done in the first half as Jack Conan, Jordie Barrett and Josh van der Flier scored before rookie Fintan Gunne's late try. The crowd of 46,127 - a record attendance for an Irish final in the competition - showed the public interest, as did the smiles of Would everyone of a Leinster persuasion prefer a Champions Cup? Absolutely. But after four years of hurt, and seeing and hearing the pleasure the Leinster-haters out there take from it, it was a win that was savouried. Advertisement Read More On Irish Sport And it was also never in doubt the way they tackled the game and tackled the Bulls, with player of the match Ryan Baird leading by example. Afterwards Cullen insisted his players now deserve to be written up as winners after being written off as failures. After three Champions Cup final losses, it bothered Cullen that his men were being called failures, which is why winning this one mattered so much. He said: 'You get told the losers of the finals are failures. When you get to the last two, I think you should celebrate both. Advertisement Most read in Rugby Union "We've been on the flip side in the past, that the team were failures and I personally don't think that was the case.' But Baird admitted that the final losses of the past had put pressure on Leinster this week. 'Pierre loving retirement' - Peter O'Mahony's wife teases Ireland legend as kids run amok in cute snap He said: 'I found it toughest this week. I felt the pressure. I think a lot of us did. 'But we kept coming back to what got us here, moment by moment, inch by inch, and every time I saw someone else make a tackle, it gave me energy to make another one myself. Advertisement 'It's been a long time coming to win a trophy with this team in front of a full stadium. Last time we did, it was during Covid.' Captain Conan put it down to the team fronting up on the evening. 7 This triumph will act as a welcome tonic to wash out the pain from their Champions Cup semi-final loss to Northampton 7 Youngster Fintan Gunne got a helping hand in this funny snap Credit: @leinsterrugby Advertisement 7 They had an extra bit of fun by doing a second trophy lift atop the Hogan Stand in true GAA fashion He said: 'It's putting your head where you wouldn't put a shovel. Ultimately, it's a physical game, it's what we teed ourselves up for all week.' Bulls coach Jake White admitted his side ran into a Leinster side that produced their best rugby of the season in the first half. White said: 'We were never going to win that game once they got that 14-0 start. Advertisement 'We got the 40 minutes the Leinster supporters were waiting for the whole season. It was like watching a horror movie, and you hope the ending will be different. 'This was Test-level rugby. Leinster normally have 23 internationals, today they were short, they only had 22. They are a phenomenal team. That is probably the best Leinster team ever.'
The 42
35 minutes ago
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'Roy flipped… That image epitomises Uri. He was a black belt in kickboxing'
AS THE tributes poured in for ex-referee Uriah Rennie following news of his death at the age of 65 last week, one memorable image did the rounds. The Premier League's pioneering first black referee, who officiated over 300 fixtures between 1997 and 2008, proved a key figure during a match between Man United and Sunderland. 31 August 2002 was the date. The Saipan controversy and Roy Keane's abrupt World Cup exit were still fresh in people's minds. Ex-Ireland teammate Jason McAteer had been winding Keane up during the game. Less than 12 months earlier, the pair had been arm in arm following McAteer's famous winner against the Netherlands in a crucial World Cup qualifier. But the Red Devils captain and McAteer, a Mick McCarthy sympathiser, were no longer on good terms. The pair initially clashed while challenging for the ball. Keane won possession off the Black Cats midfielder, who proceeded to foul Keane. The incensed Man United star went for his opponent. Rennie stepped in, doing what not many referees of that era would have had the bravery to do and physically blocked one of English football's fiercest competitors from his attempts at retaliation. The two players continued mouthing off, and McAteer made a clear book-writing gesture about Keane's much-discussed new autobiography, which had been published the previous day. The Irish midfielder avoided a red card in that instance, but he was still dismissed minutes later for an off-the-ball elbow on McAteer. 'That's a very famous image,' says Ashley Hickson-Lovence, who wrote the 2022 novel 'Your Show,' based on Rennie's life. 'Jason McAteer made a comment about [Roy's] book, and Roy flipped. 'And, you know, that image epitomises Uri. He was a black belt in kickboxing, and he knew martial arts. He wasn't really meant to do that. You're not taught to do that. So that was him doing whatever needed doing to keep the game under control. I don't think the FA were a huge fan. I think there were a few comments that the FA made afterwards, saying that wasn't the best thing to do, or they don't encourage other referees to do that. 'Actually, it was funny because Roy Keane didn't get sent off in that moment. He did get sent off in the game, but he managed to stop Roy Keane attacking Jason McAteer at that point. So that would have been a warning of sorts, to Roy, to behave himself. 'Uri was such a character, and someone who sometimes didn't do things by the book, to do the best that he could as a role of a referee, which is obviously really tough.' While writing 'Your Show,' Hickson-Lovence got to know Rennie, 'a hero' to the young author, who credits the trailblazer for his subsequent stint as an amateur referee. Advertisement The book had started life as the student's PhD at the University of East Anglia. The then-English teacher gained access to Rennie's email address through a friend of a friend, and the ex-referee was initially reluctant about cooperating with the project. Hickson-Lovence needed to 'really sell myself' before Rennie agreed to meet him at the Ponds Forge leisure centre in Sheffield. 'I had to give him a screenshot of my profile as a teacher from the school website and that sort of thing,' he recalls. The pair met up 'four or five times,' and these conversations would help inform the writing of 'Your Show' — a novel that was also a biography of sorts. 'The more we got talking, the more he sort of loosened up, and we warmed to each other, and I listened back to our conversation after his passing, and just listened back to our interviews, and there was a lot of laughter, and that was lovely to hear.' Despite multiple old reports simply describing Rennie as 'English,' Hickson-Lovence discovered he had been born in Jamaica. 'To make that rise from Jamaica to a very rough estate in Sheffield in the '70s, refereeing in the lower leagues, in the semi-professional game in the '80s, in Yorkshire, would have been incredibly tough. And that's something I don't know, because he didn't really talk about it with me, to be honest. And then, to make it to the Premier League in 1997 with increased cameras, scrutiny, Sky Sports, all that sort of thing, it's one hell of an achievement. 'He arrived in Sheffield in 1972, and he qualified as a referee in 1979, and I do think it was a difficult time. 'He lived in a relatively small, modest house with a lot of brothers and sisters. So, especially when he was a young man, sport was his escape. 'I think [his story is] film-worthy, if I do say so myself.' The pair became increasingly close, and as the novel was getting ready for publication, Rennie commended Hickson-Lovence on 'a very good read'. Completing the project was a major coup. Rennie rarely accepted interviews following his retirement. Hickson-Lovence suspects part of this mistrust was due to some of the unkind journalism written about the former referee in his heyday. 'Even when the book was released, I had requests from The Guardian, The Observer and lots of other publications who wanted to do interviews and things about the book together, and he didn't want to do that. And I accepted and respected that decision. 'I would message him to say: 'By the way, so and so wants to do something, I think they're quite trusted,' or whatever. And he would just say: 'Not for me.' Sort of a polite decline.' He continues: 'I think [doing interviews] had to be for a good reason. I suppose he didn't want it to have a sort of journalistic slant or angle. I imagine he wanted it to be a book that had longevity, or would inspire others of colour or marginalised groups to get involved in football and refereeing, particularly. 'But that being said, he didn't really get involved, apart from the interviews. He let me do what I wanted to do.' Rennie refereed over 300 professional games. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Hickson-Lovence and Rennie stayed in touch following the project's conclusion and would regularly message one another. They spoke on the phone for a couple of hours about Rennie's pride following his appointment as the Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University and the 'open-door policy' he planned to have. He was only installed in the position last month. 'He wanted to really break down the barriers in terms of what a university is and what a university should be, and how that relationship would work with the wider Sheffield community.' Rennie, who was also a magistrate in Sheffield since 1996, earlier this year expressed his sympathy after Hickson-Lovence's father passed away. Uri's recent message to me after my dad died. A kind man with a big heart. RIP Uriah Rennie ❤️ — Ashley Hickson-Lovence (@AHicksonLovence) June 9, 2025 During their conversations, it was sometimes notable what was left unsaid. Last April, Rennie told the BBC about how doctors found a nodule on his spine caused by a rare, inoperable neurological condition. The man once described as the Premier League's fittest referee had to learn to walk again. Hickson-Lovence recalls how Rennie didn't mention his illness during their lengthy interactions, and it was only later that he found out the iconic figure had been ill. 'He was quite a private man. And I think he just didn't want to make it all about him, so to speak. 'He was a very selfless man. And all of my interactions with him, it was striking to me how much he cared about other people and the community and putting others first. 'I just think he saw his role as helping others, community and humanity first. And everything he did had to have the right purpose, and if it wasn't going to help anybody, or if it wasn't going to have a lasting impact, or it wasn't going to inspire, then he just wouldn't do it. I'm not just talking about the book. I'm talking about anything he does, because he's a patron of several charities. He goes into schools, he goes into care homes, he's done walking marathons and half marathons. He's done all sorts to raise money for charities. Charities became his thing, and community became his thing. 'It's weird, because I think of Uriah Rennie's legacy now more as a human than actually a referee, having met him and done the research, it feels like he just had such a bigger impact. He had a huge impact on the pitch, but his impact in Sheffield and South Yorkshire cannot be understated, really. 'He knew everybody. And if it was a charity [making a request], he wouldn't say no.' In December 2023, Sam Allison became the Premier League's second-ever black referee, 15 years after Rennie's retirement. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Despite his remarkable achievements, Hickson-Lovence believes Rennie remains a somewhat underappreciated footballing figure. 'I do think the Premier League should have done more to use Uri's legacy to get more officials of colour up through the system. It's not good enough that it was 15 years since his retirement that we had Sam Allison [the Premier League's second black referee], and I still don't think [it's acceptable], considering how culturally diverse the top level game is in the UK, that we don't have more officials of colour, and managers and coaches as well.'
