Love Your County – Carlow

As part of our Love Your County series, our focus today is on the second smallest county in Ireland, whose GAA success has been limited.

Sporting moment: Leinster champions 1944

Carlow’s only senior success in football came almost 70 years ago, but given that it is their solitary trophy at such a level, it has been treasured by a success-starved county.

Carlow won the war-time final in Athy after defeating Dublin on a scoreline of 2-6 to 1-6, but the club were denied a famous day out in Croke Park when Kerry defeated them by two points, with a late goal sealing a 3-3 to 0-10 victory. The Kingdom would then go on to lose to Roscommon in the final.

Press cutting from the time

Wander around Duckett’s Grove

Duckett’s Grove is the ruins of the Georgian home of the Duckett Family, built circa 1800s. It was taken over by Carlow County Council in 2005, who restored the walled gardens for use by the public as a park. The 12,000 acre estate is the perfect place for a leisurely stroll.

Brownshill Dolmen

Situated on the Hacketstown Road, Brownshill Dolmen is one of the most notable landmarks in the county. Built between 4000 and 3000 BC by some of the earliest farmers to inhabit the island, the megalithic portal tomb weighs an estimated 100 metric tons and is reputed to be the heaviest in Europe.

It is sited on a hill on which sits the former estate house of the Brown family from which the hill takes its name and is listed as a National Monument.