The Provincial Towns Cup was won on 12 occasions, 1929, 1931, 1933, 1957, 1961, 1965, 1977, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 and 1997, when they also won the Leinster League Division 1. The latter win earned the club a place in the playoffs to become a Senior Club in which they played Connamara Blacks, Midleton and Omagh. They won the playoffs, and Co.
Carlow became a Senior Club for the first time in the 1997/98 season, playing in Division 4 of the AIL League. As a result, Leslie Dowley became the first County Carlow Football Club representative on the Leinster Branch. The club’s admission to senior status was proposed by John West (Trinity) and seconded by Rory Barry-Duke (Suttonians).
In their first year as a Senior Club, they won Division 4 of the AIL League and were promoted to Division 3. They subsequently gained rapid promotion through the leagues and played Division 1 rugby for the first time in the 2001/2002 season. This was a phenomenal achievement and unequalled by any other junior club. County Carlow FC played Division 1 rugby for four years, but after a number of poor years, they are back in the Leinster League for the 2010-2011 season. As a junior club, they first played in the Leinster Senior Cup against Trinity in 1976, and as a Senior Club, they went on to win the trophy back-to-back in 2003 and again in 2004.
The Senior side is not the only side to succeed on the rugby field. The Second XV has won the Provincial Seconds Cup on six occasions, while there have been four victories in the Anderson and 5 in the Dunne Cup. There have also been 25 trophies won at the underage level confirming the club’s commitment to youth rugby.
Co. Carlow Football Club is a family-orientated club, drawing much of its support and playing strength from the local community. The level of continuous involvement is exemplified by the Oliver family (all named James), who have provided four generations of players to the club, two captains and three presidents. Jim Oliver Jnr. also captained the Leinster Junior XV when the first Interprovincial against Munster was played in Oak Park in 1967. The fifth, Jimmy Oliver, is still too young to don the black and amber but already has the distinction of being the grandson of two past presidents.
Leslie J. Dowley,
A full history of the club has been compiled by Mr Tom O’Brien and is available in hardback from the club Honorary Treasurer for €5.00 per copy.
2003, 2004
1998
2002
We would like to thank all of our volunteers and sponsors who help to make our club great.
