Leinster Football Championship 1944
Second Round

Carlow  2 – 08             Laoighis  2 - 03

Carlow’s Good Win

There was a huge crowd at the Athy Grounds, where Carlow reversed last year’s form and beat Laoighis by 5 points margin after leading by the same number at half time. It was a great exhibition of football, played at a very fast pace, and was brimful of exciting incidents. All the players are to be congratulated on their splendid display, as a fine sporting spirit permented a hard hour’s football.
A good deal of their success may be attributed to their net-minder, J. Quinlan, for he saved shots that might beat most, and his sense of anticipation was really good, while he caught balls cleanly and kicked with a good length. He was well covered by a good trio of backs in J. Lalor, J. Archibold, and P. Farrell, who found their height an advantage against the opposing forward line. P. Whelan seemed to take the honours in a good half line, and was especially good in the closing stages. His partners, Rourke and Joyce played with good combination and judgment. While L. Kelly and J. Morris did not completely overshadow the Laoighis pair, yet they had sufficient pull to help their side to victory. Jim Morris kicked and fielded well all through and Kelly again proved himself a very versatile player. Carlow forwards were a fast, nippy lot with W. Hosey and J. Rea forming a grand right wing, and P. Sullivan helping to lure the Laoighis defence out of position. J. Doyle played a great game and again proved his worth as a place kicker. M. Byrne and J. Moore were always prominent in the fray. The team, as a whole, is one that would be difficult to improve on.

Adapted excerpt from the “Nationalist and Leinster Times”, June 24th 1944