THE LATEST PLAYER to swap Gaelic football for a move Down Under is Louth forward Ciaran Byrne, who has joined AFL club Carlton on a two-year deal.

The 18-year-old featured in the Wee County’s senior championship campaign this year but makes the switch having been tracked by the Melbourn-based side for the past 18 months.

“Ciaran’s a good athlete and a good running player, in keeping with all Gaelic footballers,” Carlton’s general manager Andrew McKay told their official website. “He stands 6’2 or 6’3 in the old measurement and is quite an athletic player.”

Former Laois star Zach Tuohy will become a team-mate of Byrne’s and has expressed his delight at having another Irish player at the club while recruting manager Wayne Hughes added:

He (Byrne) is very determined to give it a go and his parents are looking forward to coming out and seeing Australia, which is all part of making sure his parents are comfortable about where their son is going.

Byrne playing against Laois earlier this year. Credit: INPHO/Colm O’Neill

“Because the county is not a strong county in terms of size or population, the fact that he’s been included in the Ireland International Rules squad is a real feather in his cap. He’ll be rubbing shoulders with Pearce Hanley and of course Zach, which augurs well for him.”

(h/t: Shane Kelly)

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