NIALL CAREW IS unique in the sense that he pens a column for a local newspaper, while also managing a senior inter-county football team.
Sligo boss Carew, who previously worked as Waterford manager and Kildare selector, explained his reasons for doing so, in conversation with Damian Lawlor on the latest RTÉ GAA podcast.
Carew also expressed disappointment with the Connacht Council for the scheduling of next Sunday’s provincial opener away to New York, which has deprived him of the services of three exam-tied players.
And Carew revealed that the trip to the Big Apple will cost the Sligo county board up to €70,000, on top of annual running costs.
Carew’s musings can be read in the Sligo Champion newspaper, and he explained why he decided to accept that role.
He said: “Sometimes you’d have people writing columns and they don’t know what they’re talking about in terms of preparation, what goes in, the reasoning behind why you do X, Y and Z.
“I give readers in Sligo exactly the truth about what happens before a game, the build-up to games and after. There would have been a lot of negativity from other people writing columns, I made sure I was in control of that, and tell people the facts rather than the fiction.”
Carew also revealed that Niall Murphy is out with a hamstring injury for the New York trip, while Kevin McDonnell, Gerard O’Kelly-Lynch and Luke Nicholson won’t travel either due to exam commitments.
Sligo's Kevin McDonnell. James Crombie / INPHO
James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO
“Three that would have probably started for me. In the wisdom of the Connacht Council, they fixed this game right in the middle of exams, it’s normally the Bank Holiday weekend.
I can’t ask the players to be home in time to sit their exams on the Monday morning at 9 o’clock, when the game is at 8.30pm Irish time on Sunday night. It’s a bit of a disaster that way for us but we have to get on with it now and put in a big shift and make sure we get out of there with a win.
“It was cast in stone, seemingly, this fixture. There was no way of shifting it. It’s a big financial burden on the county board as well, trying get us across.
“The players would have tried to do a little bit of fundraising as well. I think it will cost an extra €60-70,000 on top of the running of the whole thing all year.
“We’re lucky enough that our Treasurer in Sligo, Peter Greene, has done a great job on all of the logistics. He’s secured a top-class trip for us going across.”
A leading senior inter-county manager explains why he pens a regular local newspaper column
NIALL CAREW IS unique in the sense that he pens a column for a local newspaper, while also managing a senior inter-county football team.
Sligo boss Carew, who previously worked as Waterford manager and Kildare selector, explained his reasons for doing so, in conversation with Damian Lawlor on the latest RTÉ GAA podcast.
Carew also expressed disappointment with the Connacht Council for the scheduling of next Sunday’s provincial opener away to New York, which has deprived him of the services of three exam-tied players.
And Carew revealed that the trip to the Big Apple will cost the Sligo county board up to €70,000, on top of annual running costs.
Carew’s musings can be read in the Sligo Champion newspaper, and he explained why he decided to accept that role.
He said: “Sometimes you’d have people writing columns and they don’t know what they’re talking about in terms of preparation, what goes in, the reasoning behind why you do X, Y and Z.
“I give readers in Sligo exactly the truth about what happens before a game, the build-up to games and after. There would have been a lot of negativity from other people writing columns, I made sure I was in control of that, and tell people the facts rather than the fiction.”
Carew also revealed that Niall Murphy is out with a hamstring injury for the New York trip, while Kevin McDonnell, Gerard O’Kelly-Lynch and Luke Nicholson won’t travel either due to exam commitments.
“Three that would have probably started for me. In the wisdom of the Connacht Council, they fixed this game right in the middle of exams, it’s normally the Bank Holiday weekend.
“It was cast in stone, seemingly, this fixture. There was no way of shifting it. It’s a big financial burden on the county board as well, trying get us across.
“The players would have tried to do a little bit of fundraising as well. I think it will cost an extra €60-70,000 on top of the running of the whole thing all year.
“We’re lucky enough that our Treasurer in Sligo, Peter Greene, has done a great job on all of the logistics. He’s secured a top-class trip for us going across.”
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GAA Gaelic Football Niall Carew Pen to Paper Sligo