Ted Carroll

Infobox GAA player
code= Hurling
sport = Hurling


name = Ted Carroll
irish = Tadgh Ó Cearúil
fullname = Ted Carroll
placeofbirth = Lisdowney
countryofbirth = County Kilkenny
height =
nickname =
county = Kilkenny
province = Leinster
club = Lisdowney
clposition = Corner-back
clubs =
clyears =
clapps(points) =
clcounty =
clprovince=
clallireland =
counties = Kilkenny
icposition = Corner-back
icyears = 1961-1971
icapps(points) =
icprovince = 6
icallireland = 3
allstars =
clupdate =
icupdate =

Ted Carroll (born 1939 in Lisdowney, County Kilkenny) is a retired Irish sportsperson. He played hurling with his local club Lisdowney and with the Kilkenny senior inter-county team from 1961 until 1971.

Early & private life

Ted Carroll was born in Lisdowney, County Kilkenny in 1939. He was educated lcoally and later attended St. Kieran's College in Kilkenny, a famed hurling nursery. It was here that his hurling skills were nurtured and developed, and he won an All-Ireland Colleges’ title with the school in 1957. Carroll later studied at University College Dublin and began working with Teagasc in the mid-1960s.

Playing career

Club

Carroll played his club hurling with his local Lisdowney club and enjoyed some success. Ironically, his first major success came in 1955 when he won a senior county football title with Galmoy. Carroll was a stalwart on his club’s senior team by the age of fifteen and won a junior county hurling title in 1960. Two years later in 1962 he narrowly missed out on a senior county title. Carroll continued to play club hurling until the late 1970s.

Inter-county

Carroll first came to prominence on the inter-county scene in the mid-1950s as a member of the Kilkenny minor hurling team. He captured a Leinster title in this grade in 1956, however, ‘the Cats’ were later beaten by Tipperary in the All-Ireland final. Carroll captured a second Leinster minor title in 1957; however, Tipp triumphed once again in the championship decider. Four years later in 1961 Carroll made his senior debut with Kilkenny in a provincial championship defeat by Wexford. Two years later in 1963 Kilkenny were back on top and Carroll collected his first senior Leinster title. The subsequent All-Ireland final saw ‘the Cats’ take on Waterford. The Munster men were 11 points in arrears at one stage, however, the fought back to narrown the deficit to two points. Kilkenny held on and Carroll collected his first All-Ireland medal. In 1964 he added a second Leinster medal to his collection before lining out in his second All-Ireland final. Tipperary provided the opposition on that occasion against the red-hot favourites Kilkenny. In spite of this Tipp captured the victory on a score line of 5-13 to 2-8. Two years later in 1966 Carroll captured a National Hurling League medal before winning his third Leinster championship title. In the subsequent All-Ireland final Cork provided the opposition. It was these two great rivals’ first championship meeting since in 1947. Once again, Kilkenny were the favourites, however, a young Cork team captured the victory.

In 1967 Carroll was switched from centre-back to right corner-back on the Kilkenny team. That year he won his fourth Leinster medal before facing Tipp in the All-Ireland final. The game was a close one; however, Kilkenny captured the victory on a score line of 3-8 to 2-7. It was the first time that Kilkenny had defeated Tipp in the championship since 1922. Two years later in 1969 Kilkenny were the kings of Leinster again with Carroll winning his fifth provincial medal. The All-Ireland final saw Kilkenny take on Cork once again, however, on this occasion ‘the Cats’ reversed the result of 1966 giving Carroll a third All-Ireland medal. His excellent performance throughout the championship earned Carroll the accolade of Texaco Hurler of the Year. Two years later in 1971 Carroll won a fifth Leinster medal, however, he failed to secure a position on the starting fifteen. He was sprung from the bench as a substitute during the game; however, Tipp secured a 5-17 to 5-14 victory. This defeat brought the curatin down on Carroll’s inter-county career.

Provincial

Carroll also lined out with Leinster in the inter-provincial hurling competition on several occasions. He was successful in capturing a Railway Cup medal in 1965.

Post-playing career

In retirement from playing Carroll became involved in the administrative affairs of the Gaelic Athletic Association. In 1984 he took on the important role of secretray of the Kilkenny County Board. Carroll held this position for over a decade.

Teams

References

[http://www.hoganstand.com/Kilkenny/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=88772 Profile of Ted Carroll]