As we draw ever closer to Saturday's (June 17) preliminary quarter-final meeting of Carlow and Dublin in the All -Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Paul Doyle and his victorious Joe McDonagh winning squad are anticipating a challenging outing.
The winner of Saturday's 5.00 pm fixture at Netwatch Cullen Park will receive a tie against Munster Finalists Clare, as the Championship quality will accelerate to elite levels of play.
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Following a memorable Joe McDonagh final in Croke Park, the Carlow faithful have been in euphoria. In a fascinating encounter against Offaly, the game of hurling was the ultimate winner.
Speaking to Shaun Connolly on SportsBeat Xtra ahead of Saturday's fixture, Carlow captain Doyle is relishing the step up in competition.
"We know ourselves that we have a massive task ahead of us - it is going to be a tough game," he said.
"Dublin have been playing at a higher level than us in the last four or five years. That higher level is going to stand to them."
Carlow and Dublin last met in the Championship in 2019 when Dublin won by 2-22 to 1-13 in the Leinster round-robin. You have to rewind to 2000 for the last time that the two locked horns in the Championship.
On Saturday @Carlow_GAA were named the Joe McDonagh Cup Champions after a roller-coaster of a final against Offaly. They showed serious grit to win after losing a 4-point lead in four-injury time minutes at the end of normal time. Check out the highlights below with #GAANOW! pic.twitter.com/Wv6O3Wtysj
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Having secured victory against Offaly in HQ, Carlow can look forward to a return to the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship in 2024. The competition will provide regular outings against the finest players in the Country and supply an opportunity to develop invaluable experience.
"It's huge because we got a taste of it in 2019. We played four games up there in Leinster," Doyle added.
"It was a tough ask to come out week on week and play against such top-quality opposition. But I'm really looking forward to it. You're testing yourself against the very best in the Country.
"You're going to be marking the people you've been watching on TV for the last few years."
Paul Doyle lifting the Joe McDonagh Cup for Carlow
The Carlow camp is ambitious and has real goals of maintaining regular top-level competition. That said, they understand the difficulties awaiting them as they climb the Championship ladder.
When asked about the prospect of developing an elite hurling ethos in Carlow, the St. Mullins man remained grounded.
He added: "We know ourselves that it's extremely difficult to do so. Looking at records of previous years from teams that have gone up in the Joe McDonagh - they struggle up at the top.
"We'd just be looking to get a foothold up there next year and try to ensure that after 2024 we'd be able to stay up there.
"We know ourselves, we have a massive body of work ahead of us over the next few months before we can even face into that next year if we want to be realistic about staying up."
You can listen back to the full interview on SportsBeat Xtra.
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