One of the features of the Leinster club football championship in the last 10 years has been its radical divergence from the intercounty pecking order. Through the efforts of Eire Og and Baltinglass, Carlow with five titles and Wicklow with one, have between them won more titles than the provincial intercounty champions of the last 30 years - Meath, Dublin, Offaly and Kildare - put together.
This weekend the chance of romance in this year's semi-finals is to be found in Carlow where Wexford champions Kilanerin take on Sarsfields of Kildare in an attempt to reach their first provincial final. Three years ago, they also got this far but lost out to St Sylvester's of Dublin.
Located in the north of the county, the Kilanerin-Ballyfad club (Kilanerin for football and Ballyfad for hurling) was founded in 1953 but has only blossomed this decade. In 1992 they won the intermediate county football title and a year later added the senior.
Since then the club has won the football championship every second year (1993, '95, '97 and this year) and represented Wexford in 1996 on the nomination of the county board when the championship ran late. Ironically, the latter was the year when the club did best, reaching the aforementioned semi-final.
There have been few changes in personnel since the previous high-point against Sylvesters three years ago. In the full back line Pat and Chris Murray haven't been starting matches as regularly this year but otherwise the team is unchanged. Gerry Farrell has been the coach for the last seven years. His fellow-selector Pat Hughes highlights Farrell's role in this year's run which has seen good wins against Stabannon Parnells and Edenderry.
"Last year, we were beaten in the first round by Gusserane and it was felt that the backroom team might fold then. It was especially thought that Gerry might call it a day - he lives in Wicklow town. But he decided to give it another year. `If I don't get a 100 per cent from February,' he said, `I won't be staying'. He did of course."
The team's progress in the campaign has been most brightly illuminated by the scoring exploits of Mattie Forde who has accounted for an astonishing 414 in two matches. He is joined in attack by another county man and the team's best known player, John Hegarty. Hughes says that Forde is an equally good goalkeeper. Football suffers in the county from the traditional eminence of the county's hurlers. It's not that resources aren't impartially distributed but when pressure comes on a player to choose codes it's not hard to see what way he'll make up his mind.
This, Hughes believes, exacerbates the problems for football mentors. In recent years the county has started to make progress at under-age level with a couple of good minor teams and earlier this year an All-Ireland colleges title making its way to Good Counsel in New Ross. During the summer, the county lost the Leinster final after a replay to Dublin.
"If our minor hurling selectors had released a few of their panel to play," says Hughes, "we could have reached an All-Ireland and maybe even won it."
On Sunday, as his thoughts focus on the possibility of a major breakthrough at senior level, the team will gather at the local pub and head off for Carlow, just as always. Would the routine be the same next St Patrick's Day if they were off to the club final?
"Talk to me before then."
