THE Dublin team that recorded an emphatic defeat of Carlow at the weekend may have featured a few players making or attempting to make inter county comebacks but Carlow's team also included someone starting his first competitive match for the county after a mixed and varied career in other parts.

Niall Rennick, currently one of Matt Kerrigan's selectors on the Leinster Railway Cup team, although only in his early thirties, has been involved with both Meath and Wicklow inter county teams. A panelist with Meath a few years ago, he was better known for his four year stint as manager of Wicklow during which he guided the county to the 1992 All Ireland B competition.

Slightly over a year ago, he moved from Kildare to Carlow and transferred from Dunderry, his Meath club, to Rathvilly, the Carlow league title holders and eternal runners up to Eire Og in the county championship. A new teaching post in Naas after working in St David's Artane, in Dublin has also helped cut down on travel demands.

Rennick's mother is from Rathvilly and when he moved to just outside Carlow town, he was approached by Rathvilly with a request that he coach the club. "I agreed but said I'd play as well."

In the year since he moved, Dunderry have emerged to win the Meath championship "Of course, that'd be me," Rennick observes. Presumably a disappointment? Well it was and it wasn't. I mean" Dunderry had their chances when was there. We reached four Meath semi finals and were always there or thereabouts."

Brought into the Carlow panel last autumn, Rennick could be seen to be in a delicate position. Bobby Miller, the Eire Og coach is also manager of the Carlow team. Rennick is not alone a former inter county manager but also coach of a Rathvilly team, some of whose supporters believe Fire Og's influence on the county team to be excessive.

It's very difficult for me to voice opinions about it," says Rennick, "but in general, to have that many from the one club on a county team isn't very desirable. I have experience of it because in Wicklow, before I took over there were nine or 10 Baltinglass players involved.

"It's up to others to displace them but in the match against London, there were only about seven Eire Og players involved (the figure can rise to 11 or 12) and Carlow lost."

Three minutes at the end of that match in London and Sunday's outing in the O'Byrne Cup are the sum total of his inter county activity in a Carlow jersey. Asked about his future plans on that front, the reply is succinct. "I'm available."