Ben O'Carroll motivated by 2024 defeat as St Brigid's prepare for All-Ireland final

Michael Bolton

A second All-Ireland final in three years for St Brigid's, and it is an exciting time for Roscommon's Ben O'Carroll.

The Roscommon forward was crucial to their run to the 2024 final, as they were edged out by Derry side Glen.

After the 2024 season ended with Roscommon, O'Carroll required surgery, as Roscommon's season ended in the quarter-finals.

It was a difficult season for the club, as St Brigid's lost their county title in the quarter-finals.

However, 2025 saw O'Carroll back firing under the new rules, as he made his comeback in the league, which saw Roscommon promoted back to Division One.

With the immediate focus on Sunday's All-Ireland final against Dingle in Croke Park, O'Carroll praised the resilience of the side.

"Just getting back into it and being able to compete again was our main goal.

"It was good to try and bounce back after two years. Both losses were tough to take; they spur you on to try and get back and compete again.

"There are a lot of lads the same age from the minor teams that were successful five or six years ago. There is a cohort of 10 or 12 lads who have a three or four-year difference.

There are five or six good clubs in Roscommon that are really strong and have really good players.

"Even in the Sigerson as well, there are a good few Roscommon lads going really well."

For Ben, as a child growing up, memories of the St Brigid's team, which won the All-Ireland in 2013, are a memory which will never be forgotten.

13 years later, and those days have had a big impact on the current squad, as they make their own memories, which they hope to complete with an All-Ireland

"You are going to all the All-Ireland series games and Connacht games, they are just brilliant to be a part of when you are young, you thought it was unbelievable when Brigid's were making it that far.

"It was definitely an influence on a lot of lads that are playing now."

It is a busy time for O'Carroll, who will have to switch his attention to the Sigerson Cup with UCD and the Allianz League after Sunday.

Studying International Business, the Roscommon forward has praised the managers for easing the workload and letting him focus on one team at a time.

"At the moment, you are just involved with the club until that ends, and then you move into the Sigerson and then Roscommon.

"When the Sigerson and Roscommon get going, it usually is a bit harder. The managers are very understanding. If you have a Sigerson Cup during the week, they won't train you too hard.

"It is hard, but the managers are very good these days for helping you out with it."