Dempsey rules out permanent Carlow role for Dolan
Exiled Westmeath star Dessie Dolan has been assisting Carlow in their preparations for today's NFL meeting with local rivals Wicklow in Aughrim.
The former All-Star forward, who had a much-publicised falling out with the Westmeath county board after his father Dessie Snr was overlooked for the Westmeath manager's job last autumn, was recently invited to a coaching session by Carlow manager Luke Dempsey, but the former Lake County supremo has ruled out a permanent involvement in the set-up for the Garrycastle clubman.
Dolan played under Dempsey when Westmeath won the All-Ireland under 21 title in 1999 and when he was senior manager from 2000 to 2003, but Dempsey pointed out that he regularly enlists the services of "outside" coaches to help his Carlow players.
"There's no talk of Dessie Dolan having a permanent involvement with Carlow," he said.
"I know Dessie very well from coaching him with various Westmeath teams, and also through school-teaching, so I thought it was a good idea to bring him into the set-up for a one-off coaching session.
"It went very well and I think Dessie enjoyed it. The players took a lot from it and Dessie is very used to coaching and dealing with players. The reason for bringing Dessie into the set-up was because we kicked 13 wides against Limerick and a further 12 against Longford.
"Forward-play is something we (Carlow) feel we need to work on. Obviously, we wouldn't dream of enlisting the services of Dessie if he was still involved with the Westmeath team, but we felt it was worthwhile," Dempsey added.
