County Offaly which had declined following the Norman Conquest of Ireland. Both Laois (Leix) and Offaly (Uí Failghe) were petty kingdoms in Gaelic Ireland located just outside the Pale (a region around Dublin and the mid east of Ireland that remained loyal to the English Crown following the Norman Conquest). The older kingdoms of Leix and Uí Failghe are not coterminous with the present day counties that were formed. The Kingdom of Uí Failghe from which the name Offaly is derived, was ruled by the Ó Conchobhair Failghe (anglicised as: O'Conor Faly) whose territory extended from the east of the county into
Brendan Murphy (Carlow footballer) at Breffni Park. Carlow were beaten 0-12 to 2-13 by their Division 1 opponents. In the Carlow club championship, Rathvilly were beaten 2-13 to 0-12 in the county final by a Palatine team that was winning back-to-back Senior Championships for the first time in nearly a century. Rathvilly had topped their group by beating Old Leighlin, drawing with Eire Og, and beating Kildavin/Clonegal. They beat Old Leighlin again in the semi-final by 0-15 to 1-10. The 2017 league season was something of a mixed bag for Carlow. They opened with an exciting draw in Mullingar against Westmeath, with Shane O'Neill