The St Mochta’s clubman is latest player to have swapped the GAA pitch for Oval stadiums Down Under
Togging out for Carton alongside fellow Irishmen Zach Tuohy and Ciaran Sheehan is a dream held by rookie Ciaran ‘Casey’ Byrne.
Although only 19, the Co Louth man has already set himself high goals of AFL stardom after arriving in Melbourne late last year.
The teen, who was first spotted by footy scouts when he was 16, also hopes to make it onto the Irish International Rules team when they take on an All Australian side in a reformatted competition in November.
“Coming out here at first was kind of daunting but I came out with Ciaran Sheehan made it a lot easier and knowing Zach [Tuohy] as well, which is a good thing,” said Ciaran who has been affectionally known as ‘Casey” since childhood.
“It was pretty scary coming out at first but the club has been really good to me, the development coaches have been really good and the players have made me at home. I love life over here at the minute.”
The St Mochta’s clubman is among the latest batch of budding players who have swapped the GAA pitch for Oval stadiums Down Under.
However, sacrificing the possibility of an All-Ireland medal, missing out on student and social life in Ireland as well as beginning a regimented lifestyle on the opposite side of the world can prove too much for some young players, something which Ciaran is acutely aware of.
He said: “Being young like me and obviously like Daniel Flynn and Ciaran Kilkenny, it’s not easy leaving home, leaving the football and your friends and family, it’s definitely not easy but its how you adapt to that, it’s really a challenge.
However, the player who represented his county from under-14 level right the way up to the senior team, believes signing for a side such as Carlton who have already taken on former GAA players has been beneficial.“But obviously Ciaran Kilkenny was struggling a lot with homesickness and I would have talked a lot to Ciaran. But he has a lot happening for him now in Dublin, they have a really strong team, they compete for All-Ireland’s every year, so he really is still competing at a professional level.”“Carlton would already have experience obviously with Zach coming out so they know the tricks of the trade in terms of settling the Irish guys into a new game and new set up,” he said.
Making the move from local GAA star to a rookie player over here has been a gradual process for Ciaran who broke through onto Louth’s senior team the season before he embarked on a life in Australia when he was just 18.
He was first approached by Cartlon more than two years ago and visited Melbourne to experience the set-up, to get to know the city and become more familiar with the game.
This initial visit was followed up with numerous training trips to both Melbourne and to America in December for altitude training where he met up with his fellow Carlton teammates.
However, the young talent was allowed sit his Leaving Certificate and completed a year in DCU where along with helping the college side claim the All-Ireland Fresher’s title he studied Sports Science.
He said: “It has been a slow process with me, they touted me when I was about 16 years of age and they took it really slow and they got it into my mind that I eventually was going to come over.
“It was a slow process but I am finally here and as I said before they make me feel like I am at home and I love every minute of it.”
Although honing his skills and earning a regular starting place is his main focus he also hopes to continue on with his studies at Melbourne University soon.
“For the minute I am just concentrating on settling in, which I have done already and just training hard and cementing my position on the VFL team.
“It was an amazing experience to play my first ever game of AFL, I played with the development team which is the team below the reserve team because I was coming back from a small injury but that is sorted now.
“To be honest I was kind of lost for the first 15 minutes of the game I didn’t really know what was going on, but once I got my first touch I eased myself into the game and started kicking a few goals and it was an amazing experience.
“It’s just great to get out there, that’s why you train, you train hard to get the games and I finally got out there and played my first game and I loved every minute of it.”
But the ambitious teen has made it clear that a spot on Carlton’s first team is his ultimate goal.
“Obviously you’d love to play AFL this year but I think that’s probably next year that I would be looking to play AFL.
“You need to set your targets high and maybe you don’t achieve them but if you don’t that means you just have to work harder and develop your skills more.
“It would be lovely for Ciaran, Zach and I to line up together some day and whenever that day comes it would be nice for the three of us to line up for the AFL team, but we will see how that goes,” he said.
November 22 when Ireland will take on an All Australian team in a single International Rules game is also on Ciaran’s agenda.
“I was always a massive supporter of the International Rules, I think it’s a great thing and it should continue,” he said.
He believes holidng the match later in the year in Perth will attract a bigger crowd.
“The AFL players will be in season and training so they will be concentrating on their fitness levels so they will take it a lot more seriously than last year.
“I think the fact that it is in season for them and they are taking an All Australian team it’s going to be a good occasion and a good game and hopefully a win for the Irish again.
“Of course I would love to be on the side again, I played last year and it was an amazing experience, it was my first time ever playing in Croke Park as well,” he said.
