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Published 13:58 29 Apr 2019 BST
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"I would have played with Robbie Brady, Jeff Hendrick and, I don't know if you know Matt Doherty, who was playing (too). He scored a few goals for Wolves last couple of weeks. I actually managed to keep him out for a couple of weeks. I was a centre back."[caption id="attachment_229638" align="aligncenter" width="640"]
(Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile)[/caption]
"Under 15s, yeah," Carty added. "We did a big trip in Qatar, which was class. We were in the Aspire Academy, which was unbelievable. I'm trying to think how long ago it was, 10 years. So it was like, back then, going away from your folks and stuff. It was class. It was a really good experience."
Staving off the claims of Doherty, who is in great form for Wolves and now has five Ireland caps, is some going.
As impressed as Carty has been with Doherty's journey, it was Brady that stood out, and has stood out, for him.
"Oh, Robbie Brady was incredible, yeah. He was different level. He had signed with Manchester United at that stage and there'd been a big tug-of-war between United and Liverpool with who he was going to sign with, and he went with United in the end."
GAA and rugby (with Marist College) were starting to demand more of his time, as well as school work, but Carty did not hesitate when Southampton showed an interest in him.
"I was offered a trial over in Southampton," he recalled.
"My mum was actually the secretary in the club, the soccer club, at the time. So I got this letter saying, look, you've been invited to go on trial. I was packing the back going, 'I'm off. Good luck!' "It kind of fizzled out and I was like, 'What was going on?' And my mum said, 'Oh there's a transfer embargo. They're not signing any players'. "But, subsequently, I only found out after Christmas that they let it fizzle out. They wanted me to do the Leaving Cert, and all. I could have been playing Premier League... Worked out for the best, I suppose, didn't it?"Trimble wasn't letting that comment go unremarked and pointed out that as well as Carty is doing with Connacht, a career in the Premier League 'could have been unbelievable'. Winning the PRO12 title with his native Connacht, in 2015/16, and those Ireland caps were more than ample compensation but Carty wants to build on that. Dreams of a Premier League careers (and pay packets) are a thing of the past. Carty has another league title to aim for, more points to accumulate and more Ireland caps to earn.

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