His league and championship career at senior level with the Mayo county team spanned ten years from 1931 to 1941.
[1] Carney made his debut on the inter-county scene when he was selected for the Mayo senior team during the 1930–31 league.
Over the course of the next eight seasons, Carney won one All-Ireland medals as left wing-forward on the team in 1936.
As a regular member of the Connacht inter-provincial team, Carney won a total of four Railway Cup medals.
Carney was appointed co-trainer of the Mayo senior team along with Gerald Courell in 1948.