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Replying To Pat Mustard: "Your way wide of the mark there just look at juvenile set ups. Balto will win not be winning miley for a long long time. The next adult title they win might be an intermediate as that is were they are heading. No way will they get close to miley for at least 10 years. You reap what you sow. Compare that to blessington and im not a Blesso man but in the top 3 or 4 of the A champinship in every single age group every single year. No club in the whole county is matching thst." As I said Pat Mustard, I'm not too familiar with west of the hills. Balto do seem to be in a bit of a nosedive presently , but they are a bit like Rathnew over here. They can never be written off. Next few years will be interesting if you are right.
Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 999 - 12/11/2023 08:58:29
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Replying To wicklowsupport: "A team can celebrate and especially a team like Blessington who have had limited success for a long period of time until quite recently can push out the boat but what is outlined above is uncalled for. It doesn't portray the club in a good light and I'm not sure what the motivation is to say such things about another club who themselves have help elevate club football in the county over the last 50 years. Hopefully it is one-off and that all concerned with the club can learn from the experience as I wouldn't like to see it become a regular thing on the club scene." Do you think similar sentiments haven't been expressed in Rathnew, Wicklow and Baltinglass over the years? Club football is built on these rivalries.
Look at what Ardee did after their Louth win if you are really looking for an example of disrespect.
Victorious87 (Wicklow) - Posts: 597 - 12/11/2023 10:26:43
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Barndarrig have gotten very little praise for their monumental Intermediate final win. I'm not from there but a close (Larger) neighbour and friend of some of the older folk from there. While the club does have a relatively large catchment area its still one the lowest populated parishes in Wicklow and many players living within the parish have decided to play in neighbouring senior clubs. I believe they are a club punching far beyond their weight, and now in the senior ranks. Im not sure how long they will last there however!!!
Kiltegan another small rural club who have held there own at senior in both codes, is a club I greatly admire and give credit where its due.
There are several clubs along the east coast who are under performing as someone above has mentioned. The likes of Avoca, Ashford, Kilcoole, Bray and Greystones should be far more competitive, but again it comes back to the multitude of different choices of sports within this region, with rugby becoming more and more popular and any young lad who is decent at soccer heading up to Dublin to play.
WicklowGaaSupporter (Wicklow) - Posts: 1 - 12/11/2023 14:15:06
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Congratulations to Bray Emmetts yesterday on their good win. Hopefully they can go one step further this year and make it to the All Ireland final and win it and get Wicklow back competing in the senior championship.
minor93 (Wicklow) - Posts: 74 - 12/11/2023 14:33:08
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Based upon under age results; it seems that clubs such as An Tochar and AGB, to name two are ahead of Rathnew and Baltinglass. If logic follows; I would expect to see Rathnew and Baltinglass slide down the pecking order. On paper, this is how I would envisage the club scene will develop in the years ahead and yet history and tradition seems to count for something. Personally, I am still trying to figure out how Rathnew; an average footballing team in my opinion, got to the county final this year. And they nearly and could have won it. So, while there are clubs doing well at underage and you'd expect these clubs to have an advantage in winning championships in the years ahead; these same clubs don't have a history of winning senior championship and seem to have a psychological issue with beating Rathnew and Baltinglass. Maybe the times are a changing but I wouldn't rush to write off Baltinglass and Rathnew just yet. Time to come will tell if clubs like AGB and An Tochar can turn their under age talent into seniors of a similiar standard.
wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 1910 - 12/11/2023 16:00:42
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Replying To WicklowGaaSupporter: "Barndarrig have gotten very little praise for their monumental Intermediate final win. I'm not from there but a close (Larger) neighbour and friend of some of the older folk from there. While the club does have a relatively large catchment area its still one the lowest populated parishes in Wicklow and many players living within the parish have decided to play in neighbouring senior clubs. I believe they are a club punching far beyond their weight, and now in the senior ranks. Im not sure how long they will last there however!!!
Kiltegan another small rural club who have held there own at senior in both codes, is a club I greatly admire and give credit where its due.
There are several clubs along the east coast who are under performing as someone above has mentioned. The likes of Avoca, Ashford, Kilcoole, Bray and Greystones should be far more competitive, but again it comes back to the multitude of different choices of sports within this region, with rugby becoming more and more popular and any young lad who is decent at soccer heading up to Dublin to play." I'm not familiar with Barndarrig as a club but I am looking forward to checking them out in the senior championship in 2024. I agree wholeheartedly with you regarding Kiltegan; if ever there was a club in the county that is achievement far beyond what is available to them, it is Kilteagan. Should have been in the football semi final and were unlucky not to be in the hurling final. Plus, their on-going success is on a flash in the pan, they've been overachieving based upon resources and population for as long as I am following gaelic games in the county. Long may it continue and hopefully they can win some silverware that rewards their efforts. Maybe some of the clubs you listed should pay a visit to Kiltegan as they are by no means overachieving; rather they are underachieving. By the way, I've no association with Kiltegan but a great deal of admiration.
wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 1910 - 12/11/2023 19:46:07
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Replying To footballlover: "I believe the Blesso celebrations that some are referring to was "F off Balto" or "Who the F are Balto". I am from neither club, but thats fairly harmless in my book and nothing more than a bit of a dig at what would be their closest rivals geography wise in the senior championship and nothing that you wouldnt see or hear at most clubs celebrations in gaa or other sport after a win, slagging their rivals. Something about nothing in my book and people looking for trouble where there is none." I don't get the fuss, if this is all it was. If I was from Baltinglass I would be smirking thinking we are in there heads.
Groundskeeper5 (Wicklow) - Posts: 12 - 13/11/2023 10:47:48
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Some of ye snowflakes on here need to man up, I say fair play to blessington for enjoying their celebrations as we all know life is short and you sing when you are winning. This whingy attitude is one of the reasons why your clubs can't win a senior title.
Albundy19 (Wicklow) - Posts: 40 - 15/11/2023 23:58:42
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Let's get back to the serious business of our senior hurlers and footballers. O'Byrne Cup and League Div 3 are just around the corner. Any leaks around panel members - old and new ? When you consider that some of the golden oldies, Staff, Paul Earls, Seanie Furlong, Don Hyland, big Anthony from Blesso were among the leading lights of our championship, our selectors are unlikely to be presented with too many headaches.
Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 999 - 17/11/2023 16:31:47
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All Wicklow football teams bet in Leinster first round. All teams that bet Wicklow teams were bet in the subsequent rounds. How many first round games has Wicklow team won in past 10 years against Leinster* opponents (Sen, Inter, Jun)? We have played 30 - won maybe 3 (just a guess). I would suspect lowest in Leinster. (*the reason I say Leinster is because junior European teams not included)
The standard was beyond bad this year. Maybe it was a wise move by Osin McConville not attending club championship matches this summer.. Interesting stat from the senior/inter county final weekend - Top Scorers: James Stafford 40, Anto McLoughlin 34?, Michael Murphy 38, Frank Clune 35?.
Senior - AGB and Blesso are decent sides. The rest are very poor. Blesso are without one of their best players POC. AGB would have won championship easily if it was only played in the summer.. Standard is very bad however it is entertaining as most teams can beat one another.
Intermediate - I don't think it has ever been poorer. Fair play to Barndarrig. Although it is worth noting that Barndarrig have the largest land based pick in the county (Barndarrig, Redcross, Brittas Bay). They have from Arklow to Wicklow town all the way into Avondale.
One of the main issues is discipline in the county. At least Barndarrig won as what their final opposition done was a complete disgrace and should be remembered. The county board should also take blame not just in their administration error but also suspension duration (which was never served). The incident was circulated on social media and from what I saw deserved a 5 year ban. Starting a fight, then punching a number of people in the face, getting match abandoned - all caught on camera and circulated on social media deserves serious suspensions. After this event (May 2023) the player played Junior C championship and all of the intermediate championship. I don't think he missed one match.
This is just one incident. I think it puts a lot of people off playing GAA in the county and is most definitely impacting parents sending their children to play. As discipline is not taking seriously in the county the standard of ref-ing also drops as what's the point of sending anyone off, as you will see them the following week without suspension.
Unfortunately, we need a 10 year plan to get us even mid table in Leinster.
Tank (Wicklow) - Posts: 9 - 20/11/2023 10:49:30
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Replying To Tank: "All Wicklow football teams bet in Leinster first round. All teams that bet Wicklow teams were bet in the subsequent rounds. How many first round games has Wicklow team won in past 10 years against Leinster* opponents (Sen, Inter, Jun)? We have played 30 - won maybe 3 (just a guess). I would suspect lowest in Leinster. (*the reason I say Leinster is because junior European teams not included)
The standard was beyond bad this year. Maybe it was a wise move by Osin McConville not attending club championship matches this summer.. Interesting stat from the senior/inter county final weekend - Top Scorers: James Stafford 40, Anto McLoughlin 34?, Michael Murphy 38, Frank Clune 35?.
Senior - AGB and Blesso are decent sides. The rest are very poor. Blesso are without one of their best players POC. AGB would have won championship easily if it was only played in the summer.. Standard is very bad however it is entertaining as most teams can beat one another.
Intermediate - I don't think it has ever been poorer. Fair play to Barndarrig. Although it is worth noting that Barndarrig have the largest land based pick in the county (Barndarrig, Redcross, Brittas Bay). They have from Arklow to Wicklow town all the way into Avondale.
One of the main issues is discipline in the county. At least Barndarrig won as what their final opposition done was a complete disgrace and should be remembered. The county board should also take blame not just in their administration error but also suspension duration (which was never served). The incident was circulated on social media and from what I saw deserved a 5 year ban. Starting a fight, then punching a number of people in the face, getting match abandoned - all caught on camera and circulated on social media deserves serious suspensions. After this event (May 2023) the player played Junior C championship and all of the intermediate championship. I don't think he missed one match.
This is just one incident. I think it puts a lot of people off playing GAA in the county and is most definitely impacting parents sending their children to play. As discipline is not taking seriously in the county the standard of ref-ing also drops as what's the point of sending anyone off, as you will see them the following week without suspension.
Unfortunately, we need a 10 year plan to get us even mid table in Leinster." You can't be saying those kind of things on this forum. There is one particular poster who is very sensitive regarding criticism of club football even if the criticism is warranted.
At senior level, the county champions have been beaten early in the competition, in recent years. I think St. Pats beat the Longford champions a few years ago but aside from that one victory, there's been very few successes to report. The county representatives has fared best in the intermediate grade in recent years: Dunlavin reached the semi final three years ago and lost to Mattock Rangers while Eire Og won the intermediate leinster title about five years ago. I don't remember much in the way of success at the junior grade.
The standard of play at club level in Wicklow has been in decline for a number of years. In my opinion, which I have expressed repeatedly over the last fifteen years is our lack of coaching, strength and conditioning and our unwillingness to use the school system to promote the games and coach young players. The school system is ideal to use for mentoring young players and monitoring their progress. Schools should be used to foster players into club. Naas who are dominating in Kildare has used the secondary school as the basis for their success. Blessington have benefited in this regard as some players attend school in Naas.
In terms of discipline, I think there is a small issue. I think it is the normal culprits and while there is a lack of willpower on behalf of the county board to confront and stamp out these issues, I'm not sure this is the reason for clubs underperforming in the leinster championship. Having said that, I don't live in the county, so I could be wrong in this regard.
Based upon the talent in the county, I think we are about division three standard but it will be touch and go as whether we will stay there. We are probably top of division four, bottom of division three. There are a few clubs in the county who are doing well at underage but there is lots of room for improvement.
wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 1910 - 20/11/2023 16:29:56
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Eire Og didn't win it five years ago, they won it 12 years ago! Their top scorer that day is now a guest of the state, very good player. I would still guess we have won 3 out of 30 first round matches we played.
Agree regarding schools comment but I don't see how this can be fixed. We are the only county in Leinster without a schools team in Leinster A or Leinster B competitions. I might sound harsh here but the two best schools in Wicklow get considerable help from Kildare and Wexford players and even at that we are not B..
Strongly disagree with your comment "based on the talent available we are division 3". Our Club level is the worse in Leinster. We probably think we are strong than Carlow but their senior club is a lot stronger than ours (based on last years club championship and senior club challenge matches). The best players in our county are too old to play county (see list of top scorers in last post!). Dean Healy has been our outstanding county player for the past 10 years, I don't think he can go on. Everything now rests on Kevin Quinn to keep us in Div 3. I can't see us winning one game.
The one hope is that Roundwood, Blesso and AGB are producing very good players. Roundwood players are not ready yet (too young) but will be in 3/4 years.
Tank (Wicklow) - Posts: 9 - 21/11/2023 10:33:31
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Replying To Tank: "Eire Og didn't win it five years ago, they won it 12 years ago! Their top scorer that day is now a guest of the state, very good player. I would still guess we have won 3 out of 30 first round matches we played.
Agree regarding schools comment but I don't see how this can be fixed. We are the only county in Leinster without a schools team in Leinster A or Leinster B competitions. I might sound harsh here but the two best schools in Wicklow get considerable help from Kildare and Wexford players and even at that we are not B..
Strongly disagree with your comment "based on the talent available we are division 3". Our Club level is the worse in Leinster. We probably think we are strong than Carlow but their senior club is a lot stronger than ours (based on last years club championship and senior club challenge matches). The best players in our county are too old to play county (see list of top scorers in last post!). Dean Healy has been our outstanding county player for the past 10 years, I don't think he can go on. Everything now rests on Kevin Quinn to keep us in Div 3. I can't see us winning one game.
The one hope is that Roundwood, Blesso and AGB are producing very good players. Roundwood players are not ready yet (too young) but will be in 3/4 years." I agree with all above.
Some positives with the young players coming though, the unders 20's didn't produce last year but form what i have seen and heard there a great crop.. There is good work being done by a number of clubs, maybe all clubs as any work is good.
Just looking at U19's, I see Baltinglass and Pats, are in the B championship, both behind in the current table to Annacurra. I don't see a Bray team in it at all.
I think long term there needs to be a plan for the huge number of new kids coming in to the east coast with all the new housing.
Off the wall idea, maybe even redrawing boundary's, pull south bray into Kilmac, or some of Kilcole to Newcaslte. This is just a random idea now, but there needs to be some plan.
Groundskeeper5 (Wicklow) - Posts: 12 - 21/11/2023 12:46:07
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Replying To Tank: "Eire Og didn't win it five years ago, they won it 12 years ago! Their top scorer that day is now a guest of the state, very good player. I would still guess we have won 3 out of 30 first round matches we played.
Agree regarding schools comment but I don't see how this can be fixed. We are the only county in Leinster without a schools team in Leinster A or Leinster B competitions. I might sound harsh here but the two best schools in Wicklow get considerable help from Kildare and Wexford players and even at that we are not B..
Strongly disagree with your comment "based on the talent available we are division 3". Our Club level is the worse in Leinster. We probably think we are strong than Carlow but their senior club is a lot stronger than ours (based on last years club championship and senior club challenge matches). The best players in our county are too old to play county (see list of top scorers in last post!). Dean Healy has been our outstanding county player for the past 10 years, I don't think he can go on. Everything now rests on Kevin Quinn to keep us in Div 3. I can't see us winning one game.
The one hope is that Roundwood, Blesso and AGB are producing very good players. Roundwood players are not ready yet (too young) but will be in 3/4 years." The reason I say 'based on the talent available we are division 3' is: we've been in division 3 more times in the last number of years than in the previous 30 years. We've been in division 3 more times than Carlow have. I disagree that Carlow football is a lot stronger than us. I would say the standard is very similar to the standard we see in Wicklow. I think we will struggle to stay in Division 3 next season as there's a number of strong counties in the division like Down and Westmeath to name two. Kevin Quinn is a good player but one player never made a team and he won't on his own as modern day managers find a way to stifle individual skill.
Roundwood and AGB seem to have a good underage structure within their clubs. Not sure about Blessington, they seem to be very dependent on some of the players you referenced who are near the end of their careers. St. Pats, Baltinglass and Rathnew appear to be struggling to produce under age players as they managed to do in the past. The structures and coaching in the county outside these individual clubs is not good enough for the modern day scene.
There's been a lot of players over the years in Wicklow who had great things predicted for them but a large number never lived up to the hype. I hope for the county that these players, been spoken about in glowing terms, will defy the odds and breath some new life into the county scene.
wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 1910 - 21/11/2023 20:37:24
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I don't know how we got so bad. There is so much wrong with every facet from the top of county board all the way down when compared with our neighboring counties. When combining the 2014 rankings of hurling and football Wicklow rank 3rd worst in Ireland after Longford and Leitrim. More people live in Bray than Leitrim! So if you were to somehow give a weight to population we would be by far the worst county in Ireland at GAA. This fact cannot be disputed. I also seen a stat from a few years ago we had the lowest number of Sigerson/Fitzgibbion Cup players in Ireland.
So as the starting point we have to acknowledge where we are (the very bottom in Ireland) and make major changes. Some are very simple, but most will be very difficult. Ideally, we need about 3 experienced businesspeople to take over the county board and put in the relevant structures/procedures ect. Fair play to each and every board member (most have been on the board 20+ years! maybe due to lack of alternatives) but serious assistance is required and help from Croke Park. Maybe after the likes of Pat Gilroy provides a report, he needs to stay for about 5 years to implement his recommendations as we obviously are not capable…
Some easy quick fixes are discipline. The video of the Annacurragh player starting a melee with kicking someone, then punching directly into the face a number of times. After fight had calmed down he walked over and attacked the same player (who was just standing on the sideline at this stage) and started punching him in the face. This was all crystal clear in a video that was widely circulated on social media. The Wicklow People (Link below) published an article the next day of the incident whereby the Wicklow People had contacted the Wicklow County board for comment. The County Chairman is quoted as stating "The CCC will be dealing with it". The player did not serve even a 1 match ban. Annacurragh kept appealing the suspension. I understand the day before the intermediate county final Annacurragh hired a barrister and appealed the suspension at the highest level of the GAA and won (I believe the suspension got deferred). The player played the county final. So certain clubs have to take the blame. But ultimately events like this require 5 year suspension to send out clear messages (rather than zero games).
https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wicklow/sport/gaa/wicklow-gaa-await-referees-report-after-division-5-football-game-abandoned-following-flare-up/a1392204304.html
Tank (Wicklow) - Posts: 9 - 22/11/2023 05:38:30
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Typo - should read 2024!
Tank (Wicklow) - Posts: 9 - 22/11/2023 10:21:30
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Replying To Tank: "I don't know how we got so bad. There is so much wrong with every facet from the top of county board all the way down when compared with our neighboring counties. When combining the 2014 rankings of hurling and football Wicklow rank 3rd worst in Ireland after Longford and Leitrim. More people live in Bray than Leitrim! So if you were to somehow give a weight to population we would be by far the worst county in Ireland at GAA. This fact cannot be disputed. I also seen a stat from a few years ago we had the lowest number of Sigerson/Fitzgibbion Cup players in Ireland.
So as the starting point we have to acknowledge where we are (the very bottom in Ireland) and make major changes. Some are very simple, but most will be very difficult. Ideally, we need about 3 experienced businesspeople to take over the county board and put in the relevant structures/procedures ect. Fair play to each and every board member (most have been on the board 20+ years! maybe due to lack of alternatives) but serious assistance is required and help from Croke Park. Maybe after the likes of Pat Gilroy provides a report, he needs to stay for about 5 years to implement his recommendations as we obviously are not capable…
Some easy quick fixes are discipline. The video of the Annacurragh player starting a melee with kicking someone, then punching directly into the face a number of times. After fight had calmed down he walked over and attacked the same player (who was just standing on the sideline at this stage) and started punching him in the face. This was all crystal clear in a video that was widely circulated on social media. The Wicklow People (Link below) published an article the next day of the incident whereby the Wicklow People had contacted the Wicklow County board for comment. The County Chairman is quoted as stating "The CCC will be dealing with it". The player did not serve even a 1 match ban. Annacurragh kept appealing the suspension. I understand the day before the intermediate county final Annacurragh hired a barrister and appealed the suspension at the highest level of the GAA and won (I believe the suspension got deferred). The player played the county final. So certain clubs have to take the blame. But ultimately events like this require 5 year suspension to send out clear messages (rather than zero games).
https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wicklow/sport/gaa/wicklow-gaa-await-referees-report-after-division-5-football-game-abandoned-following-flare-up/a1392204304.html" I have to agree wholeheartedly with every point you make, Tank. I have have been making many of the same since I stumbled on this site a few years ago. I note a few new contributors have come on lately, which is welcome, but you can look back over the years at contributions of a similar vein made on this site, made by many who sadly seem to have just given up, as nothing ever seems to change. Also you will be jumped on by a few trolls - yes, we have them on here too. They will snipe, sneer and ridicule if you hit too close to the bone. We have a certain cohort who seem to be happy as things are or at least are happy in the belief that " everyone involved is devoting their lives to the GAA in Wicklow and doing their best. The fact that we are light years away from the top flight and that "their best" is just not good enough , just seems to not matter. Approx 140 yrs of mediocrity and it's ok because everyone is "doing their best".
Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 999 - 22/11/2023 10:56:32
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Replying To Tank: "I don't know how we got so bad. There is so much wrong with every facet from the top of county board all the way down when compared with our neighboring counties. When combining the 2014 rankings of hurling and football Wicklow rank 3rd worst in Ireland after Longford and Leitrim. More people live in Bray than Leitrim! So if you were to somehow give a weight to population we would be by far the worst county in Ireland at GAA. This fact cannot be disputed. I also seen a stat from a few years ago we had the lowest number of Sigerson/Fitzgibbion Cup players in Ireland.
So as the starting point we have to acknowledge where we are (the very bottom in Ireland) and make major changes. Some are very simple, but most will be very difficult. Ideally, we need about 3 experienced businesspeople to take over the county board and put in the relevant structures/procedures ect. Fair play to each and every board member (most have been on the board 20+ years! maybe due to lack of alternatives) but serious assistance is required and help from Croke Park. Maybe after the likes of Pat Gilroy provides a report, he needs to stay for about 5 years to implement his recommendations as we obviously are not capable…
Some easy quick fixes are discipline. The video of the Annacurragh player starting a melee with kicking someone, then punching directly into the face a number of times. After fight had calmed down he walked over and attacked the same player (who was just standing on the sideline at this stage) and started punching him in the face. This was all crystal clear in a video that was widely circulated on social media. The Wicklow People (Link below) published an article the next day of the incident whereby the Wicklow People had contacted the Wicklow County board for comment. The County Chairman is quoted as stating "The CCC will be dealing with it". The player did not serve even a 1 match ban. Annacurragh kept appealing the suspension. I understand the day before the intermediate county final Annacurragh hired a barrister and appealed the suspension at the highest level of the GAA and won (I believe the suspension got deferred). The player played the county final. So certain clubs have to take the blame. But ultimately events like this require 5 year suspension to send out clear messages (rather than zero games).
https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wicklow/sport/gaa/wicklow-gaa-await-referees-report-after-division-5-football-game-abandoned-following-flare-up/a1392204304.html" Your point(s) are well made and I fundamentally agree with you. With reference to Pat Gilroy; he did work with the county board in some capacity; I don't know what that capacity was or how long it lasted. I live in another county so I am very much out of the loop but it does seem that what happens behind closed doors is a closed shop but that might be due to me not living in the county. I agree when you take our record over an extended period of time and factor in population then we are a massively underachieving county in both hurling and football. When you examine the facts then it is hard to fathom why we have achieved so little throughout our history. I think efforts are being made in relation to improving things but the reality is that we are falling further and further behind. In general, I think the whole GAA has an issue with discipline and punishing culprits. I think our own county has had an issue with indiscipline and lack of proper punishment for as long as I am following gaelic games in the county. I can't see anything changing until there is a change in attitude. Winning is as much about the attitude you bring to the scene as anything else. Attitude to be best possible and compete against the best is the starting point for me and while a lot of people have serve the county well over the years; I don't get the impression they want to change the things that need to be changed. It appears very much like we should just keep doing what've always done. Unfortunately, this just results in getting the same results/outcomes as we've always got. Is there anyone to change this attitude? Is this the attitude amongst the clubs?
wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 1910 - 22/11/2023 11:25:54
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Replying To Tank: "I don't know how we got so bad. There is so much wrong with every facet from the top of county board all the way down when compared with our neighboring counties. When combining the 2014 rankings of hurling and football Wicklow rank 3rd worst in Ireland after Longford and Leitrim. More people live in Bray than Leitrim! So if you were to somehow give a weight to population we would be by far the worst county in Ireland at GAA. This fact cannot be disputed. I also seen a stat from a few years ago we had the lowest number of Sigerson/Fitzgibbion Cup players in Ireland.
So as the starting point we have to acknowledge where we are (the very bottom in Ireland) and make major changes. Some are very simple, but most will be very difficult. Ideally, we need about 3 experienced businesspeople to take over the county board and put in the relevant structures/procedures ect. Fair play to each and every board member (most have been on the board 20+ years! maybe due to lack of alternatives) but serious assistance is required and help from Croke Park. Maybe after the likes of Pat Gilroy provides a report, he needs to stay for about 5 years to implement his recommendations as we obviously are not capable…
Some easy quick fixes are discipline. The video of the Annacurragh player starting a melee with kicking someone, then punching directly into the face a number of times. After fight had calmed down he walked over and attacked the same player (who was just standing on the sideline at this stage) and started punching him in the face. This was all crystal clear in a video that was widely circulated on social media. The Wicklow People (Link below) published an article the next day of the incident whereby the Wicklow People had contacted the Wicklow County board for comment. The County Chairman is quoted as stating "The CCC will be dealing with it". The player did not serve even a 1 match ban. Annacurragh kept appealing the suspension. I understand the day before the intermediate county final Annacurragh hired a barrister and appealed the suspension at the highest level of the GAA and won (I believe the suspension got deferred). The player played the county final. So certain clubs have to take the blame. But ultimately events like this require 5 year suspension to send out clear messages (rather than zero games).
https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wicklow/sport/gaa/wicklow-gaa-await-referees-report-after-division-5-football-game-abandoned-following-flare-up/a1392204304.html" Have to agree. First step towards improvement is admitting the status quo isn't good enough at the moment. Secondary school successes and Sigerson panel numbers should be easy metrics to track and should be part of any focus we have on developing top talent.
Dreamer (Wicklow) - Posts: 40 - 22/11/2023 12:04:52
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Congrats to Bray Emmets on today's victory. One game at a time, here's hoping for a similar result next day out. It would be a great boost to hurling in the county if our champions could be playing the top teams in Leinster.
Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 999 - 25/11/2023 21:34:59
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