(Oldest Posts First) - Go To The Latest Post
|
It's a sad situation, in my opinion, that the players turn their back on the county team and representing their county. As you say, back in the day, being picked for the county was the ultimate accolade. There was a rule, probably deleted from the rule book now, that if you failed to field for your county you were automatically suspended from club activity. Seems to me as if until such time as the " traditional" clubs get strong again, this is where we will be, sadly.
Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 999 - 26/01/2024 13:19:54 2522184 Link 1 |
|
I think Down might edge it but I wouldn't be falling off my chair in shock if you won either. It's the 1st game of the League. Anything can happen!
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 11864 - 26/01/2024 13:38:05 2522189 Link 0 |
|
You could also say that if there was an Olympic event for blaming others, we would walk away with the top prize. Hurling is only played in a handful of clubs in the county which means that there is a smaller pool of players to pick from. Players nowadays; in all counties and in both codes, sit out a year here and there which means that a county team has to be able to compete with the players available. The days for having all the best hurlers or footballers available to a county manager are gone. Yes, it would be lovely to have all our best players available but it is not likely to happen. In order to counter this threat, a county needs to widen the pool of players they are picking from so that the county manager has a bigger pool to pick from which negates players being unavailable. Is there a plan or work being done to have hurling played in other clubs that are traditionally football dominated?
wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 1910 - 26/01/2024 14:09:22 2522193 Link 0 |
|
We are conditioned to failure. sponger (Wicklow) - Posts: 2897 - 26/01/2024 15:57:20 2522216 Link 0 |
|
Really and truly Hurling is as much use as rounders or handball in Wicklow GAA ,we should concentrate on football there are a few good lads at underage who have chosen hurling over football and they are wasted ,our minors got a hiding in the Celtic challenge last season and a few of those lad's could have made an impact at county minor football. Albundy19 (Wicklow) - Posts: 40 - 26/01/2024 18:29:26 2522235 Link 0 |
|
Be safer pulling out of that NHL for the year at this stage. FrankieJoe (Wicklow) - Posts: 71 - 26/01/2024 20:44:00 2522255 Link 0 |
|
I wonder what the implications and or sanctions for that might be. I'd imagine at best it would be automatic relegation.
Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 999 - 26/01/2024 21:45:59 2522262 Link 0 |
|
We don't have it because the county board doesn't encourage it or make it any way enticing or beneficial to play hurling for Wicklow. It is going on years. The sad part is we actually have a better chance of winning something at the level we compete in when it comes to hurling than we do in football. I heard it in the Rocks weeks ago that this might happen. The county board are culpable and thats final.
heavyheart19 (Wicklow) - Posts: 116 - 26/01/2024 22:07:08 2522270 Link 1 |
|
I've never been to a county board meeting in either wicklow nor kildare where i currently reside. I've tried to educate myself about how counties run their affairs in recent years. I've learned that delegates from every club in the county are able and required to attend county board meetings and can challenge the top table which is called the executive. So, the county board is not this group of people who reside in a tower somewhere in the mountains. I'd love to know are any of the topics discussed on this forum, discussed at a county board meeting? And if not, why not? is it just a nodding exercise? As a county we don't give ourselves a chance to put our best foot forward because we seem to be incapable of getting our own house in order which is frustrating for everyone who is interested in gaa affairs in the county. I think in turn, various people walk away who could help to turn things around and for the better but as i found out on this forum on a regular basis, any one who suggest ideas or change are shot down, maybe it is the same at these meeting?
wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 1910 - 27/01/2024 11:07:45 2522321 Link 1 |
|
You have as many AIs and provincial titles in hurling as you have in football. Even Kilkenny have reached a Leinster final in Football more recently than yourselves. You have a massive population. Why can't you have some success in both codes if you got participation up and lads put the work in coaching both codes on the ground? You won the 4th championship hurling tier last year. Its a long time since you won anything in championship football. The Tommy Murphy Cup in 2007. It's up to any individual player to choose what he wants to play. Or should be. Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 11864 - 27/01/2024 13:37:43 2522368 Link 1 |
|
All correct. Only this time the County Board have had their bishop exposed in a very big way. I am going to email Croke Park for the laugh next week and see can they take over the running of this dogs dinner. I will cc the Wicklow County Board. They probably don't read their emails anyway. I will let you all know how I get on. sponger (Wicklow) - Posts: 2897 - 27/01/2024 14:16:46 2522381 Link 1 |
|
I don't think the population thing really washes. Take out towns that are basically leafy Dublin suburbs and most likely to go for rugby then it's not that big at all. It's like when people always say Antrim should be much stronger with their population while forgetting that most of them are unionists.
FrankieJoe (Wicklow) - Posts: 71 - 27/01/2024 15:12:53 2522393 Link 0 |
|
And why would any young player want to play Senior County Hurling looking at this ? sponger (Wicklow) - Posts: 2897 - 27/01/2024 15:21:03 2522395 Link 1 |
|
Yes but those leafy suburbs are where you need to grow the games. Crokes don't seem to be doing badly out of the leafy suburbs just up the road. As regards Antrim over 40% of their population of over 650,000 are Catholics. That's 260,000 people. So yes they should be doing better in theory. Antrim won 8 Ulster Football titles between 1900 and 1913. And only 2 since when they had a good team just after WW2. Its not as if they have no tradition at all. They have also never won an AI in Football or Hurling. Neither yourselves nor Antrim can blame population or demographics currently. The issues lie in participation primarily, and structures, organisation, underage, and management also. We are facing all the same problems as yourselves in that regard. We have only won 2 Leinster hurling titles since 1997. No Leinster Senior football titles despite reaching 2 finals in the same time period. We have admittedly won 5 u21 Leinster Hurling Titles and 1 u21 Leinster Football title since then. But no AI titles in Minor, u20/1, or Senior in either code since 1996, and none before that since 1968. Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 11864 - 27/01/2024 17:46:21 2522435 Link 0 |
|
According to Albundy several dual players chose hurling over football at minor just last year.
Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 11864 - 27/01/2024 17:48:01 2522437 Link 1 |
|
Excellent observation.
heavyheart19 (Wicklow) - Posts: 116 - 27/01/2024 19:23:32 2522459 Link 0 |
|
Previous poster said ye got hammered in the celtic challenge(u17) last year ,ye had 2 teams in it ,which I thought was brilliant ye got to the final in both !!!I'd consider wicklow more of a hurling county than football Timmy86 (Sligo) - Posts: 270 - 27/01/2024 20:01:22 2522470 Link 0 |
|
If we could put our finger on what is wrong with our county we would solve a 140 yr old mystery. Is it poor governance, limited foresight or ambition. The list is endless. We do have, I suppose the same amount of B trophy's in hurling as football. In the early 70s we won the junior and intermediate hurling all irelands in the same year but failed to kick on. On a few occasions we have been almost there in football. A long count against Meath in the 50s where we lost and I think Meath went on to win the all Ireland. We had a decent football team in the late 80d and early 90s and a few bad on field snd selectorial decisions snatched defeat from the jaws of victory in Leinster. Again once Meath profited and went on to win the all Ireland and Kildare went on to have a great season. We just can't seem to get it right or put the right structures in place. The only thing that keeps us living in hope is our love of our national games. I am worried that our younger players may not share this. This attitude can possible be attributed to a lack of success, therefore a lack of role models. Guys with All Ireland medals to look up to and aspire to emulate. You have them in Wexford, at least in hurling. Bray Emmetts won a senior All Ireland football title for Dublin in the early years, but, football wise they have struggled to get anywhere near that level and they are by far our biggest club - at least catchment wise.
Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 999 - 27/01/2024 22:23:56 2522527 Link 0 |
|
Lest there be any doubt, the latest fiasco with the hurlers is down to the decades of neglect of hurling in the county by our county board. I don't know where we ever got this notion that we are a football county! We have considerably more potential to make progress in Hurling than we do in Football. The Rackard success last year should have been a platform to build this on. For decades we operated at the same level as Carlow and within a few short years of foresight and hard work , they are hurling in Tier 1. We have a similar club hurling pool to Carlow and they should be a template we follow. In contrast, Kildare have been getting things largely right in their academies and underage football for at least 10 years and have underage all Irelands to show for it. Yet , at senior they can barely keep it kicked out to Dublin and we are about 15 years behind even where Kildare are at. Hawkeye2 (Wicklow) - Posts: 121 - 28/01/2024 00:49:13 2522550 Link 1 |
|
I have to agree with most if not all of the above. I had a family member involved with the under 14 and 16 hurling panels a few years ago. They were entered into various competitions where they were playing stronger counties. They were thrown together a few ? if even that, weeks before the first game which was probably Feb / March. The young lads were chatting with their opponents and one particular county had been training together since November. I think the following year the whole setup petered out. Todays youngsters seem to be treated a little better but where will hurling be before those lads are old enough for senior hurling - providing they stay with it.
Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 999 - 28/01/2024 09:15:58 2522570 Link 0 |