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Wicklow GAA thread

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Replying To TheChampion:  "In the senior championship, I believe the teams will play each other once on a league basis before proceeding to the knockout stages, where as the intermediate teams were split into two groups of four resulting in half as many fixtures as the senior championship. Maybe the lack of referee's in the county might have something to do with it but I think it comes down to lack of effort in promoting hurling. Bray's intermediates do play in a Dublin league but the Wicklow league should take precedence. Would the county board be happy for all Wicklow clubs to abandon the Wicklow leagues to play in surrounding counties for more games or do Bray have a special exception?"
Your post highlighted the lack of competitive games in the county. My point is if there are insufficient teams to generate more games why not compete in leagues outside the county. I'm not advocating that these outside games replace internal league games but complement those games. In the past teams sourced challenge games to get game times - is this an option? Maybe there is a lack of an appetite for hurling from some clubs as they'd rather stick to playing football.

wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 2103 - 06/05/2025 21:22:56    2607233

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Replying To wicklowsupport:  "Your post highlighted the lack of competitive games in the county. My point is if there are insufficient teams to generate more games why not compete in leagues outside the county. I'm not advocating that these outside games replace internal league games but complement those games. In the past teams sourced challenge games to get game times - is this an option? Maybe there is a lack of an appetite for hurling from some clubs as they'd rather stick to playing football."
This already happens. Bray, Eire Og and even St Pats I think competed in Dublin competitions last year , although I believe with the stipulation that they have to play all their matches away. The Leinster Hurling league used to be a great competition played in early Spring giving our teams games against strong opposition from the like of Laois, Offaly, Wexford etc. I don't see as much coverage of that these days , so I don't know if that bit the dust with the new split season. Carlow clubs have gotten great benefit from proximity to Kilkenny and competing to some extent there. I don;t know why Carnew have never pursued this option more being located within a stone's throw of several solid hurling clubs in Wexford.

Hawkeye2 (Wicklow) - Posts: 160 - 06/05/2025 23:02:18    2607251

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Replying To Hawkeye2:  "This already happens. Bray, Eire Og and even St Pats I think competed in Dublin competitions last year , although I believe with the stipulation that they have to play all their matches away. The Leinster Hurling league used to be a great competition played in early Spring giving our teams games against strong opposition from the like of Laois, Offaly, Wexford etc. I don't see as much coverage of that these days , so I don't know if that bit the dust with the new split season. Carlow clubs have gotten great benefit from proximity to Kilkenny and competing to some extent there. I don;t know why Carnew have never pursued this option more being located within a stone's throw of several solid hurling clubs in Wexford."
I think Bray are or were in a final of a league which is to be played as a curtain raiser to a Kilkenny match ??

Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 1623 - 07/05/2025 08:12:39    2607259

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Replying To Hawkeye2:  "This already happens. Bray, Eire Og and even St Pats I think competed in Dublin competitions last year , although I believe with the stipulation that they have to play all their matches away. The Leinster Hurling league used to be a great competition played in early Spring giving our teams games against strong opposition from the like of Laois, Offaly, Wexford etc. I don't see as much coverage of that these days , so I don't know if that bit the dust with the new split season. Carlow clubs have gotten great benefit from proximity to Kilkenny and competing to some extent there. I don;t know why Carnew have never pursued this option more being located within a stone's throw of several solid hurling clubs in Wexford."
That Leinster league still exists but it's mostly midland clubs from Offaly, Leix and an odd one from north Kilkenny that enter it. It's not great and is mostly midweek matches with long journeys involved so take up from clubs is low.

Kiltegan entered the league in Carlow last year (known as Bolger Cup) but as far as I recall they failed to field either at all or in most matches and pulled out of it before the end anyway.

FYI the problems with growing hurling in counties like CW and WW where football is traditionally more popular in large parts has been discussed recently on the Carlow thread.

Onion Breath (Carlow) - Posts: 1566 - 07/05/2025 10:33:32    2607289

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Replying To Onion Breath:  "That Leinster league still exists but it's mostly midland clubs from Offaly, Leix and an odd one from north Kilkenny that enter it. It's not great and is mostly midweek matches with long journeys involved so take up from clubs is low.

Kiltegan entered the league in Carlow last year (known as Bolger Cup) but as far as I recall they failed to field either at all or in most matches and pulled out of it before the end anyway.

FYI the problems with growing hurling in counties like CW and WW where football is traditionally more popular in large parts has been discussed recently on the Carlow thread."
I am a follower of the Carlow site, simply because I feel you have similar problems to ourselves, particularly in football. Also I enjoy the banter among some of your posters. I also admire the number of posters willing to commit their thoughts to paper. It's a much more active site than ours, it must be said.

Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 1623 - 07/05/2025 11:28:40    2607304

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Replying To Onion Breath:  "That Leinster league still exists but it's mostly midland clubs from Offaly, Leix and an odd one from north Kilkenny that enter it. It's not great and is mostly midweek matches with long journeys involved so take up from clubs is low.

Kiltegan entered the league in Carlow last year (known as Bolger Cup) but as far as I recall they failed to field either at all or in most matches and pulled out of it before the end anyway.

FYI the problems with growing hurling in counties like CW and WW where football is traditionally more popular in large parts has been discussed recently on the Carlow thread."
Kiltegan drew with ballinkillen, and only lost narrowly to st Mullins and myshall. St Mullins actually needed a last minute goal to beat them. I know the fella from Bagenalstown that was over them for the last few years. He always felt the gaps for so many football games was a big issue as it was hard to get any real time with a full hurling squad. Hurling isn't really promoted in Wicklow from what I could gather a league game every 3 weeks and then when they were in the Bolger cup they'd to play 2 game in a week because of the obligation to fulfill Wicklow fixtures.

benchtoaster (Carlow) - Posts: 47 - 09/05/2025 14:36:25    2607834

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Best of luck to our senior footballers tomorrow, away to Offaly. Tough opening games in this competition as Offaly are playing well and have enjoyed a productive few months under Mickey Harte & Co. It is a good test for us especially after the performance away to Longford and home to Dublin. I'm hoping for similar performances to our last league game and our two championship games to date. A good result would be great.

wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 2103 - 09/05/2025 21:32:27    2607913

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Well the minor hurlers are in a Leinster B final, against Antrim who many would regard as a tier 1 county. The seniors are in with a chance of reaching a CR final. Doesn't seem too bad on the hurling front.

liam500 (Wicklow) - Posts: 202 - 09/05/2025 22:16:25    2607924

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Well done to the hurlers.

sponger (Wicklow) - Posts: 2929 - 10/05/2025 17:24:33    2608090

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That's an astonishing result for the hurlers, fair play.

FrankieJoe (Wicklow) - Posts: 97 - 10/05/2025 17:49:44    2608104

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Really great result. Meath are never easy to beat. Who are next up?

Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 1623 - 10/05/2025 18:08:55    2608111

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Footballers are their usual erratic selves. Loads of possession in the first half but few scores and then left chasing the game. Two goals leaked again and none scored. We don't seem to be able to get to grips with these new rules. 11 pts for an hours football is not a great return. Most teams are racking up 20 plus.

Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 1623 - 10/05/2025 18:14:34    2608113

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Just looking at the CR table.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Christy_Ring_Cup

With only one round left it looks to me like if Wicklow and Derry draw then both teams are through to the final. Any other result would lead to one team failing to qualify. Could be an interesting game!

liam500 (Wicklow) - Posts: 202 - 10/05/2025 19:20:27    2608140

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First, well done to Wicklow hurlers who beat Meath yesterday. Our hurlers trajectory is definitely on an upward curve regardless of what happens in the rest of this campaign. Unfortunately I couldn't make it to yesterday's games due to work. I think the observation by freethinker is spot on - we are conceding two goals per game as the better teams while our forwards have failed to register a goal. Scoring one pointers isn't enough under the new rules - it has to be 2 pointers or goals as scoring is the name of the game. Equally, in defence, man marking is now a premium player as the blanket defences could paper over some weak links. In order for us to progress to the knock out stages and have a realistic chance to go further, we must get a result against Laois. Finally, can anyone explain what is what the purpose of Wicklow minors match against Limerick today. It was a good win but are they back in the championship via a back door?

wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 2103 - 11/05/2025 09:17:37    2608322

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Congratulations to the hurlers on their win yesterday. Meath have been operating at a level above us for a few years and it's been a while since we turned them over at any level in the GAA.

As usual, the hurlers just get on with it, make light of the many obstacles frequently in their way and continue to carve out results against the odds.

Really hope they get a result in Derry next week and get a deserved trip to Croke Park.

Hawkeye2 (Wicklow) - Posts: 160 - 11/05/2025 11:44:04    2608385

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Replying To Hawkeye2:  "Congratulations to the hurlers on their win yesterday. Meath have been operating at a level above us for a few years and it's been a while since we turned them over at any level in the GAA.

As usual, the hurlers just get on with it, make light of the many obstacles frequently in their way and continue to carve out results against the odds.

Really hope they get a result in Derry next week and get a deserved trip to Croke Park."
Yes, they really are improving game on game. As you say, it's been a while since they beat Meath. No one will know more than Bosco and the players that yesterday won't mean Anything if they can't get to Croke Park, and if they can get there, anything can happen. Is John Henderson out again ??

Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 1623 - 11/05/2025 12:55:20    2608401

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I watched Oisin's interview with Michael Sargent after yesterday's game against Offaly. I thought it was a revealing interview. Conversion of chances seems to be our achilles heel. I'm not privy to any inside knowledge and I'm not saying one player can transform an attacking unit but i have to ask the question - is matthew ging not one of the best forward in Wicklow? Under the new rules, the advantage is with forwards but our forwards are not scoring goals and are only scoring 2-pointers intermittently. This makes it hard to win games. People involved in football in the county should listen to Louth chairman interview about how the county has progressed, he was interviewed on rte's morning ireland programme.

wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 2103 - 11/05/2025 15:23:31    2608435

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Some win by Carlow up in Ulster today.

Jack L (None) - Posts: 3150 - 11/05/2025 18:06:35    2608482

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Replying To wicklowsupport:  "I watched Oisin's interview with Michael Sargent after yesterday's game against Offaly. I thought it was a revealing interview. Conversion of chances seems to be our achilles heel. I'm not privy to any inside knowledge and I'm not saying one player can transform an attacking unit but i have to ask the question - is matthew ging not one of the best forward in Wicklow? Under the new rules, the advantage is with forwards but our forwards are not scoring goals and are only scoring 2-pointers intermittently. This makes it hard to win games. People involved in football in the county should listen to Louth chairman interview about how the county has progressed, he was interviewed on rte's morning ireland programme."
A great win for Louth today. It proves that progress can be made from Div 4. They are doing Trojan work at under age also. The coming force in Leinster ? Our county board would do well to send a task force to Louth to study how to make progress.

Freethinker (Wicklow) - Posts: 1623 - 11/05/2025 18:21:19    2608493

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Replying To Freethinker:  "A great win for Louth today. It proves that progress can be made from Div 4. They are doing Trojan work at under age also. The coming force in Leinster ? Our county board would do well to send a task force to Louth to study how to make progress."
Brillant win by Louth today, to add to their u20 title plus they will be playing Offaly in the minor final shortly. Fair play to them. A few years ago they were in division 4 alongside ourselves. Even I felt emotional watching and i've no ties to Louth. Louth's county chairman described in a couple of sentences how they are doing it - clubs are doing huge work. He reference how clubs are targeting success in the leinster championship - not just at senior but also at intermediate and junior. It is called amition married with hard work on the ground. I think a lot of clubs in wicklow are happy to win the county championship and celebrate. Our own county missed a massive opportunity when micko was in charge, the clubs and county board didn't build on the foundation he laid. People were excited but the momentum was lost when the county board decide to revert to what was in place before micko came on board. Leinster football is average but it will takes a huge combined effort by every club and official in the county to bridge the gap that exists between ourselves and the top teams in the province.

wicklowsupport (Wicklow) - Posts: 2103 - 11/05/2025 20:52:56    2608571

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