Almost 20 years since last league match in October

IT CERTAINLY was a journey with a difference, but the very small contingent of Wexford folk in Rathkeale last Sunday will have good reason to remember the county’s first-ever competitive game at the recently-developed west Limerick venue.

There was a certain apprehension beforehand, given the high stakes for both teams and the lack of any worthwhile preparation.

The hosts only needed one more win to gain promotion, while we had to deny them in order to keep our own hopes fully alive.

And in these trying times when getting from A to B isn’t as simple as it used to be, the fact that Wexford hit the ground running and played so well in the first quarter left me pleasantly surprised.

It’s alright for me to drive for two and three-quarter hours to a venue, because I don’t have to tog out and play upon arrival.

That was the tough task facing the players, though, after the throwin time was moved from 1 to 3 p.m. at the start of the week in order to make it easier to travel to Limerick on the morning of the game.

And that’s exactly what the dedicated Wexford lads did, stopping en route at an off-road parking spot in Kilsheelan - on the recommendation of new forwards coach and Tipperary legend Declan Browne - in order to fuel up with some pre-packed lunches.

New logistics officer Donal Howlin was one of the first to arrive at the venue - which is Limerick’s equivalent of our Centre of Excellence in Ferns - and his behind-the-scenes work shouldn’t go unnoticed because there was even more than usual to be arranged in the days leading up to the game.

Selector Philip Wallace followed minutes later, and it’s wonderful to see a former footballer of his calibre giving something back in such a tangible way after being asked to come on board by Shane Roche.

The Ballycullane man is deputy principal of Terenure College, and he was telling me that their teaching staff includes Naomhan Rossiter from Rosslare, who is on the road back from injury, and Katie O’Connor of St. Martin’s, who was in action with the Wexford camogie team on Sunday.

My head is full of useless information after a lifetime of following the county football team all over Ireland and further afield, and here’s a prime example: did you know Sunday’s game was the first Wexford played in the National League in this month in almost 20 years?

And Philip provided a direct link, because he was full-back on October 29, 2000, when we defeated Waterford by 2-10 to 0-7 in the first round of the old Division 2B in Lemybrien, with his brother, Francis, by his side.

That campaign was the last to start before Christmas and finish in the early months of the following year, and there’s another interesting parallel.

The closing weeks of the 2000-’01 league were disrupted by the last major public health issue, namely the foot and mouth crisis.

You will be aware that Leitrim gave a walkover to Down and didn’t travel last weekend, but do you recall that we did the exact same during that brief disruption to normal lives?

We were due to travel to the Mourne county in early March of 2001 originally, but the match was postponed.

It was re-fixed for Newry on April 15, and Wexford were all set to fulfil the fixture until another foot and mouth scare in Ardboe, Co. Tyrone, led to a decision being taken not to make the long journey.

It was agreed instead to give a walkover to Down, as the game made no difference to either county at that stage, and it wasn’t going to have an impact on any promotion or relegation issues.

Now I’ll return to that October game in Lemybrien, home of Kilrossanty GAA club, just shy of 20 years ago, and list the full Wexford team in the hope of jogging some more memories:

Ollie Murphy; Jamie Whelan, Philip Wallace, Francis Wallace; Darragh Breen, David Murphy (0-1), Pat Forde (1-0); Iain Wickham, Willie Carley; Diarmuid Kinsella, Paddy Colfer, Leigh O’Brien (0-1); Jason Lawlor (1-0), Michael Mahon, Matty Forde (0-6, 4 frees). Subs. - John Hegarty (0-2) for Kinsella, Barry Byrne for Wickham, Donal Redmond for F. Wallace, Niall Murphy for Whelan, J.J. Doyle for M. Forde.

Ger Halligan was the manager, and he was joined on the backroom team by Micheál Furlong and Dec Carty.