Lots played, but plenty to go
Long wait in store for numerous clubs in county finals
WHEN NEWS of the latest shutdown of club GAA activities emerged on October 5, it must have been greeted with a collective sigh of relief by Wexford officials.
And when several county finalists around Ireland went on to bemoan their inability to play on the following weekend, no doubt they were thinking, ‘and there but for the grace of God go we’.
Ten of our twelve adult competitions are fully completed, and that’s a fantastic achievement when one considers, for example, that the corresponding numbers for Cork are three from 16.
And the fact that five of the six football finals took place on the weekend directly before the announcement of another halt in activities only served to highlight the precarious nature of scheduling sport in these troubled times.
There has been universal praise for the organisation of our adult championships from the people directly involved, players and mentors alike, and that counts for so much more than the views of publicity-seeking outsiders without much knowledge of the subject.
Indeed, Co. Chairman Derek Kent touched forcibly on that point again in his address in the county football finals programme, when he wrote:
‘As a county we progressed with our games the best we could considering the many issues we faced. As volunteers I believe we played the best possible championship within the time frame of twelve weeks.
‘We faced a lot of unwarranted criticism from outside of our county with the CPA leading the charge without any substance or facts. There is no place in the GAA for the CPA, with a clear lack of governance and leadership.
‘The knowledge of fixtures they portrayed of a dual county like Wexford is limited and offered nothing to a club player,’ he concluded.
As for the after-match events that contributed to the rise in Covid cases in the county, the responsibility there was beyond the remit of the County Board.
Once the players left Chadwicks Wexford Park after their finals, there was nothing the management committee officials could do to encourage social distancing and basic common sense.
After doing so much to provide a meaningful games programme for the players and clubs since July 17, they are entitled to feel let down by what has transpired since football finals weekend.
While we may have been ahead of the posse in terms of completing championships, there’s still a long way to go before all outstanding competitions are done and dusted.
Here’s an outline of what remains to be played within the wider GAA family, taking Coiste na nOg, camogie and ladies’ football into account as well.
ADULT GAA
Junior ‘B’ hurling: Eight matches will complete this championship, with one of the four District winners still unknown as Naomh Eanna and Craanford haven’t yet replayed their final which was drawn on August 21.
The winners of that game will meet Blackwater in the quarter-final, while the losers will take on St. Anne’s. Shamrocks will meet Taghmon-Camross, and Fethard will play Duffry Rovers.
Junior ‘B’ football: Fethard have received a bye directly into the county semi-final, and the three quarter-final pairings are Glynn-Barntown versus Ferns St. Aidan’s, Crossabeg-Ballymurn against St. Patrick’s, and Duffry Rovers meeting Bannow-Ballymitty.
The reason for having a bye is because the Duffry were the only entrants from Enniscorthy District, and therefore the sole team supplied from there for the county championship. They were included in one of the Gorey District groups for games purposes only.
The completion of those grades will be complicated slightly by the fact that Fethard and Duffry Rovers are not alone still involved in both, but also meeting each other in hurling.
And if, as expected, the St. Mogue’s men win that hurling clash, then they will have semi-finalists in both codes and obviously won’t be able to play on the same weekend.
Under-20: The plan was to play this grade at the first opportunity, as soon as the last of the four Wexford teams had exited the inter-county Minor and Under-20 championships and were all available again to assist their clubs.
An earliest starting date of mid-November had been originally flagged to the clubs. It was suggested to them that the 2020 Under-20 hurling wouldn’t be played until next February/March, with the 2021 competition to follow later in the year. The grading is not completed yet but is in progress.
COISTE NA nOG
Twenty-five finals have been played, but 27 remain on the fixtures list. There was a total of 44 competitions last year between championships and shields, but that number has risen to 52 owing to the expansion of the Under-15 grade from three grades to five – that’s two extra championships and two more shields, multiplied by two to factor in hurling and football.
The Coiste fixtures people were playing the finals in blocks, and everything in Under-17 hurling, Under-17 football and Under-15 football is completed.
They were dealt a blow on the weekend before shutdown, when poor weather conditions meant that only three of the ten scheduled Under-13 hurling finals took place, leaving the following to be still decided:
Division 1 championship, Faythe Harriers v. Glynn-Barntown; Division 2 championship, Naomh Eanna v. Liam Mellows; Division 3 championship, Ballyhogue v. Askamore; Division 4 championship, Ballygarrett v. Cloughbawn;
Division 5 championship, Adamstown v. Our Lady’s Island/St. Fintan’s; Division 4 shield, Slíabh Bhuí Gaels v. Clongeen; Division 5 shield, Shamrocks v. Marshalstown-Castledockrell.
The pairings for the ten New Ross Standard-sponsored Under-13 football finals that remain are:
Division 1 championship, Starlights v. Ballynastragh Gaels; Division 2 championship, Ballyhogue v. Kilrush; Division 3 championship, Cloughbawn v. Oulart-The Ballagh; Division 4 championship, St. Joseph’s v. Adamstown; Division 5 championship, St. Mary’s (Maudlintown) v. Our Lady’s Island/ St. Fintan’s; Division 1 shield, Naomh Eanna v. Bannow-Ballymitty; Division 2 shield, Gusserane v. St. James’; Division 3 shield, Duffry Rovers v. Blackwater; Division 4 shield, St. Mary’s (Rosslare) v. Clongeen; Division 5 shield, St. Anne’s or Geraldine O’Hanrahans v. Sarsfields or Shamrocks.
There’s also a full programme of ten Enniscorthy Guardian Under-15 hurling finals to be played, as follows: Division 1 championship, Glynn-Barntown v. Oulart-The Ballagh; Division 2 championship, Blackwater v. Shelmaliers; Division 3 championship, Monageer-Boolavogue v. Davidstown-Courtnacuddy; Division 4 championship, St. Mary’s (Rosslare) v. Liam Mellows; Division 5 championship, Kilmore v. Craanford; Division 1 shield, Buffers Alley v. Rathnure; Division 2 shield, Faythe Harriers v. Ballynastragh Gaels; Division 3 shield, Cloughbawn v. Slíabh Bhuí Gaels; Division 4 shield, Ballygarrett v. Marshalstown-Castledockrell; Division 5 shield, Clongeen v. St. Patrick’s.
CAMOGIE
Two adult competitions are outstanding on the local scene, Horeswood versus Kilross Gaels (Kilmore and St. Mary’s, Rosslare) in the Junior ‘B’ championship, and Tara Rocks against Geraldine O’Hanrahans in the Junior ‘B’ shield.
Two title winners have dates to work towards for their Leinster Club games, with Rathnure set to meet St. Rynagh’s (Offaly) in Intermediate on January 10, while Oulart-The Ballagh will face St. Jude’s (Dublin) in Senior a fortnight later.
None of the finalists in any of the five Minor championships – Premier, Roinn 1A, Roinn 1B, Roinn 2A and Roinn 2B – had been decided before activity was brought to a halt by the Camogie Association on October 6, one day after the GAA and ladies’ football announcement. There are no shield competitions in the Minor grade.
Two Under-16 competitions are left – Glynn-Barntown v. Kilrush in the Premier championship, and Marshalstown v. St. Anne’s in the Roinn 2B shield – along with one in the Under-14 grade: Marshalstown v. Kilrush in the Roinn 2 shield.
LADIES’ FOOTBALL
Like their camogie counterparts from Oulart-The Ballagh and Rathnure, Kilmore can map a clear pathway to a big game in the new year. Their Leinster Junior final against Ballymore of Longford has been pencilled in for Saturday, January 16.
All adult competitions inside the county are completed, with twelve under-age finals still to be played.
There’s two in Minor: Rathgarogue-Cushinstown v. Starlights in the Division 3A championship, and Castletown v. Taghmon-Camross in the Division 3B championship.
The six Under-16 deciders yet to be played are Clonee v. Adamstown in the Division 1 championship, Ballygarrett v. HWH-Bunclody (Division 2 championship), Rathgarogue-Cushinstown v. Clonard/Volunteers (Division 2 shield), Ballyhogue v. Starlights (Division 3 championship), Castletown v. Crossabeg-Ballymurn (Division 3 shield), and Shamrocks v. Sarsfields (Division 4 shield).
Finally, four Under-14 competitions are still on the agenda: Kilanerin v. Adamstown (Division 1 championship), Ballygarrett v. Clonard/Volunteers (Division 2 shield), Davidstown-Courtnacuddy v. Castletown (Division 3 shield), and Clongeen v. Naomh Eanna (Division 4 shield).