Revival of District leagues could be a boon to players

With Alan Aherne

THE FIRST thing I looked for when the various domestic club championship draws were made on Sunday was to see if any interesting local derbies will take place in the opening rounds. Lo and behold, I note that three potential hum-dingers are in store in the Dominic Smith Electrical Senior football competition.

Top of the list has to be the clash of titleholders Castletown and their long-standing rivals Kilanerin, and I sincerely hope that this game will take place in Gorey rather than bringing the protagonists all the way down to Wexford Park like last year.

The meeting of Horeswood and St. James’ is no less intriguing in the same group, while the stand-out opener on the other side of the draw will see two more New Ross District neighbours, Fethard and Gusserane, going toe-to-toe for local bragging rights as well as two precious points.

As the championships progress, other games to look out for include Oylegate-Glenbrien against Crossabeg-Ballymurn in round three of The Courtyard Ferns Intermediate hurling championship, as well as St. Joseph’s versus Volunteers, and St. Patrick’s (Ballyoughter) against Craanford, at the same stage of the Joyces Expert Intermediate ‘A’ football.

There was a time when derby clashes were par for the course in the lower grades, back in the dim and distant past when the four Districts were thriving. Personally, I feel that the G.A.A. has lost out at local level as a result of the gradual move towards countywide competitions in practically every grade.

All that’s really left now for the four Districts in a playing sense is to organise the Junior ‘B’ championships in both codes, and that’s a far cry from the way things used to be.

We have the perfect divide, both geographically and numerically, in this county, with Wexford, Enniscorthy, New Ross and Gorey serving as the four focal points.

And there was a time - in the mid-seventies - when every single championship apart from Senior - namely Intermediate, Junior, Under-21 and Bord na nOg - was run off at District level first, with four winners produced to contest the county semi-finals.

It wasn’t a perfect system, of course, and a problem regularly arose if one District finished late, or a particular club held up the rest as a result of multiple commitments, and then others were left twiddling their thumbs waiting for their next game.

Be that as it may, I think the four Districts served a very useful purpose, chief of which was the guarantee of a string of local derbies across almost every grade which were likely to draw good crowds.

There’s nothing like a game against the neighbouring team to energise a club both on and off the field, and I’m sure that will be seen in the banter in the weeks leading up to that Oylegate-Glenbrien clash with Crossabeg-Ballymurn, for example.

I was delighted to see the Gorey and Enniscorthy Districts following the good example set by their New Ross and Wexford counterparts by holding awards functions for the first time in recent months.

However, while it suggests that the social side of the Association is thriving, what about the games themselves? Why are the clubs happy to see the Districts more or less on their last legs in a game-playing sense?

Back in my very early teens, most of my summer nights were spent strolling over to Wexford Park where I was guaranteed having a game of some description to enjoy. The late Pat Ffrench, District Secretary at the time, had devised a system whereby the four leagues he organised - Junior ‘A’ and ‘B’ in hurling and football - were each played on a designated night of the week, prior to the onset of knockout championships.

It saddens me nowadays when I drive past the county ground from the months of May to August and see that the place is lying idle most of the time, unless a county team is training there.

And here’s another point: clubs are constantly complaining about a lack of games for their players, so why not try to resurrect some of the forgotten District competitions and play them midweek in that long lull between rounds two and three of the county championships?

Unfortunately, in the G.A.A. these days it’s easier to pick holes in a suggestion like this, rather than giving it a go.