Rovers ‘B’ claim the Youth Shield crown

CCC criticised as walk-overs discussed at meeting

THE thorny issues of walk-overs were discussed at length at Monday evening’s County Board meeting in Ballinakill with the well publicised ficxture between neighbours Rathnew and Pats coming under the spotlight.

Avondale delegate Victor O’Shaungnessy wondered what was happening in relation to walkovers within the club games.

‘Do clubs need more help? I’ve always said that. We’re not supporting clubs in this county,’ said O’Shaughnessy.

‘Well, I’ll say one thing,’ said Martin Fitzgerald, ‘In the league, I’d say 98 or 99 per cent of games were played. There were very few league matches given as walkovers. That’s Division 1, 2 and 3. Now, in the lower divisions, I will say that there are teams struggling and we are working with some of those clubs at the moment. Where the walk-overs came was the cup competitions where clubs opted out from playing the matches,’ said the County Chairman.

One club delegate had figures and said that there was one walkover in Division 1 and Division 1A and that the problem with walk-overs was in Division 3 and they involved the second teams of clubs.

Rathnew delegate Laurence Ellis said that there was no leeway with fixtures from the CCC.

‘We’re depending on lads finishing playing soccer after six months and they’re waiting to finish the season and we’re getting no leeway with the fixtures,’ said Laurence Ellis. ‘That includes our Senior team as well. We support the county all the way to the backbone. We’re very sore about the way we were treated by the fixtures and the CCC and we won’t be encouraging 13 players to go next year to Junior and Senior. The county was struggling with the Junior team three or four nights before (the game with Kildare) and we sent players down. The way ourselves and St Pat’s were treated was appalling as far as we’re concerned, and we’re not happy with it, I’ll tell you that,’ he added.

Martin Fitzgerald referenced the Gilroy Report (Wicklow Review) that came out earlier in the year. He said the biggest thing that came out of the club meeting in Blessington was fixtures.

‘Two people came in to look after the fixtures this year, O’Neill, an ex-President, and Shane Flanagan, and they put it to this County Board meeting that night that there was to be no changes to a fixture unless there was a death in the club. The weather did hit, and everybody had their chance to change it. the CCC is only implementing what the clubs implemented last January.

‘It’s not an easy job on the CCC. I can see where Rathnew are coming from as well, you’ve produced many, many players over the last year and I hope it continues for the future.

‘The clubs themselves implemented what they wanted, because of the fixtures there were too many changes over the last few years,’ he added.

Rathnew’s Bobby Dignam recounted how the original fixture that has seen them take a case to Leinster and now the DRA was changed because of a stag originally and then because of the weather.

‘And then it was fixed on the Friday, seven or eight days before we played Offaly. We had nine players with the hurlers and footballers, Pat’s had some as well. We’re living next door to one another and it’s a sad state of affairs when a club has to go to Portlaoise over a fixture that can’t be sorted out in our own county. It’s absolutely ridiculous. We don’t ask you for much, and I’m sure Pat’s don’t either. There’s walk-overs all over the place, maybe not at Senior, but matches have been switched, I know that, I’m not going to start arguing with you but there have been matches switched and called off at the drop of a hat, there was an Intermediate hurling match there recently,’ said Dignam.

AGB’s John Murphy complained that his club have sent emails to the CCC but have received no reply whatsoever.

‘There was an issue there on June 6, two weeks ago, and our club highlighted it to the CCC and the County Board two weeks beforehand that it looked like there were going to be issues between relegation and play-offs and with the county team playing and to this day we haven’t got a response from that email,’ he said.

Martin Fitzgerald said that the game in question had been changed.

John Murphy said that he had the letter in his hand stating exactly what his club had asked: that they had 10 players represented between the under-20s and the Senors, three selectors and what our committee’s grievance is that they had not received any reply from the CCC.

‘That match was changed,’ said Murphy, ‘and we got an email on the Saturday night at 10.45pm that if two clubs agreed to change the fixture, the fixture can be change until the 27th. Greystones contacted us on the morning the game was fixed. We told them we had a bit of trouble in the club with the county and we weren’t pulling our players from the county. We had to bring Junior lads up to field a team, we had arranged with the management during the week and that we were going ahead with the game. Greystones had an issue, they had county men playing, that’s fine, that’s their problem.

‘We got a phone call in the afternoon on Sunday, asking us what we were playing at as a club, from the county management, asking that AGB were trying to destroy hurling and football in the county because we wouldn’t change for Greystones.

‘No disrespect to Greystones, but I rang back their management and we were able to change it, but what I’m saying is, we highlighted this, two or three weeks beforehand, we asked for the games to be played and the CCC wouldn’t change it. But, all of a sudden then, on a Saturday night you can change it at the drop of a hat. The discontent with clubs at the top table is unreal. We were letting our 10 county men play and we’re still the bad guys.

‘I agree that the fixtures over the last two or three years being called off wily-nily but I think we are gone totally the opposite way. We had another issue with Kilmacanogue and there was a death within their club, and nobody wants to see anything like that, but that club was forced, and we were forced to play a game two days after the death of somebody in their community. We had to try get lads back from Galway and Maynooth on a Tuesday night and then get them back to Galway and Maynooth afterwards,’ he said.

Bobby Dignam said that he couldn’t believe that the CCC asked Kilmacanogue to play a game after a recent tragedy in their club. The Rathnew delegate said he thought it was ‘an absolute disgrace’ and that the Chairman should be stepping in to sort situations like that out.

Martin Fitzgerald said that he cannot, as Chairman, interfere with the CCC.

Bobby Dignam said it was a case of common sense.

The Kilmacanogue delegate said that the club had sent several emails regarding the game (against Coolkenno) but that they haven’t received any reply. He said that he had been instructed to find out what the situation was with the game, whether it was a walk-over or whether it was postponed or whatever.

‘At least a bit of courtesy or compassion to acknowledge that ye even received the email,’ said the delegate.

Martin Fitzgerald explained that Bridget Kenny, Chairperson of the CCC, was unable to attend Monday night’s meeting and that Martin Coleman was also unable to attend the meeting.

Eddie Leonard returned to the subject of the controversial fixture between Pat’s and Rathnew and said that there was a ‘Meet and Greet’ with county players in Ballinakill on the night.

‘Who in their right mind would fix a league match knowing that there was a ‘Meet and Greet’ night on that night, knowing that both clubs have at least 14 players on the panels, 11 from Rathnew, and three for St Pat’s?

‘Secondly there was another match the previous Monday where St Pat’s were away to Kiltegan, at the end of the day that match meant nothing. It was a dead rubber. Why couldn’t somebody in the CCC look at the fixtures and say let’s have the Rathnew v St Pat’s game on the Monday night. In fairness, when Mick (Hagan) and Tom Byrne were there last year, and we all had issues with Mick, we had as well in this club, but you could pick up the phone to Mick and explain the problem and he could see that problem. But the present CCC are capable of doing the job because there’s a total disconnect between them and the clubs.

‘Why did Rathnew and Pat’s have to go all the way to Leinster Council over a fixture, and it was all over the local paper. We’re making a show of ourselves,’ said Eddie Leonard.

Martin Fitzgerald reminded Eddie that the biggest problem in the county last year was fixtures and that the clubs wanted change.

Eddie Leonard said the cup competitions were ‘an absolute joke’.

Make it something worthwhile. Where did the fixtures come from? What was the name of the cups? Was it the Eddie Leonard Cup, the Martin Fitzgerald Cup?

Martin Fitzgerald said the cup competitions were there to give football to clubs.

Colm Finnegan said that there were positives with the new fixtures regime and that there should be regular meetings between clubs and the CCC to iron out any issues.

Mick Hagan spoke up and said that he was offering a view as an outsider.

‘You might think I’m on the CCC, but I wonder,’ he said.

Martin Fitzgerald said: ‘You are on the CCC, Mick, and you know you’re on the CCC. Now move on,’ he said.

‘What role, Chairman?’ ‘You’re on CCC and you’ve been at meetings in the CCC so go ahead,’ replied Martin Fitzgerald.

Mick Hagan then suggested that the CCC should have at least two meetings with clubs over the rest of the year.

‘It was a learning process. Certainly, the cup competitions were a disaster and we will probably have to look at going with a double round of leagues,’ he said.

Martin Fitzgerald said that there would be a review with the CCC in September or October.

Victor O’Shaughnessy said there was no common sense used in the Pat’s and Rathnew situation and indeed with the AGB games.

‘No one tried to sort that out. We should not have went to Portaloise. We should not be hanging out our dirty linen in Leinster Council. If AGB, Rathnew and St Pat’s pulled their county players, where would we be?’ He asked.

An AGB delegate highlighted an issue where their manager and selector are on duty with the Wicklow Minor footballers on the same night as a key club game which has been refixed against their wishes on the same night (tonight). The delegate said that if there was no flexibility from the CCC there was going to be a situation where clubs and players would get disenchanted.

Martin Fitzgerlad asked whether anyone had rung Hugh Kenny (Wicklow Games Manager) on the issue.

‘Well, I’ll give you one on that,’ said John Murphy. ‘Our fixtures secretary has rang Hugh Kenny on numerous occasions and Hugh Kenny has told her that his role is not on CCC, he only sends out fixtures and for anything to do with the CCC has to go to Bridget Kenny,’ he said.

‘That’s not true,’ said Martin Fitzgerald.

‘Who else do we need to send it to,’ asked an AGB delegate.

John Murphy complained that they had four emails in the last month where they had received no correspondence back from the CCC.

‘They need to get back to us,’ he said.

Martin Fitzgerald said that he would talk to the CCC but that he couldn’t make a decision.

‘We’re not asking you to, we just want a response,’ said John Murphy.

A Hollywood delegate said that there had been pain involved with the new fixtures regime but that the leagues are now almost finished by the end of June and that there was a clear run ahead of championship football.

Martin Fitzgerald said that it is the first year of the new fixtures and that there are going to be problems and that he hoped everyone would learn for next year.

‘The only thing Bridget did say was that she wants to have a forum with the clubs and the CCC before the start of next year. That’s one thing.

‘And the other is that there is a problem with an under-20 hurling fixture (Wicklow v Kildare), they want to meet the hurling clubs on Thursday or Friday night. The under-20 championship is clashing with the start of the Senior hurling championship,’ he added.