Exciting battles ahead Wilson plays a blinder in Ballinakill

BATTLES galore were pulled from the drum in Ballinakill when the IFC collisions in round one were decided last Wednesday evening.

The meeting of Annacurra and Donard-The Glen will provide the perfect clash in the early stages of a championship that is renowned for its dog-eat-dog nature and ferocious competitiveness.

Paddy Molloy will be hoping to get his side over this very tricky first hurdle but Mickey Daly is sure to have his Donard-the Glen men biting at the bit and the result could well be a cracking first-round game.

Little needs to be said about the meeting of Ballymanus and Coolkenno other than you can sure that you will get your money’s worth if you pay in at the gate.

Both sides exude bravery and doggedness, both are teams nobody likes to meet on a good day for them and this was the tie of the round for this writer when the draw was made.

Last year’s Junior ‘A’ champions An Tochar will be very keen to get up and running with a win in their new home but Paul Bealin’s Ballinacor won’t be in any mood to slip up early to the newcomers.

And that leaves the meeting of Laragh and Stratford-Grangecon.

Like many rural clubs, Stratford-Grangecon have been coming through a difficult transition in recent years.

How the lockdown has affected both sides will be very interesting to see but there shouldn’t be too much between these sides. Whether either will be throwing shapes at the business end of things is unlikely to be fair but this year will provide both with a healthy space to develop. Darcy Sand IFC Annacurra v Donard/Glen Ballymanus v Coolkenno Ballinacor v An Tochar Laragh v Stratford/Grangecon Kilmacanogue, Carnew, Hollywood and Kilcoole await in the

APART from one unfortunate delegate becoming irate at his own technological breakdown at home without realising that his sound was still on, last week’s County Board meeting at Ballinakill and on Zoom for the delegates around the county went off swimmingly.

It’s not Wicklow’s first County Board meeting held using Zoom but it is the first one where members of the media were invited to attend and it’s very likely that County Board meetings and many other meetings will be held in this way forever more.

Whether they are healthy in terms of discussion and debate is a very relevant question, however. There had been suggestions that members of the media attending the old-school meetings in Ballinakill and Aughrim was causing delegates to decline from speaking for fear of being quoted in the newspaper but it’s very likely that the introduction of technology and the added outsideness that comes from being in a meeting while still at home in your pyjamas or whatever is bound to have a serious impact on delegates speaking up.

Nevertheless, that is the way of the world and hats off to Paul Wilson, Wicklow’s CCC fixtures secretary, for his superb handling of the County Board meeting last Wednesday evening.

Conducting championship draws when the delegates are all in the same room can be tricky enough but credit to the Hollywood official for his professionalism and ability to work the technology.

There were six members of management at the meeting in Ballinakill while Paul Wilson and Alan Nolan were present from the CCC.

The meeting was attended by a member of An Garda Síochána who witnessed all the championship draws taking place.

Wicklow County Chairman Martin Fitzgerald opened and closed the meeting with Paul Wilson assuming total control during the championship draws and conducting the votes.

The majority of delegates appeared to have no issues although some did lose signal on occasion and the one unfortunate individual did vent following his technological meltdown.