We have to tackle hurling in schools

COLUMN

I managed to catch a few minutes of a second-year South Leinster schools game between Coláiste Bhríde Carnew and Pres De La Salle from Bagenalstown recently and it would seem like as good as a place as any to start when it comes to the subject of hurling in Wicklow, writes Brendan Lawrence.

The discussion on RTÉ last weekend about the state of the game at a national level was interesting, with a super contribution from Wexford native and Louth’s hurling representative Peter Fortune that highlighted the fact that hurling is “clinging on in these counties”.

Wicklow is not at the “clinging on” stage just yet, it could be argued, but we’re not a million miles away from it either.

The news that Éire Óg Greystones, St. Patrick’s and Kilcoole are joining Bray Emmets in the Dublin hurling leagues this season shows a certain level of ambition and hunger for improvement and progression in those clubs, but the fact that emigration, retirements and a few players stepping away for personal reasons has left the county team staring down the barrel of a double relegation going on recent results highlights the very delicate ecosystem that Wicklow hurling exists within.

But back to the schools game. The Coláiste Bhríde team had a number of Carnew Emmets representatives on the starting 15 (including my son, just to be clear) while Kilrush, Luke O’Toole’s and Craanford supplied the vast majority of the remainder.

It was clear from early on that the Bagenalstown students were going to be far too strong, but as they say, you get years like that, some are ‘strong’ years, others not so strong, and that’s the way things go.

But the point is that together with an earlier defeat to a school in Clane and a practice match in Gorey, that is the sum total of that team’s competitive hurling fixtures for the entire school year; two competitive games and a friendly.

A chat with the Pres De La Salle goalkeeper at half-time revealed that there were four Paulstown players on the team, one from James Stephens and the rest from Bagenalstown who play their league hurling in Kilkenny. It’s easy to see now why their hurling was on a different level to that of Coláiste Bhríde.

The reason I’m mentioning the schools game is because if Wicklow GAA are serious about improving hurling in the county, then they surely must consider breathing life into the game at schools level, both primary and secondary.

And nobody needs to tell me that it’s hard to find the people to drive it or it’s hard to do this or to do that, I absolutely accept that it is hard to do anything, but rather than gnashing teeth or raising eyes to heaven when the subject of Wicklow hurling is brought up, surely it’s time to tackle these areas that can be improved immediately with relatively little financial investment required.

Across the country, other counties, especially the strong hurling enclaves, have vibrant and healthy schools competitions. Tipperary’s Paudie Maher, in his autobiography, wrote passionately about the Cumann na mBunscol finals in Semple Stadium that shaped him as a young hurler and how inspirational those days were for him. Look at the Harty Cup, and the magic that surrounds that Munster tournament.

In Wicklow, aside from the Coughlan Cup in the north of the county and a few blitz days here and there elsewhere, there are, to the best of my knowledge, no primary school competitions. My eldest son remembers wearing his school jersey no more than three or four times in eight years.

At secondary school level, again, there are no Wicklow Schools hurling championships up for grabs.

There hasn’t been a Senior competition for years due to the strength of Coláiste Bhríde with their population of north Wexford students.

What a lost opportunity this is for hurling in Wicklow! Primary school students are in school for nine months of the year, secondary students for eight. This is a massive chance to develop and improve the game that is just slipping by year after year.

Why is that we can’t create and foster hurling competitions in the schools?

Imagine the thrill for a young hurler in Carnew or Bray or Aughrim or Barndarrig or Arklow reaching the Wicklow Primary Schools Hurling Championship final (after a proper championship campaign) and the feeling of taking to the field in Echelon Park Aughrim on a lovely day in April or May and then climbing the steps to collect their medals or learning to deal with the pain of defeat with their friends. That’s something we can do now. Right now.

Imagine a thriving secondary schools championship. If Coláiste Bhríde are deemed too strong then could they be invited to enter with just their Wicklow players to level the playing field?

This is for the benefit of the entire county. Far better for a player to play competitive hurling across a decade of schooling than to barely hold the hurl at all in those years.

We have to try to find ways of improving the standard of hurling in Wicklow, and creating vibrant and competitive schools championships would be a great start!