‘Davy Factor’ papering over the cracks in Wexford GAA

WEXFORD G.A.A. have shown a huge spend of almost €1.8m on inter-county team expenses over the past two years but with no championship silverware to show.

Senior managers, Davy Fitzgerald, hurling, and Paul McLoughlin, football, are not ones to stand still but the one conspicuous omission for Wexford G.A.A. is a bauble to show.

While these figures also include expenditure on the under-age sides, still, little progress has been made in this sectors, for, given the record of the previous five years, the under-age structure has declined, with the county no longer a serious competitor for even provincial honours.

Given that the detail of inter-county teams’ expenses has not been itemized in the annual accounts of the G.A.A., it is difficult to gauge where the main expenditure is, but given the new championship format adding to extra games one would have to assume that Senior hurling will take the main bulk, although it must be said they are also the main contributors to the county’s finances through the National League etc.

While the impasse on finances tore the whole place apart in the past, particularly when one gathered in the Ferrycarrig Hotel some seven years past to hear then County Chairman, Diarmuid Devereux, deliver a startling financial report, showing the dire financial straits which the county found itself in.

The G.A.A. is always so much dependant on funding that it was startling to witness the county’s then frightening financial position, particularly with the added burden of the Ferns land purchase for the new Centre of Excellence, adding considerably to the day to day running of the Association in the county.

Now it is worth noting that Diarmuid Devereux grasped a dire situation, spent five years of torment and hard work in restructuring the county’s finances, for at the end of his five-year term he left the county with a healthy financial position, coupled with the fact that the debt on Innovate Wexford Park was cleared, the Glenbrien land purchase saga was cleared, while creditors were also catered for during that period, while at the outset of his tenure he also delivered on delayed player expenses.

Wexford G.A.A. had immense problems but Devereux to his credit created a solid foundation in dealing with the financial fiasco, with the majority of those officers sitting on the then county management committee also holding office during the fiasco that led to financial crisis as outlined by Devereux on assuming office.

This is the second year of the new administration. Having been handed the county with a financial surplus, they also had the added bonus of Devereux having made a critical appointment before leaving office, with the appointment of Davy Fitzgerald as Senior hurling manager, followed by Seamus McEnaney’s appointment to the Senior footballers.

It’s the ‘Davy Factor’ that swept across the county over the past two years with hurling taking on a whole new importance.

Crowds began to flock back to Wexford inter-county games, with even thousands taking in the Walsh Cup matches, as the ‘Davy Factor’ brought back memories of past glories and followers travelling all over the country in support of the hurlers.

While the new administration were lucky that the ‘Davy Factor’ caught hold there must be concerns as to how they will pan out in its ab- sence. Long sought-after promotion to Division 1A was achieved, along with qualification for a Leinster final, but the county has yet to negotiate an All-Ireland quarter-final, which is a main concern. Coupled with this football has dipped with relegation to Division 4 coupled with a dreadful championship.

Still it’s hard to take that with such expenditure there is such a lack of silverware.

Under the previous administration, Wexford, while not setting the country alight at Senior level, still managed three successive provincial Under-21 hurling titles, back-to-back Leinster Junior football titles, along with a Leinster Intermediate hurling title. Silverware in any grade is not to be sniffed at, particularly in a county where it has been absent for so long.

Also, many of those successful under-21 sides are now forming the backbone of Davy Fitzgerald’s Senior side.

But the current administration’s response is to withdraw from Leinster Junior football and Intermediate hurling. Surely a backward step, even more so in the current atmosphere, with the restructuring of the under-age age limits.

While Wexford G.A.A. show a net surplus for year of €481,498, one has to take into account that National League contribution of the hurlers of some €182,369, which can be deemed a once-off contribution, for there is no guarantee of a repeat come 2019, as it’s all dependant on length of league campaign, while there is also the levy of some €170,000 on clubs to pay for the Ferns Centre of Excellence bank loan.

Now, given the County Officers can boast of such a healthy surplus, built on the back of the previous five years of diligence, perhaps it’s time they revisited a County Board decision taken back in 2016, that once the county achieved a surplus, the club levy would be reduced back to the sale of 60 tickets for the Model County Draw levy. This would be a welcome new year’s present for the financially strapped clubs although it’s unlikely given that there was a drop in the Model County Draw return for 2018.

They say that if one was in Government one would sign off on it if for nothing else but to gain in the popularity stakes. But against that, one would say the ‘Davy Factor’ has slipped when it comes to county championship support.

Although gate receipts showed an increase of €41,296, going up from €473,992 in 2017, to €515,288 in 2018, they would have shown a decline but for the lucky break of drawn finals leading to replays in Senior football, Intermediate hurling and Junior ‘A’ hurling where the replay gate far outstripped that of the drawn game.

Commercial income on which the county is also so dependant also shows a decline of some €15,375, details of which are dealt with elsewhere.

The real blessing for Wexford is the ‘Davy Factor’ for it helped crank up the popularity of hurling.

On the face of it Wexford G.A.A. will have to stop looking backwards, trying to outdo the incredible work of past administration when in dire financial straits through no fault of theirs, for the reality is under-age is in need of big spend, quality coaches for development squads and inter-county sides.

It’s not so much that Wexford have lost at under-age level over the past two years, but they never managed to give themselves a chance to be successful.

For if the current under-age set-up is to be carried through, Wexford will have little to look forward in the years to come.