A surprise omission

IF KEEN followers of the club G.A.A. scene in Wexford were asked to come up with a shortlist of dual players of the year for 2018, there’s a very good chance that Ian Carty of Taghmon-Camross would have figured on a lot of lists.

It was a particularly good campaign for the player and the club on the small ball front, as he led the way from centre-back in their Top Oil Intermediate ‘A’ hurling championship success.

And he made a major impact with the Wexford Under-21 team, grabbing that last-gasp goal in the Leinster final versus Galway in Portlaoise that brought an epic clash to extra-time.

Football didn’t go nearly as well for Taghmon-Camross since they were relegated from Senior ranks, but Carty was still a standout performer.

The only question at the end of October seemed to be whether he would be called into the Senior hurling squad or get another opportunity with the footballers after making a couple of appearances with them in 2017.

And when his name didn’t appear with either squad, there was a general assumption that he hadn’t made himself available.

Therefore, we were surprised to learn the reason for Carty’s omission from a close family source: he simply wasn’t asked on board by either management team.

Are we that blessed with talent that we can afford to do without a player of his obvious potential?