Three Wicklow minor hurlers have decided that enough is enough.
Last week the Leinster championship got underway but the Garden County were humiliated by Meath.
Ft and Meath beat Wicklow by 10-20 to 0-7 in Leinster minor hurling championship
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) April 9, 2016
The scale of the defeat sent a shockwave through the county, and serious questions were asked of the county board, the team’s management, as well as the players.
The game was discussed by the county board at Monday’s monthly meeting, and it was expected clubs would be asked to try and find a pathway to help improve results in the coming weeks.
However, three players on the panel have exposed the inner workings of the county panel and they go some way to explaining the devastating loss.
Steven Coogan, Bryan Kearney, and Padraig O’Toole claim that the county side only met up for three training session before they played Meath last Saturday, while they also accuse the county board of discriminating against the hurlers in favour of the county’s minor football team.
“Our team have had a grand total of three training sessions this year. While the minor football team train on Saturday mornings, the hurlers are left with Sunday morning sessions which players have regularly noted is not nearly as suitable a time. The minor footballers also benefit from a second training session mid-week but the minor hurlers have received no such attention.“
The letter states that the players have been left hugely disappointed, but at no stage would they ever think of quitting the panel.
The three teenagers state that their pride in playing for their county would not allow them to simply walk away.
“We committed to playing for our county team and that is what we did. We don’t quit, we don’t walk away. We are committed and above all, we are proud Wicklow men. We have pride in our clubs, pride in our school teams and we are proud to wear the Wicklow jersey. It’s a real shame that the county board won’t show the same commitment as the minor hurlers themselves.”
The players also make an emotional appeal to the county board in respect of what they have sacrificed to play county this spring, and turned up to play Meath last week, despite knowing they were vastly under prepared for the game.
“Nineteen young men, including ourselves, who are all busy preparing for the Leaving Certificate in the next two years; young men who must balance school, and often a part time job, with their commitment to sport. Young men who, unlike many of their friends, stayed in Friday night and missed social occasions to be ready to play Saturday morning, despite the fact no real commitment has been shown by the Wicklow County Board officials. As Neary mentioned, the appointment of a manager wasn’t even given due consideration but rather was a casual affair to ensure the county board could ‘tick yet another box’.”
The incredible letter has been published on the Wicklow People Facebook page and you can read the full missive below.
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