Wexford GAA

For more information see Wexford Senior Club Hurling Championship or Wexford Senior Club Football Championship.

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File:Wexford GAA.png
Irish:	Loch Garman
Nickname(s):	The Model County The Yellowbellies The Slaneysiders
Province:	Leinster
Dominant sport:	Hurling
Ground(s):	Wexford Park, Wexford
County colours:	Purple and Gold
County teams
NFL:	Division 3
NHL:	Division 2
Football Championship:	Sam Maguire Cup
Hurling Championship:	Liam McCarthy Cup
Ladies' Gaelic football:	Brendan Martin Cup
Camogie:	O'Duffy Cup

The Wexford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) (Template:Lang-ga) or Wexford GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Wexford. The county board is also responsible for the Wexford inter-county teams.

History

Hurling was played in Wexford from medieval times. A team of Wexfordmen is said to have travelled to play hurling against a team from kilkenny. They won the game easily and stayed in kilkenny to get some food with the kilkenny players. They were nearly finished and eating their desert which happened to be stewed apple and custard when one of the kilkenny players stood up suddenly, tipping the table and spilled the custard over all the wexford men, who were all sitting on the opposite side. Thats when they acquired the nickname "yellow bellies", and soon after adopted the colours purple with a gold stripe accross their bellies.

Gaelic football

Wexford had one of the greatest football teams in the history of the GAA during the 1910s with them winning six Leinster and four All-Irelands in a row. The team was trained by 1900 star Jem Roche - who had fought for the World Heavyweight boxing Championship, and featured Father Ned Wheeler, Aidan Doyle and the O'Kennedy brothers, Gus and Sean. The latter was the team captain. The six-in-a-row in Leinster was unequalled until Dublin's winning sequence between 1974 and 1979.

Wexford's last major football success was winning the Leinster title in 1945. From then on, hurling took precedent in Wexford and as a consequence, the Wexford footballers suffered and descended into obscurtity for many years.

However, recently Wexford have had a very strong team. The team beat all the odds to reach the Division 1 League final of 2005 under the management of Pat Roe but were beaten by a strong Armagh team that day.

In April 2008, Wexford beat Fermanagh to win the Division 3 League final. This proved to be the first success of what would be a historic year for Wexford football, as they reached their first Leinster final in over 50 years. Along the way they stunned favourites Meath by coming from 9 points in arrears to win their Quarter Final in Carlow and then beat Laois in the semi final. This was Wexford's 5th consecutive appearance in the provincial semi final, but their first victory. However, they comprehensively defeated the O'Moore county.

Unfortunately the occasion of their historic Leinster final appearance would seem to have gotten to them, and they were torn apart by a rampant Dublin team in the final, 3-23 to 9 points. This incredible 23 point victory for the Dubs sealed a 4th consecutive Leinster Championship, but Wexford would appear to have had the more successful year, based on what followed.

Dublin were well beaten in their All Ireland Quarter Final against eventual champions Tyrone, while Wexford recovered from their humiliation and came through the backdoor, beating Down by 7 points in a shock result to reach the last 8 and a game with Armagh. From here, they produced one of the shocks of the championship, winning 14 points to 1-12 to reach their first All Ireland semi final since the 1940s.

Unfortunately that was as far as they went, as despite a brave effort, they were beaten by 6 points by Tyrone in the semi-final, though they came to within 2 points of the eventual champions in the closing stages.

It was an amazing first season in charge for Jason Ryan, a newcomer to the management scene.

Honours

• All-Ireland Senior Football Championships: 5
  • 1893, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918
• All-Ireland Junior Football Championships: 1
  • 1992
• Leinster Senior Football Championships: 10
  • 1890, 1893, 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1925, 1945
• Leinster Minor Football Championship: 3
  • 1937, 1950, 1969
• Leinster Junior Football Championship: 6
  • 1911, 1963, 1984, 1992, 2000, 2007

Hurling

Hurling is Wexford's stronger sport. This is in evidence in several one-sided results over the years: Kildare were beaten by 14-15 to 1-1 in an 1897 Croke Cup match. The Antrim team were beaten by 12-17 to 2-3 in a 1954 All-Ireland semi-final. Nicky Rackard, who scored 7-7 at that day, was Wexford's greatest hurler. He starred in two great clashes with Cork in 1954 and 1956. Wexford lost the first after having a goal disallowed, but won the second with the combination of a great Art Foley save and Nicky Rackard goal in the closing minutes.

In the 1970s, the distinctive red-haired Tony Doran was the star as Kilkenny and Wexford played ten rousing Leinster finals in succession. In 1984 they claimed that the final whistle was blown prematurely when they were beaten by a single point in the Leinster final.

Wexford had a great team during the 1990s and their hard work was rewarded in 1996 when Wexford, led by Liam Griffin and captained by Martin Storey, brought the Liam McCarthy Cup back to Slaneyside for the first time since 1968, they were waiting 28 years. Cork and Kilkenny have dominated the honours in recent years.

Wexford's most recent hurling success was in the Leinster Final of 2004 when they defeated Offaly. In the Leinster semi final, they shocked Kilkenny by beating them with a last-gasp goal scored by Mick Jacob after a clinical sideline cut by Adrian Fenlon fell into the hand of Kilkenny centre back Peter Barry, only for the brilliant Mick Jacob to block him down as he tried to get rid of the ball and Jacob subsequently fired the ball to the back of the Kilkenny net ending Kilkenny's 6 year reign as Leinster Champions. Unfortunately, however, hurling in Wexford has been on the slide since 1996, their last All-Ireland success, and the Leinster title in 2004 simply papered over the cracks. Since hitting rock bottom in 2006 Wexford have made great progress so far this season and there are signs that Wexford are becoming contenders again.

2009

2009 saw Wexford take part in Division 2 of the Allianz National Hurling League. After their shock defeat by Antrim, in which the Saffrons made a memorable comeback, Wexford improved to take a place in the divisions final against Offaly. The yellowbellies were favourites, having bet them earlieer in the league, however Colm Bonnar's men didnt perform on the day. It was a massive disappointment, meaning Wexford will be outside of hurling's top iter for the second year running. The Leinster championship arrived and Wexford had a chance for redemption with an opening round clash against Offaly. They gained revenge with Stephen Banville starring in a comfortable victory, with the aid of home advantage. Up next was Dublin and a younger more talented city side prevailed. However it became more shocking during the qualifiers after they were early exited by Limerick.

Wexford Hurling Team

The following is the team that lined out for Wexford in the Leinster Hurling Quarter-final against Offaly on 30 May 2009:

Number	Player	Position	Local Club
1	Damien Fitzhenry	Goalkeeper	Duffry Rovers
2	Malachy Travers	Right Corner Back	Ballyboden St. Enda's
3	Paul Roche	Full Back	Oulart-the-Ballagh
4	David O’Connor	Left Corner Back	St.Anne's
5	Michael Jacob	Right Half Back	Oulart-the-Ballagh
6	Richie Kehoe	Centre Back	Faythe Harriers
7	Ciarán Kenny	Left Half Back	Buffer's Alley
8	Stephen Doyle	Midfield	Oulart-the-Ballagh
9	David Redmond	Midfield	Oulart-the-Ballagh
10	Tomás Waters	Right Half Forward	St.Martin's
11	Andrew Shore	Centre Forward	Davidstown-Courtnacuddy
12	Derek Lyng	Left Half Forward	St.Martin's
13	Rory Jacob	Right Corner Forward	Oulart-the-Ballagh
14	Stephen Banville	Full Forward	Shelmaliers
15	Peter Atkinson	Left Half Forward	Hwh Bunclody
Substitutes
16	Dermot Flynn	Goalkeeper	Rathnure
17	Ciarán Kenny	Midfield	Buffer's Alley
18	Willie Doran	Centre Back	Buffer's Alley
19	Michael Doyle	Centre Forward	Glynn-Barntown
20	Paul Carley	Right Half Forward	Glynn-Barntown
21	M.J. Furlong	Left Corner Forward	Cloughbawn
22	Pierce White	Left Half Forward	St.Anne's
23	Buffer's Alley	Right Full Forward	Oulart-the-Ballagh
24	Pat Doran	Left Corner Back	Buffer's Alley
25	Kevin Kavanagh	Left Half Back	St.Patrick's
26	Barry Lambert	Right Corner Forward	St.Martin's
27	Stephen Banville	Left Corner Forward	Shelmaliers
28	P.J. Nolan	Full Forward	Askamore
	John O'Connor*	Left Half Back	Rathnure
	Des Mythen	Left Wing Forward	Oulart-the-Ballagh
	John Breen	Right Half Forward	Monageer-Boolavogue
	Tommy Dwyer	Midfield	Ferns St.Aidan's
	David Redmond	Full Forward	Oulart-the-Ballagh
	Dennis Morton	Full Back	Oulart-the-Ballagh
Management Team
	Colm Bonnar	Manager	Cashel King Cormacs
	Eammon Scallan	Selector	Ferns St Aidan's
	John Barron	Selector	Glynn-Barntown
	Conor Power	Selector	St Martin's

The following team represented Wexford in the National Hurling League semi final against Kilkenny in 2007

1.Damien Fitzhenry 2.Malachy Travers 3.Declan Ruth 4.David O'Connor (Paul Roche injury) 5.Willie Doran 6.Keith Rossiter 7.Ciaran Kenny 8.Kevin Kavanagh 9.Diarmuid Lyng 10.Michael Jacob 11.Eoin Quigley 12.Stephen Nolan 13.Paul Carley 14.Darren Stamp 15.Rory Jacob

Subs used

• Richie Kehoe
• Barry Lambert
• Rory McCarthy
• Mitch Jordan

Honours

• All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championships: 6
  • 1910, 1955, 1956, 1960, 1968, 1996
• All-Ireland Intermediate Hurling Championships: 4
  • 1961, 1968, 2005, 2007
• All-Ireland Junior Hurling Championships: 2
  • 1985, 1992
• All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championships: 1
  • 1965
• All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championships: 3
  • 1963, 1966, 1968
• National Hurling Leagues: 4
  • 1956, 1958, 1967, 1973
• Leinster Senior Hurling Championships: 19
  • 1890, 1891, 1899, 1901, 1910, 1918, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1960, 1962, 1965, 1968, 1970, 1976, 1977, 1996, 1997, 2004

Camogie

Honours

• All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championships: 4
  • 1968, 1969, 1975, 2007
• All-Ireland Minor Camogie Championships: 1
  • 1995
• National Camogie Leagues: 2
  • 1977, 1978

Ladies' Gaelic football

Honours

• All Ireland Ladies' Intermediate Football Finalists: 1
  • 2007

• All-Ireland Ladies' Minor Football Championships: 3
  • 1982, 1983, 1984

• All-Ireland Under-16 Football Championship: 3
  • 1981, 1982, 1983

• All-Ireland Under-14 Football Championship: 1
  • 1990

External links

• Wexford on Hoganstand.com
• National and provincial titles won by Wexford teams
• Club championship winners
• Wexford GAA site
• Wexford GAA Discussion Board