As everyone who read any national media can see today Wicklow GAA's name is in the dirt again. Let me be the first to say we are all ashamed of this behaviour.

BUT all of these stories that make national headlines involve one common denominator, one club- Rathnew. Rathnew are our most successful club and have been always known to toe a line when it comes to the rules. They have produced some quality footballers over the years, Leighton Glynn of international rules fame to name but one. However in recent years they have stepped over the line in a big way. Four such incidents in the last four years are:

2009/2010: Minor strikes referee in the back of the head after they lose to Eire og in the final. (Hollywood ref blamed)
2010/2011: Minors and fans climbing fence are involved in a brawl after final whistle when Eire og beat them again. (Eire og/Ref are blamed)
2011/2012: Senior team losing to Blessington in SFC and start a mass brawl. (Blessington/Ref are blamed)
2012/2013: Senior team start a mass brawl against Carnew in SFC. (Carnew/Ref are blamed)

The problem is the club have such power within the county that they are never punished. The county's two best players are from Rathnew and threaten to quit the panel if the club are punished and the board backs down. The board blames the issue on the media. Can you believe that? I've never seen a photographer or journalist throwing a punch in Wicklow football. They say that this happens in every county every year and we are the only ones reported. Would you agree?

What I want to know is, how is Wicklow football in general viewed because of the behaviour of this club or can you even see that it is just this club? and how has your county dealt with thug teams in the past? (Surely there has been more than one Rathnew in the country). I would like the advice of counties who can actually keep their houses in order.

wonderingabout (Wicklow) - Posts: 181 - 09/09/2013 13:12:52    1478200

Wicklow always strikes me as a county where club football is far more important than county and as such you have clubs basically at war with each other, this inevitably ruins the county team because you have lads who hate each playing side by side, it can't work.

My advise would be to just throw the book at clubs who step out of line, if Wicklow are serious about building a strong team in the future then both clubs and players need to behave and of course underage structures probably need vast improvement also.

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 09/09/2013 13:41:04    1478239

Big fines and long suspensions are the only way to go. We have a strong club rivalery but we will never progress at inter county level with this behaviour.
Rathnew are not the only club but they are involved in these incidents more than any other. I live in Kildare and go to some games here and the differnce is the referee's tolerance and laying down the law from the start.

This referee actually referees in Kildare as well as Wicklow and can probably give a realistic account of the differnces he has experienced first hand.

HomerJay (Wicklow) - Posts: 369 - 09/09/2013 13:48:36    1478248

Great points Hteam, I would certainly agree that club football is very tribal in Wicklow and holds great importance to us, probably to our downfall. It is good to have an importance in the grassroots of the gaa, i.e. the club. BUT we have probably neglected our county teams in favour of our club agenda's for far too long. I am always struck at how people in other counties are shocked that football means so much to people in Wicklow. They assume that because we are so unsuccessful that we don't care about football but in reality we are one of the most fanatical counties in the country but have been let down by clubs indiscipline and successive county board failure to clean up our act. Wicklow will never get out of the basement with this system we have. Has any other counties had issues like this resolved? I am looking for hope from counties like Armagh and Tyrone who have won their first all ireland in the last decade- surely this came about due to a change in attitude and systems (discipline?) rather than good footballers just happening to be born in the county all of a sudden?

Is there much precedence in the GAA for banning clubs outright?

wonderingabout (Wicklow) - Posts: 181 - 09/09/2013 14:18:12    1478298

wonderingabout


No you're right grassroot club football is very important, we wouldn't have any county teams if there were no clubs but like you said club football is too tribal in Wicklow. That's why underage is so important, you need to breed the tribal stuff out of undergae players and teach them to play with heart and respect, if you can do that then your county team will stand a far better chance.

Of course you need the resources aswell, I used to work with a lad from Wicklow and I asked him why Wicklow have under-achieved for so long considering their population and he said that the large towns like Bray, Greystones and Arklow etc were mainly soccer towns. I really don't know if that's true or not but if it is then it would certainly put a dent in Wicklow Gaa.

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 09/09/2013 14:41:46    1478347

Htaem
County: Meath
Posts: 4346

1478239
Wicklow always strikes me as a county where club football is far more important than county and as such you have clubs basically at war with each other, this inevitably ruins the county team because you have lads who hate each playing side by side, it can't work.

My advise would be to just throw the book at clubs who step out of line, if Wicklow are serious about building a strong team in the future then both clubs and players need to behave and of course underage structures probably need vast improvement also.

Thats the problem in Kerry when it comes to hurling. Players see playing and winning with there clubs as being more important then playing with Kerry

moomoo (Kerry) - Posts: 4023 - 09/09/2013 14:46:08    1478354

I know a wee bit about Wicklow football because of family connections and would concur that is a very passionate GAA county. The Gaels there are very committed and it has very similar ring to my own county Antrim. There are very good footballers in both Wicklow and Antrim but because both counties don't have a great history of success at county level most of the passion and focus is confined within the club game and that leads to it's own problems. There are very strong rivalries which unfortunately cross the bounderies into the unacceptable and sadly violent and nasty at times. Our club hurling and football Championships are extremely competetive but have been littered with dreadful on and off field trouble which has carried over to the county side as well. I have also heard the name Rathnew keep reappearing in conversations with Wicklow people and it seems that team does have a disciplinary problem. I have also heard that the team seems to have an influence and attitude within the county which can be intimidating to other sides and the county board. Wicklow have to make a stand on this now with long bans for the guilty parties; Antrim had to do it and it seems to have worked.....fingers crossed.

Ulsterman (Antrim) - Posts: 9822 - 09/09/2013 14:49:40    1478359

The majority of the blame can be put on carnew for saturdays farce! 15 minutes to play with rathnew 6 points ahead do you really think they would be interested in getting into fights and risk getting sent off? The 2 young lads that were sent from rathnew were getting the heads punched off them anybody would defend themselves. Then carnew refuse to take the players that were sent off off the field claiming that they had substituted them seconds before they were red carded! County board needs to come down hard on carnew for the mockery they made of the game! Rathnew will already have punishment enough missing 3 important players for a county semi final

Ilarnapairce (Wicklow) - Posts: 27 - 09/09/2013 15:21:56    1478421

I do agree thatwhen you have indisciple in Club Teams that the County suffers
when cavan were at there best you Had Mullaghorne, Cavan Slashers, First Ulsters and several other teams that could not lookat one another but all gealed together to form a formidable opposition to Kerry and Dublin
All be it was old style football

tomsmith (Cavan) - Posts: 4060 - 09/09/2013 18:21:07    1478656

6 sent off in aughrim, who'd of thought it

lilypad (Kildare) - Posts: 1363 - 09/09/2013 18:54:29    1478699

were their any Tyrone men injured in this incident ?

fortyfive (Tyrone) - Posts: 5929 - 09/09/2013 19:06:05    1478710

fortyfive
County: Tyrone
Posts: 5553

1478710
were their any Tyrone men injured in this incident ?
-----
I'm sure Mickey Harte could put a positive spin on this game. Great defending or something like that. Why do people always focus on the cynicism when Rathnew are involved and not the great exhibition of defending.

Joxer (Dublin) - Posts: 4748 - 09/09/2013 19:19:07    1478721

I'm sure Mickey Harte could put a positive spin on that game. Why do people always focus on Rathnew's cynicism when they have a good defensive system? Something like that anyway!

Joxer (Dublin) - Posts: 4748 - 09/09/2013 19:35:15    1478739

defo Tyrone blood involved if it was Rathnew give Trixy my love boys )

fortyfive (Tyrone) - Posts: 5929 - 09/09/2013 20:14:34    1478761

Played a "friendly" hurling game down years ago. It was anything but friendly! What possessed our ones to arrange it is beyond me!

hurlingdub (Dublin) - Posts: 6978 - 09/09/2013 20:16:15    1478763

They're at it again..........

beal (Mayo) - Posts: 1388 - 10/09/2013 16:00:27    1479316

That's not very constructive Beal. I could be saying the exact same sentence about your county on the final whistle on the 22nd but I wouldn't do such a thing. I came on this forum looking for constructive advice/criticism so I could assess the situation from a county with more success than my own. Like most neutrals, I was hoping Mayo would win on the 22nd but it's lads like you that let your county down when it comes to neutral support and respect.

wonderingabout (Wicklow) - Posts: 181 - 10/09/2013 16:10:46    1479324

I remember hearing of a camógie match in Wicklow a few years ago that had to be abandoned due to violence!

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 10/09/2013 16:14:17    1479325

fortyfive
County: Tyrone
Posts: 5558

1478710 were their any Tyrone men injured in this incident ?

No, but rumour has it Mickey is hiring a bus for them all to go down and watch the next match and watch great manly defending in its true'st form(their sick of hearing about Dublin v Kerry);-)

AthCliath (Dublin) - Posts: 4347 - 10/09/2013 21:14:36    1479585

Wonderingabout,

No doubt the incidents which you highlighted are disgraceful and nothing short of cowardice and thuggery, hooliganism is another word which springs to mind. However we all have clubs in our counties which are connected to antics or one or another but please don't sell a piece of your own county out like that, iv never seen such an assault toward a club in all my time reading posts. Should be a sorted internally within Wicklow.

crossfieldball (Galway) - Posts: 650 - 10/09/2013 21:30:32    1479601