NAME: Michael Murtagh DATE OF BIRTH: 12/2/67 HEIGHT: 5' 10" WEIGHT: 12st 7lbs CLUB: Dunlavin COUNTY: Wicklow HONOURS: Division 3 promotion; All-Ireland B Championship medal INTER COUNTY DEBUT: 1986 against Offaly in Athy PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT: Self employed TOUGHEST OPPONENT: Kieran Duff (Dublin) FAVOURITE GROUNDS: Aughrim FAVOURITE POSITION: Left half back SPORTING AMBITION: To win a Leinster title DO YOU PLAY ANY OTHER SPORTS? Squash BOYHOOD HEROES: Pat Baker FAVOURITE PLAYERS: Fergus Dearing and Terry Allen BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON CAREER: My father (won an All-Ireland medal - Tug-o-War 1972) WAYS OF IMPROVING THE GAME: Better refs BEST GAME SEEN: Kildare v Dublin in League Final PLAYERS WITH A PROMISING FUTURE: Seamus Wiley and Declan Flood (both county minors) HOPES FOR 1993: To do well in 1993 championship TELL US ABOUT YOUR CLUB, DUNLAVIN: We are back in senior this year after playing in Division 2 for one year. It's a small club, with about 40 members and is very strong at underage football YOU WERE RECENTLY PROMOTED TO THE SENIOR RANKS: Yes, we got beaten in the semi-final of the championship by Kilcoole but went back to senior through the league IN RECENT YEARS, DUNLAVIN WERE OVERSHADOWED BY NEIGHBOURING STRONGHOLDS, HOLLYWOOD AND ESPECIALLY BALTINGLASS: Baltinglass rule football in the county, but other than that, all teams are at the one level OBVIOUSLY GAELIC FOOTBALL IS POPULAR IN YOUR PART OF WICKLOW: Yes, because underage football is so strong IN RECENT YEARS, WICKLOW HAVE ENJOYED A HIGHER PROFILE. WHY DO YOU THINK THIS IS SO? Because there are a lot of quality players in the county at club level and county level, Kevin O'Brien being the best known DID YOU PLAY IN ANY OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES AGAINST MEATH IN 1991? Yes, I played in both games THAT MUST HAVE BEEN THE BEST FOOTBALL WICKLOW SERVED UP IN YEARS: Yes, because we believed in ourselves and had the will to win WHAT WENT WRONG AGAINST KILDARE LAST SUMMER? The team was mentally wrong on the day YOU DID NOT PLAY THAT PARTICULAR GAME YOURSELF: No. I picked up an injury and lost my place a few weeks before the game and could not regain it THE WICKLOW SUPPORT MUST HAVE BEEN GUTTED BY THE RESULT, ESPECIALLY THOSE FROM YOUR OWN AREA WHICH CLOSELY BORDERS KILDARE: It was a big let down for everybody. We never had as much support and after the game there was no-one more disappointed than the 24 players YOUR RUN IN THE ALL-IRELAND B CHAMPIONSHIP SUGGESTS THAT YOU HAVE GOT RID OF THAT RESULT FROM YOUR SYSTEM: There is only one way to get rid of it from the system and that is to beat them next year YOUR VIEWS ON WICKLOW MANAGER NIALL RENNICK: Niall is a young man and a very dedicated man and in turn, will be the Brian McEniff of Wicklow PHILIP HEALY HELD DOWN THAT LEFT HALF SPOT FOR WICKLOW FOR QUITE A SPELL. HAS PHILIP RETIRED? Big Phil runs his own pub and was under a lot of pressure to keep playing but still plays with his club IT MUST BE NICE PLAYING BEHIND SUCH A TALENTED MIDFIELD PAIRING AS PAT O'BYRNE AND FERGUS DALY: Two of the best in the county, on and off the field WHAT DO YOU THINK OF NEXT YEAR'S LEINSTER CHAMPIONSHIP DRAW? I think it gives us a good chance to show everybody that we are not as bad as last year's result MICHAEL MURTAGH TO BE PART OF A WICKLOW TEAM THAT EVENTUALLY MAKES THE DESERVED BREAKTHROUGH IN 1993: I myself have put in a lot of hours into football with the rest of the lads and 1993 will be the year Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 11th December 1992 Vol 2 No 85 Tweet

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