Pat O'Byrne and Wicklow ready to challenge the Dublin/Meath monopoly These days there are changes taking place among the Wicklow hills. The county footballers are already well into their preparations for the forthcoming league campaign; preparing themselves for the stiff challenges that lay ahead, writes Jimmy Geoghegan. Pat O'Byrne, the long serving midfielder has seen it all before. Twelve years since he made his inter-county debut O'Byrne was already well on the way to reaching the high level of fitness that is demanded in modern inter-county football. But O'Byrne also senses something else among his colleagues and team mates. A certain vibrancy and sense of purpose that has not always been present in the Wicklow teams of the past. Part of this he puts down to the recent 'achievements' of the Wicklow side. The fact that they very nearly knocked out Meath in this year's Leinster Championship and would surely have done so in the opinion of Pat O'Byrne, but for a palpable lack of experience. The tall Aughrim midfielder looks back on that game with a deep sense of nostalgia. Here was a game where many of the young Wicklow players came of age, where the 'no-hopers' from the Garden County almost brought off one of the shocks of the year. When Wicklow almost made the big breakthrough. For most of the game Wicklow played every bit as well as O'Rourke, Stafford and co., holding their own in almost every sector. The midfielders in particular, O'Byrne and colleague Fergus Daly were creating huge problems for PJ Gillic and Liam Hayes. Chances were being created in the Wicklow forward line. The Wicklow performance bristled with commitment, spirit, cohesion and skill that surprised many observers who knew that they were witnessing something different. The extent of the fire in the Wicklow bellies was shown by the fact that they fought their way back from a two point deficit with only a few minutes to go to earn a replay, a game they eventually lost - but only just. Both the games against Meath hold special significance for Pat O'Byrne because they represent the nearest the Garden County came to finally breaking free from the shackles and manacles that for so long bound them up in a sterile, grey category - the 'minnows', the no-hopers, the lambs to the slaughter - the terms that evoked hopelessness and guaranteed despair of the 'minor counties' in gaelic football. But now O'Byrne is sure that he can feel the sweet winds of change that are blowing through the modern game; sweeping away the cliches and breaking open the airtight categories. These days Wicklow, managed by 28 year old Meathman, Niall Rennicks, take a more thorough, professional approach to their games. Gone are the days of the haphazard, easy come, easy go approach. The training is hard, the discipline rigid, the commitment total, the attitude right, the rewards almost tangible. Of course, there was other times - in the bad old days - when Wicklow almost broke the monopoly held so imperiously by the Offalys, the Dublins and the Meaths. In 1980 Wicklow played Dublin in the Leinster semi final and a 20 year old Pat O'Byrne broke through from midfield, piercing the Dublin defence and kicked a low, hard shot towards the Dublin goal. It was the dying moments of the game and a goal would have ensured a shock victory for the Wicklowmen. The ball seemed destined for the net until John O'Leary struck out a hand and deflected it wide. Dublin held on. It was yet another 'nearly' story in Wicklow's despairing catalogue of defeat. O'Byrne reflects on that era - the early '80s - and sees a team brimming with some of the best talent in the country. Moses Coffey, Tommy Murphy, Pat Baker, Pat O'Toole, Owen Doyle, John Dooley. Players the Aughrim farmer believes would have got on any inter county side in the country. But the set-up wasn't right; the environment not conducive to achieving something. The will to win not as fierce as it should have been. "In those days we never did much training, we would only prepare for a big game a couple of weeks beforehand. We had the footballers with the ability but we were always lacking the fitness on big championship occasions. If we had a figure like Sean Boylan, I'm sure that we would have won something." So instead of becoming credible contenders for the Leinster Championship, and perhaps even greater glory, Wicklow struggled over teams like Carlow and Westmeath but invariably fell at the hands and feet of Meath or Dublin in the later stages. It was the same story in the League. Exiled down to the second division, the men in blue and gold couldn't quite manage to utilise the talents available to the maximum and stake a place in the top division. But some indication of the talent in the Wicklow team of the early eighties was seen in the fact that they remained unbeaten in the league for two years. They won Division 4 one year, scrambled out of Division 3 the next. The following season they played in Division 2, where they struggled, and finally lost a desperate battle to avoid the dreaded drop when they were defeated by Cavan in a relegation play-off. By that stage many of the leading players in the team, such as Moses Coffey and Pat O'Toole were thinking about taking out a six inch nail and hanging up their boots. Losing such talent and experience deprived Wicklow of the driving forces that would have fuelled a recovery. For nine years Wicklow remained in Division 3, sometimes hovering around the top of the table threatening to make 'the breakthrough'. At other times scrambling around the floor of the division, elated to achieve the odd victory, staring the unappetising prospect of Division 4 in the face. Each autumn, Pat O'Byrne set out on the same roads to places like Carlow, Mullingar, Longford. The days cold, wet. A biting, northerly wind bringing sleet and rain and making things as uncomfortable as possible for the handful of committed spectators that turned out to watch the games. Croke Park in September seemed like a different world. But not even in the darkest days, when a Wicklow win was as rare as swallows in November, did Pat O'Byrne consider packing it all in and turning his energies to squash or some other sport. "I suppose it is the love for the game that keeps one going. Every autumn the old enthusiasm returns and you get the longing to be on that pitch again. Sometimes you might get a little discouraged, especially after losing a few games but I never thought of giving it up." The dogged persistence, shown by O'Byrne and his colleagues, eventually bore fruit. In the spring of 1991 with Rennicks at the helm, the good ship Wicklow sailed out of Division 3 for the first time in almost a decade and ended up in the restructured first division. This unexpected elevation allied to a growing crop of up and coming young players has suddenly brightened the Aughrim man's sporting vista's. The Open Draw has added an extra, sparkling ingredient to the bubbling prospects of Wicklow football. O'Byrne is particularly encouraged by the arrival on the scene of young players like Hugh Kenny, the full back, Fergus Daly, the towering midfielder and the extremely alert Kevin O'Brien who won an All Star in 1990. The type of players who could be the foundation stones for future glory. As Pat O'Byrne points out if he and his other long serving colleague Pat Baker are excluded from the Wicklow teamsheet, the average age is only "about 22". Allied to the changes taking place is the new Rennicks era where commitment is the new byword and the reasons for O'Byrne's optimism can be appreciated. The Wicklow midfielder is only two well aware of what it takes to reach the top and be able to hold your own with the best. He is one of a small elite of players who, despite playing much of his football outside the limelight of national attention, has managed to receive recognition for the special talent he undoubtedly possesses. In 1986, under the managership of Kevin Heffernan, an Irish team played a series of tests with Australia. At centre back for all the games was the ambling Wicklowman. He was picked for Ireland the following year, as well as for the 1990 tour. Unforgettable occasions when O'Byrne was one of the few players from the lower divisions to get a chance to represent their country. Football is now an integral part of Pat O'Bryne's life. He grew up with five brothers, four of whom - Hugh, John, Damien and Paul - are team mates on the Aughrim senior football side. Hugh, an older brother, played minor, Under 21 and senior for Wicklow while Paul lined out for the county minors. At 31 Pat, who is married to Liz and has two children, is hoping that he has still "a few years yet" in top grade in front of him. He is an adherent to the old adage that if they are young enough they are good enough. He dismisses the suggestions that once a player reaches the supposedly crucial age of thirty years he should think about calling it a day. Too much is made of age, he believes. "Look at people like Colm O'Rourke, Pat Spillane, Gerry McEntee. They have been playing their best football in the last year or two." In the immediate future the Aughrim player is looking forward to helping Wicklow out in the forthcoming league campaign. Beyond that is the championship and a chance to improve on the near miss with Meath. He does not accept as "pie in the sky" that Wicklow could win the Leinster during his playing days or even the All-Ireland. But the statistics are against him. Wicklow have never won the All-Ireland. The last time they appeared in a Leinster Final was in 1897 when they lost to Dublin. But even turning history on its head is a possibility nowadays as the winds of change rustle through the hills and valleys of Wicklow. Taken from Hogan Stand magazine 18th October 1991 Tweet

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