Philip Healy and his Wicklow Colleagues Aiming to take another giant step forward It was the closest they had come in a long, long time. With just minutes to go Wicklow looked like they were about to create a major upset by beating hot favourites Meath in last year's championship. The previous week the Royal County had defeated Dublin and - on paper - Meath's joust with the Wicklowmen looked a relatively easy task. But the men in blue and gold displayed oceans of fire and skill and forced their opponents to work to the very end to earn a draw: prompting Sean Boylan to announce afterwards. "That team has great potential". In the replay Meath emerged the victors but people had seen a new Wicklow - a team that had to be respected A year on with Meath out of the way Wicklow are eager for further success. But if they fail to make an impact in the year's championship it will not be for the want of planning and preparation. Since early last Autumn coach Niall Rennicks has supervised a sustained training programme that continued even throughout the Christmas holidays. Total commitment was asked for and given. Usually the full squad was present and correct. In the New Year as the National League swung back into action training was upped from two nights a week to four. The intensity of the programme gives some indication of Wicklow's desire to make an impression. Among the regular squad members was Wicklow's muscular, mobile half back Philip Healy, who runs the family pub in Wicklow town. He recall that, even in September, when training began it did so in earnest. There was no shirking. It was blood and sweat from the start. This dedication to a professional ethos has fuelled optimism among the Wicklow hills that this just might be their year. That a long awaited Leinster championship win might at last be on hand. First there was Baltinglass' ultimate club success on St. Patrick's Day 1990 and then Mick O'Dwyer has fanned the flames of hope by stating that Wicklow are a side of real talent and will take a lot of beating. It's a view confidently shared by Healy, who despite being in his "early thirties" is relatively new to the inter-county scene. The St. Patrick's player took the scenic route to top flight football. Failing to grab the attention of Wicklow's minor or under 21 selectors he blossomed late, only making his debut for the senior six years ago when he was in his mid-twenties. Since then he has been a permanent member of the team. Some commentators put forward the theory that Wicklow simply didn't believe that they could beat Meath last year. They had the players but somehow that delicate injection of self-confidence was absent. Philip Healy concurs: "Yes, I suppose in those games against Meath we didn't believe in ourselves as much as we should have done. If we had we would have won" But bolstered by that experience the ghosts of self-doubt have been cast aside. A new confidence fills the air. Now nobody is to be feared. Philip Healy remembers a different Wicklow. When he started playing inter-county football in the mid-eighties his county was still in the no-hope category. But times have changed and part of this change, he says, is due to the arrival of Niall Rennick as coach. His call for a greater effort has been answered. "The training sessions have been hard and tough. The fitness of the players is of a very high standard as a consequence. But Niall who is P.E. teacher makes sure that the sessions are varied and interesting and this helps a great deal. The players have put in the work required", says Healy. Apart from the high level of fitness, Rennicks - who is one of the youngest team managers in the country- has added in another ingredient. "He has brought great self-belief into the team to such an extent that we fear no one", he adds. Already the squad has completed the first part of a detailed plan prepared back in Autumn. "Our aim was to regain our place in Division 1 of the National League and we have done that. Now our next step is to win the Leinster crown". Already the initial and important step towards the latter goal has been taken with the recent ten point win over Longford in the opening round of the championship. The next hurdle is presented in the form of O'Dwyers Lilywhites - and this is where a glimpse of Wicklow's new-age optimism can be found. "We are certainly as good as Kildare who have benefited greatly from O'Dwyers experience. But there is little between the teams. The recent league matches between the counties have been very close and we won the last championship game a few years ago. So we are very hopeful of repeating that again". Healy and his colleagues are eager to shake off any suggestions that they are a bunch of pretenders. A side that had potential but, for one reason or another, failed to fulfil that promise. There is now an aim beyond just the winning of early championship games. "This is the best Wicklow team for a very long time. It has plenty of talent and the players are eager to translate this into success. We don't want to be remembered as a team that didn't fulfil it's potential. We want to make Wicklow football respected". Healy believes that one of the strengths of the team is a fine, delicate balance between the old and the new; youth and experience. On the one hand there is the wisdom of players like Pat Baker and Pat O'Byrne who between them have a vast amount of experience in inter-county football. The other new faces have been introduced over the past twelve months - young players like Ronan Coffey, Paul Allen and William Carey. This blend could be a potent force. As a member of St. Patrick's club in Wicklow town Philip Healy knows the taste of success. The senior footballers have been one of the leading lights in the county for many years and the club has, down the years, maintained a close connection with Philip's family. Two of his uncles Joe and Ger Carroll were on the St.Patrick's side that won a series of county championships in the fifties. His mother Ellen was a noted camogie player while his brother Joe played for Wicklow's minor and under 21 teams. Four of his cousins currently play with St.Patrick's including Richie Griffen who also lined out for Wicklow. Philip Healy sees his club as one of the most vibrant around with a thriving, well-managed under-age set-up. Greater success for the seniors would undoubtedly have been forthcoming only for the dominance of Baltinglass, former All Ireland club champions who in recent years beat St. Patrick's in two county finals. St. Pat's are also a strong hurling club with a number of the players on the Wicklow team. Sport has always played a big role in Philip Healy's life. When he was studying at Trinity College he joined the rugby and athletic clubs there. This interest in maintaining a high level of physical fitness has helped him to meet the demands of inter-county football - especially now as he moves into his thirties. But too much emphasis, he thinks, can be placed on age. If the will is there to keep going and train hard, the years should not be such a big barrier "Look at Colm O'Rourke and players like Pat O'Byrne. If somebody keeps in good shape, there is no reason why they can't keep going well into their thirties. There is a new generation of players in most counties now who are well into their thirties and who are still playing very well". The concentration on fitness in the modern game is, he feels, for a good reason. New rules like the taking of free-kicks from the hand have upped the tempo of the game considerably. "Everything now moves at 100 miles an hour. It has become a much faster game. There are few hold-ups now and you have to concentrate more and think faster. By it's nature Gaelic football is a very physical game and you have to be in top condition to take the knocks". Top class football also demands sacrifices. "We all have to give up a lot of our time but when you win as we did against Longford it is all worth while", He says. That win in Pearse Park sets Wicklow up nicely for their confrontation with Kildare in a match that presents Philip Healy and his Colleagues with a perfect chance of making up for last year's near miss against Meath. Against that is the awareness that Kildare will not want to fall into the same trap they did against Louth last year. But if Wicklow win Philip Healy knows that it will be a major step forward for football in the Garden County. After that, anything is possible. Taken from Hogan Stand Magazine 05/06/92. Written by Jimmy Geoghegan. Tweet

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