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Wexford Club Hurling 2026

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Replying To Afinestick96:  "What frustates me is the pace it takes to get things done in Wexford . All the recommendations made in the Kinnerk report have any of them been acted on?"
What frustrates me is we talk about the same things every year. So next year we'll be discussing the same things over and over again

WEXILE (Wexford) - Posts: 527 - 10/08/2026 15:44:35    2689334

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Replying To Viking66:  "Our u10s train Mondays and Wednesdays with games on Fridays."
Is that 2 hurling a week or 1 football and 1 hurling?

WEXILE (Wexford) - Posts: 527 - 10/08/2026 15:45:55    2689335

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Replying To Afinestick96:  "What frustates me is the pace it takes to get things done in Wexford . All the recommendations made in the Kinnerk report have any of them been acted on?"
There werent many actual recommendations in the report. And alot of the vague ones like getting the schools to do more while the county spends less on GPO/GDAs have been acted on with the results most of us predicted at the Kinnerk/Mcgeehan meetings. The other vague recommendation that the upper echelons of underage hurling development needed to be streamlined and more clearly defined was also acted on. We took over half a year replacing the head of coaching and games, and havent replaced the Director of Hurling at all. Much more streamlined.
The 1 concrete recommendation that we needed to have someone specifically to oversee the pathway from u14 through to u20 hasnt been acted on, except to ask the former Director of Hurling to do this which maybe prompted his resignation. And of the 2 strands which came in for praise in the report, Performance Analysis and Athletic Development, our head of Athletic Development also left last winter and also hasnt been replaced.
The report itself was a savage waste of money, it just pointed out things alot of us already knew, and made unrealistic recommendations like the schools and teachers should replace paid Wexford GAA staff without getting paid for their time. With precictably negative results in terms of buy in from teachers especially at National Schools level.
It seemed to be drawn up with value for, or saving, money as its central principle rather than improving Wexford hurling. And what has happened since seems to bear this out. We certainly have saved money on wages this year. Result!!!!

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20432 - 10/08/2026 16:00:12    2689338

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Replying To Pikeman96:  "Thing about handball is that while it can help develop those things all right, it doesn't just run during the hurling & football off-season. A young lad who goes to play handball some winter and discovers he's good at it could end up missing chunks of the hurling & football season if he qualifies for certain handball events. I've heard of it happening.

As for squash - a squash court is significantly smaller than a handball alley. Just 32 feet x 21 feet, as opposed to 40x20 or even 60x30. Suppose you could play squash in a handball alley all right, but it wouldn't be "proper" squash, and wouldn't expect you'd have serious squash players or clubs lining up to pay to use it. Would be a bit like playing table tennis on a full-sized snooker table!"
One of our better players has missed training sessions and a match on account of playing handball

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20432 - 10/08/2026 16:02:56    2689339

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Replying To Pikeman96:  "It's been outlined here already why the pitch has been closed to matches.

Some sort of drainage work needed around the 13m to 20m lines at the Clonard end. Some sort of ruts or furrows developed which were apparently big enough for a hurling ball to get stuck in, or for any player (hurler or footballer) to suffer an injury like a twisted ankle if he happened to step into one while running at speed. Don't know exactly how they developed or why they're taking so long to come right, but I do know there are Round 5 hurling matches scheduled there (weekend after next), so they must be nearly right again anyway.

That Cúl Camp is the autism and special needs Cúl Camp that's been run there every year for the past few years. Presume they just have that section of the pitch cordonned off for it. But obviously can't cordon off a section of a pitch for a championship match!"
The furrows appeared because drains were dug across the pitch there and filled with sand. On account of the dry weather the sod hasnt taken to cover these in.
Apparently theres an underground spring there and probably a cheaper more effective way of dealing with it would be to dig down to it with a JCB and put in a couple concrete rings and a biscuit, with a pipe to pipe the springwater away. My neighbours well was done this way and the well doesn't run dry and the water is excellent.
But Im only a classic motorbike mechanic, what would I know.....

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20432 - 10/08/2026 16:08:05    2689341

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Replying To WEXILE:  "Is that 2 hurling a week or 1 football and 1 hurling?"
Generally 2 hurling if theres a hurling game Friday, or 2 Football if the game on Friday is Football. Same as all our underage teams up to u14.

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20432 - 10/08/2026 16:09:40    2689342

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Replying To Viking66:  "There werent many actual recommendations in the report. And alot of the vague ones like getting the schools to do more while the county spends less on GPO/GDAs have been acted on with the results most of us predicted at the Kinnerk/Mcgeehan meetings. The other vague recommendation that the upper echelons of underage hurling development needed to be streamlined and more clearly defined was also acted on. We took over half a year replacing the head of coaching and games, and havent replaced the Director of Hurling at all. Much more streamlined.
The 1 concrete recommendation that we needed to have someone specifically to oversee the pathway from u14 through to u20 hasnt been acted on, except to ask the former Director of Hurling to do this which maybe prompted his resignation. And of the 2 strands which came in for praise in the report, Performance Analysis and Athletic Development, our head of Athletic Development also left last winter and also hasnt been replaced.
The report itself was a savage waste of money, it just pointed out things alot of us already knew, and made unrealistic recommendations like the schools and teachers should replace paid Wexford GAA staff without getting paid for their time. With precictably negative results in terms of buy in from teachers especially at National Schools level.
It seemed to be drawn up with value for, or saving, money as its central principle rather than improving Wexford hurling. And what has happened since seems to bear this out. We certainly have saved money on wages this year. Result!!!!"
Is there much work being done to fill in these positions Viking ? It sounds like it's vital we get this sorted soon to me

Afinestick96 (Wexford) - Posts: 1115 - 10/08/2026 16:57:31    2689346

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Replying To Viking66:  "There werent many actual recommendations in the report. And alot of the vague ones like getting the schools to do more while the county spends less on GPO/GDAs have been acted on with the results most of us predicted at the Kinnerk/Mcgeehan meetings. The other vague recommendation that the upper echelons of underage hurling development needed to be streamlined and more clearly defined was also acted on. We took over half a year replacing the head of coaching and games, and havent replaced the Director of Hurling at all. Much more streamlined.
The 1 concrete recommendation that we needed to have someone specifically to oversee the pathway from u14 through to u20 hasnt been acted on, except to ask the former Director of Hurling to do this which maybe prompted his resignation. And of the 2 strands which came in for praise in the report, Performance Analysis and Athletic Development, our head of Athletic Development also left last winter and also hasnt been replaced.
The report itself was a savage waste of money, it just pointed out things alot of us already knew, and made unrealistic recommendations like the schools and teachers should replace paid Wexford GAA staff without getting paid for their time. With precictably negative results in terms of buy in from teachers especially at National Schools level.
It seemed to be drawn up with value for, or saving, money as its central principle rather than improving Wexford hurling. And what has happened since seems to bear this out. We certainly have saved money on wages this year. Result!!!!"
Tbf, the Kinnerk report and its fallout didn't have any real influence on the Senior results and probably didn't have any impact on U20 & Minor results either, might have affected development squad results alright

This isn't rocket science and tbh, the Kinnerk report probably told us little we didn't already now

As other posters have said, it's like Groundhog Day, we say the same things ever few months

Some get angry at the lack of action but for me, I find it less and less surprising

I don't think the lack of action is worse than what it has been the past but we've been mediocre for a long time now, Seniors were worse than that this year but a lot of that was down to the best hurlers in Wexford not hurling for Wexford, things would improve if they came back but there's no guarantee that even with that happening that we'd be much better than mediocre

McGeeney was saying there a few weeks ago on Off The Ball before the AI football final that a lot of players are scared of winning; by this, I think he meant that a lot of players are scared of what it takes to win i.e going to hell and back

I think we have a lot of clubs in this county who have become quite used to mediocre and who are scared of going to hell and back, they're quite content to keep themselves comfortable, not push themselves outside of their comfort zone, and ultimately remain mediocre

I feel like the calls for action are coming from people in clubs who maybe have decent standards; the problem is that not enough people in Wexford care enough to impose decent standards and instead they remain content enough with their lot

ElGranSenor (Wexford) - Posts: 1481 - 10/08/2026 18:31:47    2689354

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Replying To Afinestick96:  "Is there much work being done to fill in these positions Viking ? It sounds like it's vital we get this sorted soon to me"
Me too. Not sure what's been done so far, but I do know our top table are all volunteers, and are unbelievably busy on our behalf for no pay.
Finding the right people for those 2 jobs is very important. No point just getting someone in to fill a job who is going to count his hours and doesn't really care about the job. All our paid staff do way more hours than they are paid for.

Viking66 (Wexford) - Posts: 20432 - 10/08/2026 18:32:33    2689355

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Replying To Viking66:  "Generally 2 hurling if theres a hurling game Friday, or 2 Football if the game on Friday is Football. Same as all our underage teams up to u14."
Oh right, we do one football and ine one hurling a week but the structure is weird.

We do mid Jan/Feb to around late June then break til late August and do August to November so in the best weather during the summer we have nothing.

I'd be jealous of all the blitzes they do outside of Dublin so.always trying to get involved.in those.

Incidentally if anyone id looking for a team to join a.blitz or play challenges do me. We can do strong, weak.or.middling and will tevel :;

WEXILE (Wexford) - Posts: 527 - 10/08/2026 19:25:47    2689363

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Replying To ElGranSenor:  "What three Wexford clubs did you beat?"
Probably wouldn't good etiquette to mention specific teams as no doubt parents be on this board so keeping it positive I was really impressed by blackwater u11s and Gorey u12s

WEXILE (Wexford) - Posts: 527 - 10/08/2026 19:31:00    2689364

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Replying To Pikeman96:  "It's been outlined here already why the pitch has been closed to matches.

Some sort of drainage work needed around the 13m to 20m lines at the Clonard end. Some sort of ruts or furrows developed which were apparently big enough for a hurling ball to get stuck in, or for any player (hurler or footballer) to suffer an injury like a twisted ankle if he happened to step into one while running at speed. Don't know exactly how they developed or why they're taking so long to come right, but I do know there are Round 5 hurling matches scheduled there (weekend after next), so they must be nearly right again anyway.

That Cúl Camp is the autism and special needs Cúl Camp that's been run there every year for the past few years. Presume they just have that section of the pitch cordonned off for it. But obviously can't cordon off a section of a pitch for a championship match!"
OK that makes sense must ve missed why it was till closed . Looks in great nick towards any other field thats been used at present so hopefully the problem will be resolved very soon .

Formertownie (Wexford) - Posts: 658 - 10/08/2026 21:38:43    2689369

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Replying To Viking66:  "The furrows appeared because drains were dug across the pitch there and filled with sand. On account of the dry weather the sod hasnt taken to cover these in.
Apparently theres an underground spring there and probably a cheaper more effective way of dealing with it would be to dig down to it with a JCB and put in a couple concrete rings and a biscuit, with a pipe to pipe the springwater away. My neighbours well was done this way and the well doesn't run dry and the water is excellent.
But Im only a classic motorbike mechanic, what would I know....."
I haven't the foggiest notion about that sort of work and had to look up what a "biscuit" means in this context. Somewhat relieved to learn you weren't suggesting they should rely on custard creams or chocolate digestives to tackle the problem there anyway.

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3846 - 10/08/2026 22:13:08    2689377

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Replying To ElGranSenor:  "Tbf, the Kinnerk report and its fallout didn't have any real influence on the Senior results and probably didn't have any impact on U20 & Minor results either, might have affected development squad results alright

This isn't rocket science and tbh, the Kinnerk report probably told us little we didn't already now

As other posters have said, it's like Groundhog Day, we say the same things ever few months

Some get angry at the lack of action but for me, I find it less and less surprising

I don't think the lack of action is worse than what it has been the past but we've been mediocre for a long time now, Seniors were worse than that this year but a lot of that was down to the best hurlers in Wexford not hurling for Wexford, things would improve if they came back but there's no guarantee that even with that happening that we'd be much better than mediocre

McGeeney was saying there a few weeks ago on Off The Ball before the AI football final that a lot of players are scared of winning; by this, I think he meant that a lot of players are scared of what it takes to win i.e going to hell and back

I think we have a lot of clubs in this county who have become quite used to mediocre and who are scared of going to hell and back, they're quite content to keep themselves comfortable, not push themselves outside of their comfort zone, and ultimately remain mediocre

I feel like the calls for action are coming from people in clubs who maybe have decent standards; the problem is that not enough people in Wexford care enough to impose decent standards and instead they remain content enough with their lot"
You make a good point of settling for mediocrity instead of challenging yourself. I'm thinking of it again in terms of our hurling championship structure. Say there were just two options:
1. The one we currently have, with 10 out of 12 going through.
2. The one that didn't even go to the floor because of how it would have been heavily defeated, where 1st place would go straight to a semi-final, 2nd and 3rd would play quarter-finals, and 4th and 5th would be out.

Settle for the first one, and you could amble along to coming fifth in your group, maybe turn in a performance or get another mediocre team on a bad day in a preliminary quarter-final, lose a quarter-final by maybe five or six points, and then clap yourself on the back for having a "not too bad" year

Or

Go for the other, where you absolutely have to set yourself the challenge and meet the challenge of being in the top half of your grade to even make the play-offs at all.

The majority go for the first, where you get away with mediocrity. Not many would opt for the challenge of the second.

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3846 - 10/08/2026 22:20:32    2689379

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Replying To WEXILE:  "Oh right, we do one football and ine one hurling a week but the structure is weird.

We do mid Jan/Feb to around late June then break til late August and do August to November so in the best weather during the summer we have nothing.

I'd be jealous of all the blitzes they do outside of Dublin so.always trying to get involved.in those.

Incidentally if anyone id looking for a team to join a.blitz or play challenges do me. We can do strong, weak.or.middling and will tevel :;"
Curious now, because of how I was saying about Cork clubs doing about nine months straight through.

I knew there was a gap in the games programme in Dublin during summer, but you seem to have suggested you barely even train during this time? Do most other clubs operate the same way? I'd have thought clubs would at least be training as usual, and arranging matches between themselves, and possibly their own tournaments.

Pikeman96 (Wexford) - Posts: 3846 - 11/08/2026 09:41:44    2689399

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