Latest news with #LarryO'Gorman
Irish Daily Mirror
13-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
'Kildare could even beat us' Wexford legend's Joe McDonagh Cup fear
Larry O'Gorman says he fears the drop to the Joe McDonagh Cup for Wexford, with even Kildare posing a threat to them next year. Wexford have flirted with demotion to the second tier in the recent past, with only a heroic victory over Kilkenny two years ago preserving their status in the Leinster Championship following a shock defeat to Westmeath. They have stabilised under Keith Rossiter in the last two seasons but failed to make the knockout stages this year after a spate of retirements, with Galway and Dublin moving ahead of them in the Leinster pecking order and Offaly now snapping at their heels. O'Gorman was one of the stars of the Wexford side that won the All-Ireland in 1996, their first in 28 years, though that isolated success will be three decades old next year and it's difficult to see where the next title will come from just now. Their best chance since 1996 arguably came in 2019, when they lost a commanding lead in the All-Ireland semi-final to 14-man Tipperary, who went on to win the title. '2019 is still haunting me, to be quite honest,' says O'Gorman. 'You know, losing that game to Tipperary in the semi-final, I think it took a lot out of the players. I think that was their best year of hurling for Wexford since '96 and when Davy [Fitzgerald] moved on, ok, we brought [Darragh] Egan in and we have Keith Rossiter there now, but I don't think we're at the level that we were when we were back in 2019. 'Going forward again, I think it's going to be a big ask for us to keep building the strength and depth that we have, that we are hoping to have, but I don't see too much coming forward, to be quite honest, and it sort of hurts you to say that, but that's the way we are in Wexford. You know, we get a good group of lads for a number of years and we fall off for a while, then we have to rebuild.' Last winter, Wexford lost Matthew O'Hanlon, Liam Og McGovern and Diarmuid O'Keeffe to retirement and while there is no indication that Lee Chin will join them during this close season, at 32, his inter-county career is in its twilight, yet his importance to the side has never been greater. 'One man will lead it for long enough, and after that, when he falls away, who in line is next to step up to the plate?' O'Gorman wonders. Wexford and Faythe Harriers legend Larry O'Gorman at Croke Park for the launch of the 2025 Beko Club Champion, an initiative to reward and celebrate local Leinster GAA club heroes who go above and beyond to help their local community and club. For more information visit (Image: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile) Looking at the sides that Wexford are scrapping with in Leinster, O'Gorman cites the momentum that Offaly have from their recent underage successes, while he expects Dublin to kick on again next year. Then you have Kildare joining the Leinster Championship next year after winning the Joe McDonagh Cup, a county that beat Wexford at under-20 level in 2021. 'From a Kildare point of view, their progress has risen so quick up the ladder that they can only get better. Now, have they got the skill levels? Have they got the drive to stay up at that level? Or is this just a pop up and a pop back down? 'The club in Naas are producing top-class hurlers. But yeah, Kildare are going to be a threat to Wexford as well. They're great hurlers, but the level we're at, I wouldn't be surprised if Kildare could even beat us.' O'Gorman feels that Wexford need an outside figurehead to drive underage development within the county. 'It starts from structures of under-14, under-16 to rebuild a new foundation in Wexford hurling. It could take five years, it could take 10 years. We're going to be here anyway, but as long as we're not down in the Joe McDonagh or the Lory Meagher - that could be our biggest problem. 'We need the likes of an Anthony Daly or a Donal O'Grady or someone like that to come in and take over an underage structure in Wexford and do it for a five-year plan or a 10-year plan and I think that's the only way it can work for Wexford. 'We have loads of academy teams, we have loads of lads in helping. We have guys from clubs that are coming in, giving their time with development squads. But we're not getting too many answers out of it. 'I was involved with underage with Wexford. I looked at a programme the other day, 2015, out of 64 players, there was only two of them playing for Wexford (senior now). That was the Tony Forristal. Two teams, A and B team, and we have only two players out of 64 players playing for Wexford today.'
Irish Daily Mirror
13-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Munster domination of hurling set to continue says All-Ireland winner
Munster's domination of hurling may continue for some time yet, Larry O'Gorman has warned. The province has provided the last eight All-Ireland champions and while much of that was driven by a Limerick team for the ages, Clare and Tipperary have now won the last two titles with both this year's final and last year's all-Munster affairs. Kilkenny were the last Leinster county to win an All-Ireland in 2015 and their failure to bridge that gap this year means that they have now entered their longest ever stretch without a title. Galway, who have competed in Leinster since 2009, won their only All-Ireland in the last 37 years in 2017. No other Leinster county has even reached a final since Offaly back in 2000. 'It's a little bit worrying,' says former Wexford star O'Gorman. 'In our time, we didn't really worry about too many in Munster. Because we thought Kilkenny, they were the best team in it, if we could beat Kilkenny, you could beat anyone. That's what we were thinking back in our day. 'Now, if you beat Kilkenny, you say, 'Hold on, this is only going to get harder'. Because when you look at Munster hurling for the last number of years, it's been so strong, so tough, even Kilkenny are finding it difficult to beat them. Wexford and Faythe Harriers legend Larry O'Gorman at Croke Park for the launch of the 2025 Beko Club Champion, an initiative to reward and celebrate local Leinster GAA club heroes who go above and beyond to help their local community and club. For more information visit (Image: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile) 'Kilkenny don't find anyone in Leinster difficult to beat but now when they go to Munster, they're the only team in Leinster that can upset a Munster team. But of late, Kilkenny find that hard to do now because of the way the likes of Limerick and the Corks and the Tipperarys have rebounded. Kilkenny were the hurling craft boys of the game. Then they came up again, physicality, strength, and good hurling as well. 'Limerick did produce some top-class hurlers. It's hard to break them big teams down. And at the moment, Munster hurling has jumped so high. We're looking up at them, unfortunately. Where before, we were looking level-eyed with them. And if it keeps going like that, Munster hurling could dominate for the next number of years.'
