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Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Chadwicks Wexford Park hosting Wicklow versus Waterford Tailteann Cup clash
And while it would be stretching it to apply that adjective to events about to unfold in Chadwicks Wexford Park, the novelty value is at least worthy of note. I'm referring to the national GAA fixture list for next Saturday, and the fact that our main county ground will play host to a neutral game after a gap of almost 20 years. Eyebrows were raised – albeit in a positive way – when the games were perused and it emerged that Wicklow will be meeting Waterford in their Group 2 game in the Tailteann Cup in Chadwicks Wexford Park at 6 p.m., with Dublin's Barry Tiernan the man in the middle for this third round encounter. While it's the perfect location in a geographical sense for once, the opportunities to stage such matches don't come around often in this part of the world. Being stuck in the south-east corner of the country comes with its disadvantages, unlike midlands towns such as Portlaoise and Tullamore that routinely serve as the venue for neutral encounters. By way of comparison, the last such match to take place in Wexford Park was on May 21, 2006, when Carlow defeated Wicklow by 4-9 to 0-12 in the first round of the Leinster Senior football championship. There was a time when the venue was used regularly for meetings between Kilkenny and Dublin in the Leinster Senior hurling championship, but we are rapidly approaching the 50th anniversary of the last such occurrence – on June 29, 1975 when the Cats triumphed in a semi-final by 3-16 to 1-7. The legendary Eddie Keher led the scoring stakes for the winners with 1-8, while Mick 'Cloney' Brennan and the late Liam 'Chunky' O'Brien added goals in a game refereed by Noel Matthews, the Meath-born and Enniscorthy-based Garda who has also passed to his eternal reward. An interesting name on the Dublin team at midfield was another long-time Enniscorthy resident and former St. Peter's College principal Pat Quigley, a native of Tipperary who was their joint top scorer with 0-4 along with former All Star Mick Bermingham (1-1). The curtain-raiser that day saw the Wexford Minors lose a Leinster semi-final to Dublin by 3-11 to 3-9, with the team including John 'Stella' Walker in goal, Jimmy Holohan at right half-back, John Conran at right half-forward, and Ger Flood at right corner-forward. Moving forward to that football game in 2006, the outcome prompted Wicklow manager Hugh Kenny to announce his resignation in the dressing-room afterwards. 'I told the lads that whatever match they play in the future, I'll be there to support them but the time is right to make way,' he said. 'I had made up my mind a long time ago that I'd go if we didn't beat Carlow in the championship, and I'm sticking to that.' Shane Scanlon, reporting for the 'Irish Independent' noted that: 'Wexford Park soaked up an avalanche of overnight rain, but you'd scarcely think so such was the pristine state of the sod.' Former Meath midfielder Liam Hayes was managing the Carlow side, and they were powered to victory with goals from man of the match Thomas Walsh, Alan Kelly, Simon Rea and Brian Carbery. Saturday's game is likely to attract a few curious neutral observers from Wexford, and I'm hoping that the venue will also be considered for an even bigger hurling game that may or may not happen in the coming weeks. With Kilkenny already through to the Electric Ireland All-Ireland Minor hurling championship semi-final, their opposition will be provided by Waterford if the Déise lads first overcome Limerick in Thurles on Sunday. Should that pairing arise, then Chadwicks Wexford Park would be the most suitable venue. While county HQ hasn't been used much for neutral matches in recent times, a fair share of schools, colleges, LGFA and camogie games have taken place in the likes of Gorey, Bellefield, St. Patrick's Park and New Ross. One of the most unusual saw Páirc Uí Shíocháin host Slaughtneil of Derry's victory over Sarsfields from Galway in the AIB All-Ireland Senior Club camogie semi-final three years ago. Geographically it was a bizarre choice, but it was borne out of necessity due to bad weather that had ruled out all potential locations in the northern half of the country.
RTÉ News
25-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Wexford deny Kilkenny perfect qualifying run
Wexford picked up the pieces to deny Kilkenny a perfect run through qualifying as Rory O'Connor and Lee Chin goals nailed the home spoils in Sunday's concluding Leinster Senior hurling championship round-robin derby duel at Chadwicks Wexford Park. Indeed, despite Kilkenny fielding a rather experimental formation, they were desperately unlucky with a bunch of goaling opportunities, although Wexford quickly established a solid foundation to derive a consolation victory as their summer campaign reaches an early finish. Indeed, the home-side availed of first advantage of the strong wind to generate a 0-12 to 0-04 half-time lead - although Fionán Mackessy was desperately unfortunate to squander a gilt-edged goal chance for Kilkenny – and a early second-half Rory O'Connor goal paved the way for purple and gold celebrations amongst the 4,623 in attendance. In a game of little relevance, most intrigue circulated around usual Kilkenny gunslinger Adrian Mullen's siting at centre-back, as his management continue to try to discover a remedy And with Wexford allowing centre-forward Chin to roam, it gave Mullen the licence to affect certain situations in a composed outing but one which hardly provided a solid answer to their unease with that position. The neighbours shared six points inside the first eleven minutes, before Mikie Dwyer, Simon Donohoe – the latter from his own half – and Lee Chin (free) drove Wexford 0-06 to 0-03 clear after 16 minutes. While Cian Kenny pegged the gap back to two with his second personal contribution, four Chin scores (three frees) widened Wexford's advantage after 27 minutes (0-10 to 0-04). But the home-side suffered the setback of losing the defensive intelligence of Damien Reck through injury on 29 minutes after he got a leg between Owen Wall's attempted drive on goal in Wall's seasonal debut for the Cats. And the Wexford goal enjoyed a massive let off moments later when Mackessy soared through onto a Luke Connellan delivery only to unbelievably send the goaling opportunity wide. Chin (free) and midfielder Conor Hearne capitalised further, meanwhile, as Wexford emerged from a rather tepid first half with a seven-point buffer (0-12 to 0-05) after Connellan had ended a 21-minute Kilkenny scoring drought with a score three minutes into added-time. Wexford made every effort to consolidate their position when O'Connor responded to a pointed free from TJ Reid by blasting the net on 38 minutes after fetching Conor Foley's angled delivery into the right corner over Tommy Walsh's head and bursting through. However, while two further Chin frees stretched the hosts ahead by 1-14 to 0-07, Kilkenny twice threatened the Wexford net eleven minutes into the closing-half. Firstly, a line-ball from Killian Doyle found TJ Reid in a central position from which he offloaded for Mackessy, only for the Kerry-man to again strike wide. But play was pulled back for a free – and Reid saw his powerful strike blocked, before Connellan prospered from the rebound to cut the gap to 1-14 to 0-08 after 46 minutes. Kilkenny were by now seeking to bolster their attack as boss Derek Lyng summoned Stephen Donnelly and Gearoid Dunne from the bench. Mullen chipped in from distance for Kilkenny before they suffered their latest close miss in front of goal – and this being the narrowest, as Wexford defender Eoin Ryan only just swept off the goal-line at the expense of a pointed '65 after Donnelly had tipped a long delivery towards the net. Wexford ended their own mundane second half in explosive fashion, as substitute Conor McDonald bisected the uprights, before his cross found Chin for a thunderous finish to the net and a 2-17 to 0-11 gap on 60 minutes. Kilkenny's frustrations around goal continued as sub Gearoid Dunne was foiled before Reid saw another effort direct from a free kept out by Niall Murphy for a '65 from which Reid garnered some satisfaction to pare the deficit down to 2-18 to 0-12. The Noresiders eventually found some goal delight 73 seconds into injury-time when Reid deftly flicked home substitute Niall Shortall's neat assist for a consolation blow as the experimentation ends for Kilkenny ahead of the Leinster decider against Galway. Wexford: Mark Fanning; Eoin Ryan. Simon Donohoe (0-01), Conor Foley; Cian Molloy, Damien Reck, Darragh Carley; Conor Hearne (0-01), Corey Byrne-Dunbar; Jack O'Connor (0-01), Lee Chin (1-13, 9f), Rory O'Connor (1-01); Cian Byrne, Mikie Dwyer (0-01), Kevin Foley. Subs: Cathal Dunbar for Byrne, temp. (19-10'), Niall Murphy for Reck (29'), Dunbar for Dwyer (50'), Conor McDonald (0-01) for Byrne (55'), Darren Codd for J O'Connor (67'), Charlie McGuckin for Molloy (69'). Kilkenny: Eoin Murphy; Peter Connellan, Pádraic Moylan, Tommy Walsh; David Blanchfield, Adrian Mullen (0-01), Zach Bay Hammond; Killian Doyle (0-01), Peter McDonald; Luke Connellan (0-02), Cian Kenny (0-03), Fionán Mackessy (0-01); Billy Drennan (0-01), TJ Reid (1-04, 1f, 2 '65s), Owen Wall. Subs: Stephen Donnelly (0-01) for McDonald (44'), Gearoid Dunne for Wall (49'), Richie Reid (0-01) for Bay Hammond (59'), Niall Shortall for Drennan (66''), Shane Staunton for Mullen (68').
Irish Independent
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Wexford unable to bridge the gap as Kilkenny saunter to Leinster Senior camogie championship success
Wexford were unable to bridge the gap in quality between themselves and Kilkenny on Saturday, falling by eleven points in the Leinster Senior camogie championship final in Netwatch Cullen Park, Carlow.
RTÉ News
17-05-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Lee Chin's last gasp goal helps Wexford survive Offaly scare
An injury-time Conor McDonald point and Lee Chin goal saw Wexford survive a major fright from Offaly in Saturday's Leinster Senior hurling championship showdown at sun-drenched Chadwicks Wexford Park. The Slaneysiders struggled for long stages, and they actually didn't hit the front until substitute McDonald shot over from the left wing two minutes into added-time, while a minute later Chin flashed to the net from a Conor Hearne clearance. That salvaged a second victory of the campaign for Wexford, and most importantly it rids them of any relegation worries, while maintaining their slim hopes of qualification. Reigning Joe McDonagh Cup champions Offaly, meanwhile, after an heroic effort in seeking their first championship success over Wexford since 2012 are facing a straight shoot-out with Antrim in Tullamore next Sunday to determine who suffers the drop from the Liam MacCarthy Cup. Offaly availed of first assistance of the strong to bank a confidence enriching 1-2 to no-score deposit inside seven minutes. Dan Ravenhill and Brian Duignan each posted frees before, just after Offaly 'keeper Mark Troy had denied Rory O'Connor, a long puck-out found Duignan to rattle the net at the opposite end. But, after an exchange of points, slow-starting Wexford were lifted when Seamus Casey slipped in Kevin Foley to shave the gap to 1-3 to 1-1 with an eleventh minute major. However, it remained a rather deflating effort from the home-side while Offaly managed to largely make the most of what came their way. Indeed, a quick-fire brace of points from Killian Sampson helped embolden Johnny Kelly's charges as they stretched 1-7 to 1-2 clear after 25 minutes with Wexford struggling to stitch anything meaningful together. Wexford were trying various arrangements at the back to curb the opposition as the purple and gold were robbed of the considerable defensive presence of Liam Ryan owing to a hamstring injury sustained in defeat to Galway. The hosts did manage to cut the deficit to 1-9 to 1-5 before Cathal Dunbar utilised some fine trickery to burst through a forest of Offaly bodies and force Ben Conneely into an evasive challenge as Dunbar loomed large on goal. That was at the expense of a '65 pointed by Chin, before Offaly defender Ross Ravenhill responded to give the Midlanders a merited 1-10 to 1-6 interval advantage. Despite remaining quite patchy, Wexford grabbed six of the first eight points of the second-half to level matters for the first-time after 52 minutes (1-12 apiece). Cian Byrne (two), Hearne, Chin (free), Cian Molloy and Jack O'Connor all found the range to lift locals amongst the 3,722 attendance as they reacted to early Offaly scores after the resumption from Daniel Bourke and defender Donal Shirley. Three Duignan frees helped Offaly edge back in front 1-15 to 1-13 before Wexford sought to inject real threat into their faltering forward division when springing McDonald in place of Seamus Casey in the 60th minute. Dunbar and Rory O'Connor both added points, the latter from distance despite a late hit, to restore parity for a third time after 64 minutes (1-15 apiece). But after a further exchange of scores, McDonald snatched Wexford's first lead with a point two minutes into stoppage time, before Chin profited from a break off a Hearne clearance to stitch the net and complete a battling home success. Wexford: Mark Fanning; Eoin Ryan, Simon Donohoe, Conor Foley; Cian Molloy (0-1), Damien Reck, Darragh Carley; Conor Hearne (0-1), Cathal Dunbar (0-1); Jack O'Connor (0-1), Kevin Foley (1-1), Rory O'Connor (0-1); Cian Byrne (0-2), Lee Chin (1-8, 0-6 frees, 0-1 '65), Seamus Casey. Subs: Conor McDonald (0-1) for Casey (60), Mikey Dwyer for Byrne (66), Simon Roche for J. O'Connor (70+4). Offaly: Mark Troy; Ben Conneely, Ciarán Burke, Cathal King; Ross Ravenhill (0-1), Donal Shirley (0-1), Sam Bourke; Colin Spain, Killian Sampson (0-2); Oisín Kelly, Brian Duignan (1-9, 0-9 frees), Daniel Bourke (0-1); Jason Sampson, Dan Ravenhill (0-3, 2 frees), Charlie Mitchell.
Irish Daily Mirror
12-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Louth fans celebrate as Wee County lifts Leinster title to end 68-year wait
Nearly 66,000 fans packed into Croke Park yesterday to watch Louth overcome arch rivals Meath to clinch their first Leinster Senior title in nearly seven decades. In a pulsating match, the men from the Wee County came from behind to lift the Delaney Cup for the first time since 1957 when they went on to win the All-Ireland final after defeating Cork. The win for Louth is more than a historic victory. It will also exorcise the ghost that has haunted the county since their controversial defeat to Meath 15 years ago. It was third time lucky for Louth after two previous defeats in a row in the Leinster final. Afterwards, manager Ger Brennan said winning the Leinster title with Louth is up there with any All-Ireland medal he pickedup with Dublin as a player. Although there is fierce rivalry between the neighbouring North East counties both sets of fans mingled together on the terraces with many of them knowing each other. Louth fan Eric Kelly from Drogheda said: 'It was some match and I thought Meath were going to do it again as they seemed to have the better of the play. 'But it was the goals that won it and it's such a relief after all those years of waiting. I'm with a load of Meath fans and it's all friendly rivalry but it's great that we're taking the cup back to Louth. 'This makes up for the disappointment when we thought we won it back in 2010 but that's another story.' The clash was billed as the third Battle of the Boyne, the previous two being the one involving King Billy in 1690 and the even more controversial one at Croke Park in 2010. Yesterday's encounter was a rerun of the infamous Leinster final when Meath beat Louth with that never-to-be-forgotten last minute goal that never was. It was also the first time since that Joe Sheridan infamous goal 15 years ago a county that isn't Dublin lifted the Delaney Cup. Both counties have suffered at the hands of the Dubs in subsequent years with Meath losing five finals since 2010 while the Wee County have been beaten in the last two Leinster finals. Meath were brimming with confidence going into the clash after ending Dublin's 14-reign as provincial champions but Louth manager Ger Brennan had other ideas. 'Sixty-eight years is a long bloody time not to win a decent piece of silverware', he said after his side received the trophy. He added: 'I'm delighted for the people of Louth… it was a wonderful effort for everyone involved in Louth GAA. I'm thrilled for everyone.' The defeat to Meath in 2010 was so controversial it warranted a documentary with many Louth fans claiming it still haunted their everyday lives. Former manager Peter Fitzpatrick recently said it was a match that changed his life as there wasn't a day since then that it 'doesn't cross my mind'. Before the match he said: 'So, in that regard it's important for Louth to try to put some of the ghosts from that match to rest.' Alan Morris from Doneycarney, Co Meath, said he was disappointed to lose but happy for the Louth supporters. He added: 'It was a great game and it's hard to take a defeat but I wish Louth well. 'I stayed on to see the trophy presented to the Louth players and some of the fans were in tears. That's why you couldn't begrudge them the win to them after all those years.' The sun may have shone during the final but weather bosses said heavy downpours will batter Ireland before the good weather returns with temperatures to hit 21C in parts of the country tomorrow. Elsewhere, RTE star Miriam O'Callaghan beamed in yellow as she hosted Breast Cancer Ireland's Race Day at Leopardstown yesterday. The glamorous fundraising event saw almost 400 friends and supporters of the Breast Cancer Ireland community gather together for the annual racing event to help raise vital funding to support their critical research, education and awareness programmes. Among the crowds, included Virgin Media host Elaine Crowley and influencer Georgie Crawford. Meanwhile, thousands of fitness and wellness enthusiasts descended on Kilmainham over the weekend for WellFest. Elsewhere on Saturday, hundreds gathered for Celtic fire festival Bealtaine, marking the beginning of summer in Co Westmeath.
