It’s all of nine years since Oulart-The Ballagh won Wexford’s first Leinster club hurling title of the century, bridging a gap back to Rathnure’s 1998 success. It had been a long time coming. The club’s first senior title came 30 years ago and began a run for the club that culminated in six provincial final defeats before the breakthrough.
When they – at last – won the Martin O’Neill Cup, defeating future All-Ireland winners Cuala in the final, their distinguished veteran defender, now county manager, Keith Rossiter didn’t underplay the achievement.
“We’ve been called Oulart The Bottlers; we’ve been called everything. That’s just the best day of my life so far.”
There was a strong follow-up but it ended in extra-time of the All-Ireland semi-final against Na Piarsaigh, who would power on to Limerick’s first national club success.
Since that extremely credible challenge, the fortunes of Wexford clubs have plummeted. Until this season there had been just nine matches in Leinster for the county champions, including the blank year created by Covid in what would have been the 2021 championship.
Wexford teams won just two of those fixtures, against Camross and St Rynagh’s.
This season, however, St Martin’s, winners of a first Dr Bowe Cup since 2019, have called a halt to this unhappy sequence by defeating the talented Kildare dual champions, Naas – favourites for last week’s quarter-final.
On Sunday, they come to Dublin to take on last year’s narrowly beaten finalists Na Fianna in Parnell Park.
There is a significance about the progress that goes beyond the playing field. Four years ago, Wexford created a stir in the summer of Covid by opting for a completely split season. The hurling championship would be run off first, finishing in mid- to late August, with the football then starting.
It made sense in a strongly dual county and, almost symbolically, the first hurling champions were Shelmaliers, who fielded virtually the same players in both codes.
Brian Malone, who had a long career with the county footballers, was very enthusiastic about the new season, which allowed his club’s players to concentrate on the one game in training.
“The split season means games when the weather’s fine. In Wexford we pretty much have a match every week and we’re playing the one game, which is very positive.”
The format eventually fell out of favour. Failure by the county hurling champions to win a single match during its operation was one aspect of the reaction but according to county chair, Micheál Martin, it was not the predominant concern.
“I think it was time to go back and would have expressed that view. The format was brought in during Covid and warmly welcomed by everyone. It was put to a vote every year and supported every year even if that support was incrementally dropping.
“Performance in Leinster wasn’t a major factor. It was more to do with hurling in the county being finished so early – the middle of August – that its potential as a promotional tool was being undermined. We had lost September All-Irelands but losing September county matches where kids could go and watch Lee Chin and Rory O’Connor didn’t make sense in the long run.
“It also gave us a two-week lead-in to all county finals, an opportunity for everyone to get the bunting out and create a buzz around the matches. Last year, Oilgate got a first county final in 60 years but had just a week before it was over. The schools weren’t even open to get involved.”
A major benefit for St Martin’s or any hurling champions has been the new format operating in blocks, two or three weeks on and then off. It has eased pressure on players, particularly those nursing injuries and allowed them to drop football commitments if necessary.
This year, both of the county’s All Star-nominated forwards, Chin and O’Connor, opted out of football to concentrate on the small ball. After his man-of-the-match display in the county final, O’Connor explained the benefits.
“I appreciate the way it is this year. I just physically can’t play the football. I can’t play 17 weeks in a row. My body won’t take it. That’s just personal. I can’t do it so I’m enjoying the two weeks on, two weeks off and being able to rest and recover. I’m not the only fella who has injuries and it was just tough going eight weeks in a row if you went the distance.”
Ironically, football champions performed better under the previous system. Shelmaliers, who won both county titles but in successive years, nearly qualified for the 2021 Leinster final, taking Naas to extra time in the semi-final.
Des Mythen hurled for Oulart in the years when they were contesting Leinster championships. More recently, as a coach, he took Oylegate-Glenbrien to a first county final since 1963.
He believes that the standard in Wexford is decent and that there have been other factors in the county’s clubs faring poorly.
“A lot of Wexford teams have been just happy to win the county – Ferns, first time winners, and Rapparees hadn’t won in a long time – but the Martin’s are different even if they haven’t been out for five years. They’re probably more focused on Leinster.
“People say to me, ‘oh, the standard in Wexford is poor’ but if you take Ballygunner out of Waterford – and they are exceptional – the other clubs would be about the same standard as in Wexford.
“I watched the Tipp champions last week and thought that Martin’s were at least as good as Loughmore-Castleiney. Feakle hadn’t won Clare in a long time and the Cork representatives weren’t even the Cork champions. I think there’s more depth to the Leinster championship. That’s been proved by Castletown Geoghegan beating the Kilkenny champions.
“From a personal point of view, I wasn’t mad about the switch but the three club champions in Wexford have all won their first round in the senior, intermediate and junior Leinster championship. When you’re playing a county final in the middle of August and not playing provincial championship until October or November, you’re going to lose guys.”
In the past 10 years, Leinster has been won every year by Kilkenny, predominantly, and Dublin clubs with the exception of Oulart in 2015. This season, the province is incredibly open. Of the semi-finalists, only Kilcormac-Killoughey from Offaly have previously won the title.
Among the aspiring contenders are St Martin’s the Wexford champions. Back in business.
