Days after Oisín McConville landed the Wicklow football job in September 2022, his phone lit up with an unknown number, which he hurriedly answered in case it was someone telling him they’d somehow made a mistake.
“Of course it was Micko, God rest him, one of the first people to ring and wish me the best. Then he offers me some advice, saying there are parts of Wicklow where one side of the mountain wouldn’t be talking with the other side of the mountain. That there’s nowhere in the country like it.”
McConville is explaining this as he’s motoring down the M1 on a blissfully sunny Tuesday afternoon in advance of Dublin’s visit to Aughrim this Sunday. The county with 63 Leinster titles versus the only county with none, Dublin also boasting a league and championship record over Wicklow of 31-0.
A county like Wicklow does need everybody. And I’d say our average age is right there among the youngest
— Oisín McConville
“I think another generation on, that has changed, which is good,” McConville says of those old mountain feuds. “I’d say maybe 15 per cent of the players have opted out, in my time. I don’t know whether that’s because of me or other things, but a county like Wicklow does need everybody. And I’d say our average age is right there among the youngest.
“But all the lads we do have in are all capable of playing for Wicklow, and I think we showed that against Longford last Sunday, especially in extra-time. People in Wicklow, most of them that I’ve met, they really love their football. There’s just not enough of them really enthused. That’s why I said I hope more people come out on Sunday to support us.”
Still, Mick O’Dwyer knew what he was talking about, managing Wicklow for five seasons from 2007-11. And McConville would soon discover that mountains presented another significant obstacle in the Garden County.
To get from his home in south Armagh to the Wicklow training centre in Ballinakill, just outside Rathdrum, it’s almost 100 miles, most of which is on motorways, including the M50. So, McConville avoids most of the mountains – just not another sort of roadblock.
“You’re facing into the M50 every time you go down. And generally speaking, if I’m on there anytime between four and five o’clock, that exit at Bray is just an absolute nightmare. So going down, the commute is a bit of a nightmare all right, you always seem to be hitting traffic. Some evenings, it turns what should be a two-hour journey into a three-hour journey. All it takes is one accident, and that can also push you back an hour or two.
“We’d have a few guys based in Dublin, facing the same stuff. So they’re texting me, saying ‘caught in traffic’ or whatever. We are rigid on time, but if a lad is caught in traffic, he’s caught in traffic. That’s just part of the landscape we face in Wicklow.”
It is not quite Himalayan territory, but in places, it can feel that way.In 1799, dismayed at the inaccessibility of the Wicklow Mountains, the British army commissioned a purpose-built military road to help seek out the armed rebels marauding in the aftermath of the 1798 rebellion.
It definitely wasn’t a good idea for the mountain to be right in the middle of the county
— Oisín McConville
More than 200 years later, that largely unchanged military road remains the only North-South route through the middle of the county. Either side lies more than 20,000 hectares of the Wicklow Mountains National Park, the largest continuous upland region in the country. This includes Lugnaquilla, which at 925m is the highest mountain in Ireland outside of Kerry.
“It definitely wasn’t a good idea for the mountain to be right in the middle of the county,” says McConville. “For the lads coming across the mountain, from Baltinglass or Blessington, or Kiltegan, that’s when it really becomes an issue. If they come across the Wicklow Gap, it probably reduces their travel time in half. Otherwise, they’d have to come right around the motorway and then back on.
“This time of year is a lot easier, but let’s face it, the bulk of the training and hard work is done in November, December, January. That’s when the conditions for travelling are at their worst, it’s dark, not enticing.
“But it has to be done, the boys just get on with it. It seems to be, like everything else, if you’re used to doing something, you just do it. It’s definitely not ideal, but to use it as an excuse would be stretching it a bit also.”
There are other challenges highlighted by Sunday’s meeting with Dublin, who boast a population of approximately 1.5 million, versus Wicklow’s 155,000. The Dublin football team also all live within the circle of the M50, allowing easy access to their training.
Despite population growth in areas like Bray and Greystones, that hasn’t yet transferred to the pool of players: “They are two interesting areas, but we’ve only one player from Greystones at the minute, and nobody from Bray.
We’ve a fair idea of what Dublin will bring. But you won’t meet a better crew when it comes to battling qualities
— Oisín McConville
“Maybe Gaelic football isn’t number one in those areas, but you really do have to tap into the population. The quality of players coming through is also very, very important, and that’s all down to the quality of coaching they’re getting in their clubs.
“Against Dublin on Sunday, for a lot of these lads, this will be the biggest occasion, the biggest crowd they’ve ever played in front of. We know there’s a massive gulf between where we finished in the league, but for us, it’s about concentrating on what we can bring. We’ve a fair idea of what they’ll be bringing. But you won’t meet a better crew when it comes to battling qualities ... ”
With that, McConville suddenly interrupts himself mid-sentence.
“By the way, you’ve just put the curse on me, there’s a f***ing accident on the M50.”
