‘Light at end of the tunnel’ - Griffin
Griffin, who led Wexford to glory in 1996, is adamant the provincial competitions in Munster and Leinster will continue to prosper, as will the game in weaker counties.
“We all want to talk about the great teams, but Offaly, Laois or Dublin will be going down and won’t be in the McCarthy Cup. And that will be very significant,’’ said Griffin.
“We’re talking about Offaly as a possible contender, even though it looks like it will be Dublin. Imagine if it was Cork who were threatened with going down - the furore there would be...’’.
He admits to being annoyed by the lack of attention paid to the counties at the lower end of the spectrum.
“In May when Dublin were defeated we forgot about them for a another year, but we are not allowed to forget about them now under the new system.
“The great thing is that Carlow are still hurling in June for the first time in their lives, the same with Mayo. Some of these teams could be hurling in August.
“How did we think teams like these could ever be any good when they were never allowed to hurl in the summer.
“We have kept the integrity of the Munster championship. I don’t care what happens, the Munster championship is sacred as far as I am concerned. Why destroy the one fantastic part of the hurling we have. We will have the eight best teams left in the championship and it’s going to be hell for leather in a very short time. Laois, if they survive, for the first time ever will play as many games in the hurling championship this year as Kilkenny.’’
With the momentum gained through the HDC proposals, the recognition by the Government of hurling as the ‘national’ game and the development plans in place under the aegis of a national director (soon to be appointed), Griffin is enthusiastic about the future.
“There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Once we get the right director of hurling and the provincial councils ‘drive’ the plans without worrying that they are going to upset the existing formats, there’s no reason why we can’t change the face of hurling in the next 20 years.’’
But he is not as optimistic about his native county’s assignment against Kilkenny on Sunday. “They got hockeyed by Kilkenny - by 30 points - in the League at Nowlan Park and everyone says that’s an indicator. Last year Wexford got hockeyed by Cork,’’ he states. “Wexford people have to say to themselves, ‘where is our pride, are we going to take kind of a hiding again.’
“Technically we’re not as good as Kilkenny, let there be no mistake about that. But, at least if we go out and give it everything we have and give Kilkenny a good game of it, that would be progress!
“It’s just that another hiding would not do Wexford any good... , would not do hurling any good. You’d hope that the blood will be stirred in Wexford people and that they won’t lie down before Kilkenny’s sword and get slain... that they would stand up to it and fight to the last.’’
Wearing his HDC hat, he says it’s ‘fantastic’ to see Dublin contesting a minor final for the first time in many years, although the fact that he has a son in the Wexford team which opposes them creates something of a dilemma for him. “Obviously I would love my county to win. Could I cry if Dublin win, of course I couldn’t.”
Never one to shy away from voicing his opinions, Griffin says that it’s not good enough for the Wexford public to ‘trot out’ the line that the reason Kilkenny beat them so often is because they have no football. People have to come up with solutions and his response is that they have to be ‘twice as well managed’ as Kilkenny if they are to run two games.
“Unfortunately we are not. People who go to conventions are pulling in their own direction - which means we are directionless in lots of areas. There’s no point in trying to dickey it up, but you have to see if you can fashion a better way forward for Wexford . And the only way is to be better managed. Whingeing about Kilkenny is not a solution to Wexford’s problems.”
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