Larry O'Gorman fears Joe McDonagh future may await Wexford
Former Faythe Harriers GAA Club and Wexford hurler Larry O'Gorman. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
Wexford great Larry O'Gorman reckons things could get worse for his county before they get better, acknowledging that relegation to the Joe McDonagh Cup remains a possibility.
The Model County only missed out on qualification for the All-Ireland series this year on scoring difference to Dublin and were just two points off a Leinster final spot.
Former Hurler of the Year O'Gorman noted too that it was a 'blunder by the referee' in their narrow provincial group defeat to Dublin - a goal was awarded to the Dubs in error - that 'cost us the game'.
But the 1996 All-Ireland winner said the bigger picture is that the county isn't producing enough high quality young players and is suffering from a relatively poor standard in the local club championship.
Speaking at the launch of the 2025 Beko Club Champion, O'Gorman painted a gloomy picture for his county.
"I said it last year that we could end up in the Joe McDonagh," said O'Gorman, who hasn't changed his opinion and is concerned by the progress being made by Offaly and McDonagh Cup winners Kildare.
"Kildare are going to be a threat to Wexford as well. They're great hurlers. At the level we're at, I wouldn't be surprised if Kildare could even beat us."
It'll be 30 years in 2026 since Wexford's last All-Ireland win though an anniversary MacCarthy Cup success seems unlikely, even if talisman Lee Chin has signed up again.
Asked if things could get worse for Wexford, O'Gorman nodded.
"I think we're heading that road," said the Faythe Harriers man. "We have the likes of Dee O'Keeffe, Liam Og McGovern, Matthew O'Hanlon who have retired. We have Lee Chin, probably one of our best hurlers for decades, we have Liam Ryan, Mark Fanning. These lads are getting on as well, they are 32, 33 years of age.
"The younger generation are coming in but there's a big gap between them. They haven't really gelled together yet. They're not really hurling well as a unit."
O'Gorman's suggestion is that Wexford go back to basics and put an increased emphasis on producing underage talent.
"I was involved in 2014, 2015, 2016, maybe 2017 as well with Wexford underage," said O'Gorman. "I looked at a programme the other day, from 2015, out of 64 players, there was only two of them playing (senior in 2025) for Wexford. We've only Richie Lawlor and Conor Foley. There's another lad, in the extended panel, Tomas 'Tucker' Kinsella, that's all that have come through.
"In Kilkenny, you have to serve your time as a senior hurler. In Wexford, we had three or four or five lads that came off the U-20 team with Keith Rossitter and they were put in straight away. But they were green going in, didn't understand...some of them didn't even play as senior hurlers for their club. It was their first year probably ever playing senior hurling for their club as well. So it's a big step up.
"It takes a lot of effort, a lot of commitment and you can't expect the likes of Lee Chin and a few other lads to pull them along because they'll get tired pulling them along. You need good, top quality young lads coming through and, at the moment, we have good players. But to be at the level of Cork, Limerick and Tipperary, we'll have to be at a higher level, higher quality."
O'Gorman said he'd love Wexford to appoint a figure like Anthony Daly to head up a major, long-term investment in underage hurling.
"It could be a five-year plan, or a 10-year plan, and I think that's the only way it can work for Wexford," he said.
Wexford did enjoy a golden period under Davy Fitzgerald, winning the 2019 Leinster title. O'Gorman said he's still haunted by their failure to beat Tipperary in that season's All-Ireland semi-final.
As for the overall championship structure, he believes it should be tweaked to allow the fourth placed teams in Leinster and Munster - Wexford and Clare this year - to advance to the All-Ireland series, instead of the Joe McDonagh Cup finalists.
"No disrespect to Laois or Kildare - they had their All-Ireland (final) the previous week and then they get an opportunity to come out to play in the All-Ireland qualifiers. It's no disrespect to them but I do think the likes of Clare, Waterford, whoever, Wexford, I think they should get another bite at the cherry."
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