NO BIG matches at the weekend but did Micko's men get a well deserved rest. Not on your life; this human dynamo from Waterville never stops and sees no reason why his helpers or players should either. The usual midweek training went on on Tuesday and Thursday nights. On Saturday the action started with a training session in Annacurra at 11am and this was followed by a match between the U-21 team and Micko's back-up team

The Seniors won that game by 4-21 to 1-8 but both sides learned from the exercise.

Ciaran Jones was the top scorer with 1-6 with Dean Odlum getting 2-2 and John MGrath 0-5, Paul B Cunningham, Rory Finn, Niall Mullett and Darren Hayden also got on the score sheet.

Shan Carty and Dean Siney were the top scorers for the U-21's while Anthony McLoughlin, Adam Merryman, Stephen Mann and Paul Cunningham were others to do well.

Seniors: John Flynn; Willie Dillon, Nial Gaffney, Paul Hogan; Paul B Cunningham, Stephen Canavan, Darren Hayden; Richard Murphy, D. Kavanagh; Rory Finn, John McGrath, Eamonn Kearns; Dean Odlum, Ciaran Jonas, Niall Mullett.

Micko finished his weekend training with a hard session in Newtown on Sunday morning.

Even then Micko and Arthur French made time to attend the Newtown juvenile celebrations and make the presentations. And as usual the Newtown mentors were highly impressed with his address to the young players.

Training this week was in Coolkenno on Tuesday night and the roadshow moves to Hollywood on Thursday

The week ahead

A busy weekend coming up in Aughrim this weekend. On Saturday Tim Healy's U-21 footballers take on Laois in the second round of the Leinster Championship.

Then on Sunday Micko's men will be out against neighbours Carlow in the NFL (See preview)

Donard/Glen dinner dance

The ladies showed once again what an asset they can be to any GAA club when they dominated the Donard/Glen Dinner/ Dance in InisFail Baltinglass on Friday night.

A large crown attended the event but it was the ladies who were collecting the silver ware 'on the double'.

Guests of honour were the Chairman of Coiste na nOg Damien Byrne and his wife Ann, Margaret Allen, Chairperson of the Ladies Football Board and Mary Carthy, Secretary of the Co Camogie Board..

In his address Damien said 'As we celebrate I25 in the GAA in 2009 it was a year we won't forget for many reasons. For Donard/Glen the redevelopment of your grounds has been a major project for the club and the new flood lighting system now in operation your facilities are now up there with the best. Your Chairman Jim O'Neill and his committee must be complemented on the project. Your Senior Footballers and your Juniors competed well in the championship, even after losing key players to emigration.

'Once again your club provided players for our county teams with Brian Lennon on Micko's panel and Niall Curran and Dermot Daly on the U-21 panel. On behalf of the Chairman and the Co Board I would like to thank the club for selling their share of tickets for the Co Development draw and helping to make it a success.

'Your club have also been good supporters of our Race Day in Punchestown and we thank your Chairman Jim O'Neill who in on that committee. Our county is also making progress with a major development project in Ballinakill and on that committee is another highly valued member of your club, Peter Case. We thank Peter for the part he has played in that project. I must also thank the Donard/Glen Club for the number of lines men, officials and stewards they continue to provide at Aughrim and other venues and of course John White as a referee.'

Jim Millis Memorial Park

It was announced at the function that the GAA grounds is now named the Jim Mills Memorial Park in memory of a great gael they lost during the year.

Presentations

Mary Carthy presented Championship and League medals to the members of the Camogie team; Margaret Allen presented the Ladies Junior Football Championship medals to the members of the team; Damien Byrne made presentations to John Doyle for all the work he has put into the development work on the new field.

He also made the presentations to Senior player of the year Colm Toomey; Junior Player Ger Reddin and Club Person of the Year Mickey Daly

Trath na gCeist

Congratulations to Rathcoyle on winning the Cummann na mBunscol table quiz for the fourth year in a row. Along with winning Trath na gCeist that little school in the hills of West Wicklow has been the powerhouse of the Ballymanus Club team that has dominated the Scor na nOg in Wicklow for many years and have won Leinster and National titles.

Cathrina Byrne and her staff can take a bow. Year in year out they have proved themselves the brains of Wicklow. Team: Pádraig Byrne, Shane and Pádraig O'Toole and Brian Kearney. Darragh Byrne was the sub.

Congrats also to runners-up Blessington. Both teams finished on 93 points out of a hundred and it took two more rounds of questions to separate them. Team: Seán McCrohan, Joe Brodrick, Ellen Quinn and Jonathan Devoy.

Well done also to Brian Flood's team from Baltinglass who came in third.

Team: Seán Gahan; Ciaran Germain, Adam McHugh and Charley Dempsey.

Ashford and Blessington's second team were also in the final shake-up.

Great years ending in a 9

Last week we took a look at the strange happenings in 1949 with Wicklow winning their fourth Leinster JFC; then losing the All Ireland semi-final narrowly, 1-7 to 1-5, to Kerry in Aughrim and finally having a number of key figures getting suspended.

The team that won the Leinster final lined out as follows: Paddy Carthy, Barndarrig; Fred Jameson, Rathnew, Jin Murphy, Bill Byrne; Seamus Furlong (St Pat's), Ned Brien, Annacurra, Brendan Brennan, Carnew; Tom McHugh, (Ballinacor), Seán O'Rourke, St Pat's); Jack Pointz, Blessington, Peter Brophy, Baltinglass, Pat O'Shea, Rathnew; Chris Timmins, Baltinglass, Tom O'Neill, Ballinacor, Jimmy Moore, Kilcoole. Sub: Christy Moran, Donard.

It was alleged that Wicklow played senior players against Kerry in the semi-final in the mistaken belief that once the provincial championships ended the rules governing status changed.

Other players to take part in the campaign that year included: Jack Johnson, Carnew; Paddy Curran, Hollywood; Enda Kinsella, Baltinglass; Jack Flynn, Donard, Tom Byrne, Valleymount, Charlie Vize, St Pats; Pat Tyrrell, Knockananna; Gus Glynn, Bray Emmets, Paddy Hayden, Kilcoole, P. Turner, Avondale and J. Scanlon, Carnew.

The Junior team of 1969 was probably the most remarkable of them all. For starters almost all of them were from junior clubs, a number were on the Wicklow U-21 team piped by Laois in the Leister final of that year and few had any senior experience worth talking about.

Pat Murphy was in his first year as Co Chairman and took the sensible approach of letting the senior selection committee who had been appointed by the Co. Board get on with their job while he got stuck in with a bunch of inexperienced but promising players from junior clubs.

Pat had brought in fitness expert Capt. Michael O'Farrell from the Curragh to do the training.

He started off with players from junior clubs like Dunlavin, Stratford, Tinahely, Donard Ballinastoe and Ashford as well a couple of up and coming stars, Moosie Coffey and Johnny McDonald from Rathnew

Pat liked the draw and the way the matches were spread out. His team started out with a big win over Carlow, 4-12 to 0-1, in March; beat Wexford, 1-6 to 0-7, in April and accounted for Kildare, 1-8 to 0-7, in June.

It was July before they came up against a strong Meath team in the Leinster final in Croke Park. While Wicklow started out as outsiders they won comfortable enough by 2-5 to 0-5.

After a four match campaign Captain Noel Carty had brought home the cup to Ashford. However if their was one man even more pleased than Carty it was Goalie Pat Cronin. The young Stratford goalkeeper had put the Leinster championship behind him without conceding a goal.

By that time Mick O'Toole of St Pats had established himself as a highly dangerous forward and other class players like Billy Hillard of Carnew and Gerry Moran of Shillelagh, but playing with Tinahely, had joined the team.

However life certainly did not look to be getting any easier when Wicklow drew Galway in the All Ireland semi-final. We did have one stroke of luck however when the game was fixed for Aughrim.

Again the team turned in a great display to win by 1-8 to 0-9. Mick O'Toole had another great game; Pat Cronin extended his unbeaten run in goal while Mosie Coffey and Tommy Foley again dominated midfield.

And then the big day, the All Ireland home final in Croke Park, and who should be providing the opposition but Kerry.

Wicklow suffered a set back before the match when one of their best defenders John Davis of Ballinastoe got an injury at work and had to cry off. Wicklow set the pace and had a great first half. Joe Cullen of Stratford replaced Davis in the half back line and even after playing against the wind we were leading by 0-5 to 0-3.

It got even better in the second half; Wicklow extended their lead to 0-10 to 0-3 before the Kingdom got their first score of the half. It went from 0-11 to 0-6 and from 0-12 to 0-7 before a late Kerry rally brought a goal.

The final score was Wicklow 0-12; Kerry 1-8 and Pat Murphy was over the moon, and why not. A Home All Ireland title in his first year as Chairman was almost as good for a Cork man as a win over the old enemy

A trip to New Eltham to play a powerful London in the final proper proved a bridge too far. The full story of that final has never been told. However, a bad start to the match left a young and inexperienced team on the back foot and while they fought to the finish it was the Exiles that came out on top by 3-9 to 1-12.

No trophy at the end of the day but a seven match tour over six months left Pat Murphy and his brave young team, not to mention with many happy memories.

The team that beat Kerry in Croke Park lined out as follows: Pat Cronin (Stratford); Willie Whelan (Dunlavin, Chris Keogh (Dunlavin ), Pat Hedderman (Tinahely); Mick Behan (Ashford), Gerry Moran (Tinahely), Joe Cullen (Stratford).; Tom Foley, (Dunlavin) Mosdie Coffey (Rathnew); Tom Humphries Stratford), Mick O'Toole, (St Pats) Johnny McDonald (Rathnew); Liam Keogh Dunlavin), Noel Carty (Capt, Ashford), Willie Wall (Baltinglass),.

The subs were John Davis (Ballinastoe); Pat Carty (Ashford), Jim Bollard, (Stratford), Billy Hillard (Carnew); John Doyle, (Donard); Murt Doyle (Rathnew), Tommy Glynn (Ashford), Jim Hogan (Tinahely), J.Power (Arklow Gers), John Simpson (Shillelagh.)

St. Nicholas celebrate

The St Nicholas Juvenile Club assembled in the GAA Clubhouse in Dunlavin on Saturday night to celebrate a very active year and to receive their medals and other awards. The Guests of Honour included Co. Chairman Andy O'Brien; Wicklow Ladies Football Chairperson Margaret Allen, Co. Football star Tony Hannon and Co. Ladies footballers - Ciara Miley and Geraldine Norton.

Receiving Medals were The U-12 FL Div 1; U12 West FL; U-14 Football Shield; U-16 Girls B FC; Ladies MB FC.

Honoured on the night were: U-11 Football: Player of the year Patrick Kelly; Most Improved Sorica Rice; U-12 F: Player of the year Eoin Murtagh; Most Improved Stephen O'Brien; U-14 F Player of the year Paul Murtagh; Most Improved Kevin Scanlon; U16 F: Player of the year James Sinnott; Most Improved Conor Healy; Minor F: Player of the year Harry Coleborn; Most Improved Aaron Phelan; Ladies Football: U-12 F Player of the year Mary Healy; Most Improved Ciara Byrne; U-14 F: Player of the year Emma Byrne; Most Improved Wendy Deans: U-16 F: Player of the year Niamh Whelan; Most Improved Mairéad Glennon; Minor: Sarah Reid.

- WITH PETER KEOGH