The Wexford County Board of the

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

(GAA) ( ga, Cumann Luthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae Loch Garman) or Wexford GAA is one of the 32

county board A county board is a common form of county legislature, particular of counties in the United States. Related forms of county government include: * Board of Supervisors — a form of county legislature in some U.S. states * County commission, ...

s of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for

Gaelic games Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...

. The county board is also responsible for the Wexford county teams. Wexford is one of the few counties to have won the All-Ireland Senior Championship in both football and hurling. The county hurling team last won the

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition i ...

in 1996. The county football team has won five

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

s, with the most recent win achieved in 1918.

History

Hurling has been played in Wexford from medieval times. Evidence of this can be found in the hurling ballads of the 15th and 16th centuries. The nickname "Yellowbellies" is said to have been given to the county's hurlers by Sir Caesar Colclough of

Tintern Tintern ( cy, Tyndyrn) is a village in the community (Wales), community of Wye Valley (community), Wye Valley, on the west bank of the River Wye in Monmouthshire, Wales, close to the border with England, about north of Chepstow. It is popular w ...

in south Wexford, following a 17th-century game between a team of hurlers under his patronage and a team of

hurlers The Hurlers ( Cornish: ''An Hurlysi'') is a group of three stone circles in the civil parish of St Cleer, Cornwall, England, UK. The site is half-a-mile (0.8 km) west of the village of Minions on the eastern flank of Bodmin Moor, and a ...

from

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, near

Glynn Glynn () is a small village and civil parish in the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council area of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies a short distance south of Larne, on the shore of Larne Lough. Glynn had a population of 2,027 people in th ...

in County Wexford. Others have said that

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

shouted "come on the yellow bellies" at an exhibition match near London, in which the Wexford hurlers were wearing yellow ribbons. Apparently, the real reason they are called the 'yellow-bellies' is because one D Coffey declared it back in 1982.

Football

Clubs

Clubs contest the

Wexford Senior Football Championship The Wexford Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by top-tier Wexford GAA clubs. The Wexford County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1886. The 2022 champions are Castlet ...

. As of 2020, three clubs have eleven titles each. No club has won a national or provincial title.

County team

Wexford had one of the greatest football teams in the history of the GAA in the 1910s, winning six consecutive

Leinster Senior Football Championship The Leinster Senior Football Championship, known simply as the Leinster Championship and shortened to Leinster SFC, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA ...

(SFC) titles; it was also the first team to win four consecutive

(SFC) titles. 1900 star James 'the Bull' Roche, who had fought for the

World heavyweight boxing championship At boxing's beginning, the heavyweight division had no weight limit, and historically the weight class has gone with vague or no definition. During the 19th century many heavyweights were 170 pounds (12 st 2 lb, 77 kg) or less, thou ...

, trained that team, which featured Fr Ned Wheeler, Aidan Doyle and the O'Kennedy brothers, Gus and

Seán Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; anglici ...

, as players. The latter was the team

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. The feat of six consecutive Leinster SFC titles was only equalled in 1931, when

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...

won the sixth in a sequence that had begun in 1926. Wexford's last major football success was winning the Leinster SFC title in 1945. From then on, the game of

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

took precedence in Wexford and as a consequence the fate of the Wexford footballers was to descend into obscurity for many decades.

Hurling

Clubs

Clubs contest the

Wexford Senior Hurling Championship The Wexford Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Pettitt's SuperValu Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition contested by top-tier Wexford GAA clubs. The Wexford County Board of the Gaelic Athl ...

. The

Rathnure Rathnure () is a small village on the R731 regional road about from the town of Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Ireland. The village is located at the foot of the Blackstairs Mountain, which borders County Carlow on the opposite side. Place ...

club has the most titles.

Buffers Alley Buffers Alley is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the villages of Kilmuckridge and Monamolin in County Wexford, Ireland. The club fields teams in Intermediate hurling, Gaelic football and camogie. It competes in Wexford competition ...

won the

1988–89 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship The 1988–89 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship was the 19th staging of the All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship, the Gaelic Athletic Association's premier inter-county club hurling tournament. The championship began on 25 Septe ...

County team

Hurling is one of the most prominent sports in Wexford. This is in evidence in several one-sided results over the years: Kildare were beaten by 14–15 to 1–1 in an 1897 Croke Cup match. The Antrim team were beaten by 12–17 to 2–3 in a 1954 All-Ireland semi-final.

Nicky Rackard Nicholas Rackard (28 April 1922 – 10 April 1976) was an Irish hurler whose league and championship career with the Wexford senior team spanned seventeen years from 1940 to 1957. He established many championship scoring records, including bein ...

, who scored 7–7 at that day, was Wexford's greatest hurler. He starred in two clashes with

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

in 1954 and 1956. Wexford lost the first after having a goal disallowed, but won the second with the combination of an

Art Foley Michael Arthur Foley (14 December 1928 – 28 October 2019) was an Irish hurler who played as a goalkeeper for the Wexford senior team. Born in Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Foley first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen ...

save and Nicky Rackard goal in the closing minutes. In the 1970s, the distinctive red-haired

Tony Doran Anthony "Tony" Doran (born April 1946) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a full-forward for the Wexford senior team. Born in Boolavogue, County Wexford, Doran first arrived on the inter-county scene at the age of seventeen when he fir ...

was the star as

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

and Wexford played ten Leinster finals in succession. In 1984 they claimed that the final whistle was blown prematurely when they were beaten by a single point in the Leinster final. In 1996 Wexford, led by Liam Griffin and captained by

Martin Storey Martin Storey (born 28 September 1964) is an Irish former hurler who played as a centre-forward at senior level for the Wexford county team. Regarded as one of the greatest Wexford players of all-time, Storey made his first appearance for th ...

, brought the

Liam MacCarthy Cup The Liam MacCarthy Cup is a trophy awarded annually by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) to the team that wins the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, the main competition in the prehistoric sport of hurling. Based on the design of a ...

back to Slaneyside for the first time since 1968; they were waiting 28 years.

, Kilkenny and

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

have dominated the honours in recent years. Davy Fitzgerald took over as manager of the team for 2017, and made progress by reaching the Leinster Final for the first time in nine years. In the final they played Galway. Fitzgerald was appointed after the departure of Liam Dunne, who also played a huge part in their recent success. Wexford's most recent hurling success was in the Leinster Final of

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

when they defeated Kilkenny. In the Leinster semi-final, a draw in Wexford Park between Wexford and Kilkenny made it a rematch for the final. However, hurling in Wexford has been on the slide since 1996, their last All-Ireland success, and the Leinster title in 2004 simply papered over the cracks.

Camogie

After winning promotion from intermediate in the late 1950s, Wexford won their first

All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship The All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship is a competition for inter-county teams in the women's field sport of game of camogie played in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Camogie Association and are played during the summer mo ...

in 1968, and won further All Ireland titles in

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

and 2012. They contested the first

National Camogie League The National Camogie League, known for sponsorship reasons as the Very Ireland Camogie Leagues, is a competition in the Irish team sport of camogie, played exclusively by women. The competition is held in three divisions graded by ability. It wa ...

final in 1977, won the second competition and returned to win it three times in a row between 2009 and 2011.

(5) and

(1995) have won the All Ireland Senior Club Championship. Notable players include

team of the century In team sport, team of the century and team of the decade are hypothetical best teams over a given time period. For the century team, it can be either 100 years, or for a century (always the 20th). Similarly the team of the decade can be for 10 ...

members

Mary Sinnott Mary Sinnott born 1943 in Aughfad, County Wexford, Ireland as Mary Dinan, is a former camogie and badminton player. Biography Mary Dinan was born Mary Sinnott in Aughfad, County Wexford in 1943. She is the daughter of John and Mai Sinnott (nee ...

and

Margaret O'Leary Margaret O'Leary-Leacy born in Wexford is a former camogie player selected on the camogie team of the century in 2004, and winner of All Ireland medals in 1968, 1969 and 1975. Playing career She played for Buffers Alley Club with whom she won ...

player of the year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

award-winners Bridget Doyle and Kate Kelly, All Star award winners

Áine Codd Áine Codd is a camogie player, winner of an All-Star award in 2004 and an All Ireland medal in 2007. Career She played camogie for Presentation Wexford and was UCD camogie player of the year for 2001. She was nominated for further All Star a ...

Mags Darcy Mags D’Arcy is a camogie player, double All Star winner, holder of four All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship's 2007, 2010, 2011,2011 final Wexford 2-7 Galway 1-8 Report iIrish Examiener Mary Leacy Mary Leacy (born March 2, 1986 in Oulart, County Wexford) is an Irish people, Irish sportsperson. She won Camogie All Stars, camogie All Star awards in Camogie All Stars#2004, 2004, Camogie All Stars#2007, 2007 and 2010. She plays camogie with ...

Ursula Jacob Ursula Jacob is a camogie player, winner of All Star awards in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014. All-Ireland Senior medals in 2007, 2010 2011 and 2012, in 2011 she scored a dramatic 52nd-minute goal which changed the course of the All Ireland fi ...

Una Leacy Una Leacy is a camogie player and winner of two All-Star awards. Leacy's first All-Star came in 2007, the year her two early goals helped Wexford win their first All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship in 32 years, and her second in 2011. She ...

Claire O'Connor Claire O'Connor is a camogie player, winner of All-Ireland Senior medals in the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championships of 2007, 2010,and 2011. O'Conner was an All Star award winner in 2010 and 2011 as well as a member of the 2011 Team of th ...

, Catherine O'Loughlin,

Katrina Parrock Katrina Parrock (born 2 September 1990) is an Irish camogie player, winner of All-Ireland Senior medals in 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and an All Star award winner in 2010, 2011 and 2012. She was an All Star nominee in 2006, 2007 and 20 ...

and All Ireland final stars Mary Walsh and

Gretta Quigley Gretta may refer to: People * Gretta Bowen (1880–1981), self-taught Irish artist * Gretta Chambers (1927–2017), Canadian journalist and former Chancellor of McGill University * Gretta Cohn, American cellist and radio producer * Gretta Duisenbe ...

. Under Camogie's National Development Plan 2010–2015, "Our Game, Our Passion", five new camogie clubs were to be established in the county by 2015. Wexford have the following achievements in camogie. *

s: ''7'' **(click on year for team line-outs)

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

,"All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship: Roll of Honour"
RTÉ, 9 May 2008.

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie Championship The All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie Championship is a competition in the women's field sport of camogie for second-tier county teams and for second-string teams of first-tier counties. If the winning team comes from a second-tier county, that c ...

s: 1 **20112011 final Wexford 2–12 Antrim 0–15 Report i
Irish Times
/ref> *

All-Ireland Junior Camogie Championship The All-Ireland Junior Camogie Championship is a competition for third-tier county teams in the women's field sport of camogie and for second-string teams of first-tier counties. In accordance with the practice in GAA competitions the term juni ...

s: 1 **2021 *

All-Ireland Minor Camogie Championship The All-Ireland Minor Camogie Championship is a competition for under-18 teams in the women's field sport of camogie. Counties compete for the Síghle Nic an Ultaigh Cup. There are graded competitions at Minor B and Minor C level. History The ...

s: 1 **1995 *

s: 4 **(click on year for team line-outs)

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and

Ladies' football

Wexford have the following achievements in ladies' football. *

All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship is the premier inter-county competition in the game of ladies' Gaelic football in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association and are played during the ...

Finalists: 3 **1983, 1986, 1989 *

All-Ireland Junior Ladies' Football Championship The All-Ireland Junior Ladies' Football Championship is a "knockout" competition in the game of Ladies' Gaelic football played by women in Ireland. The series of games are organised by Ladies' Gaelic Football Association (Irish :''Cumann Peil G ...

Finalists: 2 * 1986, 1987 *

Winners: 1 *2014 *

All-Ireland Intermediate Ladies' Football Championship The All-Ireland Intermediate Ladies' Football Championship is a knock-out competition in the game of Ladies' Gaelic football played by women in Ireland. The series of games are organised by Ladies' Gaelic Football Association (Irish :''Cumann P ...

Finalists: 1 **2007 *

All-Ireland Under-18 Ladies' Football Championship The All-Ireland Under-18 Ladies' Football Championship is a "knockout" competition in the game of Ladies' Gaelic football played by women in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association The Ladies' Gael ...

s: ''4'' **1982, 1983, 1984, 1986 *

All-Ireland Under-16 Ladies' Football Championship The All-Ireland Under-16 Ladies' Football Championship is a "knockout" competition in the game of Ladies' Gaelic football played by women in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association The Ladies' Gael ...

: ''3'' **1981, 1982, 1983 *

All-Ireland Under-14 Ladies' Football Championship The All-Ireland Under-14 Ladies' Football Championship is a "knockout" competition in the game of Ladies' Gaelic football played by women in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association The Ladies' Gael ...

: ''1'' **1990

References

External links

Wexford GAA site

Wexford on Hoganstand.com

National and provincial titles won by Wexford teams

Club championship winners

Wexford GAA Discussion Board
{{GAA bodies Gaelic games governing bodies in Leinster Leinster GAA Sport in County Wexford