Another former chair of Wexford GAA responds to councillor’s allegations– ‘His grandstanding is disappointing’

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

When he spoke at a monthly district meeting about an email sent four years ago Councillor John O’Rourke could never have imagined that his throwaway comment would result in not one, but two, former chairs of Wexford GAA taking him to task.

But having just settled matters with Derek Kent – who was chair of Wexford GAA from 2016-2020 – Cllr O’Rourke has now drawn the ire of Mr Kent’s successor, Micheál Marti..

The comment in question was made during the October meeting of the Enniscorthy Municipal District (EMD) and related to parking issues outside the GAA venue, St Patrick’s Park. Following a suggestion that residents write to the GAA to voice their concerns, Cllr O’Rourke said: "I wish them the best of luck writing to the GAA, four years ago I wrote to the person who is now the chairman of Leinster and I’m still awaiting a response.”

As the current chairman of Leinster GAA, Derek Kent took umbrage at this statement and refuted the allegation he had not responded to Cllr O’Rourke’s correspondence.

And at the November meeting of the EMD, held this week, Cllr O’Rourke accepted he had made a mistake and issued an apology to Mr Kent.

“I made a statement at our October meeting with regards to the car parking at the venue in Enniscorthy where I said the current chair of Leinster GAA was in charge of Wexford GAA at the time,” he said. “However, when I consulted my notes I realised that it was his successor I had written to.

"I wish to apologise to Mr Kent, it was a mistake on my behalf, I hope he will accept my apology and that the matter can now be rectified.”

However, now the man who succeeded Mr Kent as chair of Wexford GAA has rowed into the argument and sought to clear his name. Micheál Martin served in the role from 2020-2024 and says that his priority during that time was responding to queries from his members.

Furthermore, he says a number of actions were put in place during his term to minimise disruption for residents on Pearse Road.

“A committee consisting of Bobby Goff, David Tobin, Cathal Byrne (former Enniscorthy councillor, now senator) were delegated to deal with the issue along with operations manager Gavin O’Donovan,” said Mr Martin. “We held a series of meetings regarding the traffic concerns of residents with Ger Mackey (former district manager of Enniscorthy), the showgrounds committee, the boxing club, our fixtures committee, and local gardaí.

“The result of these meetings were that double headers, which were the cause of many previous issues, were limited. Where double headers did take place, an hour-and-a-half gap between games was adopted and an agreement was put in place with the showgrounds committee to allow traffic to exit on to the Ross Road with stewards provided by Wexford GAA.

"We were very appreciative to the showgrounds committee for their cooperation. It should be noted that Cllr O’Rourke raised an objection to the increased traffic on Ross Rd, although the system significantly improved traffic flow and alleviated issues at the grounds.”

Regarding the traffic problems last month, Mr Martin said he understood that was the result of a scheduling issue with one of the teams having requesting its game be moved to an earlier slot. Stressing that Wexford GAA strives to ensure it is a “good neighbour” to all those who live within the boundaries of not just St Patrick’s Park, but also Chadwick’s Park and the Centre of Excellence, Mr Martin said many games had been moved out of the Enniscorthy venue to limit traffic in the area.

“Over two thirds of our underage finals were moved out of St Patrick's Park to other grounds,” he said. “This includes moving Rackard League games despite the fact the St Patrick’s Park surface is the best in the county. The fact that the councillor continues to grandstand despite the attempts of many volunteers to actually solve the issues that were put in place is disappointing.

"It is also worth noting that the venue has hosted important games, especially games for our youth, for many years. The facilities are built, upgraded and maintained fully via GAA funds. GAA members have expressed significant frustration that criticisms of our grounds and our volunteers are coming from a small number of councillors, especially at a time when increasingly, local government funds and maintains facilities for other codes.”