Dillon on inter county stage

AMIDST the humble beginnings of the Leinster football championship preliminary round on Sunday lurks more All Ireland pedigree than might be suspected.

In Longford, the home team is managed by Eamonn Coleman, who took Derry to the All Ireland title three years ago. Visitors Wicklow were B champions four years ago and still retain a few medallists from that team.

At Dr Cullen Park, Carlow include about half the players who won the B title 18 months ago. Even their opponents, Wexford, can boast a connection. Midfielder Mick Dillon captained Dublin's Kilmacud Crokes to the All Ireland title last year.

Dillon's inter county history goes back a decade. A member of a talented 1985 Wexford minor team, he went on to play for the under 21 side who took eventual All Ireland champions Offaly to four matches in the Leinster final.

Thereafter, living in Dublin and concentrating on examinations, Dillon was unable to give his inter county career full attention. Similarly when Kilmacud were in full flow, he was unable to make the inter county commitment, but with things having gone quiet for club in the last year, he is happy to get involved.

"I hadn't been that willing in the past because of club and exam commitments. It's very difficult from a work point of view to go down to Wexford and back and get up for work the next morning.

"When training is in Gorey, that's not so bad - you'd be back at around 11 o'clock - but if it's in Enniscorthy, then it's nearly one in the morning. When you're training, you need to be sleeping as well.

"I usedn't agree with having to go back to Wexford for every training session - not the summer ones but the winter stuff - and I used feel I was as well running around a field in Dublin, but it was one of the prerequisites."

This weekend, he will round off his busiest season with Wexford by lining out in the championship after helping the county achieve a dextrous escape from relegation from Division Three by winning their last two matches.

Football in the county has suffered by comparison with hurling but it has survived, and in recent years there has been some positive developments at underage level.

"A lot of hurlers are actually better footballers than hurlers but you can't blame them. Everyone's interested in the big stage, and in Wexford, that's hurling. I think we're more likely to make a breakthrough in football.

"There is a tradition of football. I went to St Peter's, which was renowned as a hurling academy, but in my time, Mick Caulfield became PE trainer - he'd played for the county seniors, at football - and he brought football up. Now, Good Counsel (New Ross) and Peter's have been in the last couple of All Ireland finals.

"I would think we have to make a breakthrough at minor. Last year, there was a good team beaten by Westmeath. They (Wexford) asked for a postponement because they'd a couple of injuries and it was agreed in return for home advantage. Westmeath won by two points and went on to win the All Ireland.

"A couple of years ago they were beaten by Meath in a replay and Meath won the All Ireland. We really need to win something. There's this history of nearly winning things, coming within a point or two.

"It reminds me of Kilmacud. We were always in the top two or three in the League and still got beaten in the championship. It would be close and no one liked playing us, but eventually we became difficult to beat.

"There is a nearly syndrome, but Wexford have always bad good players. John O'Gorman is a super full back and played for Leinster at a time when Gerry Hargan and Mick Lyons were around."

In recent years, the senior team has made some progress. The last League campaign might not have been very inspiring but in the O'Byrne Cup, Leinster's secondary competition, Wexford have made an impact, winning last year and reaching the final this year.

Dillon, however, is dubious about the net effect.

"We won it in controversial circumstances (opponents Westmeath refused to play extra time) and I think it gave Westmeath more bite for the championship. We could have won the O'Byrne Cup again this year. Wicklow may not agree but I felt we were totally in control."

The team is quite young but has a number of more experienced players to supplement the youth. Dillon reviews the year so far positively and is optimistic about the immediate future.

"We're a nice blend. My objective was to stay in Division Three - the way the games fell, we were never going to get promoted. Next season I see us hoping to consolidate and progress now that we've stayed in Division Three. Getting out of the preliminary group should be possible if we can beat Carlow."

With his parents in Cork, and Dillon himself working and living in Dublin, he has no real links with Wexford anymore. It was no secret that he would have liked to have played for Dublin and he was careful to establish that the ambition was unlikely to be realised before committing to Wexford.

His manager at Kilmacud, Tommy Lyons, says that Dillon is an intelligent, well motivated player who will give full commitment on the pitch once he's made up his mind.

Dillon doesn't see any conflict of interest. "I want to compete at the highest level. There have been some mumblings about my commitment, and if Dublin had offered me something, I would have jumped at it because I want to be at that highest level.

"If Dublin asked me now, the answer would be `no'. I've made my decision. I've still a bit to contribute and I'd like to give it a blast. I think there's a window of two to three years for me and I'd like to get as much out of it as I can.