Mitchell guides Wicklow to national stage

Hurling National League finals:After making sensational progress behind the scenes in recent weeks Wicklow hurlers get to further enhance their new reputation in Semple Stadium on Sunday - and look out for the influence of a certain DJ Carey.

Wicklow are unbeaten in their five National League games and the surprise contestants in the Division Two final, which represents something of a rags-to-riches story, inspired by manager John Mitchell.

The impact of Mitchell's appointment, just over five months ago, cannot be overstated. Nor can the lengths he's gone to in improving the fortunes of Wicklow hurling - clearly easier said than done. That included inviting the nine-time Kilkenny All Star Carey to Monday's training session, looking for one last edge ahead of Sunday's showdown against Laois.

"I'd have got to know DJ Carey over the years," explains Mitchell. "The hurling community is like that. But it was a great boost to the team. He went through some drills and then a practice game and spoke afterwards, a really complete job."

Inevitably Carey's presence at the training session in Arklow drew a full player attendance, plus some eager supporters, and yet such strong turnouts are now a regular feature since Mitchell took charge.

The former Cork hurler, who was born in Wicklow and spent the first two days of his life there, has raised standards in the county to arguably unprecedented heights.

Wicklow's main hurling fame to date involved junior All-Ireland titles in 1967 and 1971, and few expected to see them emerge as contenders for this year's Division Two title - and therefore Division One hurling next year.

"Well I did," interjects Mitchell. "They're a very talented bunch of players, and have done a lot of hard work . . . we've trained, I think, 51 or 52 times since the start of the year, and the dedication has been great.

"If, say, you look back at the panel that played in the first round of the Christy Ring Cup last year, maybe 20 of those players are gone. We've got a lot of young players, as young as 19, but a few in their mid-30s as well . . . But right now we have every fit hurler in Wicklow available to us, and that hasn't been the case for a long while. And I would also liken the thing to a club set-up, because they really are very close, have bonded very well, with great spirit and confidence."

Mitchell is one of those managers who lives and breathes hurling, as his past attests. When playing with UCC against Glen Rovers in 1967 he found himself marking Christy Ring, in what was the Cork legend's final game. He continued to play hurling through the 1970s and 1980s, finishing off with Wicklow. Based in Dublin since 1971, and now tied with Kilmacud Crokes, he admits that taking over as the county manager didn't initially appeal to him.

"No, and originally I declined. It was actually my wife and kids who persuaded me to take the job . . . My wife said if I didn't take the job I might always live to regret it. As it turns out I would have hurled with some of the fathers of this team. But there are so few hurling clubs in Wicklow it is easy to know more or less everyone."

A victory on Sunday - and Wicklow have already beaten Laois in round two of the league - would set up a Division One play-off against Limerick, and incredibly, another win there would see them in Division One next year.

"I haven't even contemplated that," Mitchell again interjects. "It would be stupid of anyone to look beyond this Sunday. But this season we were mainly concerned with two competitions, the Division Two of the league, and the Christy Ring Cup, and they're both winnable."

Mitchell also says it's "stupid" to make any connection between Mick O'Dwyer's appointment as football manager and the recent progress of the hurlers. In a strange way, however, the hype has gradually shifted to the hurlers: "There's no connection there . . . We're talking about two parallel lines. There's only one dual player, but there's no rivalry, and our relationship is good. But his arrival has absolutely no bearing on what we're doing."

Instead the Wicklow hurlers have been quietly going about their own business. They train in Arklow on Tuesdays and Carnew on Thursdays and weekends, trebling the amount of training done before Mitchell arrived.

Damian Roche and Joe Duggan have come in from Wexford to help in conditioning work, and there's a real scientific edge to their fitness work, none of the reckless training runs up, say, the Wicklow or Sally Gaps. If recent progress persists there's no saying how high up the hurling mountain they could climb.