Wicklow hurling fracas under investigation

St Patrick's and Glenealy were due to meet again this weekend but their replay has been delayed until the County Board has sat down with both clubs to try to sort out their differences, which escalated into alarming violence when they last met.

Officials, players and mentors from both clubs have been ordered to a meeting on November 20 which could yet end up seeing one or both clubs thrown out of the competition as punishment for the actions of some of their so-called supporters. One Glenealy player alleged that he had been bitten in the chest while leaving the ground with his child and pregnant wife and was threatened his house would be fire-bombed. A newspaper photographer was also threatened during the melee.

The referee's report is useless in this instance because the fighting broke out off the field after the match. The worst of it actually occurred in the carpark 35 minutes later and match referee Con O'Ceadaigh confirmed to the Irish Independent yesterday that he saw nothing untoward at the end of the game and left the ground unaware there was subsequent trouble.

But O'Ceadaigh, who had sent off three players - two from St Patrick's and one from Glenealy - stressed that the match itself had passed with little incident and actually believes the incidence on-field problems in Wicklow are dwindling.

"I began (refereeing) five years ago and in my experience it is actually getting easier on the field," he said. "I think that is because Wicklow has a lot more qualified referees now. That means there are more red and yellow cards being dished out and the players know what to expect."

O'Ceadaigh said that Wicklow's reputation as a disciplinary flashpoint is exaggerated.

"You'll always get the lad at the end of a game who says you should have been wearing the other team's jersey or to get your eyes tested but that's usually only one person and I've never been put off.

"There's also 400 or more matches in Wicklow every season but people only hear about the one or two where there's trouble."