Wicklow hurling has been a bit of a puzzling one for many years and the code has been undeniably the forgotten child under the Wicklow GAA umbrella in many ways. Thankfully there are positive signs that this is slowly being rectified and resources and promotion of the code is slowly coming on par with the big ball game. The puzzling thing about Wicklow hurling his how successful our small ball teams have been with the County Hurlers consistently in the upper end of the standards when benchmarked against the other 31 counties and the London’s, Warwickshire’s and Lancashire’s of the hurling leagues. With so few clubs and a smaller slice of the resources pie, Wicklow hurling has always achieved way more than the sum of its parts and the real cause for excitement is the formation of new hurling clubs like Western Gaels and the return of hurling in clubs like Aughrim, with both teams giving excellent accounts of themselves in the Junior Grade.
There is huge opportunity to expand the game of hurling in Wicklow in the coming years and to really delve into the huge population resource we have. Western Gaels covers a large part of Northwest Wicklow which we will hopefully be forgiven for saying was a complete hurling desert with many strong GAA clubs in that region with absolutely no sign of a sliotar being struck in anger. Western Gaels solves that issue in the Northwest by offering the opportunity to play the game of hurling in a young and vibrant new club.
Rome wasn’t built in a day nor was is built for free and to be in a position to field teams, provide gear and the training facilities necessary to build a successful club, funding is of paramount concern. To that end Western Gaels are launching their 2021 Fundraising campaign and as Part 1 of that campaign they are currently running an iDonate fundraiser that hopes to raise €3,000 by Easter this year. The money raised will assist with the long-term player development plan and ongoing everyday expenses in 2021. The hurling fraternity in County Wicklow is a tight knit one and it benefits all clubs to have more hurling clubs formed and sustained to grow the game so hopefully other hurling clubs and Wicklow Gaels can put the shoulder to the wheel by making a donation and for every €10 donation you make you will be entered into a draw to win one of the prizes donated by local supporters of Western Gaels.

Western Gaels fully appreciate that any donation is a substantial one in the current climate, but they hope that you would see the benefits in supporting Western Gaels Hurling Club.

If you would like to donate you can do so here: https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/11399541_western-gaels-hurling-club-s-page.html