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Wicklow manager Oisin McConville hopes this weekend’s Tailtian Cup final against Down will prove a launchpad for the county as he chases his first trophy in inter-county management.
After falling just short of thrashing Dublin in the Leinster SFC quarter-finals in April, the Garden County recorded wins over Limerick, Tipperary, Antrim and Offaly to set up a shot at silverware in Croke Park on Saturday (15:30 BST).
Since its introduction in 2022, the second-tier Tailtian Cup has given winners Westmeath, Meath, Down and Kildare the chance to compete in the All-Ireland series – and McConville hopes Wicklow can follow suit.
“I look at the teams that have won the Tailtean Cup, Down, Meath and Westmeath – they are all capable of challenging at the highest level and they have already proved that,” said McConville, an All-Ireland winner in Armagh in 2002.
“If our trajectory was anything like what they went through, sure.
“But we can’t accept that we’re only in the final of the Tailtian Cup, we want to go on and win now.”
Wicklow showed impressive attitude en route to Croke Park. They overturned a nine-point deficit (2-19 to 3-15) to beat Minstrel Antrim in Belfast in the quarter-finals before a second-half surge against Offaly saw them roar back from eight points behind to win a dramatic semi-final 2-26 to 4-15.
But 2024 champions Down have serious pedigree at this level and beat Fermanagh in the semi-final to reach their third Tailtian Cup decision.
“They’ve got a lot of danger, they’ve been playing at a high level for the last few years. They’ve been in Division Two, gone back to Division Three and are going back to Division Two next year,” McConville, who took over as Wicklow boss ahead of the 2023 season, said of the Murnimen.
“(In the Ulster Championship) they beat Donegal and that’s a fantastic result. If you look at that game in isolation, it’s a scary thought.
“The likes of (Odhran) Murdock, (Daniel) Guinness and Pat Havern, they’re very hard to pin down. That’s what’s in front of us.
“We know the enormity of the task, but we have to have confidence in our own ability and how good we have been in the last four games. A lot of focus has to be on ourselves.”
