{"id":276626,"date":"2026-02-02T09:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T09:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/276626\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T09:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T09:04:13","slug":"mcconville-hammers-gaa-for-division-4-issue-after-wicklow-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/276626\/","title":{"rendered":"McConville Hammers GAA For Division 4 Issue After Wicklow Decision"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was a dramatic finish to the NFL Division 4 clash between Carlow and Wicklow at Cullen Park last night, with the home side running out as 1-15 to 2-9 winners on the back of controversial late refereeing decision.<\/p>\n

With Carlow leading by three points deep into injury time, Wicklow’s Dean Healy would score a goal to level the game. However, referee Pat Clarke would then award a square ball, ruling the goal out.<\/p>\n

This would prove to be the final action of the game, with the decision heavily criticised by some in the Wicklow camp.<\/p>\n

READ ALSO:\u00a0What Shane Dowling Gets Wrong With His Criticism Of The Waterford Hurlers<\/a><\/p>\n

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READ ALSO:\u00a0‘A Challenging 18 Months’: Conor Glass Proud After Derry Snap ‘Painful’ Streak<\/a><\/p>\n

Wicklow’s Ois\u00edn McConville Hammers GAA For Division 4 Issue<\/p>\n

This could end up being a key result in Wicklow’s bid to earn promotion from the bottom tier, with that late decision meaning they miss out on what may have been a vital point.<\/p>\n

Wicklow manager Ois\u00edn McConville felt the call to rule out the goal was incorrect, with the Armagh native having an issue with the overall standard of officiating in the division.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Tadhg Evans of the Wicklow People<\/a>, McConville heavily criticised the GAA for not appointing the best referees in the sport to oversee fixtures in Division 4.<\/p>\n

I feel a little bit aggrieved for both teams because I know the GAA don\u2019t put much stock in Division Four and what goes on in Division Four, but we would like a fair crack at the new rules, same as everyone else.<\/p>\n

I know we don\u2019t have the hooter, that\u2019s the first thing, but we need the top refs reffing if at all possible…<\/p>\n

There were rules there tonight that I didn\u2019t even know existed and cost us dearly.<\/p>\n

They made Eoin Darcy go off the pitch [in the first half] for some reason whereas, three or four times, they didn\u2019t make a player go off the pitch.<\/p>\n

We were penalised with a two-pointer even though the linesman told him to go back on the pitch. He was on our side of the pitch. And that is massively frustrating and disappointing.<\/p>\n

Again, this is not at the ref, this is at the appointments. We want the best referees\u2026we deserve what Division One or Division Two and Division Three are getting, and we\u2019re not getting that.<\/p>\n

The most experienced officials are usually found in the top two divisions, with Ois\u00edn McConville clearly believing that Wicklow and other sides in Division 4 are being sold short by the GAA as things stand.<\/p>\n

Wicklow will aim to bounce back from this loss when they face Waterford in two weeks time, a fixture that now looks like a must win if they are to harbour hopes of earning promotion this season.<\/p>\n

SEE ALSO:\u00a0‘We\u2019re Gone Like Soccer’ \u2013 Ben O\u2019Connor Sounds Alarm For Hurling After Cork Victory<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There was a dramatic finish to the NFL Division 4 clash between Carlow and Wicklow at Cullen Park…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276627,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[61,60,112,7469],"class_list":{"0":"post-276626","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-wicklow"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=276626"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276626\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}