Liam Coleman of Wexford in attendance at the launch of the Tailteann Cup 2024 at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
It really is true that you never know what someone else is going through.
Wexford football team captain Liam Coleman attended the launch of the Tailteann Cup this week in Croke Park and he couldn’t have been more accommodating.
He was thoughtful and forthcoming in his interviews and mixed genially with all the other players in attendance.
When we chatted he spoke about his dream of getting to play on the Croke Park pitch some day because he’d attended countless times as a spectator.
Sometimes that was when he supported Wexford teams, but more often than not it was to watch Dublin in action alongside his father Seán, a Dubs fanatic from Churchtown who had relocated to Gorey in Wexford.
You suggest Seán will be bursting with pride if or when Liam does get to lead out a Wexford team at Croke Park, and that’s when he breaks the news gently, almost apologetically, that his father passed away last week.
If you read the tributes written to Seán on RIP.ie, a picture of an outgoing, good-humoured man with a passion for sport, music, the great outdoors, and good company is painted vividly.
He comes across as an all-in sort of person, so it’s no surprise to hear his son’s love for football was one passed down from his father.
“He was a huge influence,” says Liam. “The biggest influence, I'd say. He was mad into sport.
“He have played hurling U-21 with Dublin and played club up here in Dublin with Churchtown which turned into St. Olaf's.
“And then he moved down to Wexford in 2000 the year that I was born. He coached in the club down there then and introduced me to everything about sport.
“A lot of my early memories would be of coming up to Croke Park with him and watching Dublin play. And all the way up through my teens.
“I would have been here for the five-in-a-row and every match other than that. My Dad was a huge, huge Dublin supporter. So, being honest, that's where a lot of my memories come from.
“So, yeah, it would be great if I could play here myself someday. Honestly, you have no idea, I want to get out onto that pitch so badly.
“He'd still be looking down on me so it would be a huge achievement if I could and I'd take massive pride in it.
“It’s been a tough week. It was nice though as well because he'd been sick for quite a while. Tough last few months. But he's resting now, I suppose, that's probably what you’re supposed to say.”
Liam Coleman of Wexford during the Leinster GAA Football Senior Championship quarter-final match between Louth and Wexford at Laois Hire O’Moore Park in Portlaoise, Laois. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
You can be sure that Seán Coleman was proud of both the man and footballer his son Liam has turned out to be.
When the Wexford captain talks about his team you quickly see how much leading them means to him.
“Huge pride,” he says. “I think there were around eight of us who were on the same U20s team four or five years ago. It's a young team.
“Obviously we have some really good experienced players too, the likes of Ben Brosnan and Kevin O'Grady and them, but we feel like we've created something in our group that we're proud of and are custodians of and we'd like to move it on that way.
“Anyone who comes in to our panel, I think that's evident to them and it's almost the biggest thing we've achieved because for eight or nine years that unfortunately wasn't the case in Wexford and that is why we are where we are, because there was inconsistency in standards in terms of what was expected. It’s about trying to get that back on track.
“I’m excited about our potential. Of course I am. I have to be. We all are. if we weren't it would be worrying.
“We have to be the custodians of the standard we set ourselves. We have to set the bar ourselves. If we can't get excited about that I think we'd be in a lot of bother.”
You get the feeling this Wexford team isn’t far off making a big breakthrough, and it might come in this year’s Tailteann Cup campaign.
They were very unlucky not to win promotion from Division Four, and then gave Louth a real run for their money for most of the Leinster SFC Quarter-Final.
Liam Coleman of Wexford in action against Ciaran Keenan of Louth during the Leinster GAA Football Senior Championship quarter-final match between Louth and Wexford at Laois Hire O’Moore Park in Portlaoise, Laois. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile.
That loss still feels like a missed opportunity to Coleman, but he's hopeful the lessons they learned will be put to good use.
“We were in a great place 50 minutes into that game to get something out of the game and that was our sole aim going in to play Louth,” he says.
“We felt it was a really good opportunity being on that side of the draw in Leinster and we executed what we wanted to do for 50 minutes.
“Maybe a lack of experience of playing against teams of that quality came against us and we were punished like we weren't punished before.
“But in that we got to learn a lot. We got exposed for things we hadn't been exposed for coming through Division 4. All of our focus since has been on what we learned from that game against Louth.
“It exposed a lot of our weaknesses and it's been a good opportunity with four hard weeks of training to work on ourselves. The group has been positive. We had a week of disappointment but since then we've put it behind us, moved on, and training has been very good."
Their first match of the Tailteann Cup campaign away to one of the competition’s favourites, Sligo, on Saturday will give this Wexford team a good idea of exactly where they are right now in terms of their development.
“We got a lesson last year when we went up there in the League,” says Coleman. “They walked all over us, so we're under no illusions this weekend. It's going to be a huge challenge.
"We've had a good chance to look at them. They'd be talking similar enough to us in so far as this Tailteann Cup is huge for them in terms of where they are on their journey. It's a huge opportunity.
“We'll be meeting a 100 per cent Sligo this weekend, I'd say. They'll really, really be up for it. We're just going to have to match them and see where we are. it's another good opportunity to pitch ourselves against one of the better teams.”