Wicklow Football Boss Hails Departing Stalwart Mark Kenny

Ballymanus forward Mark Kenny retires from Wicklow duty as Oisin McConville freshens up his panel and backroom for a Sam Maguire tilt

Mark Kenny has retired from inter-county football after more than a decade as a Wicklow senior, leaving a significant gap in the squad as the Garden County prepare for Sam Maguire football in 2027.

The Ballymanus forward is the only retirement from last year’s panel. Manager Oisín McConville, now heading into his fifth year in charge, told The Morning Show on East Coast FM that he had hoped Kenny would give it one more season but understands the demands on his time.

“The fact that he’s gone is massively disappointing and leaves a big void in the squad in every way, leadership, experience, performance and just a bit of know-how,” McConville said. “What a fabulous servant and fabulous footballer he’s been for Wicklow down through the years. He will be sorely missed. Other than that, everybody’s back and ready to go.”

McConville has been looking for fresh talent at club level. He has been out watching local championship matches around the county and has invited five new players into the squad, with a sixth possible.

He says the aim is to keep the group fresh without losing its core. “The majority of the guys who are there have been there from the start, so they know what to expect, and then it’s just trying to nurture the younger lads who are coming through. Luckily enough, there’s quite a few of those.”

He also pointed to Tailteann Cup winning captain Dean Healy as still going strong. The backroom team has been reshaped too, with former Down footballer Kevin McKernan and former Monaghan defender Dermot McArdle joining the ticket.

McConville said the changes were not driven by Wicklow’s promotion to the top tier after this summer’s Tailteann Cup win, although he allowed that the timing may be coincidental.

“I think regardless of where we were at, it probably needed freshened up,” he said. “Adam Winters, Des Jennings and Frankie Dolan did a wonderful job for us over the years, but look, it’s football. It just can’t be the same, same.”

He added that he has known McKernan and McArdle for some time and that the timing suited both sides. A new coach, Des Earls, also comes in. Earls joins as strength and conditioning coach. He brings more than five years’ experience working with elite athletes at DCU Sport, Triathlon Ireland, the Olympic Council of Ireland, AFL Europe and the Wicklow, Armagh and Dublin GAA boards.

McConville said Earls knows club football inside out and has already worked with the majority of the players, which he sees as a key advantage.

“When you’re there three, four and five years, it just needs to be freshened up every now and again,” McConville said. “We’ve chosen this time to do that.”