Last night's Wexford GAA county committee meeting gave the thumbs up to a very impressive hurling backroom team under new manager Keith Rossiter.
Rossiter, manager of Wexford’s U20s for the past two seasons, was also officially ratified as the new Model County boss.
He guided the U20 team to successive Leinster finals and previously served as a selector with their senior hurlers from 2017 to 2021.
David Franks joins the set-up as lead coach. The former Offaly hurler gave 13 years playing for his native county and in recent years continued played club hurling with Carrickshock in Kilkenny before playing a crucial coaching role with Ballygunner in Waterford and being a pivotal part of their 2022 All-Ireland winning campaign.
Alongside Franks, another well-respected figure joins Rossiter at the helm, with Frank Flannery taking on the position of skills coach. Flannery returned to take charge of his hometown club Carrigtwohill last winter.
He has huge experience in both codes. As recently as 2021, he led Kanturk to a championship title. He played a significant role in Oulart-the-Ballagh's two Wexford senior titles and a Leinster title. He was also involved when Ardmore (2013) and Ballysaggart (2019) were crowned Waterford intermediate kings.
Wexford legend Damien Fitzhenry has been installed as the county's goalkeeping coach. Fitzhenry spent 17 years playing for the county, with the the All-Ireland triumph of 1996 the undoubted highlight. One of the top goalkeepers of his generation, he won three All-Star awards, two Vodafone (1997 and 2004) and one GPA (2007) before retiring in 2010.
Another former Wexford goalkeeper, Eanna Martin, is also part of the new-look team. Martin worked with Rossiter at U20 level and enjoyed 14 years as a senior inter-county hurler playing in various positions – in goal and outfield. He was a member of Davy Fitzgerald’s Wexford panel that won silverware in the Leinster Championship in 2019.
Wexford GAA told RTÉ Sport that additional backroom members will be announced at the next county committee meeting.
Meanwhile Wexford GAA has announced that an initial €400,000 has been secured through the Immigrant Investor Programme for the development of Chadwicks Wexford Park.
This work will commence next month and will centre on the upgrading of dressing rooms, the enhancement of wheelchair user facilities, the upgrading of the press area and the commencement of replacing seating.
