There was nothing else for it. Dave Guiney had married into the McCarthy family of Rathnure and Rod Guiney still wanted to hurl with his twin brother, so they both left Rosslare, shipped their belongings 30 miles up the road and settled in a hurling dreamer's paradise.
"I'd suffered a cruciate ligament injury in 1993 and was told that my chances of hurling for Wexford again were slim. I knew the odds couldn't worsen by playing with Rathnure. We were leaving a junior club in St Mary's and were guaranteed to be playing against quality opposition with Rathnure. But as well as the competitive aspect, the idealism with which Rathnure folk approached hurling was something which suited Dave and myself very well."
Rathnure is fairy-tale country, one of those timeless parishes depicted by frosted images of family dynasties, tradition, heartbreak.
It is, of course, the storied home of the Rackard brothers, the actual and spiritual sages behind Wexford's awakening as a national force in the game. The parish formed a senior club in 1932 and since then Rathnure have been subdued in five All-Ireland club finals, the most recent back in 1987 when Borrisoleigh saw them off by two goals.
The following year, they stung Portlaoise with a late goal in the Leinster club final but fell in the next match. They have not been outside the province in over a decade but their reputation alone casts long shadows in the south.
"Hurling has been a part of our lives for a hundred years," comments John Connell, the former Wexford under-21 manager who, at 45 years of age, remains Rathnure's first choice full back.
"We have poured so much into the game over the past 50 years, concentrating hard on underage clubs and we have met with quite a bit of success. Hurling is just a way of life here and as the tradition grew, it became a way of bonding the community together, giving us a source of pride. The parish priest is as much a part of Rathnure hurling as the lads on the field will be the next day," he says.
Rod Guiney's rehabilitation with Rathnure precipitated his return to the Wexford panel under Liam Griffin in 1995, although he was dropped before the League semi-final clash against Galway.
"Myself and Sean Flood were both dropped but they brought us back on after they lost that game. The rest, I suppose, is history."
Blazing and widely rejoiced history, when Wexford shook off 25 years of ignominious loss and their "yellow belly" tag as they hurled their way to the Championship in between reciting Liam Griffin sonnets.
"It's all a blur, now really," comments Guiney.
"Obviously, winning the All-Ireland was unsurpassable, but beating Offaly in the Leinster final was a huge occasion for Wexford hurling. That day above all instilled us with a confidence in our own game which remains. I never expected that we'd go on a roll or anything like that but when we pick it up again next year, 1996 will be the reference point."
If Wexford's heralded streak that year washed away the residue of decades of bitter pessimism, so Rathnure seek a similar rush in the club sphere in order to erase their unhappy record in All-Ireland finals. Five defeats inflicted on one parish is both unprecedented and, perhaps, undeserved.
"Maybe we have been unlucky in the past but getting to an All-Ireland again would be great," says Rod Guiney.
"But we are under no illusions. We are facing a major obstacle in Portlaoise on Sunday and I think it's worth remembering that the Laois county champions have sent the Wexford champions packing on a number of occasions in recent years."
Although Guiney is looking forward to the resumption of inter-county fare, he believes that club games bring the soul of the game to light more often.
"On Sunday, we will take the pitch and hurl for Rathnure. These are the guys you live beside, with whom you drink a few pints. There is a bond at this level which is really quite incredible."
