International Rules v Railway Cup

[Zulu]

That's a silly comparison in fairness.
Reserves football provides an outlet for thousands of players all over the country.
Without it, they wouldn't be playing.
There are structured leagues and championships that give these lads the opportunity to represent their club without forcing them to train properly or give up beer.
The Railway Cup and IR series are essentially exhibition games.
Get rid of them and the small number (relatively) of elite players involved will still have plenty of teams to play for (in meaningful competitions).

I'm not advocating to scrap reserve games, as I agree with the reasons you said. I'm merely comparing the spectator interest with reserve games and the RC.

Reserve games give lads the chance to represent their club, while the RC gives players the chance to represent their province (or country through the IR). It's only 2 games maximum a year, which as we have seen, can be accommodated into the GAA calendar. Some of the country's best players have appeared in the RC this last 2 years (unlike with the IR series), which proves how highly the players hold the competition.

Eh??? The IR has always got the best players in the country, the RC has often been about who's available as opposed to who merits selection. It's a farce and needs ending asap.

[BennyCake]

Eh??? The IR has always got the best players in the country, the RC has often been about who's available as opposed to who merits selection. It's a farce and needs ending asap.

So, how many times has Colm Cooper played Rules? Daragh O'Se? Stephen O'Neill? Oisin McConville? Tomas O'Se? Paddy Bradley? Declan O'Sullivan? Not too many. Are these not some of the best players Ireland had this last decade? I'd say they've played in the RC more than in the IR. The Rules manager tends to go with bigger players that are more suited to taking big hits and standing up to the Aussies.

The RC has been played in February this last couple of years, therefore only the AI club semi finalists wouldn't be available. There would be more players unavailable in October for the Rules, as the club championships are in full flow then.

[Zulu]

So the RC has been played when other more serious competitions are still on that players rate more highly, right?

I don't know how many times any player has played either competition but I do know one is highly regarded and the other is a run around. Neither are worth much to anyone but at least the IR are taken seriously but the RC is a farce by now.

[Hardy]

It's amazing how the Railway Cup continues to ignite such passionate debate when it can't raise a crowd of more than a few dozen actually to watch the matches. Everybody seems either to want it scrapped or see it as a vital symbol of some kind that the GAA should preserve at all costs.

I'm completely indifferent to it. I don't care about it. I don't care enough to want to see it scrapped, either. I don't see why it should be scrapped, though, if the players, as seems to be the case, still value it. Fine - play it. But can we not find a happy medium where they play it without everybody whinging because nobody wants to go and watch it?

Live and let live. We don't mind you playing it. Try not to mind us not wanting to watch it.

The IR rubbish? That's a different thing altogether. A dangerous farce.

[BennyCake]

So the RC has been played when other more serious competitions are still on that players rate more highly, right?

I don't know how many times any player has played either competition but I do know one is highly regarded and the other is a run around. Neither are worth much to anyone but at least the IR are taken seriously but the RC is a farce by now.

Yes, AI club semi finalists obviously don't release players for the RC. But many players also don't play in the IR because they're also with their clubs. Obviously club football takes priority over the two.

You might think the RC is a farce, but the fact that the top players make themselves available for the competition, suggests otherwise.