Messages

I'd rather go to Armagh or Owenbeg. Corrigan is a disaster for watching the game. There'll be Ulster football on the same weekend. Surely the right call is to have Cushendun on before Cushendall???

Cushendall by 5
Dunloy by 3
St. Galls by 4
Cushendun by 10

Colm Cunning refereeing the senior game.

The man posts loads of score updates, travels to games all over Ireland, uploads videos and the rest. Fair play to him.

double header in Ballycastle.Loughgiel underdogs in both

Underdogs for the minor replay but please let us hear why exactly the team who dumped out the reigning champions are underdogs against a team who needed a replay to see off the johnnies.

match is in Ballycastle

Minor game at 1pm

senior game at 3pm

The town getting some turn this year.

yes thought peter was very impressive should have had 3/4 frees in the first half after a few rash tackles from Kearny

Maybe but these things even themselves out. Thought Conor Carson should have been awarded a few frees in the first half. Just cause he is a big lad doesn't mean he shouldn't frees when he is fouled.

Someone start a referee comment board so the rest of us can talk about hurling.

Thought we were going to blow St. Johns out of the water after the start we had. Fair play to them to come back at us the way they did. They are a coming team and if they keep the team together they can win a championship over the next few years. I was delighted when I seen Ciaran Johnson line out at centre back. He did a lot of damage a fortnight ago at centre forward.
   Thought we were too slow making changes. Eunan McKillop made a difference for the little time he got. Some balls on young Emmett Laverty coming on and nailing that last free. We might have to start him in the final just to hit frees. Sean McAfee should see more game time as well. The most pleasing thing was that we responded in both games when it looked like we were in serious trouble. Natty was brilliant for us and our best play wen't through him. Graffin lead from the front as well, what a man. Delighted with Fred McCurry too. A few things didn't go his way early on but he didn't drop the head and came into the game well as things progressed.
   Having eliminated the reigning champions and given we struggled past St. Johns then Loughgiel have to start as favorites but as usual there will be very little between the teams and no reason we can't win it either.

Ref in the minor final today was brutal. I said last week about not referring senior games he shouldn't be near a minor game either. He lost the game and he almost let it break out at the end due to his awful decisions.

He didn't almost let anything break out. The referee doesn't control how other people behave.

rednecks goin on about visiting Belfast for county finals.we are talking about semi finals here.i can assure you that you always had your fair share of semis played in the country,

You chip eaters didn't often get as far as the semi finals.

Wanting to bring my kid to see a senior championship game in Belfast without having to drive 80 mile round trip journeys is now called having an agenda.

Wind your neck in, angry boy.

80 mile round trip not worth it? Us down the country ran to Casement several times every season. It was a pleasure to do it. It's motorway from Belfast until about 10 miles out of Ballycastle, 2 out of Dunloy. If Ballycastle is too long for you to travel to a senior semi final/ Minor final double header then stay at home. There were plenty of senior championship games in Belfast this year. Rossa V St. Johns, Sarsfields V Cushendall, St. Johns V Ballycastle. But keep stamping your feet like a spoilt child there. Never worry about there being no suitable venues in Belfast to host the game, we'll hurl up and down the Andersonstown Road so you don't have to spend a 5er on red diesel. 

Corrigan.
Lamh Dhearg

St Johns play at Corrigan ffs.. Lamh Dhearg? No chance.

Simple fact is that the venues are outside Belfast due to parking.

Plenty of parking in Lamh Dhearg. Good routes in and out. When they've been tested they've done well. Last few times I've been to Creggan or Ahoghill I've had to park half way up some mucky road and hoof it on foot. Dunloy and Ballycastle good venues indeed tried and tested but hardly fair on St John's to travel two years in a row.

Dunloy is OK but do you not think for a second that there is a duty on the GAA to push a few Belfast's way, you know Ireland's second city where hurling is struggling a bit?

That has to lie with the clubs themselves to enhance and promote the game themselves. The GAA has been putting money into our games for years, granted its not as much as other counties, but that wont change the fortunes of the games themselves.

I follow all the clubs in Antrim on social media as im the PRO for our own club and i see countless examples from clubs in Belfast of the outstanding work thats been done esp in the underage set up. the promotion of the games from each club is brilliant and they give the youth a great platform for which to go forth and become better people. But it needs to keep going if its ever going to get better within the city and that will come from the clubs themselves.

Going to Belfast for the county final was the biggest day in the calendar growing up and we loved nothing more than getting there on county final day and id be more than happy to have them days back again.

I agree with all of what you wrote there.

The decline of hurling in Belfast I'm sure has been discussed a million times on here isn't too hard to understand. It's a cultural thing. For a whole generation or more now GAA kids haven't witnessed Div 1 hurling at their clubs outside of Rossa and St John's. We don't have your parish rule thing. We are genuinely competing with other sports. Football is easier. Parents like GAA but also like soccer so hurling is seen as the third person on the date so to speak.

There are small shoots of green and I hope they continue work away. Football is a different cattle of fish though. Loads of clubs focusing on football and it is going well in the city so it's not that the clubs aren't good GAA clubs. They clearly are. It's just a cultural inclination towards football overall which is hard to take as a hurling man in the city.

So to answer a previous point it isn't the fault of NA clubs that City hurling isn't in a great position but does that mean 1) that you don't showcase one of the biggest games in the club calendar there and 2) St John's have already had to travel.

St. Johns have already had to travel? Cushendall isn't in Dunloy you know. We had to travel too and we'll be travelling to get to Ballycastle as well. The game has to be played at a neutral venue so that's Corrigan out. Lamh Dearg have the side of their pitch dug up so that's out too. Do you want to play at Sarsfields where you have to look through keep nets? Rossa where you've about 40 yards of concrete steps along one side to accommodate everyone? Where else do you want the game to be? Ballymena? There is an Ulster Junior fixture there at the same time. It may have escaped your attention but the Johnnies manager has been on The Saffron Gael and today's Irish News saying they are more than happy to hurl in Dunloy or Ballycastle. So if the manager is happy enough going to Ballycastle what's your agenda?
   If you want to solve Belfast's hurling woes then stop blaming others and waiting on someone else to sort the problem. 

Gaelic Life tipping St. Johns to win the replay...

Shock in Derry with Slaughtneil getting knocked out of the football championship. Now their sole focus is on the hurling and their clash with Ballycran. I'm hoping that our own county champions will restore the balance of order and take the Ulster title this year

Big result that'll have a massive impact for the better on Slaughtneil's hurling. Things haven't gotten any easier for whoever comes out of Antrim.

Why wouldn't BALLYCASTLE get the big games ?? The pitch was in great shape at the weekend . Can't help the weather . Was it not windy in the St. John's and Cushendall game . Best place for parking . But would think now that we have had these two games that the final will be in Dunloy .

jesus don't take it to heart!  am only saying i've been on that pitch many a time and it would have a swirling wind on the best day in ireland,Nightmare to get out of it then also

Pitch is grand, weather generally brutal and worst place in the county to get out off.