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How many season ticket holders in Kildare will determine the venue?If they have more than  2 000 , then the match will be a double header in Newry, health and safety , Congress motion etc

Is kildare fans complaining about choice and size of venue not a bit ironic after Newbridge and Mayo last year.

Nope, quite the opposite.

Indeed.

Antrim perfectly entitled to their choice of venue.

["I think that reflects on Kildare really, they were really up there at the time, probably in Division 1]

it's almost half the 58,723 that attended the last provincial semi-final meeting of Dublin and Kildare - which was also part of a double-header - in 2011.

"I think that reflects on Kildare really, they were really up there at the time, probably in Division 1 which is always a help. Last year, Kildare had a great run in getting to the Super 8s and so on," Bolger is quoted as saying in the Irish Daily Star.

Kildare finished higher in the league this year than in 2011!

Serious stretch by the Leinster Chairman. Like most counties Kildare have a smallish core support who'll be there through thick and thin and a sizeable fair weather support when things are looking up. Kildare were desperate for most of the mid 2000s and brought poor crowds - I'd say there was only a few thousand of us there in Croke Park for Leinster games between 04-06 (Wexford 04, Wicklow/Westmeath/Laois 05, Offaly 06). That was at a time when Leinster games were drawing massive crowds. We're no worse now than we were then.

You kinda are. Than 2011 anyway.
You coulda/shoulda beat both Dublin and Donegal that year, yet within 13 or 14 months of the Donegal defeat in extra time through an extraordinary and unlikely point by Cassidy, both Dublin and Donegal had collected Sam while Kildare had entered an extreme downward spiral for some reason. 

The standard in the rest of Leinster from 2013 to 2018 has been pretty abysmal. Coinciding with Dublin having a really good team and manager has got us to where we are. Thankfully Meath and Kildare are least seem to be on an upward trajectory now

It's 04-07 where I'm drawing the comparison. We had sunk back to post Tompkins/Fahy 1980s depths in those years. I think we only won four championship matches across those four years - Wicklow, Westmeath, Cavan and Roscommon. I think we went about five years without winning a minor championship match too in that period.

["I think that reflects on Kildare really, they were really up there at the time, probably in Division 1]

it's almost half the 58,723 that attended the last provincial semi-final meeting of Dublin and Kildare - which was also part of a double-header - in 2011.

"I think that reflects on Kildare really, they were really up there at the time, probably in Division 1 which is always a help. Last year, Kildare had a great run in getting to the Super 8s and so on," Bolger is quoted as saying in the Irish Daily Star.

Kildare finished higher in the league this year than in 2011!

Serious stretch by the Leinster Chairman. Like most counties Kildare have a smallish core support who'll be there through thick and thin and a sizeable fair weather support when things are looking up. Kildare were desperate for most of the mid 2000s and brought poor crowds - I'd say there was only a few thousand of us there in Croke Park for Leinster games between 04-06 (Wexford 04, Wicklow/Westmeath/Laois 05, Offaly 06). That was at a time when Leinster games were drawing massive crowds. We're no worse now than we were then.

Jack Robinson not good enough good enough for the senior panel yet? Looked like he was playing for Kildare juniors last night.

He took a year out to go travelling, came back last summer. He's good enough. Superbly talented minor.

Watched him against Mayo minors in 2016 and he stood out a mile, barely noticed Hyland at all that day.

Hyland was black carded in the first half of that game for getting pulled out of a brawl!!

Being in college out in Galway probably doesn't help Robinson getting a run with the seniors. Most of the students on Kildare panels would be in Maynooth, Carlow or in Dublin.

The great man kicked 3 points off the bench for the Kildare Junior Team tonight. He will grace Croke Park again in the Leinster Junior Final in a few weeks time.

[Sure Kildare was always part of Dublin]

Sure Kildare was always part of Dublin, like parts of Meath and Wicklow, some Wicklow teams play in the Dublin leagues.

It was? 

You cant blame Dublin for the years of wastefullness by the Kildare GAA comunity, some massive clubs, lots of money, lots of wealthy individuals, all put to waste, In particular extortionite amounts of cash to previous managment regimes.

Massive clubs in Kildare? 

Numbers wise you're probably only looking at Naas and maybe Celbridge at a push. They would also be the two strongest hurling clubs in the county at the moment and promote both codes 50/50. The other big clubs in the county like Moorefield and Sarsfields have very little hurling.

Newbridge is evenly split between Moorefield and Sarsfields. The rivalry probably benefits football in Newbridge compared to Naas which has become too big for one club.

The likes of Athy, Round Towers (Kildare town) and Clane would be no different from any other small town clubs in other counties. Leixlip is split between St Mary's and Confey and the place is full of Dubs. Maynooth is also a smallish club because the place does not have a big native population once you factor in the number of students living there.

Kildare football teams would still have a big representation from smaller rural clubs like Johnstownbridge, Carbury, St Laurence's, Two Mile House, Allenwood, Monasterevin etc.

[But a draw was a fair result in a roller coaster game that entertained everyone there, including the Laoises/Westmeaths that hung on (Jazes, their game was shockingly bad and, had it gone to extra time, there could have been a riot)]

Dems the breaks Main Street - cuda, shuda etc.

But a draw was a fair result in a roller coaster game that entertained everyone there, including the Laoises/Westmeaths that hung on (Jazes, their game was shockingly bad and, had it gone to extra time, there could have been a riot)

Never got in contact with Dinny to buy him that cup of tea. There was great craic with myself and the brother with 5 Kildare lads who were hilarious with the quips. I can see how frustrated some Lilly supporters are so Dinny, you are not alone.

So, all in all, 10/10 for sheer entertainment. Some great scores, lively banter, thrills and spills.

Must say, as a nod to the Offaly boys, Tullamore is a wonderful venue now, having being a kip before.

Here's to next Sun

Ain't that the truth. I was leaving the Longford game numerous times as it looked done but they kept rising from the dead. Was more interested in seeing Longford sneak a winner than us scraping an undeserved draw. Super game, had everything. Great game management from Longford at the end of normal time to run down the clock, keep the ball and in the last 10 seconds create an incursion inside the 45 and get a shot off knowing that Kildare wouldn't have time to get back up the field if it went over. And of course it dramatically came back off the post. Some sore bodies today I'd say, the hits in extra time could be felt in the stand.

The shoulder that Cian O'Donoghue took was a monster hit from the Longford man.

Great entertainment throughout. Credit to both teams.

I'd chance Aaron O'Neill in goal the next day and give Niall Kelly a starting place ahead of Brophy or O'Flaherty. We're going nowhere fast this summer but nice to have another day out all the same. Would love another crack at Carlow/Poacher!!

[P Kelly]

Donnellan, Dempsey, D Hyland, M Hyland, P Kelly, Doyle, K Cribben, Feely, Conway, Slattery, McCormack, O'Flaherty, Tyrrell, Brophy, N Flynn

The only remaining footballer in Leinster outside of Dublin with an All Star award. Says it all.

No Mick O'Grady, Johnny Byrne, Kevin Flynn, Tommy Moolick,  Dan Flynn, Paul Cribben from that game  or no  Niall Kelly off the bench.

Add James Murray, Callaghan and Healy to that.

Gigginstown to scale down operations over the next 4-5 years. Didn't see that coming.

A dark day for national hunt breeders across the country. The market for stores should normalise in the next few years. They have been going for insane money recently.

For the very casual racing fan, what are "stores"

A store is a horse bred specifically for jumping.

Eddie O'Leary tended to avoid buying horses who had been bred for or had ran previously on the flat. Tiger Roll ironically would be an exception to that. John Ferguson paid £70k for him as a foal for Godolphin but he never made the track and was sold to Nigel Hawke for £10k as a 3yo. He won a juvenile hurdle at Market Rasen on debut before moving to Elliott.

Gigginstown to scale down operations over the next 4-5 years. Didn't see that coming.

A dark day for national hunt breeders across the country. The market for stores should normalise in the next few years. They have been going for insane money recently.

Less than 4k at Kildare v Wicklow. Leinster Championship has died a slow painful death. That they charged €25 for a seat shows how disenfranchised it has all become. €10 to watch Kildare's Minor B team play Kilkenny.....people are voting with their feet.

€3 for a programme that was a combined programme for three seperate games at three seperate venues across two days. Comhairle Laighean are a joke.

We are fighting light with missing/suspended players so I cannot see us pulling off a win here.

Ditto.

The most complete national hunt jockey we are ever likely to see. His big race haul is unlikely to be surpassed for a long time.

Kildare

Dan Flynn still out
Niall Kelly back from his traveling still not confirmed he will be back
Aaron Masterson has dropped out
James Murray has dropped out

Masterson was last years All-Ireland u20 winning captain.  We don't have the depth to lose Dan Flynn, in my opinion the best full forward in the country last year, Niall Kelly and Masterson, one of the best young midfielders in the country.

I don't blame them, zero craic playing inter-county football.

Is it true that O'Neill is stopping county players from playing with their clubs?

Not the case going on the local papers.

If Jamie Clarke, Brendan Donaghy, Aidan Forker and Mark Shields are all out Armagh are less likely to cause upset victory this weekend.

Not sure it would be much of an uspet. Five of the six Kildare forwards were not on the panel last summer and Slattery did not start a game. Very inexperienced full back line named. Would expect Kildare to get better as the league goes on and we get players back.