All Ireland club football championships 2023/24

[Milltown Row2]

It actually struck me at the end of the game how chaotic KC's attempts to get subs on was. As neutrals we commented that it was unusual at the time. Also commented that KC had literally everyone back. They got stung last year and were being really stretched by Glen. Their management will have come to the conclusion that they were vulnerable at the end of games. Taking in all these factors, the current in-depth prep and "win-at-all " costs mentality of top teams, it would be a master stroke to try to get extra bodies in the defence at the end . Repelling Glen's final attacks were helped by the crowding , not just physically but the Visual deterrent of numbers back defending and lack of space . Whether this was an incredibly cynical tactic or by accident , it must be seen to be penalised or now many others  will be at it, especially when only the referee officiating . Tbf to KC management another explanation for the chaos could be the rush to get players on the field to keep them sweet with a bit of AI game-time , as they lost their place to "tribesman" Shane Walsh.
I hesitate to be critical of KC as they operate a brilliant club in a challenging environment, but this must be a hollow victory for most club stalwarts. On reflection, They'll be annoyed, no doubt , that it looks like their all-ireland would never have happened if they hadn't have pulled in the second best player in Ireland for a few months. Despite the cries of "Noice peno, ShaneO" , he's not one of their own , and the genuine KC gaels will have their heads in their hands this morning , wondering if it was all worth it.
Not wanting to take away from the great work being done in KC, but the Shane Walsh fiasco dominated the conversation amongst everyone I talked to about the match .."not a good look".
It's no consolation to Glen , but without Shane Walsh , and just 15 opposition players on the pitch they would have been AI champs, by some distance .
Regarding the extra players, if there isn't a rule to heavily penalise this, there should be.

Do you honestly believe that the clubmen of KC will have looked at this win and be annoyed? They seemed very happy at the final whistle

They won't be the slightest bit annoyed. They'll look around the clubhouse at lads they've known since 5 years of age , who are now all Ireland champions. They won't even consider the "why".

Yes MR, on reflection and with hindsight , they'll be wondering could they have done it without parachuting in the second best player in Ireland . Throw in the , probably cynical,  17 defender fiasco as well, it's a hollow victory at best, and their promotional message to their young players and potential members is sullied .
Compare that with Kilcoo, where all players came from the same rural primary school , or indeed the Cliffords winning Junior All-Ireland with Fossa.

The GAA is not like any other sport . It doesn't have an international dimension and there's no "pay for play" , but it retains it's popularity for players , and indeed , is able to punch above it's weight,  because of its ethos. Other sports admire and envy this ethos , and it should not be diluted.
City and large town clubs are advantaged by Weight of numbers , including adults migrating for work. Nobody can stop a Shane Walsh moving to Dublin for work or study , but when they get there, should there not be more regulation  on what club they choose?
St Galls AI team , for example, was bolstered by "outsiders" and good luck to you, it was all within the rules. But this is open to abuse. It would completely destroy the GAA in rural areas if more students transfer to city clubs .
The Shane Walsh scenario has been a major talking point and will leave a sour taste for those players that missed out, not just for loss of game-time , but the feeling that their AI victory is sullied. Craig Dyas , for example, is the outstanding KC player IMO , but nobody's talking about him, they're talking about a Galway freetaker parachuted in for a few months. It's not right , not just for the integrity of the GAA but for undermining the KC club.

And on reflection I've never heard a whisper of discontent within my club, and neither 13 years later has it come up, players move to city's for work and so on, they will either give up and stop playing or find a club that will allow them to play on, its that simple, I don't know any club that would refuse a player as that will also go against what we are about as sporting organisation.

Would we have won An All Ireland without these lads? Who knows. But being a city club I suppose we have seen it over the years and unfortunately the parish 'rules' don't apply, nobody really in the city lives in the parish of their club, the club (well ours) is 113 years old, that part of the city is long gone in relation to members living in that area. I'd say there are 3 parish type clubs in the city, I'd say there would be a lot of clubs in Dublin that have 'outsider's'

[Captain Scarlet]

Let's be honest here! If any of our clubs got a sniff of Shane Walsh being open to switching to your club, we would all feckin love it! But, one thing that was mentioned was that he can do a lot of his course online? Is that BS?

In terms of the end, the KC players were actively defending the goal so it is an issue. It also should not be up to the opposition to appeal, etc. It leaves them in a very unfair position.

[Milltown Row2]

Let's be honest here! If any of our clubs got a sniff of Shane Walsh being open to switching to your club, we would all feckin love it! But, one thing that was mentioned was that he can do a lot of his course online? Is that BS?

In terms of the end, the KC players were actively defending the goal so it is an issue. It also should not be up to the opposition to appeal, etc. It leaves them in a very unfair position.

Is he doing a teaching degree? I'd imagine he'd be in classrooms?

[imtommygunn]

He can do the course online but is teaching in Dublin was what I read...

[Truth hurts]

There should be a replay

[seafoid]

The usual GAA reaction is a fudge or silence but the problem with this is that it's the GAA's own rules and any team could feel entitled to break them with impunity. Throw on 2 players and lob the ball in if you need a goal.

[RedHand88]

Brolly saying the Crokes lads should get off the beer and that a replay is the only honourable option!

[6th sam]

It actually struck me at the end of the game how chaotic KC's attempts to get subs on was. As neutrals we commented that it was unusual at the time. Also commented that KC had literally everyone back. They got stung last year and were being really stretched by Glen. Their management will have come to the conclusion that they were vulnerable at the end of games. Taking in all these factors, the current in-depth prep and "win-at-all " costs mentality of top teams, it would be a master stroke to try to get extra bodies in the defence at the end . Repelling Glen's final attacks were helped by the crowding , not just physically but the Visual deterrent of numbers back defending and lack of space . Whether this was an incredibly cynical tactic or by accident , it must be seen to be penalised or now many others  will be at it, especially when only the referee officiating . Tbf to KC management another explanation for the chaos could be the rush to get players on the field to keep them sweet with a bit of AI game-time , as they lost their place to "tribesman" Shane Walsh.
I hesitate to be critical of KC as they operate a brilliant club in a challenging environment, but this must be a hollow victory for most club stalwarts. On reflection, They'll be annoyed, no doubt , that it looks like their all-ireland would never have happened if they hadn't have pulled in the second best player in Ireland for a few months. Despite the cries of "Noice peno, ShaneO" , he's not one of their own , and the genuine KC gaels will have their heads in their hands this morning , wondering if it was all worth it.
Not wanting to take away from the great work being done in KC, but the Shane Walsh fiasco dominated the conversation amongst everyone I talked to about the match .."not a good look".
It's no consolation to Glen , but without Shane Walsh , and just 15 opposition players on the pitch they would have been AI champs, by some distance .
Regarding the extra players, if there isn't a rule to heavily penalise this, there should be.

Do you honestly believe that the clubmen of KC will have looked at this win and be annoyed? They seemed very happy at the final whistle

They won't be the slightest bit annoyed. They'll look around the clubhouse at lads they've known since 5 years of age , who are now all Ireland champions. They won't even consider the "why".

Yes MR, on reflection and with hindsight , they'll be wondering could they have done it without parachuting in the second best player in Ireland . Throw in the , probably cynical,  17 defender fiasco as well, it's a hollow victory at best, and their promotional message to their young players and potential members is sullied .
Compare that with Kilcoo, where all players came from the same rural primary school , or indeed the Cliffords winning Junior All-Ireland with Fossa.

The GAA is not like any other sport . It doesn't have an international dimension and there's no "pay for play" , but it retains it's popularity for players , and indeed , is able to punch above it's weight,  because of its ethos. Other sports admire and envy this ethos , and it should not be diluted.
City and large town clubs are advantaged by Weight of numbers , including adults migrating for work. Nobody can stop a Shane Walsh moving to Dublin for work or study , but when they get there, should there not be more regulation  on what club they choose?
St Galls AI team , for example, was bolstered by "outsiders" and good luck to you, it was all within the rules. But this is open to abuse. It would completely destroy the GAA in rural areas if more students transfer to city clubs .
The Shane Walsh scenario has been a major talking point and will leave a sour taste for those players that missed out, not just for loss of game-time , but the feeling that their AI victory is sullied. Craig Dyas , for example, is the outstanding KC player IMO , but nobody's talking about him, they're talking about a Galway freetaker parachuted in for a few months. It's not right , not just for the integrity of the GAA but for undermining the KC club.

And on reflection I've never heard a whisper of discontent within my club, and neither 13 years later has it come up, players move to city's for work and so on, they will either give up and stop playing or find a club that will allow them to play on, its that simple, I don't know any club that would refuse a player as that will also go against what we are about as sporting organisation.

Would we have won An All Ireland without these lads? Who knows. But being a city club I suppose we have seen it over the years and unfortunately the parish 'rules' don't apply, nobody really in the city lives in the parish of their club, the club (well ours) is 113 years old, that part of the city is long gone in relation to members living in that area. I'd say there are 3 parish type clubs in the city, I'd say there would be a lot of clubs in Dublin that have 'outsider's'

Absolutely , I can appreciate there were no whimpers WITHIN the club, and ST Galls did nothing outside the rules. And yes we'd all take county stars looking to join our club. But Tbf SG didn't have 17 players on the field including a parachuted superstar . I accept there are parish rules differences in cities , what I am suggesting is that there needs to be some further regulation to protect the integrity of the competition and the existing members of the city club involved.

[seafoid]

The Wattys were absolutely devastated as well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbuR2TM0hRE&t=6275s

[trailer]

How did it happen. In an AIF. Crazy. It's a mess for the GAA. What were the sideline officials doing? This is literally their job.

[An Fhairche Abu]

If the linesman, 4th official or referee was informed by the Glen management team about the player number issue as has been reported, then they should have allowed the 45 to be retaken and for Glen to have another play with the correct numbers on the pitch, would have sorted it out there and then.
If it was just Mannion who wasn't next nor near the play as he was exiting the pitch then there's nothing that should be done but Mullin is absolutely in the middle of it and even if he wasn't near the shot could be said to be affecting the play.
If the precedent is a replay than there should be a replay, although if the referee was informed and it's in the report then does this come under some "dealt with on the day" area?
Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

You don't have to like that the Walsh transfer happened but it's a fact of life, Galway man Michael Day was playing for Na Fianna in the Dublin county final, there was no hubbub about that, purely because he's just another player of the many that has transferred to a city club due to life circumstances.
Shane Walsh is entitled to do whatever he wants with his life, the GAA nor his club at home don't own him. Crokes didn't have to accept him into the club either, I don't see how they are "undermined". If Walsh decided to pack up with Galway and say to Dessie Farrell I'm available for Dublin (don't think Dublin would take him but hypothetically speaking assume they do) then it's entirely up to himself, Galway people would undoubtedly be upset and unhappy but it's his life and it's an amateur game.

If people think the medal will mean nothing to him then that's ok too but do the Larry Tompkins and Shay Fahy wins with Cork mean nothing to them? Does it only mean something if you've been at a place a certain time? Should Fahy return his POTY award because he didn't win it with Kildare?
The high profile of Walsh shouldn't matter, people need to either get serious about this or not, do you want the GAA to stop transfers or put some limitations on transfers to certain clubs? What criteria are you going to place on it? Does it just apply to Dublin or metropolitan areas?
If the issue is "I just don't want Shane Walsh to go to a big club that was a serious AI contender already because it doesn't sit right with me" then that's back into the realm of you don't have to like it but that's life.
If the transfer was illegal that's another issue entirely but the GAA sanctioned it, he working teaching in Dublin classrooms at the minute, what do people actually want? If it's just that it's unfair on other teams in the competition then sure Moycullen were by far the worst offenders of the provincial winners in terms of players that are not from the club. There is no parish rule in Dublin to the best of my knowledge, he could be living anywhere in the city and play for whoever, I know lads who have their sons playing for Vincents and they live nowhere near the club, that's just their family club.

That All Ireland, just like Dublins in the last decade and all of Man City/Chelsea/PSG's trophies will always have a massive asterisks beside it.

Can I ask why the Dublin All Ireland's have an asterisk? You don't have to like Dublin but when it came to playing on the pitch there were as good as I've ever seen. The funding is what it is, the likes of Galway and Cork have been shafted for years on allocations but up to county boards to have a backbone and bring motions to congress to ensure an equal playing field.

[RedHand88]

Does the Crokes 14 know what he's at or is it an honest mistake? How did he not see his number up?

[trailer]

If the linesman, 4th official or referee was informed by the Glen management team about the player number issue as has been reported, then they should have allowed the 45 to be retaken and for Glen to have another play with the correct numbers on the pitch, would have sorted it out there and then.
If it was just Mannion who wasn't next nor near the play as he was exiting the pitch then there's nothing that should be done but Mullin is absolutely in the middle of it and even if he wasn't near the shot could be said to be affecting the play.
If the precedent is a replay than there should be a replay, although if the referee was informed and it's in the report then does this come under some "dealt with on the day" area?
Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

You don't have to like that the Walsh transfer happened but it's a fact of life, Galway man Michael Day was playing for Na Fianna in the Dublin county final, there was no hubbub about that, purely because he's just another player of the many that has transferred to a city club due to life circumstances.
Shane Walsh is entitled to do whatever he wants with his life, the GAA nor his club at home don't own him. Crokes didn't have to accept him into the club either, I don't see how they are "undermined". If Walsh decided to pack up with Galway and say to Dessie Farrell I'm available for Dublin (don't think Dublin would take him but hypothetically speaking assume they do) then it's entirely up to himself, Galway people would undoubtedly be upset and unhappy but it's his life and it's an amateur game.

If people think the medal will mean nothing to him then that's ok too but do the Larry Tompkins and Shay Fahy wins with Cork mean nothing to them? Does it only mean something if you've been at a place a certain time? Should Fahy return his POTY award because he didn't win it with Kildare?
The high profile of Walsh shouldn't matter, people need to either get serious about this or not, do you want the GAA to stop transfers or put some limitations on transfers to certain clubs? What criteria are you going to place on it? Does it just apply to Dublin or metropolitan areas?
If the issue is "I just don't want Shane Walsh to go to a big club that was a serious AI contender already because it doesn't sit right with me" then that's back into the realm of you don't have to like it but that's life.
If the transfer was illegal that's another issue entirely but the GAA sanctioned it, he working teaching in Dublin classrooms at the minute, what do people actually want? If it's just that it's unfair on other teams in the competition then sure Moycullen were by far the worst offenders of the provincial winners in terms of players that are not from the club. There is no parish rule in Dublin to the best of my knowledge, he could be living anywhere in the city and play for whoever, I know lads who have their sons playing for Vincents and they live nowhere near the club, that's just their family club.

That All Ireland, just like Dublins in the last decade and all of Man City/Chelsea/PSG's trophies will always have a massive asterisks beside it.

Can I ask why the Dublin All Ireland's have an asterisk? You don't have to like Dublin but when it came to playing on the pitch there were as good as I've ever seen. The funding is what it is, the likes of Galway and Cork have been shafted for years on allocations but up to county boards to have a backbone and bring motions to congress to ensure an equal playing field.

A great summation. Agree totally.

[Armagh18]

If the linesman, 4th official or referee was informed by the Glen management team about the player number issue as has been reported, then they should have allowed the 45 to be retaken and for Glen to have another play with the correct numbers on the pitch, would have sorted it out there and then.
If it was just Mannion who wasn't next nor near the play as he was exiting the pitch then there's nothing that should be done but Mullin is absolutely in the middle of it and even if he wasn't near the shot could be said to be affecting the play.
If the precedent is a replay than there should be a replay, although if the referee was informed and it's in the report then does this come under some "dealt with on the day" area?
Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

You don't have to like that the Walsh transfer happened but it's a fact of life, Galway man Michael Day was playing for Na Fianna in the Dublin county final, there was no hubbub about that, purely because he's just another player of the many that has transferred to a city club due to life circumstances.
Shane Walsh is entitled to do whatever he wants with his life, the GAA nor his club at home don't own him. Crokes didn't have to accept him into the club either, I don't see how they are "undermined". If Walsh decided to pack up with Galway and say to Dessie Farrell I'm available for Dublin (don't think Dublin would take him but hypothetically speaking assume they do) then it's entirely up to himself, Galway people would undoubtedly be upset and unhappy but it's his life and it's an amateur game.

If people think the medal will mean nothing to him then that's ok too but do the Larry Tompkins and Shay Fahy wins with Cork mean nothing to them? Does it only mean something if you've been at a place a certain time? Should Fahy return his POTY award because he didn't win it with Kildare?
The high profile of Walsh shouldn't matter, people need to either get serious about this or not, do you want the GAA to stop transfers or put some limitations on transfers to certain clubs? What criteria are you going to place on it? Does it just apply to Dublin or metropolitan areas?
If the issue is "I just don't want Shane Walsh to go to a big club that was a serious AI contender already because it doesn't sit right with me" then that's back into the realm of you don't have to like it but that's life.
If the transfer was illegal that's another issue entirely but the GAA sanctioned it, he working teaching in Dublin classrooms at the minute, what do people actually want? If it's just that it's unfair on other teams in the competition then sure Moycullen were by far the worst offenders of the provincial winners in terms of players that are not from the club. There is no parish rule in Dublin to the best of my knowledge, he could be living anywhere in the city and play for whoever, I know lads who have their sons playing for Vincents and they live nowhere near the club, that's just their family club.

That All Ireland, just like Dublins in the last decade and all of Man City/Chelsea/PSG's trophies will always have a massive asterisks beside it.

Can I ask why the Dublin All Ireland's have an asterisk? You don't have to like Dublin but when it came to playing on the pitch there were as good as I've ever seen. The funding is what it is, the likes of Galway and Cork have been shafted for years on allocations but up to county boards to have a backbone and bring motions to congress to ensure an equal playing field.

Millions and millions of euros and every game being played at home would be a pretty major asterisk.

[Shamrock Shore]

Last time Crokes won they had Longford's Brian Kavanagh on the team. He transferred from his small club in Longford a few years earlier.

There wasn't a fuss at the time - but he did teach in the area.

So why the fuss now? You either allow it, or you don't. Just because Walsh is higher profile should not be a factor.

That said, while I live just across the bypass from Stillorgan, I dont have any grá for the Crokes.