In Derry I'd say it's:
1. Mid Ulster Observer
2. Mid Ulster Mail
3. Derry Journal
Limerick
We really only have the Limerick Leader
In order of preference and of quality GAA coverage:
The Kerryman
The Kingdom
Kerry's Eye
Also The Examiner gives good coverage of some Kerry clubs games and you cant beat Radio Kerry's coverage of live club and county games every weekend.
Definitely the Mad Ulster Observer although no.1 correspondant behind the scenes was the subject of some stick on this board a couple of years ago because of the amount of coverage he gave one club in particular.
Mayo news by a mile.
western people.
con. telegraph.
A couple of years ago?? It still happens!!!
I think the quote was something like " The Downey brothers could only watch on in amazement as their All Ireland Winning colleague of 1993 Joe Brolly produced an exhibition of scoring football" or something like that. To be fair to him he does have a position where he can promote his own club but some of his predictions for the league are ludicrous. I think he predicted Screen to win something like 3 games one year!!! As poor as we can be we've never been as bad as that!
In Tyrone, the Dungannon Observer is great for in-depth coverage of games if little of in-depth analysis, The Ulster & Tyrone Heralds are good for the big matches, with the Tyrone Herald having the advantage of being out on Monday covering club games from the day before.
1) Offaly Independent, although there's a couple of tubes that write for it.
2) The Offaly Express
3) The Tribune
In Sligo, though neither are exactly great:
1) Sligo Weekender
2) Sligo Champion
Across the borders, Mayo News is quite good on the few occasions I've seen it, Western is pretty good also, can't speak for the Connacht Telegraph. Leitrim Observer is decent, no competition though. Ros Herald is reasonable, never read the Ros Champion.
Regarding radio, Ocean FM has to be one of the worst for local GAA coverage, of the rural stations. Compared to MidWest and it's own predecessor, NorthWest, well it's as one-sided as this year's AIF.
The Democrat...the Wobbler beats them out the gate...
Leinster Leader and Kildare Nationalist, The Nationalist is quite good and generally calls a spade a spade...
Yez all give out about the national media being Dublin biased but I think that's because we've feck all local papers apart from the Evening Herald.
Read the Anglo Celt a good bit and the most amusing thing I find is if Longford beat Cavan at any age group from Under 8 to Over 40 you can never get a report in the Celt, while if Cavan win........well thats a different story. Think the last time I saw a report of a Longford win was about 5 years ago in a league game......donno what will happen if they ever meet in the league or championship again and Longford win!!!
QuoteThe Kerryman
Is that the North Kerry or the South Kerry Edition??? :P
We have The Westmeath Examiner for the east of the county and The Westmeath Topic for the west, don't know who buys The Westmeath Independent.
Re: The Anglo Celt in Cavan. You forgot to mention the brutal spelling, grammar and total inaccuracies every week. The sports editor is the main culprit of this. On numerous occassions you will find a half page match report on one page, only to flick another few pages and find the same report again! It is the worst paper I have ever read to be honest. Haven't seen the new Cavan echo but hopefully it can redeem the state of journalism in Cavan
Quote from: AZOffaly on November 15, 2006, 11:53:36 PM
1) Offaly Independent, although there's a couple of tubes that write for it.
(http://www.lpintl.net/images/tube3.jpg)
Can't beat a great staff night out, twas a good one..... :P
Don;t worry LS, I wasn't talking about your esoteric ramblings. They are quite enjoyable over a cupán tae, even if I don't agree with you more than 6 times out of 10 :)
I was more talking about that jinnet from Cork, McCarthy, and some of the stuff the girl puts out. In fairness to her, she is improving, but your man burned his bridges with me over the Kildare Subs affair.
I tend not to worry about these things one way or another, I'm sure most people consider me quite tubular well over 4 out of 10 readings ... :P
He is an awful clown that lad all right, and he never seems to write anything worthwhile. Just his own pointless bar stool take on whatever was going on that week. As for when they went to the Ryder Cup, that was the most ridiculous things ever. A gang of lads taking photos of each other on the golf course - not a golfer in sight.
To be fair to Ruth, she was landed into a job knowing feck all about the county scene, so it's understandable enough that she took a while to get into it. She wouldn't be the biggest lover of the small ball in the world, but she's at least in with the football set now. I feel sorry for the new lad, Michael Verney - writing on hurling matches, and having to be woeful wary of saying anything out of place in case he has to hurl against the lad in a few months.....
Western people is usually quiet good, except for mayo matches when the journalists either dont want to insult the lads, JOm doesn't want to upset the electorate or ray silke is just being a bollix
QuoteThe Democrat...the Wobbler beats them out the gate...
5 Sams, I take it that is the Newry Democrat, because the Down Democrat is a bag of shite.
Yip thats the one No1. In fairness The Wobbler hasnt a lot to compete with in the Newry Democrat. The preview stuff he does at the start of the season/championship is good reading even though his predictions are usually as far away as my last shite. :P
Newry Reporter is very good :D
The Newtownards Chronical has a full colour suppliment on the hurling and football every thursday. The Camogie gets a great write up in the Newtownards Spectator as well.
::)
Never read the mid ulster observer - but apparantly I was pictured in it last week.
Kildares Leinster leader used to have the best coverage - although were pretty phenomenaly brutal at getting names wrong.
There was no other paper at that stage
Meath Chronicle is a decent paper full of all the local sports etc.
Great GAA coverage
Blanch gazette is complete carp.
The Celt as has been rightly said is brutal, its that bad that they've now brought out a free paper on a Friday (Cavan Life) to compensate.As for the sports editor enough said,hardly a week goes by without a picture or mention of the son.
Also this year Drumalee played Ballinagh in the Intermediate final and in their build up they had all the Drumalee player profiles pics of Drumalee players etc,and nothing on Ballinagh only a pic of their manager who isn't from Ballinagh.
Quote from: johnneycool on November 16, 2006, 11:28:05 AM
The Newtownards Chronical has a full colour suppliment on the hurling and football every thursday. The Camogie gets a great write up in the Newtownards Spectator as well.
::)
You are taking the Mick, right? I wouldn't have taken Newtownards for being a hotbed of GAA.
Agree with previous Cavan posters about the Celt being poor. When Damien O'Reilly (RTE) was doing the sideline view section it was good. I didn't always agree with what he said but at least it was thought provoking.
Owen McConnon does it now. Hes on some County Board committee so therefore says nothing to offend anyone, very bland.
A couple of years ago DOR questioned why Cavan people would support Ulster teams (He termed such people as Ulsterites), his argument was why support your arch rivals. Michael Grennan UC president took exception to this and criticised the Celt at the UCs AGM for allowing such rubbish be printed. The following summer when presenting the Anglo-Celt cup to Armagh he referred to the cup as the Ulster championship trophy.
Tyrone Times are the only paper making a genuine effort to cover every game in every league. The editor, Kevin Hughes may at times be a bit controversial but usually his views are spot on.
The Tyrone Herald needs a huge kick in the Arse - less Party nights as the weekend and go for mass Club gaelic coverage in a big way. They can fill a huge gap in the market in Irelands second biggest county. On another matter, I remember going to and knowing that Tyrone were going to beat Donegal in the Ulster final replay 1989 - the reason, The Donegal Democrat had given Tyrone awful abuse in the lead up to the first game and the trash on individuals and the team was reproduced in the Tyrone Democrat. Every Tyrone man the week before the replay would have ran through a wall for their county to beat Donegal, supporters and team galvanised and in unison. and we did with applomb.
Damien O Reilly's sideline view section was more like a Man Utd supporters club section.He spent most of his time boasting about Man U and their players and god forbid any team who might beat them or any manager who might speak out about them.Granted he had some good points to make about the GAA but as time went on Man U took up much of his time.
Quote from: OakLeaf on November 16, 2006, 12:28:56 PM
Quote from: johnneycool on November 16, 2006, 11:28:05 AM
The Newtownards Chronical has a full colour suppliment on the hurling and football every thursday. The Camogie gets a great write up in the Newtownards Spectator as well.
::)
You are taking the Mick, right? I wouldn't have taken Newtownards for being a hotbed of GAA.
The only GAA hotbeds they like to see in Newtownards is the club houses burned to the ground.
I'd have to say the Mayo News is probably the best around here, The Western is also pretty good. But the Mayo on a whole looks alot better and I always enjoy McStay's column. As for the Connacht its average but when it's poor it's very poor. But I remeber being told that about twenty years ago or so the sports editor left out the picture of the Mayo team from a match report becuase they didn't deserve to be put in because they played so bad, if thats true it took some balls by him. As for the new paper the Advertiser it's pretty weak really and only gives the bear minimum of coverage
The Ulster Herald is crap.
The carve up club notes so tight that there is barely room for your lotto numbers never mind any detailed match coverage.
The teamtalk magazine in Tyrone is a class publication from the Curran brothers. Its very well done and very informative publised by true GAA people.
In Fermanagh you have the two newspapers, one traditionally Protestant and the other Catholic. The traditional Catholic paper, the Fermanagh Herald have really let their standard slip, names photos even teams have been mixed up constantly, but still everyone will by in for tradition alone, and the club notes section - could do much more though. Colm Bradley has a column there now but it's not up to much at all.
Impartial Reporter has improved dramatically, particularly it seems since the success of 2004. Photos are excellent and previews etc a much better read despite Protestant background.
In Mayo I'd say The Mayo News is the best.
In Roscommon the one to get is The Roscommon Champion.
Westmeath Examiner and Topic in the East side and the Westmeath Examiner and Athlone Voice for the West. Athlone Voice gets my vote for local Gaa, All championship games in Senior and Intermediate get full coverage and some of the more local Junior games get decent coverage.
joe mcmanus is singularly the worst reporter around. same article every time, just swap the relevent names. further, his "most influential players" are predetermined for every game.
writes joe mcmanus...
Couldn't agree more there Uladh, kisses the ass of every cross man that gets near the team and has hardly ever questioned any of JK decisions. Also builds up a lot of young lads just to have a pop at them at county level.
Everyone else beat me to it as regards the Celt. Dreadful doesn't do it justice. I do have to laugh when I see the various references to young Gaffney though.
Local radio's Michael Tynan (Northern Sound) as commentator drives me demented. In the middle of a game he's yabbering about the full-back's great grandfather's first cousin's uncle who won a pie-eating contest in West Cork at 5.25 in July 1946, instead of bothering with mere incidentals like telling you the score! But sure it's all part of the local colour, eh? :P
To continue what I said earlier, I do agree about the notes in the Ulster Herald - as a former PRO it was a pain in the arse trying to keep everything you wanted to say short enough for them, sometimes not appear at all even though you get them in before the deadline, other times important stuff missed out. The Dungannon Observer will print whatever you throw at them, pictures and all which is better. I always told our clubmen to read the Observer to read the "full" notes and the Herald for the "highlights".
Mayo lads, a slight deviation from the thread, but do you remember Willy "The Shoe" on MW Radio. The reception on the car stereo used always go around Mullingar. Many a Sunday on the way back to Dublin I'd pull over on the hard shoulder to listen before I lost reception. May he rest in peace.
How could anyone forget the Shoe, a true character and gentleman.'
What about the answer to that rugby question groot ?
The two Armagh city papers are poor on their coverage of GAA. I have read the Impartial Reporter in Enniskillen and the Donegal Democrat and their coverage features analysis, prediction and actual reporting. But then again I could be accused of faraway fields.........
Whatever happened to the Game? Or the Gaelic Game in it's second incarnation?
In North Antrim it would be the Ballymena Chronicle (part of the mid ulster newspaper group thingy me jigger)
Worst would be the ballymoney times & ballymena guardian....they devote more to pigeon racing, angling and the darts & pools leagues than they do to GAA...for the life of me I cannot understand why people buy them...but they do
Tyrone
Tyrone Times: Outstanding club coverage...they go to great efforts to produce a report on every senior, intermediate and junior league and championship game. County coverage is pretty dismal...they are much too negative and sensationalist when it comes to reporting on the county senior side and, as a result, they are now being denied interviews by the Tyrone senior players and management. Club notes are often edited and reducd in length. The 'Hughes Views' column often provokes much debate and, despite all the criticism it receives, is probably widely read.
Dungannon Observer: Includes detailed and comprehensive coverage of all club and county affairs but is a bit bland. Tries to copy many of the Tyrone Times ideas to spruce up its GAA coverage. Club notes are always printed in full which is a good thing.
Tyrone Democrat: See Dungannon Observer.
Tyrone Herald: It is refreshing to have a local paper that comes out on a Monday but it could feature even more GAA coverage than it does. Still a decent read.
Ulster Herald: I have only read it a few times as it is from 'the other end of Tyrone'! Seems like a decent enough paper with fairly extensive GAA coverage.
Tyrone Courier: Francie Mooney is the main GAA writer here and does a decent enough job. Does not include enough club notes as the deadline for copy is too early in the week!
Armagh
Armagh Observer: Joe McManus has to be the most biased inter-county match reporter I have ever read. When Armagh lose, it is ALWAYS the referee's fault. The Armagh players and management are rarely criticised. Although club notes are always printed in full, the coverage given to club football generally is quite poor. Only a handful of big club championship fixtures are reported on by a neutral writer while too much space is devoted to an U-14 North Armagh league fixture for example.
Ulster Gazette: John Morrison is the main GAA writer here. Enough said really!