The Clones Carpet

[Leo]

First of all I am a fan of Clones. There is a special atmosphere when a town gives itself over completely to a big sporting occasion and today's semifinal was one of those.
Now some of us take  drink and some of us don't and we should all be able to live esily together on such a day.
But when the street from the Diamond the whole way to Creighton's is a carpet of brokenn glassess and beer bottle sit ia not the most uplifting start to a big sports day out.
OK the young turks are more exhuberant than we were a few years back but do they understand the word "litter".?
More pointedly, do the Urban or County Council understand it?
Ulster Council should not allow the revenue associated with these games to accrue to the lazy traders and council officilas of Clones unless they are prepared to supply the town with adequate litter bins to cater for this excess, together with on-site waste sweepers  wardens and collectors to counter this uncouth and dirty visible display of modern Irish excess.
And to bring young children through this debris is just deflating.

Let the youth of Armagh & Down have their beers and jollity on what should be a festive day but for the love of decency don't turn away and allow the free-for-all that developed today as it does not reflect well on the GAA family or Irish culture to leave a town in this sorry sorry state - at 3 o'clock in the afternoon! If the people of Clones do not acare because it is pay day, we should.

And I just think Ulster Council have a responsibility here and should take the games away from Cliones again unless the local powers that be are prepared to act responsibly.

Go see an English soccer game with 50,000 plus and you will see a cordon of bin lorries, uniformed wardens, extra help hired in for the day, waste collectors working in a friendly an uninterfering way, and bins being regularly emptied so that the streets are safe to walk. Could such organisarion ever catch on here?

Certainly not in Clones, carpet supplied by Magners and Miller.

[Pangurban]

Excellent post Leo, you wonder what sort of homes they were reared in, these louts are a disgrace to their families, their county and country, and as you say an awful example to the younger children

[bridgegael]

again,  its not the real fans,  f**k if i had a pound for everyone that said' sure i'm only going for a session'.  agree  these louts are uncalled for!!!

[john mcgill]

I was in Clones at 12.30pm yesterday and couldn't believe the size of the crowd there.  As for the young ones drinking, I suspect that many of them arrive well on having booze on the buses.  All County Boards should insist that buses organised by clubs are dry.  Also there is a child protection issue for the bus companies who organise private trips to Clones.  Unfortunately it will take a disastrous accident to focus attention on this.

[Leo]

I was in Clones at 12.30pm yesterday and couldn't believe the size of the crowd there.  As for the young ones drinking, I suspect that many of them arrive well on having booze on the buses.  All County Boards should insist that buses organised by clubs are dry.  Also there is a child protection issue for the bus companies who organise private trips to Clones.  Unfortunately it will take a disastrous accident to focus attention on this.

The young ones will drink and why shouldnt they although today it seems very excessive. My point is that those responsible for the venue (ie town & ground) hosting these big games have an obligation to at least provide the basic public services that will minimise the impact of this behaviour. If we leave the streets and "beer gardens"(what a misnomer) in a state only fit for animals then that is how some people will treat them. Lads and lassies cavorting on the ground strewn with bottles glass and fast food debris is a beautiful image of modern Ireland!

[thejuice]

its disgusting. There should of course be plenty of provision for disposing glass bottles, ie huge recyling bins, and what ever other rubbish there is. But of course asking people to have a bit of decency and respect is not allowed these days. it seems the new way of thinking is, when in large crowds responsibility and behavior doesnt matter.

[Down Gael]

Leo, while I agree with most of what you are saying, I dont think Clones or the local council are in any way to blame. There were four of us at yesterdays game, we each had a couple of drinks, mine was a soft drink. All the empty bottles were deposited in the bins provided. A lot of people around me behaved in exactly the same way, young and old, picked up their empties, in some cases their sweet wrappers and crisp packets and put them in the relative bins.
But, here does seem to be an element, particularly with Armagh and this is not sour grapes on my behalf, that are just out for a days drinking and to make an eejit out of themselves. We were on the hill and there half a dozen young Armagh girls, around 16 years old, pissed as farts, abusing anyone and everyone around them. Now i can use some choice language myself, particularly when Down are getting beat, but this was unreal. Their shouting and general behaviour continued through half time, I dont think they realised the game had stopped, but that type of behaviour didnt seem to just happen around us.
Its hard to know what to do about it, but everyone has to look at the situation. Who are running these buses filled with drunken teenagers to the games? Where are these idiots getting their tickets from? Do the parents not give a damn about their kids. Clones isnt to blame here, todays way of life seems to be the problem. In my opinion these idiots, no matter what county they belong to have no place at our games, most of them wouldnt know how their team fared in the National League. Its just a drunken day out, be that Clones, Croke Park, Oxygen or a weekend in Salthill.

[Hardy]

Water cannon. Two birds, one stone.

[Onion Bag]

Leo, while I agree with most of what you are saying, I dont think Clones or the local council are in any way to blame. There were four of us at yesterdays game, we each had a couple of drinks, mine was a soft drink. All the empty bottles were deposited in the bins provided. A lot of people around me behaved in exactly the same way, young and old, picked up their empties, in some cases their sweet wrappers and crisp packets and put them in the relative bins.
But, here does seem to be an element, particularly with Armagh and this is not sour grapes on my behalf, that are just out for a days drinking and to make an eejit out of themselves. We were on the hill and there half a dozen young Armagh girls, around 16 years old, pissed as farts, abusing anyone and everyone around them. Now i can use some choice language myself, particularly when Down are getting beat, but this was unreal. Their shouting and general behaviour continued through half time, I dont think they realised the game had stopped, but that type of behaviour didnt seem to just happen around us.
Its hard to know what to do about it, but everyone has to look at the situation. Who are running these buses filled with drunken teenagers to the games? Where are these idiots getting their tickets from? Do the parents not give a damn about their kids. Clones isnt to blame here, todays way of life seems to be the problem. In my opinion these idiots, no matter what county they belong to have no place at our games, most of them wouldnt know how their team fared in the National League. Its just a drunken day out, be that Clones, Croke Park, Oxygen or a weekend in Salthill.

I was also at the match yesterday and went into one of the beer gardens for a couple of beers and there was young fellas with down tops on them throwing beer over everyone and shouting abuse, they were also only 15-16, I just turned round and walked out,

[Leo]

In reply to the last two postslet me confirm as a Down supporter that the loutish behaviour was expressed with equal vigour by both sets of followers and its no good saying it was just a few. The whole way down from the Diamond to Creighton's was a carpet of broken bottles, broken glasses, beer tins, food containers and general filth which got ten times worse if you ventured into any of these adjoining open-air shebeens.

I have always taken a coupple of beers at Clones in the past after the match and this was my intention yesterday but my mind was made up as I walked to the ground that the tide has turned back  in favour of neanderthal man.

Of course the louts and their upbringing are the main cause, nonetheless my main point remains that Ulster Council & Clones council (or Monagahan) just playing blind spectators is a dereliction of civic duty and a de facto toleration of the worst abuses of alcohol (fuelled I suspect by other substances).
Good old GAA just hopes it will go away.

[Maguire01]

I'm sure there are cleaners at work on the day, but there are definitely plenty of bins - expecting people to walk a few yards when they can drop their rubbish at their feet however, seems to be an unreasonable aspiration.

Whatever about big crowds at UK soccer matches, yesterday (and other match days), sees 30,000+ decent on a town with a population c.2,000. It's going to be difficult no matter what - but moreso when there's little or no cooperation.

[Puckoon]

Its all tied in with the thread started by illdecide concerning the word respect. There is none left. People dont respect themselves, family, friends, work. What you see on the streets of clones isnt the fun that used to be had. Boys and girls pissing in public, throwing up, fighting, BINGE drinking. And thats before the match!!

I think leos suggestion of enforcing some kind of tax on those who make huge profits from the days out in clones - might not stop the behaviour - but may in some way make it more tolerable for the ordinary decent GAA folk who will walk to pitches in january and february. 

[Hardy]

Well said, Puck. If people kept that one simple word in mind when contemplating how they will conduct themselves, the world would be a better place. Unfortunately, there are hardly any effective sanctions left to enforce respect when it is not forthcoming voluntarily. That's the legacy of my generation, who invented the concept "if it feels good, do it". I apologise to posterity.

[stiffler]

Did anyone see the boxing match between 2 lads about 2 o clock on the main street?

[gerry]

Supermarkets and others sell boxes of lager for prices which would barely cover the cost of packaging and distribution where sales volume is the only way to profit.

are you telling me if the price of my few tinnies that i drink at home goes up that the youth of today will drink responsible, i think not.  the price of a packet of cigs has increased each year but this does not stop them from smoking.