Messages

Mitchell's gone seriously ? Flip me then the fixtures need redone for div 4 yes ?

Teams will just get a bye the week they are meant to play them.. Has happened over the years when Kinlar, Killyleagh and Mitchell's struggled to field before

Fixtures are to be re-drawn.

Probably should have suggested it within your own club then shouldn't you?

I have said it for years, Dundrum and Ballykinlar should be amalgamated. And in years to come Ardglass and Kilclief could be too.

Ballykinlar players had the chance but went to Finn, St John's and Ardglass instead

Ballykinlar approached these clubs for amalgamation? Seems strange given the locations.

Hearing pitches have been a problem with pre-season and a lot of games called off due to the inclement weather. GAA clubs need to be pushing the councils for all weather facilities

Again with this council nonsense. Give it up.

I see that a Mourne select are going to be playing the Down seniors on Saturday in Attical. This may pave the way for an amalgamation in Lower Mourne of Glasdrumman, Longstone and Ballymartin. I could be this happening within the next ten years.

I don't see how a friendly game to celebrate an anniversary of one club will pave the way for an amalgamation. It's a friendly game. Nothing more.

As mentioned, I doubt Laverty will worry about what is said on this forum. No matter what his motivations may be, it's in his best interest to have Down win games and be as successful as possible anyway. So regardless of personal opinions on the management, we should all be willing to get behind that squad of players who have been working their arses off to get themselves in to the condition to win football matches. It's a rebuild of sorts, anyone expecting silverware this year is deluded. It took other counties years of building to eventually compete. Down will be no different. So what we can do is get behind the team and try to see the positives, and support them as far as they may go this year.

Is there a start date for the leagues this year and are the fixtures out yet?

Start date is 2nd April.

I am trying to devise a list of all the GAA council pitches in The Newry council area.

Dunleath
Rosconnor
Dundrum
Annsborough
Derryleckagh
St Colmans
Jack Mackin
Gerry Brown
Milltown
Drumgath ?


Am I missing any other grounds?
As rate payers in the North we are being shafted by the councils in comparisons to soccer and more needs to be done about it.

Also is there really no GAA pitches in the ards area, if not then this needs to be raised more.

Kilbroney, if you can call it a pitch.

Soccer not much better mind.

Most Gaelic clubs have their own main pitch, most junior soccer clubs don't.

GAA clubs have their own facilities due to hard work and a lot of fundraising.

Junior soccer expect soccer pitches.

GAA club don't expect pitches but at the next election these questions need to be put to our elected reps.

Is Kilbroney getting upgraded or are the tree huggers/middle class blow ins still stopping the kids of Rostrevor adequate facilities?

Junior soccer clubs don't "expect" pitches. Most junior soccer clubs are not ingrained within a community, with several generations playing and volunteering at a club as we have with the GAA. Most junior soccer clubs' first teams change year after year as players move between them, and often their underage teams see players chopping and changing clubs without having a particular loyalty or desire to represent a particular club. To expect them to have the structures and people in place to raise hundreds of thousands for their own facilities is ridiculous. That was just a nonsensical statement.

So Junior clubs expect council pitches then, they need council pitches.

You really aren't making a coherent argument about anything here, as you are comparing two completely different things.

I am trying to devise a list of all the GAA council pitches in The Newry council area.

Dunleath
Rosconnor
Dundrum
Annsborough
Derryleckagh
St Colmans
Jack Mackin
Gerry Brown
Milltown
Drumgath ?


Am I missing any other grounds?
As rate payers in the North we are being shafted by the councils in comparisons to soccer and more needs to be done about it.

Also is there really no GAA pitches in the ards area, if not then this needs to be raised more.

Kilbroney, if you can call it a pitch.

Soccer not much better mind.

Most Gaelic clubs have their own main pitch, most junior soccer clubs don't.

GAA clubs have their own facilities due to hard work and a lot of fundraising.

Junior soccer expect soccer pitches.

GAA club don't expect pitches but at the next election these questions need to be put to our elected reps.

Is Kilbroney getting upgraded or are the tree huggers/middle class blow ins still stopping the kids of Rostrevor adequate facilities?

Junior soccer clubs don't "expect" pitches. Most junior soccer clubs are not ingrained within a community, with several generations playing and volunteering at a club as we have with the GAA. Most junior soccer clubs' first teams change year after year as players move between them, and often their underage teams see players chopping and changing clubs without having a particular loyalty or desire to represent a particular club. To expect them to have the structures and people in place to raise hundreds of thousands for their own facilities is ridiculous. That was just a nonsensical statement.

i accept there hasn't been a trend i have heard of in years gone by but you also must accept that senior footballers are far more conditioned now and the power deferential between a young lad and a senior man has greatly increased. the other point is the level of commitment needed for 95% of senior set ups now is very very high and with kids at a very important point in their education minors was always tailored around exam times to cater for this . its done now , im just not sure it couldnt have worked this year and gave lots of lads around the country more opportuity than they have for 2023

Fair enough point regarding the strength and conditioning factor. But when it comes to exams etc well that's just part of learning how to balance life. That requires strong parenting and understanding from the coaches, which I accept you may or may not get depending on each individual club, but wouldn't we all like to believe clubs would take that in to account when it comes to these young players, and not "punish" them for taking time out for exams.

[The main issue is we are asking 17 year old school kids to train and play with physically developed adult men and if they dont want to do that because rightly them and/or their parents would feel they aren't ready]

it feels like you didn't read the context of my comment

the difference between using a size 4 and size 5 at under 16 is trivial
the difference between playing go game rules or not  at under 14 or stopping it at 12 is trivial
The difference between kids playing with their classmates and not for under 12 is trivial
The main issue is we are asking 17 year old school kids to train and play with physically developed adult men and if they dont want to do that because rightly them and/or their parents would feel they aren't ready theres an ill thought out farce of an under 19 tournament or they can wait until the winter and train in muck and play in under20s

I agree with your broader points and am personally a massive fan of go games as it develops teams not individuals

Hardly a major issue given that for decades there have been 17 year olds (and younger) training with senior teams and playing senior football with no trend of a serious issue being caused by this.

I think we can be sure that Kilcoo's All Ireland winning squad can manage to put together sufficient training sessions in the mean time before management is appointed.

Big appointment in Kilcoo. Huge job too with men going to Australia and the states. Rory Gallagher was first choice and they went to his door. He turned them down. All is not well in kilcoo!

Did he attempt to negotiate a larger fee?

There's the bullshit your reading in you own post, neither can enter JFC. its a case of trying to cater for two senior clubs ahead of the best interests of the division 4 clubs. no thanks

What's the best interests of division 4 clubs/small clubs? The way I see it - every club needs approximately 3-4 players coming through each year to support/challenge the senior group already there. Look at the all conquering Kilcoo side of the last dozen years - 2-3 players are blooded each year and possibly 1-2 used in championship on a regular basis.
Clubs in division 4 may not have 4 players coming through every year but certainly every two years they do. Mitchell's used to join up with Attical at underage (as shamrocks kept taking their players when they joined with them!!) - they always had 2-3 players each year playing regularly for the amalgamation so what happens to those players after minor? Why is their club not integrating them into a senior panel where you have a couple of players who can't commit due to travel or injuries etc go out one door and fresh players come in through the other door.

In other news - is it true the Finn are now losing more players up the hill to Castlewellan?? Why is no one talking about this - where a big club is poaching players from a very small club??
[/quote]

Keep in mind that the clubs with only a handful of juvenile players playing within an amalgamation, may lose these players when they reach adult level due to studying or work commitments too. And with the way the rules are now regarding the age restrictions, smaller clubs don't get the chance to really integrate young players before these players make decisions on studying or work. Long gone are the days of getting players in at 16, who were fully integrated senior players by the time they were 18! Maybe that's for good reason, but it has had some impact in the last number of years.

Regarding the Finn, weren't they happy to take players from other clubs, including Castlewellan, for a long time? Swings and roundabouts maybe. Hopefully they have the numbers to stick it out as they have done well in recent years, last thing we want to see is another club struggling to field.

I see a proposal to include Burren & Carryduff 2nds in the ACFL has been released.
The wording of the conclusion certainly does not portray a neutral stance awaiting a vote.
Reading it would suggest a deal has already been done behind closed doors to include these teams.
If these parishes have grown so big that 1 club cannot accommodate the playing numbers then maybe its time to form a 2nd club within the parish with its own youth structure, committee, pitch, and facilities therefore giving them the right to compete with junior clubs and grow accordingly.
Junior clubs work hard to maintain stand alone facilities and provide Gaelic games in challenging circumstances with limited numbers. The last thing these clubs need is to have moral sapping defeats at the hands of clubs who are drawing players from all areas. There is a real risk of junior clubs failing to field ( as we have seen with Mitchels ) when players walk away following such defeats. Adult players will be lost to other sports with underage players having no footsteps to follow, with the potential for smaller clubs going the way of Ballykinlar and Killyleagh.
We should protect the weak and not allow these superpowers to steamroll our smaller clubs.
Conclusion: Down GAA will lose a lot more from the smaller clubs than the 20 plus players wanting to represent Burren & Carryduff who could quite easily go back to play for their home clubs.

Out of interest, how many of the players likely to feature for these reserve teams have home clubs to return to? Discarding those who may have moved to live in those areas and so joined the clubs, are there many who have joined but aren't living in those areas?
Sad to see clubs struggle and even fold, but participation levels seem to be lower in general, and of course rural to urban migration, or emigration, are surely the main drivers for this, and not the fact that a team suffers a few heavy defeats.

On Kilcoo Christmas wish list- from a good source

Jim Mcguinness
Jerome/ Doran  although the Clare conudrum could be an issue
Brian Dooher
Banty

Harte was rumored for Slaughtneil, could Magpies try and lure him?

Would it be an attractive job for him, or anyone else, if they hear about these antics from an established senior player?